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)
- Latoya Walker (8)
- Roberta Paim (9)
- Cindy Dandois (10)
In a month when only two ranked fighters across five weight divisions fought, those fighters came from the featherweight ranks. Julia Budd continued her status as a top featherweight by besting Arlene Blencowe under the Bellator banner. The promotion will continue to push forward with featherweight action in November, when Marloes Coenen looks to get back into the win column against Talita Nogueira, who comes off a huge layoff.
- 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)
No ranked fighters competed in the bantamweight division in October. There are two major fights scheduled for November. Miesha Tate looks to rebound from her summer title loss to Amanda Nunes when she takes on the ultra-underrated Raquel Pennington at UFC 205. Also, Invicta champion Tonya Evinger will defend her belt against Russian invader Yana Kunitskaya.
- 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)
No ranked flyweights were in action for the month of October. There are two big bouts ahead in November. First, Sarah D’Alelio continues her big run at 125 pounds when she fights Jaime Nievara in Bellator. In Pancrase, Rin Nakai continues her flyweight journey with her home promotion when she takes on Brazilian veteran Juliete de Souza.
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk (1)
- Claudia Gadelha (2)
- Carla Esparza (4)
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz (5)
- Jessica Aguilar (3)
- Jessica Andrade (6)
- Rose Namajunas (7)
- Joanne Calderwood (8)
- Michelle Waterson (9)
- Alexa Grasso (10)
The strawweights were quiet in October, but they’re ready for a busy November. Top-ranked UFC champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk is set to defend her title on the massive UFC 205 card against fellow Poland native Karolina Kowalkiewicz in a huge rematch of an amateur fight from 2012. Former title challenger Claudia Gadelha will get a go in her home country of Brazil when she takes on Cortney Casey. Mexican star Alexa Grasso will make her UFC debut in her home country when she takes on respected veteran Heather Jo Clark on the main card of UFC Fight Night 98.
- Ayaka Hamasaki (1)
- Jinh Yu Frey (2)
- Naho Sugiyama (3)
- Amber Brown (4)
- Herica Tiburcio (5)
- Janaisa Morandin (6)
- Julia Jones (7)
- Tessa Simpson (8)
- Satoko Shinashi (9)
- Simona Soukupova (10)
The atomweights were inactive in October, but there are some changes coming to the division. At Invicta FC 20, Herica Tiburcio will take on Simona Soukupova in a pivotal 105-pound bout. Also, Amber Brown moves up to 115 pounds to fight The Ultimate Fighter alum Ashley Yoder.
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.