Most female fighters aspire to join the UFC, but veteran bantamweight Tonya Evinger insists she doesn’t care about ever stepping in the octagon.

Evinger (15-5), who meets Cindy Dandois (5-1) tonight at Invicta FC 10, claims she’s not gunning for a future under the UFC banner. Her main goal is to capture the Invicta FC title, and she thinks she’s in prime position to pounce on the vacant belt.

“I want that (Invicta FC) world title,” Evinger told MMAjunkie. “I’m over that UFC stuff. Everyone says, ‘I need to fight there at least once.’ For what? To say I fought in the UFC? Who really cares? I want to fight for somebody that appreciates my talent and appreciates me as a fighter and an athlete.”

According to Evinger, she feels appreciated fighting for Invicta FC. Tonight’s event, which streams on UFC Fight Pass from Houston’s Arena Theatre, marks Evinger’s third appearance with the organization since December 2013.

She’s put together a flawless record thus far, and overall, she’s won her past five bouts.

Fighting since 2007, Evinger is considered one of the pioneers for the women’s side of the sport. She’s faced the best competition available over the years, from Gina Carano to Julie Kedzie to Sara McMann. While the current run of victories is the longest of her career, Evinger doesn’t think she’ll receive an invite to the UFC.

Why? She’s believes it has much more to do with personality than fighting ability.

“I’ve had some weird conversations with (UFC matchmaker) Sean Shelby about why I’m not signed, and I think they’re ridiculous,” Evinger said. “It comes down to not really liking me that much. He might say that’s not true, but stuff he said to me pretty much proves my point. I know I probably rub a lot of people the wrong way, and so be it. A lot of people rub me the wrong way. You can’t not like me because we have a difference of opinion.

“I’ll fight for Invicta for as long as they’ll put me on the card. They’re a great promotion, they keep me busy, have great talent, and it’s really cool to see all these young girls coming through. I can fight them, but I don’t have to run and play the whole UFC game. I get to get in there and fight. That’s all that matters to me.”

The closest Evinger’s ever come to fighting for the UFC came in 2012, when she tried out for “The Ultimate Fighter 18,” which was the first season of the reality show to feature female fighters. While she was one of the 16 selected to fight onto the cast, Evinger suffered a submission loss to Raquel Pennington in the elimination round and was bounced from the tournament and never became an official cast member.

The 33-year-old said there have been times in her career in which pressure crippled her performance. That’s what she thinks happened against Pennington, but in the end, she said a loss was the best outcome.

“It was a situation where I definitely wasn’t comfortable,” Evinger said of her “TUF” experience. “There was so much pressure to win. I had the same kind of situation happen when I fought Carano. I buckle sometimes under real pressure situations like that. I don’t know why I do it, but it happens, and I just learn from it.

“I don’t think 99 percent of the girls who went in the house were better than me, but that’s what I get for not performing and missing my chance. I don’t think I missed my opportunity though. I think that was the plan for me, and this is what was set out for me, so I’m just living it.”

Evinger has been active in the sport since women’s MMA was largely void on the highest levels. Although that’s changed significantly, Evinger said her motivations and desires haven’t been influenced by the sport’s popularity.

“I don’t feel like I’m so much more motivated than I was before; I just feel like there’s actually an opportunity that I might fight for the title and get that chance I think I deserve,” Evinger said. “I always wanted to fight and be the best I could be, but there’s just not the competition out there. Now girls are in the UFC, we’re the next big things, and there’s more competition, and fights are starting to pop up everywhere. Girls are getting some really good opportunities. I’ve had the same motivation my whole career, but now I actually get to do something about it.”

Evinger’s ultimate goal is to capture Invicta FC’s bantamweight title, but she doesn’t think a victory over Dandois, who hasn’t fought since March 2011, will position her to fight for the gold.

“Triple Threat” views the upcoming matchup as a “stay-busy” fight, and said she simply wants to compete as much as possible until the belt is around her waist.

“I don’t think that this fight is necessarily going to push me for a title,” Evinger said. “This is just another fight for me and another good opponent to fight. I think I’ve already proved myself. I just want to stay busy.”

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