Tonya Evinger (born June 4, 1981) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. A professional mixed martial artist since 2006, Evinger has previously competed for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC),

EliteXC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decemb ...

, Raging Wolf and

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currentl ...

, and was the Invicta Bantamweight Champion.

Early life

Evinger played football and wrestled while at Odessa High School in Odessa, Missouri. She went on to wrestle and earn her degree at

Missouri Valley College Missouri Valley College is a private college that is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Marshall, Missouri. The college was founded in 1889 and supports 40 academic majors and an enrollment close to 1,500 students. Mis ...

in Marshall, Missouri. Evinger's younger twin brothers, Chris and Owen Evinger, are also professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighters.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Evinger faced

Jennifer Tate Jennifer Rose Tate (born September 2, 1985) is an American female mixed martial artist. Tate started training in Taekwondo at the age of 13, and she earned her Black belt. She was the Northern California Golden Gloves champion in 2007 and 2008. S ...

at IFC: Warriors Challenge 21 on June 3, 2006 and lost via triangle choke in the second round. The fight was the first women's bout ever sanctioned by the

California State Athletic Commission The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) regulates amateur and professional boxing, amateur and professional kickboxing and professional mixed martial arts (MMA) throughout the State by licensing all participants and supervising the events. ...

. She faced Brittany Pullen at FFF 1: Asian Invasion on February 17, 2007. She won the fight via a 16-second knockout in the first round. Evinger faced Shonie Plagman at X-1: Extreme Fighting 2 on March 17, 2007. She won the fight by knockout 10 seconds into the second round. She faced Ginele Marquez at Tuff-N-Uff 2 on April 14, 2007. She won the fight by

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

submission in the third round. Evinger faced

Vanessa Porto Vanessa Alessandra Teixeira Porto (born March 16, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and amateur boxer who competes in the Bellator MMA flyweight division. Background Porto grew up in Jaú, São Paulo in a family of soccer players. S ...

at FFF 2: Girls Night Out on July 14, 2007. She lost the fight by armbar submission in the first round.

EliteXC

Evinger debuted for

Elite XC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decembe ...

against

Gina Carano Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is an American actress and former mixed martial artist. She competed in EliteXC and Strikeforce from 2006 to 2009, where she compiled a 7–1 record. Her popularity led to her being called the "face of women ...

at EliteXC: Uprising on September 15, 2007. She lost the fight by rear-naked choke submission in the first round. She faced

Julie Kedzie Julie Kedzie (born March 18, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist. She is a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and specializes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Kedzie was Greg Jackson's personal assistant at Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts. K ...

at ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series on January 25, 2007. She won the fight by rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Post-EliteXC

Evinger faced Alexis Davis at Raging Wolf 7: Mayhem In The Mist 3 on May 8, 2010 for the Raging Wolf Women's Flyweight Championship. She lost the fight by rear-naked choke submission in the third round. Evinger faced Adrienna Jenkins in a number one contender's bout at Raging Wolf 8: Cage Supremacy on July 17, 2010. She won the fight by TKO in the second round. On November 6, 2010, Evinger rematched Alexis Davis at Raging Wolf 10. She was defeated by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round. Evinger faced

Sara McMann Sara McMann (born September 24, 1980) is an American female mixed martial artist who competed in the bantamweight division. McMann is a former Olympic wrestler and received a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and was a ...

at Titan Fighting Championships 19 on July 29, 2011 in Kansas City, Kansas. The fight served as the co-main event. Evinger was defeated by unanimous decision. On September 23, 2011, Evinger stepped in on short notice to face Anita Rodriguez at XFL: Rumble on the River 5 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She defeated Rodriguez by submission due to a rear-naked choke in round one. Evinger defeated Lacie Jackson by knockout in the first round at Fight Me MMA on April 13, 2012. On November 10, 2012, Evinger made her flyweight debut against Carina Damm at Fight Hard MMA. She defeated Damm by split decision.

The Ultimate Fighter

In August 2013, it was announced that Evinger was one of the fighters selected to be on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate. In the elimination fight to get into the TUF house, Evinger faced

Raquel Pennington Raquel Len Pennington (born September 5, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in Ultimate Fighting Championship women's featherweight division. She has previously fought for Invicta Fighting Championships. As of May 23, 2022, ...

and lost via guillotine choke submission in the second round.

