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 addition of a strawweight division, its recent announcement of a flyweight 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.
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (1)
- Julia Budd (2)
- Germaine de Randamie (3)
- Megan Anderson (4)
- Charmaine Tweet (5)
- Talita Nogueira (6)
- Arlene Blencowe (7)
- Felicia Spencer (8)
- Ediane Gomes (9)
- Gabrielle Holloway (NR)
Dropped from the rankings: Amber Leibrock (10)
February may have been quiet for the division, but the best fighter in women’s MMA history and the top featherweight in the world is set to compete in early March. Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino will defend her UFC championship in the main event of UFC 222 when she takes on ranked bantamweight and former Invicta champ Yana Kunitskaya. Cyborg has been so dominant for quite a while, and it’s hard to see her losing any time in the near future.
- Amanda Nunes (1)
- Holly Holm (2)
- Ronda Rousey (3)
- Raquel Pennington (4)
- Julianna Pena (5)
- Cat Zingano (6)
- Tonya Evinger (7)
- Sarah Kaufman (8)
- Ketlen Vieira (9)
- Yana Kunitskaya (NR)
Dropped from the rankings: Valentina Shevchenko (2)
Valentina Shevchenko dropped to flyweight, therefore causing her to drop from the 135-pound rankings. In March, Cat Zingano returns from a lengthy layoff to take on rising contender Ketlen Vieira. With a win, Zingano has already said she will call out UFC champ Amanda Nunes, a woman she has defeated in the past.
- Jennifer Maia (1)
- Valentina Shevchenko (NR)
- Aga Niedźwiedź (2)
- Vanessa Porto (3)
- Nicco Montano (4)
- Roxanne Modafferi (5)
- Rin Nakai (7)
- Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (6)
- Lauren Murphy (10)
- Alexis Davis (9 – tie)
Dropped from the rankings: Sijara Eubanks (8), Ariane Lipski (9 – tie), Andrea Lee (10 – tie)
The flyweight division is very hectic right now. The rankings are constantly changing as a number of fighters migrate to 125 pounds. One of those fighters is Valentina Shevchenko, who debuts in the No. 2 spot after her absolute demolition of Priscila Cachoeira. Rin Nakai continued her resurgence in the flyweight division by beating Young Ji Kim in Japan.
- Rose Namajunas (1)
- Joanna Jedrzejczyk (2)
- Jessica Andrade (3)
- Claudia Gadelha (4)
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz (5)
- Tecia Torres (6)
- Carla Esparza (7)
- Michelle Waterson (8)
- Cynthia Calvillo (9)
- Felice Herrig (10)
Jessica Andrade solidified herself as a top strawweight in February. The Brazilian re-inserted herself into the title picture with a victory over the gritty Tecia Torres.
- Ayaka Hamasaki (1)
- Seo Hee Ham (2)
- Jinh Yu Frey (3)
- Herica Tiburcio (4)
- Mina Kurobe (5)
- Julia Jones (6)
- Naho Sugiyama (7)
- Ashley Cummins (8)
- Amber Brown (9)
- Kanna Asakura (10)
The atomweight division remained quiet in February, but one top-10 fighter will compete in March. Mina Kurobe will look to keep moving up the ladder when she takes on Satomi Takano at the next edition of Deep Jewels.
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.