LOS ANGELES, Calif. - When Carla Esparza and Jessica Penne agreed to spend several weeks of the summer sequestered in a house with 14 fellow mixed martial artists, they didnt do it because it sounded like fun.They joined the cast of the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter because their sport is growing in ways they never imagined just a few months earlier.After years of training, sacrificing and getting punched for little more than personal satisfaction, they embraced the chance to showcase womens MMA to a new audience, even if it meant living in what Esparza called a combination of a prison and a sorority.Were getting an amazing opportunity I never thought I would see, added Penne, who was fired from her job as a boxing instructor during her stint on the show this summer.In this sport, you go through people not taking you seriously, not being able to pay your bills because youre chasing a dream, Penne said. It gets really difficult. Its a crazy, up-and-down life, but I feel lucky to be able to do something I love every single day. Not many people get the opportunity to do that. Ill suffer while I can to chase my dream.When the UFC added an entire 115-pound womens division this year, the promotion decided to use its long-running reality television show to pick a champion for the first time. The UFC signed most of the worlds top strawweights out of the Invicta FC womens promotion and filmed them living and training together in Las Vegas.The results air on Fox Sports 1 starting Wednesday night, culminating in the title fight Dec. 12.It was a good experience, said Esparza, a wrestler from Redondo Beach. I wouldnt trade it for anything in the world, but I dont know if I would do it again.The visibility of womens MMA has skyrocketed in the last two years with the ascent of Ronda Rousey, the UFCs undefeated bantamweight champion and a budding movie star. Rouseys charisma and MMA skills were the main reasons UFC President Dana White reversed his long-standing reluctance to promote female fighters, and Rousey has become arguably the UFCs biggest star.With Rousey topping a thriving bantamweight division, White decided to double down on womens MMA. Suddenly, 115-pound fighters who had barely made any money after years in their sport had the chance to become reality-TV stars and eventual fighters in MMAs biggest showcases.I had no clue that this was even going to be possible, Esparza said. I started off fighting for pennies. I thought I was going to fight for a couple of years. It wasnt something I could survive on. I was just fighting because I love it.Through all my years of training and competing, I never thought of it as my profession, Penne added. It was just something that I loved to do. I enjoyed and just never really thought of it in that way. I think Ronda did a great service to womens MMA and gave us that catapult to be taken seriously.The UFC appointed lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and top contender Gilbert Melendez as the coaches. Melendez has been a supporter of womens MMA since he taught his first all-wod 12 scoreless minutes off the bench, finishing 0-for-4. Irvings 3 early in the third gave the Cavs a 72-71 lead. The Clippers scored the next eight points, prompting Cleveland to use a Hack-A-Jordan strategy, fouling Jordan nearly every trip down the floor and forcing the career 42 percent free throw shooter to prove it from the line. Jordan shot 5-for-12 in the period and the Clips played solid defense on the other end as they built a pair of nine-point leads. Two free throws from Jamal Crawford at 2:53 made it 91-82, but Cleveland pulled to within 95-92 after three. Earlier, Cleveland shot 58.1 percent in the first half but trailed 64-61 at halftime. Game Notes James passed the 24,000 point mark, becoming the youngest player in league history to reach that milestone ... The Cavaliers have two days off before returning to Cleveland for a four-game homestand ... Paul has at least 14 assists in four straight games against Cleveland ... Matt Barnes had 17 points with eight rebounds for LA ... Both teams made 10 3-pointers ... The Clippers turned 20 Cleveland turnovers into 33 points. Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys China ' ' '