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, PFL/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.
Featherweight (61.9-66.3 kilograms)
- Cris “Cyborg” Justino (1)
- Larissa Pacheco (2)
- Cat Zingano (3)
- Olena Kolesnyk (4)
- Aspen Ladd (5)
- Sara Collins (7)
- Leah McCourt (8)
- Sara McCann (9)
- Arlene Blencowe (10)
- Jamie Edenden (NR)
Dropped out of the rankings: Julia Budd (6)
No top-10 fighters competed in the month of November. Looking into the end of the year, Cris Cyborg is set to return to the PFL cage when she takes on top contender Sara Collins.
Bantamweight (52.8-57.2 kilograms)
- Kayla Harrison (1)
- Julianna Pena (2)
- Raquel Pennington (3)
- Holly Holm (4)
- Norma Dumont (7)
- Jacqueline Cavalcanti (NR)
- Mayra Bueno Silva (5)
- Ketlen Vieira (6)
- Irene Aldana (8)
- Ailin Perez (9)
Dropped out of the rankings: Karol Rosa (10)
The month of November saw some big shakeups in the bantamweight division. Jacqueline Cavalcanti soared up the rankings with a victory over Mayra Bueno Silva. Also, Norma Dumont defeated Ketlen Vieira. As of right now, no top-fighters are scheduled to fight in December.
Flyweight (52.8-57.2 kilograms)
- Valentina Shevchenko (1)
- Natalia Silva (2)
- Alexa Grasso (3)
- Manon Fiorot (4)
- Erin Blanchfield (5)
- Maycee Barber (6)
- Rose Namajunas (7)
- Dakota Ditcheva (8)
- Taila Santos (9)
- Liz Carmouche (10)
The best flyweight in the world won yet again in November, as Valentina Shevchenko defended her UFC title against former strawweight champ Weili Zhang. Also, Erin Blanchfield defeated Tracy Cortez to keep herself in the title picture. Looking into December, Maycee Barber will fight Karine Silva.
Strawweight (50.1-52.7 kilograms)
- Weili Zhang (1)
- Tatiana Suarez (2)
- Mackenzie Dern (3)
- Virna Jandiroba (4)
- Xiaonan Yan (5)
- Amanda Lemos (6)
- Tabatha Ricci (7)
- Iasmin Lucindo (8)
- Amanda Ribas (9)
- Denise Gomes (NR)
Dropped out of the rankings: Tecia Pennington (10)
The month of November saw Denise Gomes replace Tecia Pennington from the rankings, scoring a win over the now-former top-10 strawweight. Also, as mentioned, Weili Zhang unsuccessfully went up to 125 pounds and fell to Valentina Shevchenko. As of right now, no top-fighters are scheduled to fight in December.
Atomweight (Under 50.1 kilograms)
- Seika Izawa (1)
- Elisandra Ferreira (2)
- Si Woo Park (3)
- Saori Oshima (4)
- Moeri Suda (5)
- Ayaka Hamasaki (6)
- Rena Kubota (7)
- Kanna Asakura (8)
- Ana Palacios (9)
- Monique Adriane (10)
The atomweight division was busy in November, as Seika Izawa, Si Woo Park and Ayaka Hamasaki all scored victories. Izawa will stay busy in December, as she takes on Rena Kubota for the Rizin Atomweight Championship.