Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Women’s Bantamweight

1. Amanda Nunes (15-4)

Nunes was supposed to defend her bantamweight title against Raquel Pennington at UFC 219 on Dec. 30, but her challenger suffered a broken leg and nixed those plans. In the interim, UFC President Dana White had begun pushing for a clash of champions, angling for Nunes to face featherweight queen Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino later this year. That fight is now on the backburner, however, as Justino is scheduled to defend her crown against Yana Kunitskaya in the UFC 222 headliner. Meanwhile, talks have reportedly intensified regarding a Nunes-Pennington showdown, potentially at UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro.

2. Holly Holm (11-4)

At UFC 219 on Dec. 30, Holm came up short in her title challenge against Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino. It was the second time in 2017 that “The Preacher’s Daughter” failed to win the UFC women’s featherweight title, as she also fell short earlier in the year against Germaine de Randamie in a battle to crown the inaugural champion. Holm remains a viable, high-level fighter, but there is no way to overlook the fact that she is 36 years old and has now lost four of her last five contests.

3. Julianna Pena (8-3)

Despite having just turned 28 years old and still just scratching the surface of her potential, Pena is not long for the 135-pound rankings. In recent months, it seemed like her exit from the bantamweight list would be as a result of Pena’s comments that she was interested in dropping to 125 pounds. Not so fast: “The Venezuelan Vixen” announced in mid-October that she is pregnant, a development that will take her out of the cage for the foreseeable future.

4. Raquel Pennington (9-5)

Pennington’s win over Miesha Tate in November 2016 put her on the cusp of a UFC title shot, but hand and shoulder injuries meant that “Rocky” needed most of 2017 to recover and rehab. Then disaster struck again. Just as Pennington was back at 100 percent and being slotted in to challenge Amanda Nunes for UFC gold at UFC 219, she suffered a broken leg in an ATV accident during a hunting trip. As Pennington nears full recovery, rumors of a meeting with Nunes -- perhaps at UFC 224 in Brazil -- have begun to gain momentum.

5. Tonya Evinger (19-6)

An Invicta bantamweight championship and eight-bout unbeaten streak finally punched Evinger’s ticket to the UFC, though “Triple Threat” was forced to move up to 145 pounds and take a Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino beatdown in July to actualize it. The 36-year-old was scheduled for a proper 135-pound debut in the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 126 on Feb. 18 but was forced out of her bout with Marion Reneau due to injury.

6. Ketlen Vieira (9-0)

Considering the way Vieira handled former UFC title challenger Sara McMann at UFC 215 in September, it comes as no surprise that the promotion put the undefeated “Phenom” on a quick turnaround. The Brazilian was briefly linked to a Feb. 3 date with former UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie, but those plans quickly changed. Vieira will now face former title challenger Cat Zingano at UFC 222 on March 3.

7. Sara McMann (11-4)

It is clear that McMann was eager to move past her September loss to undefeated Brazilian Ketlen Vieira, as the Olympic silver medalist quickly accepted a booking against former Invicta champ Yana Kunitskaya for UFC on Fox 28 on Feb. 24 in Orlando, Florida. However, injuries forced the UFC to shuffle its 135-pound deck, so McMann will instead meet Marion Reneau.

8. Aspen Ladd (6-0)

One of the hottest prospects at 135 pounds, Ladd finally made her UFC debut on Oct. 21, pounding out Lina Lansberg in the second round. The 22-year-old is certainly moving up in the world after a successful first Octagon appearance, as Ladd is lined up to face rugged veteran Leslie Smith in April.

9. Marion Reneau (8-3-1)

Reneau in September busted up Brazilian Talita Bernardo to earn a third-round stoppage -- a victory that set the stage for a Feb. 18 showdown with former Invicta champion Tonya Evinger. While Evinger has since succumbed to injury, Reneau will still fight, albeit a week later than expected. She has moved to the UFC on Fox 28 card on Feb. 24 in Orlando, Florida, where she will face Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann.

10. Sarah Kaufman (19-4)

Kaufman has re-emerged as player at 135 pounds following her exit from the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2015. The former Strikeforce champion has recorded back-to-back victories over Jessica-Rose Clark and Pannie Kianzad -- the latter coming in the Invicta 27 main event on Jan. 27.

Other Contenders: Irene Aldana, Bethe Correia, Yana Kunitskaya, Lucie Pudilova, Leslie Smith

Continue Reading » Women’s Flyweight