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)
- Joselyne Edwards (4)
- Ailin Perez (NR)
- Norma Dumont (5)
- Michelle Montague (6)
- Ketlen Vieira (7)
- Jacqueline Cavalcanti (8)
- Mayra Bueno Silva (9)
- Karol Rosa (NR)
Dropped out of the rankings: Raquel Pennington (3), Irene Aldana (10)
Inactivity/retirement dropped Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana out of the rankings, and in slid Ailin Perez, who defeated Norma Dumont in September, and Karol Rosa. As of right now, no top fighters are scheduled to fight in October.
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 (9)
- Taila Santos (10)
The month of September saw Alexa Grasso hold steady in the rankings, as she defeated Manon Fiorot. October will see Natalia Silva compete for the UFC title against Wang Cong, while Erin Blanchfield fights Jasmine Jasudavicius and Liz Carmouche takes on Jena Bishop.
Strawweight (50.1–52.7 kilograms)
- Weili Zhang (1)
- Tatiana Suarez (2)
- Mackenzie Dern (3)
- Virna Jandiroba (4)
- Denise Gomes (5)
- Xiaonan Yan (6)
- Gillian Robertson (7)
- Alexia Thainara (8)
- Amanda Lemos (9)
- Fatima Kline (10)
No top-10 fighters competed in the month of September. As of right now, no top fighters are scheduled to fight in October.
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)
- Andressa Romero (10)
- Giuliany Perea (NR)
Dropped out of the rankings: Ana Palacios (9)
The month of August saw Natasha Kuziutina hold steady in the rankings, as she beat Rena Kubota in Japan. Ana Palacios dropped out after taking another fight at 115 pounds, allowing Giuliany Perea to slide into the No. 10 spot. As of right now, no top fighters are scheduled to fight in October.