Hello there lineal title fans! We are back for the exciting conclusion to the Women's Bantamweight Lineal Timeline. This is, of course, all in anticipation of Rousey vs Holm live on PPV this Saturday night. The stakes are high with 25 lineal titles on the line.

If you missed Part I of this article, here's a link.

When we last left our heroins, Yabushita was crowned new lineal Queen after her victory in the 2004 Remix tournament that saw her nab 7 of a possible 8 titles...

2005 thru 2009 – Welcome to the LaRosa Era

From 2005 to 2009, LaRosa had one of the most impressive runs by any lineal King or Queen in history. All told, she held the crown for 5 years and 2 months, defending it an incredible 12 times. Her reign is second only to Fedor who held the Heavyweight crown for 7 years and 1 month, defending it 18 times in that span.

It's interesting to note that Gina Carano's entire career transpired during this time period. Unfortunately, she is only represented in a lineage once when she defeats Rosi Sexton for the Cage Warriors title. The reason for this is related to the fact that she competed mostly in showcase fights contested at a catchweight. She also competed against Cyborg in a losing effort for the Strikeforce title in what would be the final fight of her career. Although not reflected in the lineage, Carano did enjoy success against former lineal title holders like Julie Kedzie, Tonya Evinger, and Kelly Kobold.

Titles Created:

FW Title 1. Cage Warriors - Inaugural Champion: Rosi Sexton (WBW 2005: Migrated 2006)

- First major women's British title contested at 132 lbs

- Migrates to Featherweight in 2006 when Sexton loses to Gina Carano

12. Ring of Fire (BW) - Inaugural Champion: Amanda Buckner (2005)

Retired: Smackgirl (BW) - Inaugural Champion: Laura D' Auguste (2005: Retired undefeated in 2006)

13. Smackgirl (BW) - Second Champion: Hitomi Akano (2006)

- This is the 2nd iteration to D'Auguste's retired Smackgirl title

14. Bodog - Inaugural Champion: Tara LaRosa (2007)

15. Fatal Femmes (FLYW) - Inaugural Champion: Lisa Ellis (WFLYW 2007: Migrated 2013)

- This title eventually migrates to the 135 lb division, but not until 2013. It won't effect the lineal pie until then

Retired FW Title: Fatal Femmes - Inaugural Champion: Jen Case (2007: retired after win)

FW Title 2. K-GRACE (Open) - Tournament Champion: Roxanne Modafferi (2007)

- This was a one-time event featuring a one night 8-women tournament. Participants included Marloes Coenen and Megumi Yabushita

FW Title 3. Fatal Femmes (BW) - Inaugural Champion: Roxanne Modafferi (2007: Migrated 2009)

- This title was originally created in the Bantamweight division, but it will migrate to Featherweight further down the timeline when Modafferi loses to Coenen in 2009

16. Hardcore Fighting Championship - Inaugural Champion: Sarah Kaufman (2007)

17. Fight To Win - Inaugural Champion: Cat Zingano (2008)

FW Title 4. Strikeforce (FW) - Inaugural Champion: Cyborg Justino (2009)

Unification Bouts:

• Tara LaRosa vs Megumi Yabushita (2005) - 7 titles (LaRosa becomes the New Lineal Queen)
• Tara LaRosa vs Amanda Buckner (2006) - 8 titles (adds Ring of Fire title to lineage)
• Tara LaRosa vs Kelly Kobold (2007) - 10 titles (adds Bodog and Ring of Fire (Open) titles)

Lineages Finalized:

N/A

Unification Progress: Tara LaRosa's 5 year Reign

- 2005 7 of 11 or 64% (LaRosa)

2010 thru 2011 – Strikeforce Unleashes the Cyborg

This time period is perhaps most notable as the calm before the Rousey storm. While Ronda technically debuted in 2011, Ronda was still getting her feet under her at this point. Cyborg, on the other hand, was already a reigning Strikeforce champion from her 2009 victory over superstar Gina Carano and was looking unstoppable. That is until she failed a drug test at the tail end of 2011.

Meanwhile, in Japan, Rin Nakai begins what will become an impressive run of 16 straight victories to start her career, collecting 3 lineal titles along the way.

Titles Created:

18. Bellator MMA (SW) - Inaugural Champion: Zoila Frausto-Gurgel (2010)

- Frausto won a Bellator tournament as a huge underdog in a field that included Fujii, Esparza, Aguilar, and Penne. To date, it is the most stacked tournament in Strawweight history. She even has to pull an upset over Rosi Sexton to qualify for the tournament. She would later lose at 125 lbs to Jessica Eye and the title migrates to the BW division when Eye moves to the UFC

19. Strikeforce (BW) - Inaugural Champion: Sarah Kaufman (2010)

20. Valkyrie - Tournament Champion: Rin Nakai (2010)

21. Freestyle Cage Fighting - Tournament Champion: Shanya Baszler (2010)

22. Ring of Fire (FLYW) - Inaugural Champion: Cat Zingano (WFLYW 2010: Migrated 2011)

23. Ring of Combat (BW) - Inaugural Champion: Jessica Eye (2011)

Unification Bouts:

