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 featherweight to atomweight to create the Combat Press Women’s MMA Rankings.
- Cris “Cyborg” Justino (1)
- Marloes Coenen (2)
- Julia Budd (3)
- Charmaine Tweet (4)
- Megan Anderson (5)
- Annalisa Bucci (6)
- Arlene Blencowe (7)
- Faith van Duin (8)
- Latoya Walker (9)
- Roberta Paim (10)
August was a quiet month for the featherweights, but big things are coming in September. Top-ranked Cris “Cyborg” Justino will make her sophomore appearance in the UFC when she takes on Swedish prospect Lina Lansberg in a 140-pound catchweight bout. It appears Cyborg will continue to take 140-pound bouts, as she’s unable to make 135. Faith van Duin is destined to exit the featherweight rankings, since she will take another bout at bantamweight when she takes on Irene Aldana at Invicta FC 19. Obviously, this means we will see some new blood in the top 10 next month.
- Amanda Nunes (1)
- Miesha Tate (2)
- Valentina Shevchenko (3)
- Holly Holm (4)
- Ronda Rousey (5)
- Tonya Evinger (6)
- Julianna Pena (7)
- Cat Zingano (8)
- Alexis Davis (9)
- Sara McMann (10)
In August, the women’s bantamweight division was in a deep sleep. It will continue to be this way in September, as none of the top 10 are in action. We await October, where there is the potential that we will see some returning fighters.
- Jennifer Maia (1)
- Vanessa Porto (2)
- Roxanne Modafferi (3)
- Julia Berezikova (4)
- DeAnna Bennett (5)
- Sarah D’Alelio (6)
- Kalindra Faria (7)
- Agnieszka Niedzwiedz (8)
- Rin Nakai (9)
- Poliana Botelho (10)
August was an inactive month for the flyweights, but the same can’t be said of September. Top-ranked Jennifer Maia will go at it with third-ranked Roxanne Modafferi at Invicta FC 19 in what should be an important bout. The winner sits atop the company with the gold, while the loser has to claw their way back to the title picture. Kalindra Faria will move up to 135 pounds this month in an attempt to win the Titan FC title in a rubber match with Carina Damm. It’s one step further to her goal to get into the UFC.
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk (1)
- Claudia Gadelha (2)
- Jessica Aguilar (3)
- Carla Esparza (4)
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz (5)
- Rose Namajunas (6)
- Joanne Calderwood (7)
- Jessica Andrade (8)
- Michelle Waterson (9)
- Alexa Grasso (10)
The strawweight division’s top tier was dormant in August. It won’t be super busy in September either, but there is one huge fight. Seventh-ranked Joanne Calderwood will take on eighth-ranked Jessica Andrade. This is Andrade’s second match since dropping from 135 pounds. She looked astounding in her strawweight debut. Her match with Calderwood should be a good one that pits the Brazilian’s power against the Scot’s technical prowess.
- Ayaka Hamasaki (1)
- Naho Sugiyama (2)
- Amber Brown (3)
- Jinh Yu Frey (4)
- Herica Tiburcio (5)
- Janaisa Morandin (6)
- Satoko Shinashi (7)
- Tessa Simpson (8)
- Julia Jones (9)
- Simona Soukupova (10)
August was quiet for the atomweights, but get ready for a busy September. Top-ranked 105er and Invicta champion Ayaka Hamasaki will defend her belt for the first time when she takes on young, talented contender Jinh Yu Frey. Hamasaki will attempt to be the first atomweight to defend the belt in a long time. Also on the same Invicta card, Julia Jones makes her return to MMA after a layoff and takes on Stephanie Skinner. Her goal is to get closer to the top five. Janaisa Morandin will be in action against Paula Silva. It should be a wild month at 105.
Editor’s Note: Fighters are eligible to be ranked if they have competed in the last 18 months. Any fighter that chooses to switch weight classes will be ranked in their previous weight class until they have competed twice in their new division.