Combat Press Women’s MMA Rankings: December 2023

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.

1. Cris “Cyborg” Justino (1)
2. Kayla Harrison (2)
3. Larissa Pacheco (3)
4. Cat Zingano (4)
5. Olena Kolesnyk (5)
6. Aspen Ladd (6)
7. Leah McCourt (7)
8. Julia Budd (8)
9. Macy Chiasson (9)
10. Sara McMann (10)

November saw the end of the 2023 PFL season, which also marked the first fight of the year for Kayla Harrison. Harrison bested Aspen Ladd in a non-season showcase fight. Also, in the season finals, Larissa Pacheco hit the $1 million payday with a win over Marina Mokhnatkina. As of now, no top-10 fighters are scheduled to compete in December.

1. Amanda Nunes (1)
2. Julianna Pena (2)
3. Mayra Bueno Silva (3)
4. Holly Holm (4)
5. Raquel Pennington (5)
6. Ketlen Vieira (6)
7. Irene Aldana (7)
8. Miesha Tate (8)
9. Karol Rosa (9)
10. Yana Santos (10)

No top-10 fighters competed in the month of November. Looking into December, Miesha Tate looks to hold solid in her top-10 status when she takes on Julia Avila, who returns to competition after time off from having a baby.

1. Alexa Grasso (1)
2. Valentina Shevchenko (2)
3. Liz Carmouche (3)
4. Erin Blanchfield (4)
5. Manon Fiorot (5)
6. Katlyn Chookagian (6)
7. Rose Namajunas (7)
8. Juliana Velasquez (8)
9. Maycee Barber (9)
10. Viviane Araujo (NR)

Dropped out of the rankings: Amanda Ribas (10)

No top-10 fighters competed in the month of October, but Amanda Ribas drops out of the rankings after moving back to strawweight. As of now, no top-10 fighters are scheduled to compete in November.

1. Weili Zhang (1)
2. Carla Esparza (2)
3. Rose Namajunas (3)
4. Tatiana Suarez (4)
5. Xiaonan Yan (5)
6. Amanda Lemos (6)
7. Virna Jandiroba (7)
8. Marina Rodriguez (8)
9. Jessica Andrade (10)
10. Mackenzie Dern (9)

The month of November saw a slight change up in the rankings. Jessica Andrade and Mackenzie Dern swapped places in the rankings after Andrade knocked out Dern. As of now, no top-10 fighters are scheduled to compete in December.

1. Seika Izawa (1)
2. Rayanne dos Santos (2)
3. Jillian DeCoursey (3)
4. Jessica Delboni (4)
5. Alesha Zappitella (5)
6. Si Woo Park (6)
7. Ashley Cummins (7)
8. Ayaka Hamasaki (8)
9. Lindsey vanZandt (9)
10. Rena Kubota (10)

No top-10 fighters competed in the month of November. As of now, no top-10 fighters are scheduled to compete in December.