Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Women’s Atomweight

1. Ayaka Hamasaki (14-2)

Before she was Invicta champion and the top atomweight in the world, Hamasaki was a pretty good strawweight and had only ever lost to UFC title challenger Claudia Gadelha. Her return to 115 pounds, however, saw her knocked out by another Brazilian, and this time, it was much nastier. Hamasaki stepped up to strawweight to face former Invicta titleholder Livia Renata Souza on March 25 and got blistered with punches in less than two minutes.

2. Jinh Yu Frey (5-2)

Frey’s slated bout with unbeaten Brazilian prospect Janaisa Morandin looked like it could steal the show at Invicta 22. Unfortunately, the highly appealing clash of styles never happened, as Morandin came in five pounds overweight and Frey was unwilling to accept more than a three-and-a-half pound allowance, canceling the contest on weigh-in day.

3. Herica Tiburcio (11-4)

It was nearly two years ago that Ayaka Hamasaki upset Tiburcio to take the Invicta atomweight title. It was over 14 months ago that Tiburcio came back to the Invicta cage, only to be upset by Jinh Yu Frey. Now, the 25-year-old Brazilian has put together back-to-back decision wins over Simona Soukupova and fellow ranker Tessa Simpson and may not be far off from another crack at Invicta's 105-pound strap.

4. Seo Hee Ham (18-8)

Following her disappointing 1-3 run in the UFC while competing as a strawweight, Ham got back to basics at Road Fighting Championship 39 on June 10. Cutting back down to atomweight and headlining in her native South Korea, “Hamderlei Silva” put on a show, pasted Japan's Mina Kurobe en route to a third-round knockout and claimed the vacant Road Fighting Championship title, all while re-announcing herself as one of the best fighters in the division.

5. Mina Kurobe (10-3)

Kurobe had been on a hot streak prior to her showdown with Seo Hee Ham, picking up wins over Tomo Maesawa, Saori Ishioka and Naho Sugiyama. However, the 40-year-old fighter's roll slowed considerably at Road Fighting Championship 39 in South Korea on June 10 in her first fight ever outside of Japan, as “Hamderlei Silva” beat her down for 14 minutes before notching the third-round knockout.

6. Naho Sugiyama (12-5)

Sugiyama topped Emi Tomimatsu in June to become Deep Jewels atomweight champion. Unfortunately, in her first title defense on Feb. 25, she could not replicate her November 2015 win over Mina Kurobe, dropping a unanimous decision and the strap.

7. Tessa Simpson (5-2)

Since finishing college and returning to MMA, Simpson has been sterling, taking quality wins over Satomi Takano and Simona Soukupova. At Invicta 23, the Guam native took a jump up in competition, faced former promotional atomweight champion Herica Tiburcio and pushed the Brazilian to the limit. However, Simpson ultimately wound up losing a split decision on the scorecards after 15 minutes.

8. Janaisa Morandin (9-0)

With a perfect 9-0 record and an exciting fight style that has resulted in six stoppages, it seemed like everything was coming together for Morandin when she was lined up to face former Invicta title challenger Jinh Yu Frey on March 25. The 22-year-old Brazilian even received a sponsorship and fight gear from comedian Hannibal Burress. Unfortunately, “The Evil Princess” blew weight by five pounds, nixing the bout.

9. Satomi Takano (10-8)

Following a pair of losses to Emi Tomimatsu and Tessa Simpson, Takano has bounced back in style, winning three straight under the Deep Jewels banner. While her two first-round submissions over anonymous fighters Miyuki Furusawa and Ye Jin Jung are not much to write home about, “Sarami” got a much more serious and worthwhile win on May 20, pounding out Tomo Maesawa in the second round. It was Takano's second win over Maesawa, a woman against whom she won a two-round decision in May 2015.

10. Julia Jones (5-0)

Jones in May was scheduled to take on fellow top-10 talent Tessa Simpson at Invicta FC 17. However, the bout -- which would have provided some clarity for the 105-pound division -- was scrapped. Instead, “Jewels” returned in September, dominating Stephanie Skinner and choking her out in the first round to run her pro record to 5-0.

Other Contenders: Ashley Cummins, Paulina Granados, Tomo Maesawa, Andy Nguyen, Sheila Padilla.