Mixed Martial Arts spent its early years being a male-dominated sport before women transcended the industry and broke down barriers in the 21st century. The ascent of women’s MMA peaked over the last decade when women were brought into the UFC in 2013 and were allowed to share a global stage with their male counterparts.
They not only met but exceeded expectations, shattering stereotypes and elevating the sport to unprecedented heights with several women becoming some of the sport’s biggest stars. Today, women are routinely putting on the most exciting fights in MMA and headlining major events.
Although women’s MMA is still an adolescent to many fans, there’s enough history to define who are the best of the best. Here is ESPN’s list of the top 10 fighters in the history of women’s MMA:
Key accomplishments: UFC featherweight and bantamweight champion, consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world
Nunes retired from mixed martial arts in 2023 because she literally ran out of achievements to pursue. She defeated every legitimate title challenger the UFC could find at 135 and 145 pounds, and did so seemingly with ease. She closed her storied career on a 14-1 run. The one loss during that time was a submission to Julianna Peña in 2022, which she immediately avenged devastatingly. Nunes became a name when she knocked out Ronda Rousey in a UFC title bout in 2016, but she was so dominant in the years to come that her legacy goes infinitely beyond that signature win. She is the greatest female fighter in mixed martial arts history. — Okamoto
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Key accomplishments: Current Bellator women’s featherweight champion and former champ in the UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta, making her the only fighter to hold titles world in four major MMA promotions; tied for most stoppage and knockout wins in Bellator women’s featherweight history (four); only women’s featherweight champ in Strikeforce history, with two defenses; first mother to hold a UFC championship belt.
Before Nunes came along to seize the mantle of women’s MMA GOAT, and even before Rousey burst on the scene to become the biggest star, Cyborg stood alone head and shoulders above the rest of women’s MMA. Never has there been as fearsome a woman as Cris Justino, who after losing her MMA debut way back in 2005, went on a 21-fight unbeaten run. Cyborg finally met her match in a 2018 UFC featherweight title fight with Nunes, who won the rock-’em-sock-’em bout in 51 seconds.
Nunes has retired and Rousey is long gone from the sport, but Cyborg is still around and once again wearing gold. She now owns the Bellator featherweight belt, and at age 39 still seeks her next challenge. Her two most recent fights came in boxing — both knockout wins. But Cyborg isn’t done with MMA. She makes regular entreaties to the PFL asking who’s next for her fury. — Wagenheim
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Key Accomplishments: Inaugural UFC women’s bantamweight champion, Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion, longest title fight finish streak in UFC history (6), Fastest women’s title fight victory in UFC history (:14 vs. Cat Zingano), UFC Hall of Famer
UFC CEO Dana White once insisted that women would never fight in the UFC until he saw Rousey. And once “Rowdy” debuted for the promotion, women’s MMA was firmly placed on the map while Rousey became a massive celebrity. At her peak, Rousey wasn’t just the best women’s fighter on the planet, many believed she could take out some of the best men’s fighters in the world.
After burning through Strikeforce to capture the promotion’s bantamweight title, Rousey arrived at UFC 157 with a run that saw her celebrity rival Conor McGregor as the biggest attraction in MMA. An Olympic judoka with an unstoppable armbar submission, Rousey was lightyears ahead of the competition. During a stretch of four fights from 2014 to 2015, Rousey spent a combined two minutes and ten seconds in the Octagon, finishing Sara McMann, Alexis Davis, Cat Zingano and Bethe Correia. There were pioneers for women’s MMA before her but none took the sport to the heights that Ronda Rousey did. — Hale
Ronda Rousey becomes first female inductee into UFC Hall of Fame
Key accomplishments: Seven-time defending UFC flyweight champion
Arguably no women’s fighter in MMA history embodies an ‘eat, sleep and breathe’ relationship with martial arts more than Shevchenko. Originally from Kyrgyzstan, Shevchenko has traveled around the world for the majority of her life, in pursuit of martial arts excellence. She is considered one of, if not the best, female muay Thai fighter of all time, with multiple world championships. She competed for the UFC’s bantamweight championship in 2017, and took Nunes to the brink of defeat, despite being significantly undersized. She moved to her natural weight class of flyweight in 2018 and went on to win nine in a row, including eight title fights. — Okamoto
UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko’s has two sides
Key accomplishments: former UFC strawweight champion; most title bout wins in division history (six) and second most title fights in UFC women’s history (10); longest winning streak (eight) and most significant strikes landed per minute (6.59) in division history; UFC Hall of Famer.
