Kola Shippentower is the latest woman to join the Women’s Welterweight+ movement. Over the past few weeks several women competing in the upper divisions have spoken out about wanting more opportunities for their divisions including Katya Kavaleva, Destanie Yarbrough and Erica Grover.

Pendleton, Oregon’s Shippentower trains at Solid Base Jiu-Jitsu. She enjoyed a very successful amateur career and is currently undefeated at her preferred weight class 170lbs, known as the Welterweight division. She tells us why she feels her division deserves more recognition “It’s been said that the heavier weight division fights are slow & boring. It’s frustrating that us welterweights have no room to expand our abilities. I started my amateur career with a bout at 215lbs. I admit, it was a little slower then the lighter girls but when I hit a girl you could hear & definitely feel it. In the same respect, that girl didn’t drop. It’s almost as if at a heavier weight your body can handle more hits. I felt the most prime at 170lbs. I get light on my feet and with more powerful punches in numbers. Never boring or slow. I feel stronger”.

Shippentower made her pro debut August of this year, feeling pressured to compete in a division which is more recognised by the mainstream audience she moved down to 155lbs, she explains why this decision wasn’t a very good one for her “I made my professional debut at 155lbs this summer and it felt like the worse decision, I was weak from the weight cut. I didn’t feel right & knew the fight wasn’t going to go how they normally do. I was not comfortable with my body at all. I’m primarily Native American & part Polynesian. I’m made of muscle. Fighting at a lower weight makes it impossible for me to perform at my best”.

Kola talks about when she plans to make her return to the cage “I’m currently expecting, so I won’t be back to training until April 2017. I’m hoping to make my comeback fight in October 2017. I’d like to keep fighting at 170lbs”. Her mission in 2017 will be to join the fellow ladies at Welterweight+ in bringing more attention to the divisions “I’ve gained enough recognition in the native community that I feel comfortable with bringing more attention to the heavier divisions. 2017 will only be the start. I encourage the MMA community to keep your eyes out for girls like myself and Erica Grover. We’re here. We’re strong. And we demand a fair shot at bigger events & title shots. I can definitely promise fireworks at every fight I compete at. And no doubt that the other ladies will too.”

Shippentower has proven throughout her amateur career that when she fights at the weight she is most comfortable at, she is one of the toughest females on the planet. Women shouldn’t have to cut a dangerous amount of weight in order to get more opportunities, they deserve equal opportunities to the men. There is more than enough women to fill out the upper divisions, the problem is promotions are refusing to recognise them and give them opportunities. Hopefully that will change in 2017 as women’s mixed martial arts continues to evolve.

Would you like to see the Welterweight+ divisions gain more recognition? Who would you like to see Kola fight upon her return? Let us know in the comments below.

Click HERE to view the Welterweight+ rankings.

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