Kay Hansen (born August 14, 1999) is an American

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 ...

(MMA) who competed in the strawweight division of Invicta Fighting Championships. She also formerly fought in the

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

Hansen grew up with a single mom and three younger sisters until the age of seven when her parents reunited. At the age of 16, her parents separated and Kay stayed with her father despite the "manipulating and toxic environment" he upheld since her childhood. Hansen originally played softball, but after seeing Ronda Rousey defeat Bethe Correia at

UFC 190 ''UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 1, 2015, at the Jeunesse Arena, HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between former ...

, she decided she would rather train in

MMA 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 trained under Erik Paulson at Combat Submission Wrestling (CSW), competing in Pankration Youth Fights for an undefeated record of 4–0: two armbars, one Americana, and one

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

Mixed martial arts career

Amateur career

Hansen made her amateur debut in September 2017, less than a month and a half after her 18th birthday. The fight took place under Fight Club OC at their Gladiator MMA Championship Series 3. She fought Cecilia Padilla 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 and won via

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in the first round.

Invicta Fighting Championships

Hansen made her professional debut as a strawweight at Invicta FC 26: Maia vs. Niedzwiedz. She defeated opponent Emilee Prince within the first two minutes of round one via armbar, making her the youngest fighter to win a fight in IFC history. Hansen faced Kalyn Schwartz at Invicta FC 28: Mizuki vs. Jandiroba. After receiving an elbow to the temple that caused a bloody cut, she lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Hansen's next fight was for California Cage Warriors where she defeated Gabby Romero by third-round TKO. Hansen returned to Invicta at Invicta FC 31: Jandiroba vs. Morandin in September 2018 with an impressive third-round TKO victory over Helen Peralta. After the bout, Hansen called out undefeated flyweight prospect Erin Blanchfield. Hansen would get that fight at the very next event, Invicta FC 32: Spencer vs. Sorenson, serving as a late replacement for Luanna Alzuguir and moving up to flyweight. Hansen lost to Blanchfield via majority decision. Hansen bounced back at Invicta FC 33: Frey vs. Grusander II in December 2018, returning to strawweight and defeated Sharon Jacobson via third round submission. Hansen had taken the fight against Jacobson on one week's notice, replacing Kanako Murata. In May 2019, Hansen lost a split decision to Magdaléna Šormová at Invicta FC Phoenix Series 1. In October, Hansen defeated Nicole Caliari via third round submission at Invicta FC 37: Gonzalez vs. Sanchez.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Hansen made her UFC debut on June 27, 2020, against Jinh Yu Frey at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. She won the fight via a submission in round three. This win earned her the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Hansen faced promotional newcomer Cory McKenna on November 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Hansen was scheduled to face promotional newcomer Cheyanne Vlismas on March 20, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 21. However, Hansen pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced on March 12 by promotional newcomer Montserrat Ruiz. Later Hansen publicly opened about struggling with

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's health, physical or mental health, mental health. These behaviors may include eating too much food or too little food. Types of eatin ...

which led to the withdrawal and time off from the sport. Hansen was scheduled to face Jasmine Jasudavicius on January 15, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 32. However, the pair was moved to

UFC 270 ''UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 22, 2022, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship title unificat ...

on January 22, 2022, for undisclosed reasons. Hansen lost the fight via unanimous decision. Hansen faced Piera Rodríguez on April 9, 2022 at UFC 273. At the weigh-ins, Hansen weighed in at 118.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds over the strawweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and she forfeited 20% of her purse which went to Rodríguez. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Hansen was released by the UFC in mid April 2022.

Return to Invicta Fighting Championships

On April 29, 2022, it was announced that Hansen had signed a multi-fight contract with Invicta FC. She made her debut with the promotion on June 28, 2024 at Invicta FC 55: Bernardo vs. Rubin against Sayury Cañon, winning the bout via split decision.

Professional grappling career

Hansen was scheduled to compete in a flyweight Combat Jiu-Jitsu superfight against Bre Stikk at Medusa 5 on December 28, 2023.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (One time) * Invicta Fighting Championships **Performance of the Night (one time) **Fight of the Night (one time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 8–6 , Sayury Cañon , Decision (split) , Invicta FC 55 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

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Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

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Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3 , Liana Pirosin , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC Phoenix Series 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–3 , Magdaléna Šormová , Decision (split) , Invicta FC Phoenix Series 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Sharon Jacobson , Submission (armbar) , Invicta FC 33 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:43 ,

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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Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee () is a city in and the county seat of Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklah ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Helen Peralta , TKO (elbows) , Invicta FC 31 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:16 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Gabby Romero , TKO (punches) , California Cage Wars 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:00 ,

Campo, California Campo ( Spanish for "Field") is an unincorporated community in the Mountain Empire area of southeastern San Diego County, California, United States. The population was 2,955 at the 2020 United States census. The United States Census Bureau def ...

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Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Carolina Jimenez , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta Phoenix Series 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Amateur record

, Win , align=center, 1–0 , Cecilia Pedilla , TKO (punches) , Gladiator MMA Championship Series 3 , , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 ,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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Professional boxing record

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%" , - ! !Result !Record !Opponent !Type !Round, time !Date !Location !Notes , - , 5 , Loss , 1–4 , style="text-align:left;", Shurretta Metcalf , UD , 4, 2:00 , Mar 15, 2019 , style="text-align:left;", Southern Junction Nightclub, Irving, Texas , style="text-align:left;", , - , 4 , Loss , 1–3 , style="text-align:left;", Jessica Juarez , MD , 4, 2:00 , Jan 31, 2019 , style="text-align:left;", Viejas Casino & Resort, Alpine, California , style="text-align:left;", , - , 3 , Win , 1–2 , style="text-align:left;", Veronica Torres , UD , 4, 2:00 , Jul 20, 2018 , style="text-align:left;", San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, Stockton, California , style="text-align:left;", , - , 2 , Loss , 0–2 , style="text-align:left;", Marcia Agripino , MD , 4, 2:00 , Jun 2, 2018 , style="text-align:left;", Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut , style="text-align:left;", , - , 1 , Loss , 0–1 , style="text-align:left;", Aida Satybaldinova , UD , 4, 2:00 , Apr 18, 2018 , style="text-align:left;", Westin Bonaventura Hotel, Los Angeles, California , style="text-align:left;", , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Kay 1999 births Living people 21st-century American sportswomen American female mixed martial artists American women boxers Boxers from California American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Mixed martial artists from California Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu OnlyFans creators Strawweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters