MY 2020 TOP 15 POUND FOR POUND UFC WOMEN FIGHTERS
As stated, it’s only right after I did a men’s one that I did one for the woman. Although there is not an abundance of women UFC fighters to choose from, the UFC have done well in acquiring fighters in their three/four female divisions for me to compile a decent pound for pound list.
As with any and all p4p lists that come out, it’s all up for debate and discussion and you may disagree with some of my decisions, but as always, it’s my decisions and i’m sticking to them.
1AMANDA NUNES – 19-4-0
The lioness is the first female in the UFC to become a two weight champion, as she currently holds the UFC bantamweight and featherweight titles. There is no doubting that she is the recognised p4p no1 female. She has taken on all comers and beaten the very best the UFC has to offer. Unbeaten since 2014, Nunes has reeled off 10 straight victories with two title wins and five title defences in that run. Power in both hands, she is probably the pound for pound hardest female puncher in the UFC, with only 4 of her 19 wins going to points. However, it’s not just power she possesses, she proficient on the ground being a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, also has superb movement and faints that often sets up the knockout punches. She has beaten six former UFC champions in Cris Cyborg, Ronda Rousey, Misha Tate, Valentina Shevchanko (twice), Holy Holm and Germaine de Randamie and doesn’t seem like she is slowing down anytime soon.
2.VALENTINA SHEVCHENKO – 19-3-0
Joe Rogan voice “she is an assassin” Valentina is a true, skilled mixed martial artist. The current flyweight champion has demonstrated her unbelievable technical abilities against some top class opponents. A veteran of kickboxing and Muay Thai competitions, she is a 10 time gold medallist and a black belt in judo. She seems to have no real weakness in her game with size being her only real issue. She is one of only three fighters to go the distance with Amanda Nunes and she did it twice, which is no mean feat considering the disadvantage in size. Generally a counter striker, she is lightening quick with blistering speed and reflexes, who seems to possess every single shot in her locker. She has finished opponents in the most varied of ways and seems to be getting better, which is an extremely scary prospect for her opponents.
3,ZHANG WEILI – 21-1-0
Amazingly, Zhang is on a 21 fight win streak since losing her MMA debut in late 2013. A student of many disciplines, she has gone from strength to strength which culminated in winning the strawweight title in 42 seconds against Jessica Andrade in August 2019, to become the first Asian male or female to win a UFC title. She then defending her title in a fight of the year contender and the best ever woman’s UFC fight to date, against former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2020. An extremely strong and powerful fighter, with a true warrior attitude, Zhang is an excellent striker who likes to walk forward throw punches, however, she is proficient in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is very capable on the ground. Being a former fitness instructor, she has excellent cardio and has demonstrated, most recently in her last fight a great chin. Following the defence of her title, there has been talk about a maga-fight with Shevchenko, which would a very mouth watering and exciting prospect.
4.GERMAINE DE RANDAMIE – 9-4-0
Some may debate the lofty position of this Dutch striker but I am convinced of her abilities. One of only three fighters to go the distance with Nunes, this was in her last fight in December. She was the first fighter I saw Nunes actually weary to strike with and did hurt Nunes a few times. A former UFC featherweight champion, she was unbeaten in kickboxing for 11 years, having held multiple titles in that discipline. Naturally an excellent striker, she has some of the most clean and technical strikes in the women’s division. Germaine has deceiving power for her slim stature and also has slick footwork and movement. De Randamie has competed in boxing previously, where it was stated she actually knocked out a heavier male opponent. However, at 35 and still a police officer, it will be interesting to see what she will do next and if the motivation is still there to compete at the very highest level.
5.ROSE NAMAJUNES – 8-4-0
If it wasn’t for that one fateful slam in her title fight against Jessica Andrade back in May 2019, she may still be champion today. Before that slam in the second round, Rose was dominating the fight and looking good, but that’s the nature of MMA and it could change in an instant. The former straweight champion is the youngest ever female UFC champion to date and one of very few fighters to record multiple wins over Jedrzejczyk. An extremely versatile fighter, Rose can box or brawl, she can be very unorthodox and attack in various unpredictable ways, this is her strength, tall and rangy, she uses her reach to good effect with jabs and kicks, but can close the distance quickly and strike with speed and power, she is also a highly technical grappler. She was due to fight Jessica Andrade recently but had to pull out causing the fight to be postponed.
6.JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK – 16-4-0
Many may question her position and debate that she should be higher, but she has lost 4 of her last 6 fights. However, it does not take away from this Polish native’s vast talents and abilities. The former dominant strawweight champion was unbeaten in 14 fights in MMA, until she ran into Rose Namajunes, she made five defences of her title and took on all comers. A brutal and precision striker, she has a lethal stand up game where few can keep up with her. A veteran kickboxer, she can carve open opponents with laser like accuracy and combinations, switching from body to head in a split second. With great cardio, superb lateral movement and power in both hands, there is no doubting that she is one of the top female fighters in the game. In her fight of the year contender against Zhang Weili, which is universally recognised as the best female fight in the UFC to date, some thought she did enough to win, she showed tremendous heart, courage and a warrior like spirit which could still earn her a rematch.
7.JESSICA ANDRADE – 20-7-0
Unfortunately her UFC story changed in just 42 seconds when she lost her UFC strawweight title to Zhang Weili in August 2019. After losing her first title bid against Jedrzejczyk back in May 2017, she reeled off three victories against Claudia Gadelha, Tecia Torres and a highlight reel knockout against Karolina Kowalkiewicz to set up another title fight. After being second best in the first round, she won the title with an explosive slam victory against Namajunas. Andrade is a true Brazilian warrior who likes to stand toe to toe and throw down. She walks forward and throws every punch with lethal intent and hardly takes a back step. Short and stocky in stature, she has a Mike Tyson type style, however she is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and certainly can mix it on the ground. It’s disappointing that her rematch with Namjunas was postponed as this is a very interesting and important fight for the UFC strawwieght title picture.
8.TATIANA SUAREZ – 8-0-0
Unbeaten in her MMA career, this Mexican grappler has been steadily making a name for herself and is honing in on a title shot. She is The Ultimate Fighter season 23 winner, where she defeated four opponents including Amanda Cooper via first round submission in July 2016. An extremely strong and stifling wrestler, she is a two time world championship bronze medalist. Unfortunately, while training for the 2012 summer Olympics in London, she sustained a neck injury and was unable to compete. A brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, she is deceivingly strong for her stature and has one of the best take down percentage accuracy in the woman’s game, as well as the least time in the bottom position, once she gets hold of you, it’s very hard to get back up or withstand her ground and pound or submissions. However, she is improving her striking with every fight and is slowly becoming a very skilled, well rounded fighter.
9.HOLY HOLM – 13-5-0
The former UFC bantamweight champion, who pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history when she dethroned Ronda Rousey in devastating fashion, is a real veteran of combat sports. A former skilled boxing champ, who won numerous boxing titles before her MMA career, was the ring magazine female fighter of the year in 2005 & 2006. She transferred those skills into MMA and added devastating leg kicks and wrestling ability. She was unbeaten in 10 MMA fights when she won the title, however, although since then, she has lost 5 in her last 8 fights, four of those defeats were title fights against the likes of Misha Tate, Germaine de Randamie in an extremely close points decision, Cris Cyborg on points and a stoppage defeat to Amanda Nunes. Her extensive boxing skills, natural movement and striking ability allows her to compete with the very best in MMA. However at 38, it will be interesting to see how many more great wins she has left in the tank.
10.JULIANNA PENA – 9-3-0
Pena was The Ultimate Fighter season 18 bantamweight winner back in November 2013 where she stopped all four of her opponents. She then reeled off four wins, the last two against Jessica Eye and Cat Zingano, before she lost via second round submission to Valentina Shevchenko, which turned out to be a title eliminator. Pena then left the UFC for two years to have a baby and returned against another TUF winner and fighter who had two years out, the former inaugural flyweight champion Nico Mantano, and defeated her via points in July 2019. Pena is an aggressive, tenacious walk forward fighter who likes to throw a volume of punches in order to wear her opponents down, then her wrestling and ground and pound will do the rest. With previous injury issues and being out having a baby, there is a question if she is still as good as she was, or has she lost something being out for so long?
