With the growing popularity of women’s MMA, it is important to recognize these women with a rankings system similar to the men. Between the UFC’s inclusion of a bantamweight division, its recent addition of a strawweight division and the all-female promotion of Invicta FC, more and more women are being exposed to casual and hardcore fans alike. Every month, Combat Press compiles the staff’s individual rankings from lightweight to atomweight to create the Combat Press Women’s MMA Rankings.
- Charmaine Tweet (1)
- Jozette Cotton (2)
- Veronica Rothenhausler (3)
- Elina Nilsson (4)
- Lissette Neri (5)
- Bobbi-Jo Dalziel (6)
- Michelle Young (7)
- Tierra Arnold (8)
- Ida Ruiten (9)
- Jennifer Johnston (10)
- Elshadai Cleffman (11)
- Lisa McCallam (12)
- Charlene Donahue (13)
- Katharina Albinus (14)
- Jessica Halverson (15)
- Dropped out of the rankings: n/a
As usual, the lightweight division was not very active, but that’s what you should expect for a developing division. It’s a division full of part timers and women struggling to find fights, so you should expect that for the time being. That said, Jennifer Johnston did compete in March, earning a victory in Alaska over Denali Bennett to hold herself steady in the rankings. It didn’t move her up the rankings, but held her steady in the top 10. Going into April, Michelle Young looks to get another victory when she takes on Nikki Knudsen in Alaska. A win for her could push her into the top 5, especially if she’s impressive in victory.
- Cris “Cyborg” Justino (1)
- Marloes Coenen (2)
- Julia Budd (3)
- Latoya Walker (4)
- Talita Nogueira (5)
- Annalisa Bucci (6)
- Amanda Bell (7)
- Roberta Paim Rovel (8)
- Peggy Morgan (9)
- Arlene Blencowe (10)
- Faith van Duin (11)
- Jessy Miele (12)
- Maria Hougaard Djursaa (13)
- Marina Shafir (15)
- Gabrielle Holloway (14)
- Dropped out of the rankings: n/a
The featherweight division went dormant in March, as none of our top-15 competitors were in action. However, the month of April has two separate pairs of top-15 fighters fighting against one another in Invicta. First, UFC veteran Peggy Morgan will meet Latoya Walker in a battle of top-10 fighters. Morgan is undefeated as a featherweight, which may be her best division. Walker is undefeated in total, running a 4-0 record that has been impressive thus far. The other bout will see Amanda Bell and Faith van Duin fight in the latter fighter’s American debut. Bell has been resurgent since a slow start to her pro career, while van Duin has been a highly sought commodity from New Zealand. The rankings should shake up next month, so strap in and ready yourself for some good featherweight action.
- Ronda Rousey (1)
- Cat Zingano (2)
- Miesha Tate (3)
- Sara McMann (4)
- Alexis Davis (5)
- Jessica Eye (6)
- Sarah Kaufman (7)
- Liz Carmouche (8)
- Lauren Murphy (9)
- Holly Holm (11)
- Amanda Nunes (12)
- Bethe Correia (10)
- Tonya Evinger (13)
- Marion Reneau (14)
- Germaine de Randamie (15)
- Dropped out of the rankings: n/a
The bantamweight division continues to be one of the more active divisions in WMMA because, well, it has ties to the UFC. First, Germaine de Randamie scored a win in the Octagon to keep her top-15 spot when she finished prospect Larissa Pacheco. That win reminded fans that de Randamie is in fact a top bantamweight and a forgotten powerhouse at that. Then, Amanda Nunes made short work of Shayna Baszler in Brazil, putting the American away with a leg kick and follow-up shots. Those two women really solidified their statuses as top women in the division. There will be more good fights in the month of April. Liz Carmouche and Lauren Murphy will compete against one another in Virginia in a bout that will clear up the middle part of the bantamweight rankings. Also, fellow Canadians Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis rematch in a bout that will shake up the upper part of the division. As you can see, the bantamweight division is in for some big shakeups in April.
- Barb Honchak (1)
- Vanessa Porto (2)
- Jennifer Maia (3)
- Roxanne Modafferi (4)
- Zoila Frausto (5)
- Julia Berezikova (7)
- Munah Holland (6)
- Elaine Serio (8)
- Elaine Albuquerque (9)
- Brenda Gonzales (10)
- Reyna Cordoba (12)
- Silvana Juarez Gomez (11)
- Pearl Gonzalez (13)
- Takayo Hashi (14)
- Emily Corso (15)
- Dropped out of the rankings: n/a
It was a pretty quiet month for the flyweight division except for one Russian fighter who earned one of the biggest wins of her career. Julia Berezikova put her name up the rankings with a huge win over Julie Werner in Brazil, a bout that showed us why Berezikova is so highly regarded. That win should give her some spotlight, especially since she finished Werner, a respected vet from Brazil. The top of the rankings will be under the scope this month, as Roxanne Modafferi and Vanessa Porto square off in Invicta in what should be a top contender’s bout. The winner could see champion Barb Honchak next, who has ruled the division with an iron fist.
- Joanna Jedrzejczyk (3)
- Jessica Aguilar (2)
- Carla Esparza (1)
- Claudia Gadelha (4)
- Joanne Calderwood (5)
- Katja Kankaanpaa (6)
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz (7)
- Rose Namajunas (8)
- DeAnna Bennett (9)
- Jessica Penne (10)
- Randa Markos (11)
- Alexa Grasso (12)
- Tecia Torres (13)
- Mizuki Inoue (14)
- Felice Herrig (15)
- Dropped out of the rankings: n/a
In what is likely the most competitive division in WMMA, the strawweight division has a new queen at the top. Joanna Jedrzejczyk made the best of a title shot against Carla Esparza in March, completely dominating the former champion with superior striking and power. She is now the top dog, with WSOF champ Jessica Aguilar standing firm in second. Looking into April, there are a number of top-15 talents in action. Joanne Calderwood is likely fishing for a title shot against Jedrzejczyk, but first must defeat Ukrainian newcomer Maryna Moroz. Also, Felice Herrig looks to get out of the bottom of the top-15 against surging newcomer Paige vanZant in what should be a barnburner. Then, Katja Kankaanpaa aims to keep her Invicta title against Livia Renata Souza in her first defense of the title. Finally, Randa Markos meets Aisling Daly in Canada. All in all, the rankings are likely to look very different in the near future.
- Herica Tiburcio (1)
- Michelle Waterson (2)
- Ayaka Hamasaki (3)
- Naho Sugiyama (4)
- Jodie Esquibel (5)
- Cassie Rodish (6)
- Amber Brown (7)
- Sadae Numata (8)
- Jinh Yu Frey (9)
- Liz McCarthy (10)
- Janaisa Morandin (11)
- Catherine Costigan (12)
- Saori Ishioka (13)
- Satako Shinashi (14)
- Mina Kurobe (15)
- Dropped out of the rankings: n/a
The atomweight division was also silent in March, as none of our top fighters were in action. The month of April looks similar, minus formerly ranked 105er Diana Rael, who looks to get back into the top 15 when she meets Julia Jones. If she can get a win, there is a definite case that she can hop back into the rankings. In veering ahead, the biggest fight will be in July, when Invicta champ Herica Tiburcio defends her belt against Ayaka Hamasaki on the biggest event of the year for the company.