DeAnna Danielle Bennett (born November 18, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division. A professional since 2012, she has previously competed for

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

, Invicta Fighting Championships, and

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

(UFC).

Background

Bennett wrestled and played water polo for American High School before graduating in 2002. Bennett briefly attended an art college, but dropped out. She credits her "being a fat kid" for motivating her to join a kickboxing gym to stay in shape, and eventually competing in Muay Thai kickboxing.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After a short amateur MMA career in 2011, Bennett made her professional MMA debut in February 2012 for Showdown Fights. She competed for the promotion four times over the next two years, winning all of her bouts. Notably beating stand outs Sharon Jacobson, Colleen Schneider and Julianna Peña respectively.

Invicta FC

Bennett made her Invicta FC debut on September 6, 2014, at Invicta FC 8, where she defeated Michelle Ould by TKO in the second round. In her second fight for the promotion, Bennett faced Jennifer Maia on December 5, 2014, at Invicta FC 10. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Bennett next faced Norma Rueda Center on February 27, 2015, at Invicta FC 11. She again won the fight by unanimous decision.

The Ultimate Fighter

In August 2017, it was announced that Bennett 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. Bennett was selected seventh by coach Eddie Alvarez. She faced Karine Gevorgyan in the opening round and won via TKO in the first round. In the quarter-finals Bennett faced Sijara Eubanks losing via first round knockout.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Bennett faced Melinda Fábián on December 1, 2017 at The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion#The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale. The fight ended as a majority draw and Bennett was subsequently released from the promotion.

Return to Invicta

Bennett returned to Invicta to face Karina Rodríguez on March 24, 2018 at Invicta FC 28: Morandin vs. Jandiroba. She won the fight by split decision. Bennett then entered a flyweight tournament where she defeated Miranda Maverick by unanimous decision but lost in the final in a rematch against Karina Rodriguez.

Bellator

Bennett made her promotional debut against Liz Carmouche at Bellator 246 on September 12, 2020. She lost the bout via a rear-naked choke submission in the third round. Bennett was scheduled to face

Alejandra Lara Alejandra Lara (born 4 August 1994) is a Colombian female mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. She had previously most notably competed in Bellator MMA, where she was a title contender. She is also known by the nickname " ...

on July 31, 2021 at Bellator 263. The bout was rescheduled for unknown reasons to take place on August 20, 2021 at Bellator 265. On August 13, it was announced that the bout was moved once again, this time to Bellator 266. At the weigh-ins, Bennett missed weight for her bout. Bennett weighed in at 129.2 pounds, 3.2 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Bennett was fined a percentage of her purse which went to Lara. Bennett won the bout in dominant fashion via unanimous decision. Bennett faced Justine Kish on February 19, 2022 at Bellator 274. She won the bout in dominant fashion via unanimous decision. Bennett rematched Justine Kish on August 12, 2022 at Bellator 284. At weigh ins, Kish came in at 128.4 lbs, 2.4 pounds over the weight limit, for the flyweight bout, resulting in her being a fined a percentage of her purse which went to Bennett and the bout proceeded at catchweight. Bennett won the bout again via unanimous decision. Bennett faced Liz Carmouche in a rematch for the Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship on April 21, 2023 at Bellator 294. At the weigh-ins, Bennett weighed in at 126.2 pounds, 1.2 pounds over the title flyweight fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight with Bennett being fined 30% of her purse, which went to Carmouche. Carmouche also chose to keep the title on the line, meaning if she lost the fight, the title would have become vacant. She lost the fight by an arm-triangle choke submission in the fourth round.

Professional grappling career

Bennett was booked to compete against Marissa Pacelli at Fury Pro Grappling 7 on May 27, 2023. She lost the match by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

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Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

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Miranda Maverick Miranda Rachelle Maverick (born July 1, 1997) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She competed in Flyweight (MMA), Flyweight division of the Invicta Figh ...

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Roxanne Modafferi Roxanne Vincenta Modafferi (born September 24, 1982) is an American retired mixed martial artist, who most recently fought for the UFC. Though she last fought in the flyweight division, she has fought in multiple weight classes in her career. She ...

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Lívia Renata Souza Lívia Renata dos Santos Souza (born March 11, 1991), also known as Livinha Souza, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division. She has previously competed in the UFC and Invicta Fighting Championships, where sh ...

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Katja Kankaanpää Katja Kankaanpää (; born June 30, 1981) is a Finnish former mixed martial artist who competed in the strawweight division. She is a former Invicta FC Strawweight Champion. Kankaanpää started martial arts training in her teens when she was ...

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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 ...

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Daiana Torquato , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Invicta FC Phoenix Series 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:34 , Kansas City, Kansas, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Liz Tracy , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC Phoenix Series 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 , Kansas City, Kansas, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 1–1 ,

Sijara Eubanks Sijara Jihan Eubanks ( ; born April 27, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the women's bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Eubanks was born and raised in Springfield, Massac ...

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References

External links

DeAnna Bennett
at

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 ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, DeAnna 1984 births Living people Mixed martial artists from California Flyweight mixed martial artists Strawweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American female mixed martial artists American people of Argentine descent Sportspeople from Fremont, California American female Muay Thai practitioners American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners 21st-century American women