• Roxanne Modaferri vs Tara LaRosa - 10 title (New Lineal Queen)
• Sarah Kaufman vs Takayo Hashi - 3 titles (Smackgirl, HFC, Strikeforce)
• Sarah Kaufman vs Roxanne Modaferri - 13 titles (adds 3 titles above to dominant lineage and crowns New Lineal Queen)
• Zoila Frausto vs Megumi Fujii - 3 titles (Japan Cup, Fatal Femmes 125 lb, Bellator 115 lb)
• Cat Zingano vs Ivana Coleman - 2 titles (Fight to Win, Ring of Fire 125 lb)
• Marloes Coenen vs Sarah Kaufman - 13 titles (Crowns New Lineal Queen)

10 Years after her Remix World Cup victory, Coenen is once again the lineal Queen of the division!

• Miesha Tate vs Marloes Coenen - 13 titles (Crowns New Lineal Queen)

Lineages Finalized:

FW Title (retired): Deep - Inaugural Champion: Amanda Lucas (2010) (Last fought in 2012)

Unification Progress:

- 2010 13 of 15 or 87% (Coenen)

- 2011 13 of 18 or 72% (Tate)

2012 – The UFC will Never Have Women Fi...Wait...

Here's where the fun really begins. It's 2012, and Rousey is coming off a dominant win over Miesha Tate in Strikeforce for the lineal crown. And, it's this performance that inspires the UFC to change their minds on accepting woman into the UFC.

Elsewhere, Rin Nakai continues her own brand of dominance in Japan.

Titles Created:

24. UFC - Inaugural Champion: Ronda Rousey (2012)

25. Pancrase - Inaugural Champion: Rin Nakai (2012 Queen of Pancrase)

26. King of the Cage - Inaugural Champion: Brenda Gonzales (2012)

27. Pink Fight - Inaugural Champion: Vanessa Porto (2012)

Unification Bouts:

• Ronda Rousey vs Miesha Tate - 14 titles (adds UFC title and crowns New Lineal Queen)
• Rin Nakai vs Danielle West - 2 titles (Finals of Queen of Pancrase Tournament, Unifies with Valkyrie)

Lineages Finalized:

• U-Top - Current Lineage: Irina Rodina (WFW 1996: Migrated 2005) → Erin Toughill → Svetlana Goundarenko → Megumi Yabushita → Marloes Coenen → Erin Toughill → Megumi Yabushita → Tara LaRosa → Roxanne Modafferi → Sarah Kaufman → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• IFC (SHW) - Current Lineage: Becky Levi (WFW 1997: Migrated 2005) → Marloes Coenen → Erin Toughill → Megumi Yabushita → Tara LaRosa → Roxanne Modafferi → Sarah Kaufman → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• Extreme Challenge - Current Lineage: Jennifer Howe (1999) → Roxanne Modafferi → Megumi Yabushita → Tara LaRosa → Roxanne Modafferi → Sarah Kaufman → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• Remix World Cup - Current Lineage: Marloes Coenen (WFW 2000: Migrated 2005) → Erin Toughill → Megumi Yabushita → Tara LaRosa → Roxanne Modafferi → Sarah Kaufman → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• IFC (BW) - Current Lineage: Jennifer Howe (2003) → Roxanne Modafferi → Megumi Yabushita → Tara LaRosa → Roxanne Modafferi → Sarah Kaufman → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• HOOKnSHOOT - Current Lineage: Jennifer Howe (2003) → Roxanne Modafferi → Megumi Yabushita → Tara LaRosa → Roxanne Modafferi → Sarah Kaufman → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• Ring of Fire (Open) - Current Lineage: Kelly Kobold (WFW 2003: Migrated 2007) → Tara LaRosa → Roxanne Modafferi → Sarah Kaufman → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• Smackgirl (Open) - Current Lineage: Megumi Yabushita (WFW 2004: Migrated 2005) → Tara LaRosa → Roxanne Modafferi → Sarah Kaufman → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• Ring of Fire (BW) - Current Lineage: Amanda Buckner (2005) → Tara LaRosa → Roxanne Modafferi → Sarah Kaufman → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• Smackgirl (BW) - Current Lineage: Hitomi Akano (2006) → Amanda Buckner → Takayo Hashi → Sarah Kaufman → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• Bodog - Current Lineage: Tara LaRosa (2007) → Roxanne Modafferi → Sarah Kaufman → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• Hardcore Fighting Championship - Current Lineage: Sarah Kaufman (2007) → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• Strikeforce - Current Lineage: Sarah Kaufman (2010) → Marloes Coenen → Miesha Tate → Ronda Rousey
• UFC - Current Lineage: Ronda Rousey (2012)

Unification Progress:

- 2012 14 of 21 or 67% (Rousey)

2013 thru 2015 – The Rise of Rousey

This period of our timeline highlights the dominance of Ronda Rousey. In this three year stretch, Ronda has added 8 titles to the lineage while defending her crown 4 times. And, with the year not yet over, Rousey has a chance to add 3 more titles and another defense of her crown with a win over Holly Holm.

