Barbara Marie Honchak (born August 30, 1979) is a retired American professional female

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. She is the first

Invicta FC 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 current ...

Flyweight Champion. She has four wins in the Invicta FC promotion and holds notable victories over Vanessa Porto, Roxanne Modafferi, Leslie Smith and Felice Herrig.

Background

Honchak grew up in

Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,808 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was named in honor of Ninian Edwards, former governor of the Illinois Te ...

, and has one sister, Tammy. In her youth, Barb loved outdoor activities like horseback riding, scuba diving and camping. She went to Edwardsville High School, where she graduated in 1997. Then she earned an associate degree from Lewis & Clark Community College. She has a bachelor's degree in molecular biology from

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

and her master's in ecological genetics from

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1899, it was the third and final university established in the Arizona Territory. It is one of the three universities gove ...

. She is married to her husband, Timm. After receiving her degrees, she moved back to

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

because of her fiancée's career, and started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu for self-defense under Steve Berger at the age of 26. From there on, she quickly took an amateur mixed martial arts bout and was hooked to the sport.

Mixed martial arts career

Honchak went 8–1 as an amateur mixed martial artist and made her professional debut on November 28, 2009. In her fourth professional fight, Honchak defeated Felice Herrig at Hoosier FC 6 on January 14, 2011. Honchak won three more fights in 2011, defeating Amber McAvoy and Nina Ansaroff by decision and Roxanne Modafferi by submission due to a rear-naked choke.

Invicta Fighting Championships

As the first bout of her three-fight contract, Honchak made her Invicta Fighting Championships debut on July 28, 2012, at Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann. She defeated Bethany Marshall by TKO in the second round. On October 28, 2012, Honchak faced Aisling Daly at Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama. She defeated Daly by unanimous decision. The victory over Daly earned Honchak a shot at the inaugural Invicta FC Flyweight title on April 5, 2013, at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson. She defeated Vanessa Porto by unanimous decision to become the first Invicta FC Flyweight Champion. Honchak faced Leslie Smith at Invicta FC 7: Honchak vs. Smith on December 7, 2013. She successfully defended her Invicta FC title, winning via unanimous decision. The bout earned both fighters the ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Honchak faced

Takayo Hashi Takayo Hashi (端貴代 ''Hashi Takayo'', born October 2, 1977) is a Japanese female mixed martial artist. Biography Hashi observed her brother grappling and competing in mixed martial arts and this inspired her to compete as well. She joined t ...

at Invicta FC 9 on November 1, 2014, and successfully defended her title with another unanimous decision victory. As a result of relocating, she had problems finding a team to train in, which in turn led to the stripping of her title due to inactivity.

The Ultimate Fighter

In August 2017, it was announced that after a few years away from the sport Honchak would be one of the fighters featured on '' The Ultimate Fighter 26'', where the process to crown the UFC's inaugural 125-pound Women's Champion will take place. In the first round, Honchak defeated Gillian Robertson via TKO in the second round, allowing her to move on to the next stage of the competition. In the quarterfinals, Honchak faced Rachael Ostovich-Berdon and won the fight by unanimous decision after two rounds. In the semifinals, Honchak faced Nicco Montaño. She lost the fight via unanimous decision after three rounds.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Honchak was scheduled to face Roxanne Modafferi on December 1, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale. However, on the day of the weigh in, Sijara Eubanks was pulled from the fight for kidney failure while trying to make weight and she was replaced by Modafferi to face Nicco Montaño. Honchak instead faced Lauren Murphy. She lost the back-and-forth fight by split decision. The rematch between Honchak and Roxanne Modafferi was rescheduled to take place July 6, 2018, at UFC TUF 27 Finale. Honchak lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Honchak was released by the UFC in August 2018. She has retired since.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Flyweight Championship (One time; first; former) *** Two Successful Title Defenses ** Fight of the Night (One Time) vs. Leslie Smith * Women's MMA Awards ** 2013 Fighter of the Year ** 2013 Flyweight of the Year * AwakeningFighters.com WMMA Awards ** 2013 Flyweight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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Cat Zingano Cat Zingano (née Albert; born July 1, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist, currently signed to Bellator MMA, competing in the Women's Featherweight division. Zingano also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and on Apri ...

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

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References

External links

*
Barb Honchak
at

*
Barb Honchak
at AwakeningFighters.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Honchak, Barb 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Edwardsville, Illinois American female mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Illinois People from High Ridge, Missouri American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners 21st-century American women