Barb Honchak

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Barb Honchak
BornBarbara Marie Honchak
(1979-08-30) August 30, 1979 (age 45)
Edwardsville, Illinois, United States
Other namesLittle Warrior
Residence St. Louis, Missouri, United States [1]
Height5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Weight125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st)
Division Flyweight
Reach66 in (168 cm) [1]
Style Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Fighting out of High Ridge, Missouri, United States
TeamFit or Fight Berger's MMA (formerly)
Miletich Fighting Systems (2012–2015) [2]
Catalyst Fight House (2017–2018) [3]
Years active2007–2018
Mixed martial arts record
Total14
Wins10
By knockout1
By submission2
By decision7
Losses4
By knockout1
By decision3
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Barbara Marie Honchak (born August 30, 1979) [4] is a retired American professional female mixed martial artist. [5] She is the first Invicta FC Flyweight Champion. [6] She has four wins in the Invicta FC promotion and holds notable victories over Vanessa Porto, Roxanne Modafferi, Leslie Smith and Felice Herrig.

Contents

Background

Honchak grew up in Edwardsville, Illinois, and has one sister, Tammy. [7] In her youth, Barb loved outdoor activities like horseback riding, scuba diving and camping. [8] She went to Edwardsville High School, where she graduated in 1997. [8] Then she earned an associate degree from Lewis & Clark Community College. [8] She has a bachelor's degree in molecular biology from Western Washington University and her master's in ecological genetics from Northern Arizona University. [9] She is married to her husband, Timm. [2]

After receiving her degrees, she moved back to Midwest because of her fiancée's career, and started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu for self-defense under Steve Berger at the age of 26. [7] From there on, she quickly took an amateur mixed martial arts bout and was hooked to the sport. [7]

Mixed martial arts career

Honchak went 8–1 as an amateur mixed martial artist and made her professional debut on November 28, 2009. [5]

In her fourth professional fight, Honchak defeated Felice Herrig at Hoosier FC 6 on January 14, 2011. [10]

Honchak won three more fights in 2011, defeating Amber McAvoy and Nina Ansaroff by decision [11] [12] and Roxanne Modafferi by submission due to a rear-naked choke. [13]

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. [8] [14] She defeated Bethany Marshall by TKO in the second round. [15] [16]

On October 28, 2012, Honchak faced Aisling Daly at Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama. [17] She defeated Daly by unanimous decision. [18] [19]

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. [20] She defeated Vanessa Porto by unanimous decision to become the first Invicta FC Flyweight Champion. [21] [22]

Honchak faced Leslie Smith at Invicta FC 7: Honchak vs. Smith on December 7, 2013. [23] [24] She successfully defended her Invicta FC title, winning via unanimous decision. The bout earned both fighters the Fight of the Night honors. [25]

Honchak faced Takayo Hashi 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. [26]

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. [27]

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. [28] In the quarterfinals, Honchak faced Rachael Ostovich-Berdon and won the fight by unanimous decision after two rounds. [29] In the semifinals, Honchak faced Nicco Montaño. She lost the fight via unanimous decision after three rounds. [30]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Honchak was scheduled to face Roxanne Modafferi on December 1, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale. [31] 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. [32] [33] She lost the back-and-forth fight by split decision. [34]

The rematch between Honchak and Roxanne Modafferi was rescheduled to take place July 6, 2018, at UFC TUF 27 Finale. [35] Honchak lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. [36]

Honchak was released by the UFC in August 2018. [37] She has retired since. [26]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
14 matches10 wins4 losses
By knockout11
By submission20
By decision73
Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Loss10–4 Roxanne Modafferi TKO (elbows) The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated Finale July 6, 201823:32 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss10–3 Lauren Murphy Decision (split) The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion Finale December 1, 201735:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win10–2 Takayo Hashi Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 9: Honchak vs. Hashi November 1, 201455:00 Davenport, Iowa, United StatesDefended the Invicta FC Flyweight Championship.
Win9–2 Leslie Smith Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 7: Honchak vs. Smith December 7, 201355:00 Kansas City, Missouri, United StatesDefended the Invicta FC Flyweight Championship. Fight of the Night.
Win8–2 Vanessa Porto Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson April 5, 201355:00 Kansas City, Missouri, United StatesWon the inaugural Invicta FC Flyweight Championship.
Win7–2 Aisling Daly Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama October 6, 201235:00 Kansas City, Kansas, United States
Win6–2Bethany MarshallTKO (punches) Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann July 28, 201221:22 Kansas City, Kansas, United States
Win5–2 Roxanne Modafferi Submission (rear-naked choke)BEP 5: Breast Cancer BeatdownOctober 1, 201131:46 Fletcher, North Carolina, United States
Win4–2 Nina Ansaroff Decision (unanimous)Crowbar MMA: Spring Brawl 2April 29, 201135:00 Fargo, North Dakota, United States
Win3–2Amber McAvoyDecision (unanimous)WC: Wright Fights 2March 11, 201135:00 St. Charles, Missouri, United States
Win2–2 Felice Herrig Decision (unanimous)Hoosier FC 6: New Years NemesisJanuary 14, 201135:00 Valparaiso, Indiana, United States
Loss1–2 Angela Magaña Decision (split)Ultimate Women ChallengeSeptember 24, 201035:00 St George, Utah, United States
Loss1–1 Cat Zingano Decision (unanimous)Fight to Win: PhenomsJanuary 30, 201035:00 Denver, Colorado, United StatesFor the Fight To Win Women's Bantamweight Championship.
Win1–0Monica LovatoSubmission (rear-naked choke) KOTC: Horse Power November 28, 200923:58 Mescalero, New Mexico, United States

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Loss2–1 Nicco Montaño Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion November 22, 2017 (air date)35:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesTUF 26 Semi-Finals.
Win2–0 Rachael Ostovich-Berdon Decision (unanimous)November 15, 2017 (air date)25:00TUF 26 Quarter-Finals.
Win1–0 Gillian Robertson TKO (punches and elbows)October 4, 2017 (air date)22:27TUF 26 preliminary round.

See also

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References

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  2. 1 2 "Barb Honchak finds unlikely talent with help of legendary family". SI.com. April 5, 2013. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
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  4. “TUF FINALE” MIXED MARTIAL ARTS SHOW RESULTS DATE: July 6, 2018
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  38. "WMMA 2013 Awards". Awakening Fighters.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
New championship
1st Invicta FC Flyweight Champion
April 5, 2013 – September 22, 2016
Succeeded by