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The Ultimate Fighting Championship has grown less and less shy about putting its top female fighters on center stage, a development few thought possible just a few years ago. UFC President Dana White once swore off the idea of women competing inside the Octagon, but times have changed.

Never was that more evident than at UFC 200 on July 9, as Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes squared off in the headliner of one of the most significant events in the organization’s history. Two other shows in July featured female fights as their centerpiece: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha at “The Ultimate Fighter 23” Finale and Holly Holm vs. Valentina Shevchenko at UFC on Fox 20. The trend will continue at UFC Fight Night 95 on Sept. 24, when Cristiane Justino meets Lina Lansberg in the main event at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia, Brasil.

Women’s MMA has never been in a better place. The latest installment in the Sherdog Top 10 series series examines the best female fighters ever to compete in mixed martial arts:

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HONORABLE MENTIONS: Yuka Tsuji, Becky Levi, Claudia Gadelha, Laura D’Auguste, Valentina Shevchenko

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