Image: John Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration
Women’s Atomweight
1. Ayaka Hamasaki (23-3) [1]
Nearly nine years after their first meeting, Hamasaki improved to 2-0 against Emi Fujino with a unanimous decision win in a non-title bout at Rizin Fighting Federation 30 on Sept. 19 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The Japanese promotion’s reigning atomweight queen has won four straight contests since falling to Seo Hee Ham on New Year’s Eve in 2019, besting the likes of Fujino, Kanna Asakura, Miyuu Yamamoto and Tomo Maesawa. With Ham competing at 115 pounds in One Championship now, the 39-year-old Tokyo native is the clear-cut No. 1 fighter in the world at atomweight.2. Saori Oshima (7-2) [2]
Oshima scored an impressive triumph in her promotional debut at Rizin 31, taking a split decision against Kanna Askaura in the evening’s co-main event at Pia Arena MM in Yokohama, Japan, on Oct. 24. Oshima has won her last four professional outings, a run that includes a pair of victories to capture the Deep Jewels atomweight grand prix championship in June 2021.3. Kanna Asakura (18-6) [3]
Asakura came up short in the Rizin 31 co-main event, dropping a split decision to Saori Oshima on Oct. 24 at Pia Arena MMA in Yokohama, Japan. The former Rizin atomweight grand prix winner has dropped back-to-back split verdicts against Oshima and Ayaka Hamasaki after winning four straight fights from August 2019 to December 2020.4. Miyuu Yamamoto (6-5) [4]
Yamamoto had a chance to claim atomweight gold at Rizin 26, but instead she wound up on the wrong end of a submission highlight reel, as she succumbed to a leg scissor choke from Ayaka Hamasaki at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The 47-year-old Krazy Bee member has been finished in two of her last three Rizin appearances, though those losses have come to the atomweight division’s best — Hamasaki and Seo Hee Ham. Yamamoto will attempt to avenge a 2016 loss to Rena Kubota in her next outing at Rizin 32.5. Alesha Zappitella (9-2, 1 NC) [5]
Zappitella defended her atomweight crown with a highly-controversial split verdict over Jessica Correa Delboni at Invicta FC 44 on May 21. Though many observers saw the outcome differently, a win is still a win, and the Scorpion Fighting System product has now been victorious in six of her seven appearances within the all-female promotion. She’s expected to face Delboni in a rematch at a later date.6. Jessica Correa Delboni (11-3) [6]
Delboni rolled through Invicta FC’s atomweight tournament, earning one-round wins over Tabatha Ann Watkins and Marisa Messer-Belenchia before taking a three-round verdict against Lindsey VanZandt in the finals. That earns Delboni a rematch against reigning atomweight champion Alesha Zappitella, who defeated the Brazilian via controversial split decision in their first meeting at Invicta FC 44 on May 21.7. Ashley Cummins (7-6) [7]
For two rounds, Cummins appeared to be well on her way to securing atomweight gold at Invicta Fighting Championships 42, but she was unable to maintain that momentum, ultimately falling to Alesha Zappitella via shoulder choke in the fourth round of their headlining bout. It was the first submission loss of Cummins’ MMA career and the second time she has come up short in an Invicta FC championship fight.8. Satomi Takano (16-12) [NR]
Takano claimed the Shooto atomweight crown with a five-round verdict against Mina Kurobe at Professional Shooto 2021 Vol. 7 in Tokyo on Nov. 6, her third consecutive triumph under the promotion’s banner. The One Championship and Deep veteran has won five of her last six professional outings to rebound from a difficult stretch from August 2017 to August 2018 in which she went 1-3. It was Takano’s first victory in three tries against Kurobe.9. Mina Kurobe (16-6) [8]
Kurobe’s reign as Shooto atomweight queen came to an end on Nov. 6, when she dropped a five-round verdict against Satomi Takano in Tokyo. That snapped a four-fight winning streak for the 44-year-old Master Japan representative, who had previously bested Takano twice under the Deep Jewels banner — once in 2014 and again in 2018.10. Jillian DeCoursey (4-3) [9]
In her most recent bout, DeCoursey dropped a split-decision in a one-round fight against Linda Mihalec in the opening round of the promotion’s atomweight tournament at Invicta FC Series 4 on June 11. That bout won’t go down as an official loss for DeCoursey, who previously took a three-round verdict over Mihalec at Invicta FC 39 in February 2020. The 37-year-old Queens, N.Y., native is 3-2 during her Invicta tenure, with a notable loss to current 105-pound champion Alesha Zappitella in July 2018.Other Contenders: Seika Izawa, Si Woo Park, Ana Palacios, Hikaru Aono, Yu Ri Shim.
Sherdog’s divisional and pound-for-pound rankings are compiled by a panel of Sherdog.com staff members and contributors: Tristen Critchfield, Mike Fridley, Brian Knapp, Ben Duffy, Jay Pettry, Edward Carbajal, Marcelo Alonso, Tudor Leonte, Keith Shillan, John Brannigan, Tyler Treese and Lev Pisarsky.