Jedrzejczyk was not the first UFC strawweight champion, so it would not be correct to say she put the 115-pound women’s division on the map. But she made the map matter. Back in 2015, she became champ by soundly defeating Carla Esparza, who had become the inaugural titlist three months earlier. “Joanna Champion” then lived up to her nickname by reeling off five defenses, still a record for the division. She was the face of the strawweight division — and the mouth, too. Jedrzejczyk was overflowing with blustery confidence.
Though she never again wore championship gold after dropping the belt to Rose Namajunas in 2017, Jedrzejczyk remained within proximity to the top of the sport until retiring two years ago. Her fiery 2020 bout with champ Zhang Weili is widely hailed as the greatest fight in the history of women’s MMA. Last month, Jedrzejczyk became the second woman and first strawweight to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. — Wagenheim
The oral history of Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248, the greatest fight in women’s MMA history
Key Accomplishments: Two-time UFC women’s strawweight champion, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 20 runner-up, First woman in UFC history to regain a championship after losing it
When “Thug Rose” fell short of winning TUF Season 20 to Esparza, few knew what kind of historic run she would go on as she evolved into one of the best pure strikers in the history of women’s MMA.
It all started in 2017 when Namajunas shockingly knocked out Jedrzejczyk to become strawweight champion and proved the win wasn’t a fluke when she dominated in the rematch. A vicious slam knockout loss to Jessica Andrade was a minor speed bump as she bounced back with a decision win in the return bout before regaining her strawweight crown by ending Zhang’s 20-fight win streak with a violent head kick knockout. Once again, Namajunas won the rematch giving her wins over three former strawweight champions. Her silky smooth striking and Octagon IQ have been her calling card and now she’s on a journey to become a two-division champion as she now competes in the flyweight division. — Hale
Rose Namajunas is ready for her next act, at flyweight, after her last ‘boring’ performance
Key accomplishments: Two-time UFC strawweight champion
The best mixed martial artist to ever come out of China. She’s been an absolute force since signing with the UFC in 2018, with an overall record of 9-2 and a 6-2 mark in title fights. Zhang is known for one of the most physical styles in MMA — she went viral in 2023 for easily lifting retired NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal clear off the ground — as well as her heart. She has only competed at strawweight thus far in the UFC, but it’s possible she could pursue a second championship at some point before her career is done. — Okamoto
The oral history of Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248, the greatest fight in women’s MMA history
Key accomplishments: Former women’s bantamweight champion in UFC and Strikeforce; postfight bonuses for fight of the night (two) and performance of the night (three); most submission attempts in UFC women’s bantamweight history (12).
It might seem unfair that Tate will forever be remembered as the B-side of a bitter rivalry with Rousey. After all, Tate was a champion in both the UFC and Strikeforce. But it was her back-and-forth with Rousey during both fighters’ primes that helped build women’s MMA. There was a time a decade ago when, other than her tightly contested matchups with Tate, Rousey was finishing opponents with ease in less than a minute. Tate lost to “Rowdy Ronda” twice, but she always gave her a fight.
Their ongoing fight often took the form of insulting words. When Tate and Rousey coached against each other on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2013, their rivalry largely overshadowed the show’s contestants. And despite the acrimony, Rousey even paid Tate a compliment, saying, “I think she’s entirely legit, but I don’t really feel bad about hitting her.” — Wagenheim
Miesha Tate fights for respect
Key Accomplishments: Undefeated in her first 22 pro fights, 19 career submission wins
Fujii is often regarded as the forgotten legend in women’s MMA. A true pioneer who was known for her brilliant wrestling and unstoppable submissions, Fujii ran roughshod in Japan before getting her break stateside by making her Bellator debut in 2010. From 2007 to 2010, Fujii won ten consecutive fights with nine submissions and one TKO. She may have never obtained championship gold in a major MMA promotion, but she was a victim of being too far ahead of her time. She fell short in her only attempt to win a world title when she dropped a controversial split decision to Zoila Gurgel. Injuries cut her career short before women’s MMA peaked in popularity but that doesn’t lessen the impact she had on the sport. — Hale
How twists and turns — and spectacle — shaped today’s Bellator MMA
Key accomplishments: UFC bantamweight champion, three-division boxing champion
Holm is on a short list of athletes one could consider for the greatest combat sports athlete of all time. She was a multiple-time welterweight champion in boxing, compiling a professional record of 33-2-3 with nine knockouts. She became an immediate force in mixed martial arts, upon her full-time transition in 2013. She challenged Rousey for the UFC title in just her third appearance in the organization, and recorded one of the biggest upsets in MMA history at a sold-out show in Melbourne, Australia. Holm has now been a mainstay in ESPN’s 135-pound rankings for nearly a decade and says she still has gas in the tank at age 42. — Okamoto
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