Invicta Fighting Championships

On December 7, 2013, Evinger faced

Sarah D'Alelio Sarah D'Alelio (born December 13, 1980) is a professional mixed martial artist. She competed in the 135-pound women's bantamweight division for Invicta Fighting Championships and has also fought for Strikeforce. Mixed martial arts career Jacks ...

at Invicta Fighting Championships 7. She won the fight via unanimous decision. After switching camps to Houston, Texas she joined team Gracie Barra Champions and 4 oz Fight Club, training her Boxing and Kickboxing with Aaron Pena (GBC) and MMA with Jeremy Mahon (4 oz). Evinger next fought Ediane Gomes at Invicta Fighting Championships 8 on September 6, 2014. She won the fight via first round submission. Evinger next fought

Cindy Dandois Cindy Dandois (born 26 October 1984) is a Belgian female mixed martial artist. She formerly competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions in Invicta and the Ultimate Fighting Championship and also the Lightweight division in the Prof ...

at Invicta Fighting Championships 10 on December 5, 2014. She won the fight via second round submission, making her the front runner to fight for the vacant Invicta FC bantamweight title. Evinger next fought

Irene Aldana Irene Robles Aldana (born March 26, 1988) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Women’s Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of May 23, 2022, she is #4 in the UFC women ...

for the vacant Invicta FC bantamweight title at Invicta Fighting Championships 13 on July 9, 2015. She dominated the fight from bell to bell, almost finishing the fight early with an arm bar. Evinger would go on to stop Aldana in the 4th round via TKO (punches), claiming the Invicta FC bantamweight title. Evinger next fought undefeated prospect,

Pannie Kianzad Pannie Pantea Kianzad (born December 8, 1991, in Ahvaz, Iran) is an Iranian-born Swedish mixed martial artist. She is currently signed by Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Women's Bantamweight division, having previously fought in Invicta FC ...

. This was originally set as a title defense but both Evinger and Kianzad were unable to make weight, both being fined a percentage of their purse and was changed to a five-round non-title fight. Evinger ended up dispatching Kianzad in the 2nd round by TKO due to punches. Evinger next fought

Colleen Schneider Colleen Schneider (born March 12, 1982 in Syracuse, New York) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. Colleen was a contestant in season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter reality competition television show. Early life She attended C ...

at Invicta Fighting Championships 17 on May 7, 2016. Evinger successfully defended her bantamweight title by unanimous decision. Following the fight, Evinger celebrated her victory by kissing interviewer Laura Sanko on the lips. Evinger would lose her bantamweight championship in an upset defeat to Russian newcomer

Yana Kunitskaya Iana "Yana" Kunitskaya (born November 11, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist competing in the bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of September 19, 2022, she is #6 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings. ...

by armbar submission in the first round on November 18, 2016. The loss was controversial because the referee told her to move from a legal position which may have led directly to the submission. Evinger appealed her loss and on December 1, 2016 the loss was changed to a no contest, so Evinger retained her title. Evinger faced Kunitskaya in a rematch in the main event of Invicta FC 22 on March 25, 2017. She won the fight by submission in the second round to retain her title.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On June 27, 2017, it was announced that Evinger had signed with the UFC and was set to face

Cris Cyborg Cristiane Justino Venâncio (born July 9, 1985), known professionally by her ring name Cris Cyborg (and formerly by her married name Cristiane Santos), is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist who as of January 2021 competes in Bellator MMA, ...

for the vacant

UFC Women's Featherweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

UFC 214 ''UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on July 29, 2017 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A PPV event was initially planned for Anaheim on Janu ...

. She lost the fight by TKO in the third round. Evinger was scheduled to face

Marion Reneau Marion Elizabeth Reneau-Perez (born June 20, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed as a Bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Reneau began her professional mixed martia ...

at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, Texas on February 18, 2018. However, on January 9, 2018, she was forced to pull out fight, citing injury. Evinger was scheduled to face

Ketlen Vieira Ketlen Vieira da Silva (born August 26, 1991) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of January 17, 2023, she is ranked #4 in the UFC women's bantam ...

on September 22, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 137. However, on August 7, 2018, Vieira pulled out due to a knee injury. In turn, Evinger was pulled from the card and scheduled to face

Aspen Ladd Aspen Kohl Ladd (born March 1, 1995) is an American professional mixed martial artist who is competing in the Featherweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2015, Ladd started her professional mixed martial arts ...

two weeks later at

UFC 229 ''UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor ''was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas–Paradise, ...

. She lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Evinger faced

Lina Länsberg Lina Länsberg (born 13 March 1982) is a Swedish professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 3, 2022, she is #12 in the List of current U ...

on June 1, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 153. She lost the fight by unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Championships and accomplishments

** Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion (One time) *** Two successful title defenses vs.

and

**Performance of the Night (Two times) vs.

Ediane Gomes Ediane Gomes is a Brazilians, Brazilian former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division. She notably fought in the Invicta Fighting Championships, Invicta FC. Mixed martial arts care ...

and

Mixed martial arts record

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Adrienna Jenkins Adrienna Jenkins (born July 22, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Women's Featherweight division of Bellator. She now currently works as a MMA referee/ judge. Mixed martial arts career Jenkins made her MMA debut in ...

, TKO (punches) , RW 8: Cage Supremacy , , align=center , 2 , align=center , 3:16 ,

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, Preliminary bout.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Evinger, Tonya 1981 births Living people American female mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Lesbian sportswomen LGBT people from Missouri American LGBT sportspeople LGBT mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists People from Odessa, Missouri American people of German descent Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters 21st-century American women