Since UFC president Dana White introduced women to the promotion in Novermber 2012, there have been some dominant champions and stars.
Ronda Rousey rose to superstardom, helping open the door for many aspiring female fighters and the possibilities that come with it. In addition to bantamweight, the UFC later created three more weight classes, including two by using “The Ultimate Fighter” to crown inaugural strawweight and flyweight champions.
With 14 UFC women’s champions through March 2020, below is a ranking of their status.
Without further ado …
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14. Germaine de Randamie (0 title defenses as featherweight champion)
Germaine de Randamie won the inaugural UFC featherweight title in a hard-fought battle against Holly Holm at UFC 208, but her reign did not last long.
The Dutch kickboxer was meant to make her first title defense against Cris Cyborg, but she was unwilling to fight Cyborg because of her history with performance enhancing drugs. When the matchup never materialized, the UFC stripped de Randamie of her belt. She proceeded to move back down bantamweight
13. Nicco Montano (0 title defenses as flyweight champion)
Nicco Montano was relatively unknown coming into Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
As the No. 14 seed in a 16-woman bracket, Montano was able to upset Lauren Murphy, Montana De La Rosa, former Invicta FC flyweight champion Barb Honchack, and Roxanne Modafferi, en route to becoming the inaugural UFC flyweight champ.
However, she never ended up defending her title. The night before her scheduled fight against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228, Montano was transported to the hospital due to weight cutting issues and subsequently stripped of the title.
12. Jessica Andrade (0 title defenses as strawweight champion)
It didn’t take too long for Jessica Andrade to get another crack at the title.
After losing to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her first title shot, Andrade won her next three fights to earn a shot at then strawweight champ Rose Namajunas at UFC 237.
Andrade was dominated in the first round-and-a-half by Namajunas, peppered with punches, but she kept coming forward. The first time Andrade tried to slam Namajunas, Namajunas almost made her pay by latching onto a Kimura. But Andrade went right back to it, this time successfully landing the slam, which knocked out Namajunas. Andrade didn’t get to celebrate for long, as she quickly turned around to face Zhang Weili three months later, losing her title in just 42 seconds.
11. Miesha Tate (0 title defenses as bantamweight champion)
Miesha Tate becoming UFC bantamweight champion was a feel-good moment for everyone watching.
A longtime veteran of the sport, Tate had fallen short against arch rival Ronda Rousey in her first UFC title shot. Four years later, Tate got another crack at gold against Holly Holm, who was fresh off of her upset win over Rousey, at UFC 196.
After being down on the scorecards and sure to lose a decision, Tate knew she had to work in Round 5. And with less than two minutes left in the fight, Tate showed the heart of a champion. She latched onto Holm’s back and secured a rear-naked choke for a huge upset win.
Now retired, Tate will always be considered a pioneer of women’s MMA.
10. Carla Esparza (0 title defenses as strawweight champion)
Carla Esparza was a cast member of Season 20 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” a tournament to crown the inaugural UFC strawweight champion.
The former Invicta FC 115-pound champ was the No. 1 seed and lived up to her ranking by defeating Angela Hill, Tecia Torres and Jessica Penne, en route to a finals showdown with Rose Namajunas.
Esparza used her strong wrestling to take down and control Namajunas on the ground, submitting her in Round 3 to win the title and the tournament.
She wasn’t able to defend, however, as she lost to Joanna Jedrzejczyk and has been on the climb back ever since.
9. Amanda Nunes (Reigning UFC featherweight champion with 0 title defenses)
UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes went up in weight to challenge the unstoppable force, Cris Cyborg, for an attempt to become the first woman in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously.
It took Nunes only 51 seconds to dispatch Cyborg at UFC 232, when she hurt her early with a counter and put the nail in the coffin with a massive overhand right. It was an outcome nobody saw coming. The victory put her in discussion as the greatest female fighter in history.
8. Holly Holm (0 title defenses as bantamweight champion)
Owner of arguably the biggest upset in UFC history, Holly Holm dethroned Ronda Rousey in front of a record crowd at UFC 193 in Melbourne.
Not only did Holm beat Rousey, she dominated her, making her miss repeatedly and punishing her on the counter. She capped off her brilliant performance with a beautifully timed head-kick knockout to shock the world in a massive upset.
A rematch between Holm and Rousey, which the UFC wanted, never materialized. Instead Holm was defeated in her first title defense at UFC 196, where Miesha Tate rallied to submit her in the final minutes of Round 5.
7. Zhang Weili (Reigning strawweight champion with 1 title defense)
Zhang Weili became the first Chinese UFC champion when she steamrolled powerhouse Jessica Andrade in her home country of China at UFC on ESPN+ 15 in August 2019.
