Combat Press Women’s MMA Rankings: July 2020

With the growing popularity of women’s MMA, it is important to recognize these women with a rankings system of their own. Between the UFC’s inclusion of a bantamweight division, its addition of the strawweight and flyweight divisions, Bellator’s increasing attention to the women’s side of the sport, 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. Felicia Spencer (4)
5. Megan Anderson (5)
6. Arlene Blencowe (6)
7. Pam Sorenson (7)
8. Jessy Miele (8)
9. Talita Nogueira (9)
10. Kaitlin Young (10)

Amanda Nunes, among the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA, defended her UFC featherweight title at UFC 250 with a dominant display against Felicia Spencer. Nunes keeps hold of her No. 1 ranking, while Spencer remains at No. 4.

1. Amanda Nunes (1)
2. Germaine de Randamie (2)
3. Holly Holm (3)
4. Raquel Pennington (4)
5. Aspen Ladd (5)
6. Irene Aldana (6)
7. Ketlen Vieira (7)
8. Cat Zingano (8)
9. Julianna Peña (9)
10. Yana Kunitskaya (10)

Raquel Pennington continues to show she’s a top bantamweight in the world. She defeated Marion Reneau at UFC on ESPN 11. Pennington maintains her position at fourth in the division.

1. Valentina Shevchenko (1)
2. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (2)
3. Liz Carmouche (3)
4. Cynthia Calvillo (-)
5. Jessica Eye (4)
6. Katlyn Chookagian (5)
7. Jennifer Maia (6)
8. Vanessa Porto (7)
9. Lauren Murphy (10)
10. Joanne Calderwood (8)

Dropped from the rankings: Roxanne Modafferi (9)

Cynthia Calvillo charged into the top 10 of the flyweight division in June, landing in the No. 4 spot. Calvillo, who was making her 125-pound debut with the UFC after a run at strawweight, claimed the decision nod over Jessica Eye in the headliner of UFC on ESPN 10. Eye drops to fifth with the setback. Elsewhere, Lauren Murphy edged Roxanne Modafferi on the scorecards at UFC on ESPN 11. The loss knocks Modafferi out of the top 10 , while Murphy climbs up a spot to ninth with her win over the MMA trailblazer.

1. Weili Zhang (1)
2. Jessica Andrade (2)
3. Rose Namajunas (3)
4. Joanna Jędrzejczyk (4)
5. Tatiana Suarez (5)
6. Nina Ansaroff (6)
7. Claudia Gadelha (7)
8. Carla Esparza (8)
9. Marina Rodriguez (9)
10. Michelle Waterson (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged. However, July’s action could lead to some significant changes. No. 2 Jessica Andrade is set to fight third-ranked Rose Namajunas at UFC 252. Also in July, No. 8 Carla Esparza and No. 9 Marina Rodriguez will square off in a bout that has potential title implications.

1. Seo Hee Ham (1)
2. Ayaka Hamasaki (2)
3. Minna Grusander (4)
4. Ashley Cummins (5)
5. Jessica Delboni (6)
6. Kanna Asakura (7)
7. Rena Kubota (8)
8. Alesha Zappitella (9)
9. Lindsey VanZandt (10)
10. Kelly D’Angelo (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Jinh Yu Frey (3)

With Jinh Yu Frey’s departure for the UFC strawweight division, Kelly D’Angelo inches into the top 10. Alesha Zappitella and Lindsey VanZandt squared off at Invicta FC 40 to kick off July, but the result of that fight will be reflected in next month’s rankings.