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)
- Cat Zingano (6)
- Macy Chiasson (NR)
- Arlene Blencowe (8)
- Norma Dumont (5)
- Pam Sorenson (9)
- Sarah Kaufman (10)
Dropped out of the rankings: Felicia Spencer (7)
The month of May saw Macy Chiasson storm into the rankings, as she defeated Norma Dumont in impressive fashion. That, in unison with Felicia Spencer dropping out from retirement/inactivity, kept the rankings steady otherwise. Kayla Harrison took a win at 155 in the PFL 2022 tournament over Marina Mokhnatkina. On the flip side, Julia Budd lost to Genah Fabian at 155 pounds, so that does not affect her ranking at 145. Looking into June, two ranked fighters will square off in Bellator as Cat Zingano takes on Pam Sorenson.
- Julianna Pena (1)
- Amanda Nunes (2)
- Ketlen Vieira (8)
- Holly Holm (4)
- Raquel Pennington (5)
- Irene Aldana (7)
- Aspen Ladd (6)
- Yana Kunitskaya (9)
- Miesha Tate (10)
- Pannie Kianzad (NR)
Dropped out of the rankings: Germaine de Randamie (3)
The month of May saw a major shakeup, as Ketlen Vieira made a major move at 135 in beating Holly Holm. Also, Germaine de Randamie dropped from the rankings due to inactivity, Pannie Kianzad moves into the top-10 as a result. As of now, no ranked fighters are set to fight in June.
- Valentina Shevchenko (1)
- Liz Carmouche (2)
- Katlyn Chookagian (3)
- Juliana Velasquez (4)
- Manon Fiorot (5)
- Alexa Grasso (6)
- Jennifer Maia (7)
- Lauren Murphy (8)
- Viviane Araujo (NR)
- Taila Santos (10)
Dropped out of the rankings: Andrea Lee (9)
The month of May saw some top 125ers compete. Katlyn Chookagian scored a major win over Amanda Ribas to put herself back into top contender talks. Viviane Araujo re-enters the rankings after a solid win over Andrea Lee. Looking into June, top dog Valentina Shevchenko looks to defend her UFC title yet again when she takes on Taila Santos.
- Carla Esparza (5)
- Rose Namajunas (1)
- Weili Zhang (2)
- Joanna Jedrzejczyk (3)
- Jessica Andrade (4)
- Marina Rodriguez (6)
- Xiaonan Yan (7)
- Michelle Waterson (8)
- Mackenzie Dern (9)
- Tecia Torres (10)
The month of May was major, as Carla Esparza won the UFC title off Rose Namajunas and take the number-one ranking. Looking into June, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Weili Zhang look to run back their Fight of the Year from a couple years ago when they meet at UFC 275.
- Jessica Delboni (1)
- Seika Izawa (2)
- Alesha Zappitella (3)
- Ayaka Hamasaki (4)
- Ashley Cummins (5)
- Jillian DeCoursey (NR)
- Lindsey vanZandt (6)
- Saori Oshima (9)
- Si Woo Park (10)
- Rena Kubota (8)
Dropped out of rankings: Kanna Asakura (7)
Jillian DeCoursey made a big move in May, as she stormed into the rankings after a vicious knockout of Lindsey vanZandt. That pushed Kanna Asakura out of the rankings after a major reset. Alesha Zappitella moved up to 115 in May for a title fight in Invicta, but fell to Emily Ducote. Saori Oshima scored another win to secure her spot in the rankings, defeating Moeri Suda. As of now, no ranked fighters are scheduled to compete in June.