In her first title defense, Weili faced former UFC strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 in what would turn out to be an instant classic. Weili managed to inflict serious damage on Jedrzejczyk in the 25 minutes, causing a massive hematoma and some serious bruising on her face, on her way to winning a decision.
6. Rose Namajunas (1 title defense as strawweight champion)
Rose Namajunas scored a massive upset, when she dethroned Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the first round at UFC 217.
The general notion was that Namajunas had to take the fight to the ground to beat Jedrzejczyk, but Namajunas looked flawless on the feet. She went on to defeat Jedrzejczyk by unanimous decision in the rematch at UFC 223, proving that the first time wasn’t a fluke. Though she lost her title to Jessica Andrade in her next fight, Namajunas was putting on a striking clinic before she was slammed and knocked out cold.
5. Cris Cyborg (2 title defenses as featherweight champion)
For the longest time, Cris Cyborg has been the scariest and most powerful force in women’s MMA and often had trouble finding willing opponents.
Once the UFC finally decided to introduce the 145-pound division, Cyborg instantly became the face. After the promotion’s first featherweight champ, Germaine de Randamie, was stripped due to her unwillingness to defend her title against Cyborg, Cyborg was matched up with Tonya Evinger at UFC 214 for the vacant title.
Cyborg took out Evinger in Round 3 and went on to successfully defend her title twice – against former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm and Yana Kunitskaya at UFC 222.
But then in a surprising outcome, Cyborg was knocked out by Amanda Nunes in the first round at UFC 232, suffering her first loss in over 13 years.
4. Valentina Shevchenko (Reigning flyweight champion with 3 title defenses)
Valentina Shevchenko has the ability to rule the flyweight division for years.
The accomplished striker won the vacant flyweight title by defeating former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231, showing off her ever-improving ground game.
In her first title defense at UFC 238, Shevchenko scored a brutal head-kick knockout over Jessica Eye, showing why they call her “The Bullet.”
Her next two title defenses came in a dominant win over Liz Carmouche and a finish over Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 247. The active champ is already back in training camp as she preps for her next title defense against Joanne Calderwood at UFC 251.
3. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (5 title defenses as strawweight champion)
Poland’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk – or as she likes to call herself, “The Strawweight Queen” – was able to display her speed, technique and pace to take out and batter some of the division’s best from 2015-2017.
She captured the title by running right through newly crowned “Ultimate Fighter” champion Carla Esparza at UFC 185, easily defending the decorated wrestler’s takedowns and taking her out with a barrage of standing punches.
Jedrzejczyk would go on to defend her title five times with wins over the likes of Claudia Gadelha and Jessica Andrade, putting her one shy of Ronda Rousey’s record for most consecutive UFC title defenses by a woman.
Undefeated in her first 14 pro fights, Jedrzejczyk was eventually upset by Rose Namajunas at UFC 217 and suffered another loss in their rematch. Since then, she’s failed in two separate title fights in two different weight classes.
2. Ronda Rousey (6 title defenses as bantamweight champion)
An Olympic medalist in judo, record holder for most consecutive UFC title defenses by a woman and the first female inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame, Ronda Rousey is a big reason women’s MMA is where it is today.
Rousey was promoted to undisputed UFC bantamweight champ after the UFC bought Strikeforce in 2012 and took part in the first female fight in UFC history, when she submitted Liz Carmouche in the UFC 157 headliner.
Her next title defense was another armbar finish over arch-rival Meisha Tate, a highly-anticipated rematch that heated up after the two coached the 18th season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Rousey’s next four title defenses would mark one of the most dominant championship runs, as she was able to take out Sara McMann, Alexis Davis, Cat Zingano, and Bethe Correia in just over two minutes combined.
Though she would eventually suffer her first career loss to Holly Holm, followed by a loss to Amanda Nunes a year later in her return, no one can deny the run Rousey had – and her aura of invincibility.
1. Amanda Nunes (Reigning bantamweight champion with 5 title defenses)
Amanda Nunes is the current UFC women’s bantamweight champion, and one shy of tying Ronda Rousey’s record for most consecutive UFC title defenses by a woman.
She captured the title at UFC 200 with a dominant first-round finish over Miesha Tate. She made quick work of the returning Ronda Rousey at UFC 207, taking out another pioneer of the sport.
Nunes went on to defend her title another four times, a hard-fought battle against Valentina Shevchenko, a late finish against Raquel Pennington, a highlight-reel knockout over Holly Holm, and most recently out-grappling Germaine de Randamie for a decision win at UFC 245.
It’s an impressive resume, along with her featherweight title win over Cris Cyborg, which has established Nunes as the women’s GOAT of MMA.
