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, the PFL’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 bantamweight to atomweight to create the Combat Press Women’s MMA Rankings. Note: The featherweight division has been discontinued in the rankings due to constant inactivity.
Bantamweight (52.8–61.2 Kilograms)
- Kayla Harrison (1)
- Julianna Peña (2)
- Raquel Pennington (3)
- Joselyne Edwards (4)
- Norma Dumont (5)
- Michelle Montague (6)
- Ketlen Vieira (7)
- Jacqueline Cavalcanti (8)
- Mayra Bueno Silva (9)
- Irene Aldana (10)
No top-10 fighters competed in the month of August. Looking into September, Norma Dumont will square off with Ailin Perez to jockey for position in the UFC title picture.
Flyweight (52.8–56.7 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)
- Sabrinna de Sousa (NR)
- Taila Santos (9)
Dropped out of the rankings: Liz Carmouche
Dakota Ditcheva continued her reign as PFL champion by defeating Denise Kielholtz in August. Also, Sabrinna de Sousa made her debut in the rankings with a win over Taila Santos. Looking into September, Manon Fiorot and Alexa Grasso square off in what could be a No. 1 contender fight.
Strawweight (50.1–52.7 Kilograms)
- Weili Zhang (1)
- Tatiana Suarez (2)
- Mackenzie Dern (3)
- Virna Jandiroba (4)
- Denise Gomes (NR)
- Xiaonan Yan (5)
- Gillian Robertson (6)
- Alexia Thainara (NR)
- Amanda Lemos (7)
- Fatima Kline (8)
Dropped out of the rankings: Tabatha Ricci (9), Iasmin Lucindo (10)
The month of August was a busy one, with two fighters making their way into the top 10. Denise Gomes and Alexia Thainara moved into the top 10 with wins over Xiaonan Yan and Amanda Lemos, respectively. Also, Mackenzie Dern kept her UFC title by besting Gillian Robertson. As of right now, no top fighters are scheduled to fight in September.
Atomweight (Under 50.1 Kilograms)
- Seika Izawa (1)
- Elisandra Ferreira (2)
- Natasha Kuziutina (3)
- Si Woo Park (4)
- Saori Oshima (5)
- Moeri Suda (6)
- Ayaka Hamasaki (7)
- Rena Kubota (8)
- Ana Palacios (9)
- Andressa Romero (10)
No top-10 fighters competed in the month of August. Looking into September, Natasha Kuziutina and Rena Kubota will square off in Japan, while Ana Palacios will fight Flor Hernandez at 115 pounds.