Combat Press Women’s MMA Rankings: February 2019

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.

Note: the numbers in parentheses represent the fighter’s ranking from the previous rankings.

1. Amanda Nunes (1)
2. Cris “Cyborg” Justino (2)
3. Julia Budd (3)
4. Holly Holm (4)
5. Megan Anderson (5)
6. Felicia Spencer (6)
7. Talita Nogueira (7)
8. Arlene Blencowe (8)
9. Olga Rubin (9)
10. Cindy Dandois (10)

The New Year started off quiet for the featherweights after 2018 ended with a bang, but fear not, for the featherweight action will return in February. The sole top-10 fighter in action will be Olga Rubin, who will look to continue pushing her way toward the top of the rankings when she fights Sinead Kavanagh in the latter’s home country. A number of fringe top-10 fighters, including Amber Leibrock, will also fight.

1. Amanda Nunes (1)
2. Germaine de Randamie (2)
3. Holly Holm (3)
4. Ketlen Vieira (4)
5. Raquel Pennington (5)
6. Sarah Kaufman (6)
7. Cat Zingano (7)
8. Aspen Ladd (8)
9. Marion Reneau (9)
10. Tonya Evinger (10)

January provided a slow start to the year for the top-10 bantamweight fighters, as none were in action. The outlook isn’t much better in February, either.

1. Valentina Shevchenko (1)
2. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (2)
3. Liz Carmouche (3)
4. Katlyn Chookagian (4)
5. Nicco Montaño (5)
6. Jessica Eye (6)
7. Jennifer Maia (7)
8. Agnieszka Niedźwiedź (8)
9. Alexis Davis (9)
10. Vanessa Porto (10)

Another weight class, another group of top-10ers not in action in the month of January. There will be some activity in February to look forward to, though. Liz Carmouche welcomes fellow former bantamweight Lucie Pudilová to the flyweight division, but the fight goes down in Pudilová’s home country of the Czech Republic. Elsewhere, Vanessa Porto will vie for Invicta gold when she fights former UFC fighter Pearl Gonzalez in the main event of Invicta FC 34.

1. Rose Namajunas (1)
2. Joanna Jędrzejczyk (2)
3. Jessica Andrade (3)
4. Nina Ansaroff (4)
5. Claudia Gadelha (5)
6. Tatiana Suarez (6)
7. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (7)
8. Tecia Torres (8)
9. Carla Esparza (9)
10. Michelle Waterson (10)

The top-10 strawweights saw no action in January, and none of these fighters are slated to compete in February.

1. Ayaka Hamasaki (1)
2. Seo Hee Ham (2)
3. Jinh Yu Frey (3)
4. Alesha Zappitella (4)
5. Minna Grusander (5)
6. Ashley Cummins (6)
7. Kanna Asakura (7)
8. Amber Brown (8)
9. Rena Kubota (9)
10. Mina Kurobe (10)

You guessed it! None of the top-10 atomweight fighters were in competition to start the New Year. Unfortunately, none will be in action in the upcoming month either.