Tonya Evinger (born June 4, 1981) 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 ...

. She is currently signed with Global Fight League (GFL). A professional since 2006, Evinger has previously competed for 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),

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 Decem ...

, 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 current ...

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

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

fighters.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Evinger faced Jennifer Tate 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. 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), also known as hadaka jime (裸絞) in Judo and "lion killer choke (Mata Leão)" in BJJ, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word ''naked'' in this context suggests that, unlike other stra ...

submission in the third round. Evinger faced Vanessa Porto 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 against

Gina Carano Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is an American actress and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. She competed in Elite Xtreme Combat and Strikeforce (mixed martial arts), Strikeforce from 2006 to 2009, where she compiled a 7– ...

at EliteXC: Uprising on September 15, 2007. She lost the fight by rear-naked choke submission in the first round. She faced Julie Kedzie 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 mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA, competing in the Women's Featherweight division. She is a former Olympic wrestler and received a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympi ...

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 and lost via guillotine choke submission in the second round.

Invicta Fighting Championships

On December 7, 2013, Evinger faced Sarah D'Alelio 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 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 Aldana Robles (born March 26, 1988) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of September 17, 2024, she is #6 in the UFC wo ...

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) is an Iranian-born Swedish mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Women's Bantamweight division, having previously fought in Invicta FC and Cage Warriors where ...

. 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 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 Yana Santos (; November 11, 1989) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the women's bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Prior to joining the UFC, Santos competed for Invicta FC where she ...

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 as Cris Cyborg and formerly by her married name Cristiane Santos, is a Brazilian-American professional mixed martial artist and Professional boxing, professional boxer who com ...

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 clas ...

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 Ja ...

. She lost the fight by TKO in the third round. Evinger was scheduled to face Marion Reneau at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, 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 26 August 1991) is a Brazilian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who currently competes in the women's Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 8 ...

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 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 car ...

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, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United Stat ...

. She lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Evinger faced Lina Länsberg on June 1, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 153. She lost the fight by unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Global Fight League

On December 11, 2024, it was announced that Evinger had signed with Global Fight League. However, in April 2025, it was reported that all GFL events were cancelled indefinitely.

Championships and accomplishments

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

**Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Ediane Gomes and

Mixed martial arts record

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

, 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 LGBTQ people from Missouri American lesbian sportswomen LGBTQ mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists People from Odessa, Missouri American people of German descent Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters 21st-century American sportswomen