TUF 20: 5 Women to Add to the All-Women Strawweight Season

Dana White is all in on the women. There was a time when he wouldn't give them a second look, but now he is looking to add a second female division in an all-female version of The Ultimate Fighter.

TUF 20 will include an all-female strawweight cast, with the first 11 competitors announced last night on UFC Tonight. They were Invicta contracted fighters that the UFC bought out, including Carla Esparza, Claudia Gadelha, Felice Herrig, Tecia Torres, Emily Kagan, Rose Namajunas, Bec Hyatt, Alex Chambers, Juliana Lima, Joanne Calderwood and Paige VanZant.

Obviously, what may restrict some of the competitors is that they must speak English, so the five we include here will need to fill that requirement. That being said, fighters from the USA, Brazil, Australia and Scotland are already represented in the cast.

An open tryout is set to fill the remaining spots, but here are five women they should add. 

Stephanie Eggink

sherdog.com

Record: 4-1

Notable Wins: Angela Magana, Heather Clark

Stephanie Eggink is the strawweight champion of the respected XFC promotion and should definitely get a look come the time the UFC adds five women to the cast.

Eggink has a strong amateur boxing background, but has grown leaps and bounds on the ground through her work with Gracie Tampa and TUF 18 vet Shayna Baszler. In fact, half of her wins come on the ground via submission, including a title-clinching triangle choke over Angela Magana.

"Snowflake" is also a pretty good size for a 115er. At 5'8", she could give the women on this season all sorts of trouble. 

Alida Gray

tapology.com

Record: 4-0

Notable Wins: Patricia Vidonic, Soannia Tiem

If you haven't heard of Alida Gray, hit the internet and find a fight of hers. She has been pro since June and has already gone 4-0 in that short six-month period.

Gray is already 36, so she is a little old to be entering the fray, but she is young in terms of MMA years. The Texan is impressive in that young amount of time, as she has finished all four of her opponents by knockout or submission.

The most impressive thing may be that she took on big-show vet Patricia Vidonic in her MMA debut. Not only did she beat the respected veteran, but she tapped her out with an impressive armbar.

Is older prospect an oxymoron? 

Amber Stautzenberger

sherdog.com

Record: 4-1

Notable Wins: Glena Avila, Lacey Schuckman

Speaking of prospects from Texas, Amber Stautzenberger seems to fit the mold of a fighter the UFC looks for. She is skilled, attractive, young and marketable, something which will give her a serious look come the time when they look to fill up the cast.

Stautzenberger has been a pro for just over a year, and has put together a four-fight winning streak in that time, after falling victim to current cast member Paige VanZant in her debut.

"The Apex Predator" has a good ground game and trains with Mohler MMA, the same camp that has given the UFC Will Campuzano and Edwin Figueroa.

The fact she trains at a high level proves that she will come into the show with a good, fundamental skill set. 

Heather Clark

sherdog.com

Record: 6-4

Notable Wins: Sarah Alpar, Jennifer Scott

There is already going to be some animosity in the house with Felice Herrig and Carla Esparza, who are good friends, under the same roof as Claudia Gadelha.

Just check out their recent Twitter beef.

Add in another girl with history and a personal beef with Herrig, and you could have some real drama.

Heather Clark isn't just an antagonist to Herrig, but a good, experienced fighter as well. The Syndicate MMA rep was recently spotted cornering Roxanne Modafferi at the finale of last season's show, giving some viewers their first look at "Hurricane."

She is a big, strong 115-pounder with well-rounded skills and experience in the big leagues. She has competed in such organizations as Bellator and XFC, showing her talent level. 

Lisa Ellis

sherdog.com

Record: 15-8

Notable Wins: Jessica Aguilar, Stephanie Frausto, Aisling Daly, Amy Davis

Speaking of beef, if WMMA pioneer and respected vet Lisa Ellis were to make the cast, she could settle a current beef she has with Rose Namajunas on the show. For proof, again take to Twitter to see the back-and-forth jabs.

Ellis, whose husband Eddy Ellis was on season 16 of the show, has been around the sport since 2004. That would easily make her the most experienced woman on the show. She has fought everybody from Jessica Aguilar to Megumi Fujii in her tenure, showing that she hasn't just been facing chumps.

She is a gifted submission fighter with a stifling top game and the heart to complement it. The toughest challenge for her would be getting back into fight shape, as she just had a baby and is only recently getting back to the grind.

This would be a nice challenge and a great way to get a true pioneer of the sport into the spotlight.