Titles Created:

FW Title 5. Invicta FC (FW) Inaugural Champion: Cyborg Justino (2013)

- With this win, Cyborg brings her collection of titles to 5 and maintains 100% unification over the FW divsion

- Excluding her 1 year suspension, Cyborg's reign has lasted over 3 and a half years and 6 defenses

28. Invicta FC (BW) Inaugural Champion: Lauren Murphy (2013)

29. Jungle Fight Inaugural Champion: Larissa Pacheco (2013)

30. CFA Inaugural Champion: Ashlee Evans-Smith (2013 WFW Tournament Champion: Migrated 2014)

- This title started from a 8-woman Featherweight tournament before migrating to the BW division with Evans-Smith in 2014

31. Legacy FC Inaugural Champion: Holly Holm (2014)

Unification Bouts:

• Rin Nakai vs Brenda Gonzales - 3 titles (Valkyrie, Pancrase, KOTC)
• Alexis Davis vs Rosi Sexton - 2 titles (Ring of Combat, Pink Fight)
• Ronda Rousey vs Sara McMann - 15 titles (Adds Freestyle Cage Fighting)
• Alexis Davis vs Jessica Eye - 5 titles (Above plus Japan Cup, Fatal Femmes, Bellator)
• Ronda Rousey vs Alexis Davis - 20 titles (Adds Davis' and Eye's titles above)
• Miesha Tate vs Sara McMann - 4 titles (Rin Nakai's titles plus Invicta FC)
• Holly Holm vs Raquel Pennington - 2 titles (Legacy FC, CFA)
• Holly Holm vs Marion Reneau - 3 titles (Adds Jungle Fight)
• Ronda Rousey vs Cat Zingano - 22 titles (Adds Fight to Win, Ring of Fire)

Lineages Finalized:

• FCF - Current Lingeage: Shanya Baszler (2010) → Sara McMann → Ronda Rousey
• Japan Cup - Yuka Tsuji (WSW 2002: Migrated 2013) → Ana Michelle Tavares → Megumi Fujii → Zoila Frausto Gurgel → Jessica Eye → Alexis Davis → Ronda Rousey
• Fatal Femmes (FW) - Current Lineage: Lisa Ellis (WFLYW 2007: Migrated 2013) → Megumi Fujii → Zoila Frausto Gurgel → Jessica Eye → Alexis Davis → Ronda Rousey
• Bellator MMA: Current Lineage: Zoila Frausto Gurgel (WSW 2010: Migrated 2013) → Jessica Eye → Alexis Davis → Ronda Rousey
• Ring of Combat - Current Lineage: Jessica Eye (2011) → Aisling Daly → Rosi Sexton → Alexis Davis → Ronda Rousey
• Pink Fight - Current Lineage: Vanessa Porto (2012) → Sarah D'Alelio → Shayna Baszler → Alexis Davis → Ronda Rousey
• Legacy FC - Current Lineage: Holly Holm (2014)
• Fight to Win - Current Lineage: Cat Zingano (WBW 2008: Migrated to WFLYW 2010: Migrated to WBW 2011) → Ronda Rousey
• Ring off Fire (FLYW) - Current Lineage: Cat Zingano (WFLYW 2010: Migrated 2011) → Ronda Rousey
• CFA (FW) - Current Lineage: Ashlee Evans-Smith (2013 WFW Tournament Champion: Migrated 2014) → Raquel Pennington → Holly Holm
• Jungle Fight - Current Lineage: Larissa Pacheco (2013) → Jessica Andrade → Marion Reneau → Holly Holm

Titles Outside the Dominant Lineage:

1. Cage Warriors Inaugural Champion: Pannie Kianzad (2014) → Tonya Evinger

• Quick explanation on this title. You'll notice that I have referred to a Cage Warriors title further up the timeline. The reason this title is recognized as unique from the one mentioned earlier is that it is the first true 135 lb bantamweight belt issued by the promotion. The previous title installed in 2005 was just referred to as the "Women's title" and was contested at 132 lbs

2. Shooto Americas Inaugural Champion: Priscila de Souza (WBW 2015: Migrated to WFLYW 2015) → Gisele Moreira → Taila Santos (Migrated back to WBW 2015)

• Surprisingly, this represents the first women's title in the history of Shooto. The previous G-Shoot fights never crowned a champion

Unification Progress:

- 2013 14 of 27 or 52% (Rousey)

- 2014 20 of 31 or 65% (Rousey)

- 2015 22 of 31 or 71% (Rousey)

We can see here that the winner of Saturday's contest will secure 81% of the lineal pie. We can extrapolate further that Miesha Tate will likely either fight the winner or lose to a contender that would then receive a title shot. It's very likely that in 2016, the division will be closer to total unification than ever in history. It's an exciting time to be a WMMA fan.

Enjoy the fights!

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