Women’s Bantamweight
1. Amanda Nunes (15-4)
Nunes made the first defense of her women’s bantamweight crown by absolutely destroying Ronda Rousey in 48 seconds at UFC 207 in December. Having taken a second win over Valentina Shevchenko and retained her title in September, “The Lioness” was penciled in to defend her crown at UFC 219 on Dec. 30. However, Nunes will be forced to wait, as would-be challenger Raquel Pennington has suffered a broken leg.2. Valentina Shevchenko (14-3)
Even before her close and controversial second loss to Amanda Nunes for the UFC bantamweight title in September, the MMA world was hypothesizing whether or not Valentina Shevchenko could be the UFC women’s flyweight champ, too. “Bullet” is on an appropriate trajectory now, as Shevchenko is in negotiations to face Brazilian Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Fight Night 125 on Feb. 3 in her promotional debut at 125 pounds.3. Holly Holm (11-3)
This year has been a mixed bag for Holm, as she dropped a decision to Germaine de Randamie in the first-ever UFC women’s featherweight title fight in February and then decapitated Bethe Correia with a head kick in her June return to 135 pounds. However, “The Preacher’s Daughter’s” next title shot will not come back at bantamweight, as Holm will once again step up to 145 pounds to challenge for the UFC women’s featherweight crown, this time taking on Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino at UFC 219 on Dec. 30.4. 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.5. 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. The latest injury will put her back on the shelf for three to four months.6. Ronda Rousey (12-2)
After much anticipation, curiosity and speculation surrounding her title fight versus Amanda Nunes at UFC 208, Rousey’s Octagon return quickly turned into a disastrous nightmare. The Olympic judo bronze medalist was tagged immediately by Nunes and then brutally clobbered with a battery of punches before biting the dust in just 48 seconds. Even with consecutive, humiliating losses to Nunes and Holly Holm, Rousey still has one of the best resumes at 135 pounds. Whether or not she ever fights again has become the operative question, as Rousey has since been linked to negotiations with World Wrestling Entertainment.7. Tonya Evinger (19-6, 1 NC)
Evinger was long overdue for a call-up to the UFC, but “Triple Threat” finally found a way to make it happen: She stepped into a women's featherweight title fight with Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino as a replacement for Megan Anderson at UFC 214. Evinger was a colossal underdog and took her lumps en route to a third-round knockout loss, but doing the promotion a solid by stepping into the vacant title fight with Justino will allow her to hang out in the Octagon at her actual weight class: 135 pounds.8. 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 undefeated 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 3.9. Sara McMann (11-4)
McMann had looked sensational heading into UFC 215, as she had posted three straight impressive wins in which the Olympic silver medal-winning wrestler finally seemed to integrate a more aggressive submission game with her wrestling. She even joined Team Alpha Male in advance of her bout with unbeaten Ketlen Vieira. However, everything came crashing down when UFC 215 came around, as it was Vieira who flexed her grappling muscle, taking down McMann in the second round and choking her out.10. Aspen Ladd (6-0)
Ladd was not able to make her UFC debut in July against Jessica Eye after falling ill during fight week. However, the 22-year-old prospect more than made up for it on Oct. 21, when she finally made her Octagon debut in Gdansk, Poland. At UFC Fight Night 118, she showed Sweden’s Lina Lansberg who deserves the nickname “Elbow Princess,” pounding her out in the second round.Other Contenders: Priscila Cachoeira, Bethe Correia, Sarah Kaufman, Katlyn Chookagian, Marion Reneau.
Continue Reading » Women’s Flyweight