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Women’s Bantamweight
1. Amanda Nunes (21-4) [1]
Nunes extended her winning streak to 12 at UFC 259, where she ran roughshod over Megan Anderson en route to a reverse triangle armbar submission at the 2:03 mark of Round 1. The consensus women’s GOAT now has three wins in 145-pound title bouts to her credit, but there doesn’t appear to be any worthwhile challenges in that division at the moment. “Lioness” was supposed to return to 135 pounds to defend her bantamweight crown against Julianna Pena at UFC 265 but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. The bout has been rescheduled for UFC 269.2. Germaine de Randamie (10-4) [2]
De Randamie showcased a new element to her game at UFC on ESPN 16, as she submitted Julianna Pena with a guillotine choke in the third round of their bantamweight encounter at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi. It was the first submission victory ever for the Dutch kickboxer, who rebounded from a five-round defeat to Amanda Nunes in a title bout at UFC 245. De Randamie has won six of her eight promotional appearances, with her only two defeats both coming at the hands of Nunes. “The Iron Lady” was scheduled to meet Irene Aldana at UFC 268 before an injury forced her out of the bout.3. Holly Holm (14-5) [3]
Holm put together one of her most complete performances in recent memory at UFC on ESPN 16, as she dominated Irene Aldana for five rounds in the evening’s headliner at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi. The Jackson-Wink MMA stalwart has rebounded from a brutal knockout loss to Amanda Nunes with back-to-back decision triumphs over Aldana and Raquel Pennington in 2020. Holm was supposed to square off with “The Ultimate Fighter 18” winner Julianna Pena on May 8 but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a kidney condition, and then, a knee injury forced her out of a proposed featherweight clash with Norma Dumont in October.4. Raquel Pennington (12-8) [4]
Pennington snapped Pannie Kianzad’s four-bout Octagon winning streak at UFC Fight Night 192, taking a three-round verdict over the Invicta FC veteran on Sept. 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The former bantamweight title challenger has won three of her last four promotional appearances — a run that also includes victories against Marion Reneau and Irene Aldana.5. Irene Aldana (13-6) [5]
After a lopsided decision loss to Holly Holm in the UFC on ESPN 16 headliner nixed her championship hopes, Aldana was extremely impressive at UFC 264, as she dominated fellow ranked bantamweight Yana Kunitskaya en route to a first-round technical knockout victory. The only damper on the Team Lobo Gym representative’s latest triumph was her troubles on the scales one day prior, when the Mexican standout missed weight by 3.5 pounds. Nonetheless, Aldana has won six of her last eight Octagon appearances dating back to 2018. Aldana was supposed to fight Germaine de Randamie at UFC 268 before the Dutchwoman withdrew from the card after suffering an injury.6. Yana Kunitskaya (14-6, 1 NC) [6]
Kunitskaya had no answers for Irene Aldana at UFC 264, as she had her nose bloodied before being dropped and finished with ground-and-pound 4:35 into the opening round of their encounter at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 10. The former Invicta Fighting Championships title holder entered the matchup with Aldana having won four of her last five promotional outings, but a chance to make serious headway in the bantamweight division was lost against her Mexican adversary.7. Ketlen Vieira (11-2) [7]
Though Vieira controlled much of her UFC Fight Night 185 co-headlining clash against Yana Kunitskaya with her heavy topside grappling, the Brazilian was doomed by her lack of activity. That ultimately allowed Kunitskaya to steal the scorecards thanks to brief bursts of offense, including a barrage of elbows that left Vieira bloodied at the end of the third round. Once regarded as a future title contender at 135 pounds, Vieira has lost two of her last three UFC bouts. Vieira was slated to face the recently unretired Miesha Tate in the main event of a UFC card on Oct. 16, but that bout has been postponed to Nov. 20 after Tate contracted COVID-19.8. Julianna Pena (10-4) [8]
Pena survived some early adversity against Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann and rallied to submit her opponent with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their preliminary bantamweight clash at UFC 257. “The Ultimate Fighter 18” winner, who has won six of her last eight UFC appearances, was slated to face ex-bantamweight queen Holly Holm at a UFC Fight Night event on May 8 before Holm withdrew. Then, a title shot against Amanda Nunes at UFC 265 was postponed when the champion tested positive for COVID-19. The fight has been rebooked for UFC 269.9. Sara McMann (12-6) [9]
McMann was able to impose her will through wrestling and top control early in her UFC 257 matchup with Julianna Pena, but the former bantamweight title challenger faded down the stretch and was submitted by “The Venezuelan Vixen” in the third round of their bout in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23. The 40-year-old South Carolinian has lost three of her last four Octagon appearances, with her lone win during that stretch coming against Lina Lansberg at UFC Fight Night 166. An injury forced McMann to withdraw from a matchup with Ketlen Vieira at UFC on ESPN 30.10. Macy Chiasson (7-1) [10]
A winner on Season 28 of “The Ultimate Fighter” Chiasson has been victorious in five of her first six Octagon appearances — most recently scoring back-to-back triumphs over Shanna Young and Marion Reneau. The Fortis MMA product was supposed to face Aspen Ladd at UFC Fight Night 194 before a bad weight cut forced Ladd to withdraw from the contest. It’s the second time a matchup with Ladd has fallen through after a Chiasson injury resulted in the cancellation of a potential July 24 fight.Other Contenders: Pannie Kianzad, Sijara Eubanks, Miesha Tate, Karol Rosa, Julia Avila.
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