11.ASPEN LADD – 9-1-0
Ladd is a heavy handed, tough, gritty mixed martial artist with high level Jiu-Jitsu and strong punching power, with only two of her 9 wins going the distance. Being a former kickboxer, she has impressive striking ability, but is equally adept on the ground. Her one defeat was a very disappointing 16 second stoppage to Germaine de Randamie, when in truth, following a really shocking weight cut, where she was literally shaking through exhaustion on the scales, she should not have been in there. However, with that experience and knowledge behind her, she can now refocus and concentrate on the future. She returned with another impressive first round victory and was due to fight Pena in March but Pena pulled out with injury, instead of finding a replacement, Ladd was pulled from the card all together and will reschedule her fight with Pena, suggesting their fight will have serious title implications.
12.NINA ANSAROFF – 10-6-0
After an extremely slow start to her MMA career, Ansaroff certainly picked up pace and her four wins from January 2017 to December 2018 against Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger, Angela Hill, Randa Markos and Claudia Gadelha made everyone sit up and take notice. It seems being the fiancee and main training partner of p4p no1 Amanda Nunes, has really improved her game and she has developed into and really technical and skilled stand up fighter with slick movement, lethal kicks, good cardio, balance and flexibility. She recently lost a really close points defeat to Tatiana Suarez, where many thought she was unlucky not to get the decision, However, she has taken a hiatus from MMA to have a baby so will not be fighting again in the octagon anytime soon.
13.MICHELLE WATERSON – 17-7-0
The Karate hottie is a former atomweight Invicta champion and a very intelligent striker, especially with the feet. Her gymnastic background has played a big part in her exceptional flexibility and dexterity, which allows her to be creative with her kicking. However, more of the reason for the emphasis on kicks, and why she utilises it so often is due to her size, which is also one of the main reasons why she is on this list. Often undersized against her opponents, she’s had to be creative, intelligent and cerebral in her game plan. An excellent mover, her size does not enable her to stand and trade or brawl, so often has to stick and move, which she has done to great effect previously. Her last fight was a very tough defeat to former dominant strawweight champion Jedrzejczyk, where even in defeat she showed how incredibly tough she can be.
14. CLAUDIA GADELHA – 17-4-0
After her legendary feud against Joanna Jedrzejczyk which saw two fights, the first, I still stand by that she won, and an Ultimate Fighter season, which was definitely one of the more entertaining ones, she has been fairly inconstant. Gadelha is a second degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has superb wrestling, she has also vastly improved her striking over the years. However, her Achilles heel is her cardio, all four of her defeats were by points decision and all four could have been different if she had better cardio. A tough, strong technical fighter with superb grappling ability and an excellent chin, she bounced back from the disappointing Ansaroff defeat to comfortably beat Ronda Markos. She has been in and around the title picture throughout her UFC career, but if she does not improve her cardio she will always just fall short.
15.RAQUEL PENNINGTON – 10-8-0
Some may raise some eyebrows at Pennnington being 15th but hear me out. Although her record is not the greatest, the names on her record speaks for itself. In her last five fights she has fought Miesha Tate, Amanda Nunez, Germain de Randemie, Irene Aldana and Holy Holm. Although she has lost three of her last five, she went the distance in all of her defeats against known knockout artists. However, she has been known to cruise, fight within herself and not go for broke at times. That said, she still is a tough, rugged mixed martial artist, who can stand and mix it with the best of them. Tied for joint most bantamweight fights in the UFC, I see her as bit of a gatekeeper, you beat her and you are top 15 worthy, if not, you are below that point. Raquel could possibly be at a cross roads in her career, she didn’t exactly perform well in her last fight, which was a defeat to Holm, but with three defeats in her last five, she cannot afford another defeat but desperately needs to have a big named win on her record.
The next ten fighters…….
TECIA TORRES – 10-5-0
FELICIA SPENCER – 8-1-0
JESSICA EYE – 15-7-0
KATLYN CHOOKAGIAN – 13-3-0
IRENE ALDAMA – 12-5-0
CARLA ESPARZA – 15-6-0
CYNTHIA CALVILLO – 8-1-1
MARINA RODRIQUEZ – 12-0-2
YAN XIAONAN – 12-1-1nc
JOANNE CALDERWOOD – 14-4-0
