UFC to crown 1st women's flyweight champion on next season of 'TUF'

The UFC will officially launch a women's flyweight division and crown its inaugural divisional champ on the next season of its flagship program, "The Ultimate Fighter," the promotion announced Wednesday.

The season's casting call will look for fighters aged 21-34 with a winning record in at least three pro fights on May 23 in Las Vegas. Female fighters currently on the UFC roster who can consistently make the flyweight limit throughout the tournament are also welcome to throw their hats in the ring, according to a press release obtained by FloCombat.

"TUF 26" will begin filming in July and premiere on FOX Sports 1 later this year.

The news comes after a bevy of fighters competing at both bantamweight and strawweight called for the weight class to be launched. Reigning 115-pound champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk has previously entertained chasing a title at 125 pounds, while Bec Rawlings, Joanne Calderwood, and Valerie Letourneau, who recently fled to Bellator, have all struggled to make the strawweight limit over their stints in the promotion.

Calderwood and Letourneau met in the UFC's first and only women's flyweight bout last June, which "JoJo" took by third-round TKO.