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 weight classes from strawweight up to featherweight, Bellator’s increasing attention to the women’s side of the sport, and the all-female promotion 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 month.
- Amanda Nunes (1)
- Cris “Cyborg” Justino (2)
- Kayla Harrison (3)
- Julia Budd (4)
- Norma Dumont (5)
- Cat Zingano (6)
- Megan Anderson (7)
- Felicia Spencer (8)
- Arlene Blencowe (9)
- Pam Sorenson (10)
Cris “Cyborg” Justino continued her dominant ways in November, as she defended her Bellator title via knockout against Sinead Kavanaugh. Felicia Spencer got back into the win column, as she won a dominant fight over Leah Letson. Finally, Arlene Blencowe held her spot in the top-10 with a win over Pam Sorenson.
- Amanda Nunes (1)
- Germaine de Randamie (2)
- Holly Holm (3)
- Raquel Pennington (4)
- Aspen Ladd (5)
- Irene Aldana (6)
- Ketlen Vieira (9)
- Yana Kunitskaya (8)
- Julianna Pena (10)
- Miesha Tate (7)
Ketlen Vieira marched up the rankings in November with a UFC main event win over Miesha Tate, effectively pushing Tate down the rankings in the process. Looking into December, Amanda Nunes will look to defend her UFC title against Julianna Pena. Also, Raquel Pennington will be in action against Julia Avila.
- Valentina Shevchenko (1)
- Liz Carmouche (2)
- Jessica Andrade (3)
- Katlyn Chookagian (4)
- Jennifer Maia (5)
- Juliana Velasquez (7)
- Ilima Macfarlane (8)
- Lauren Murphy (9)
- Andrea Lee (NR)
- Taila Santos (NR)
Dropped out of the rankings: Cynthia Calvillo (6), Joanne Wood (10)
Two women stormed into the rankings and knocked out the fighters that occupied their rankings in the process. Andrea Lee was able to best Cynthia Calvillo, while Taila Santos took out Joanne Wood.
- Rose Namajunas (1)
- Weili Zhang (2)
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk (3)
- Carla Esparza (4)
- Xiaonan Yan (5)
- Claudia Gadelha (6)
- Marina Rodriguez (7)
- Michelle Waterson (8)
- Tecia Torres (9)
- Amanda Ribas (10)
The best strawweight in the world maintained that status in November, as Rose Namajunas bested Weili Zhang to keep her UFC Strawweight Championship. There are no top-10 fighters scheduled to compete in December.
- Seo Hee Ham (1)
- Ayaka Hamasaki (2)
- Alesha Zappitella (3)
- Ashley Cummins (4)
- Jessica Delboni (5)
- Kanna Asakura (6)
- Rena Kubota (7)
- Lindsey VanZandt (8)
- Miyuu Yamamoto (NR)
- Kelly D’Angelo (10)
Dropped out of the rankings: Mina Kurobe (NR)
Mina Kurobe drops out of the rankings after she fell to Satomi Takano in November. Also, Rena Kubota defeated Miyuu Yamamoto to maintain her spot in the top-10. Looking into December, Kelly D’Angelo will be in action at strawweight against Shannon Goughary, which will pull her from the atomweight rankings if that fight indeed takes place.
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. Fighters who announce their retirement will remain ranked for a period of six months following their final bout.