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Angela Hill has responded to Dana White hinting at the potential introduction of an atomweight (105-pound) weight class in the UFC. Hill lightheartedly speculated she'd be a weight bully in that division.
In May 2024, the UFC's website listed it had 12 weight classes overall, including eight men's divisions and four women's divisions. Presently, the UFC's official rankings don't include the women's featherweight division, which was one of the aforementioned 12. It's been relatively dormant since its most recent champion Amanda Nunes' retirement in June 2023.
Nevertheless, UFC CEO and president Dana White recently hinted that with the promotion making inroads into new markets like South America and Asia, they're interested in introducing a new 105-pound (atomweight) division. The consensus is that this would be in the women's realm and not an addition to the men's divisions.
Speaking to R.J. Clifford on SiriusXM Fight Nation's MMA Today, UFC women's strawweight staple Angela Hill asserted that she likes Dana White's idea. Apparently, she was going to compete at 105 pounds when she started her career but had difficulty finding opponents there.
With MMA being much more popular now, Hill feels the UFC would attract many talented atomweights if they build the division. An MMA fighter since 2014, who's fought at flyweight and strawweight, she explained that there are way more skilled female combatants in the 105-pound range than the 145-pound range.
Jibing that most of the top-10 UFC women's strawweights were weight bullies, the ex-Invicta FC women's strawweight champion jestingly spoke about atomweight and stated:
"I would love it because then, I could finally be a weight bully. All these other girls get to weight-bully at 115. But I think a lot of us walk around at about 125, trying to keep weight on. So a 105 weight class would be, probably, an option for a good amount of strawweights as well that are already in the UFC."
When asked if she'd immediately drop to 105 pounds in the UFC, the 39-year-old noted that she last competed at 106 pounds 10 years back. Apparently, she'd do it "easily" with some lifestyle changes:
"It would require losing a lot of [weight], dieting, all that stuff -- basically what every strawweight in the top-10 does I would have to do for the first time. So it wouldn't be impossible. I definitely feel like I'd try to do it. The question is what do you get from that? Like, does that get you an immediate ranking, blah, blah, blah? But yeah, if they brought in 105, I would definitely beg to get a fight at that weight class."
Watch Angela Hill's assessment below:
Dana White on potentially adding a UFC atomweight division
During the DWCS (Dana White's Contender Series) 76 post-event press conference on Oct. 15, 2024, Dana White made an allusion to the UFC expanding its sphere of influence worldwide. A reporter pointed out that Brazil and the Latin American region possess many talented 105-pound fighters.
Dana White concurred and explained that the UFC is cultivating talent in South America and Asia (Japan, China, and South Korea). He said:
"We might end up creating another division."
When asked if he was referring to the atomweight division, White confirmed it by saying:
"Yeah. That's what I just said."
Check out Dana White address the topic below (25:17):
