Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Women’s Flyweight

1. Valentina Shevchenko (22-3) [1]

Shevchenko added another scalp to her collection in the UFC 266 co-main event, gradually building to a fourth-round stoppage of Lauren Murphy at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 25. That’s six consecutive title defenses — and eight straight victories overall — for “Bullet,” who is well-established as the greatest female flyweight in UFC history. With victories over the likes of Murphy Jessica Andrade, Katlyn Chookagian, Liz Carmouche and Jessica Eye, Shevchenko seems to be running out of challenges at 125 pounds. However, the UFC has not shown interest in booking a trilogy between Shevchenko and two-division champion Amanda Nunes at this point in time.

2. Juliana Velasquez (12-0) [2]

Faced with a game challenger in Denise Kielholtz in the Bellator 262 headliner, Velasquez relied on her jab and superior reach to capture a closely-contested split-decision triumph on July 16 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. It was the seventh triumph for Velasquez under the Bellator banner — and arguably her most difficult to date. The 34-year-old Team Nogueira shouldn’t lack for interesting matchups in the coming month: Rematches with either Kielholtz and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane could both be appealing, as is a fresh showdown with former two-division UFC title challenger Liz Carmouche.

3. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-1) [3]

For five rounds, Macfarlane struggled to navigate the size and strength advantages of Juliana Velasquez en route to a unanimous decision loss in the Bellator 254 headliner on Dec. 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. That ended the championship reign of the Hawaiian, who captured the Bellator’s inaugural 125-pound crown and defended it four times, all while becoming one of the California-based promotion’s biggest stars. Considering those credentials, Macfarlane may not be far off from another title shot — and an immediate return date with Velasquez might not be that farfetched.

4. Liz Carmouche (16-7) [4]

Carmouche produced the type of performance at Bellator 262 that will make it difficult to deny her a title shot, as she dispatched the previously-unbeaten Kana Watanabe with punches 35 seconds into their co-headlining encounter at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on June 25. In earning her first TKO victory since July 2013, “Girl-Rilla” improved to 3-0 under the Bellator banner, adding Watanabe to a list of victims that includes Vanessa Porto and DeAnna Bennett.

5. Jessica Andrade (22-9) [5]

Andrade was in peak form at UFC 266, as she walked Cynthia Calvillo down and landed power punches until her opponent was unable to defend against the Brazilian’s onslaught at the 4:54 mark of Round 1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 25. The former strawweight champion bounces back from a TKO loss to reigning 125-pound champ Valentina Shevchnenko at UFC 261 while winning for the second time in three Octagon appearances since moving up to flyweight. Andrade currently ranks second in UFC women’s history in wins (13) and finishes (seven).

6. Katlyn Chookagian (16-4) [6]

Chookagian’s pace and volume carried her to a slightly contentious unanimous decision triumph over Viviane Araujo in a featured matchup at UFC 262 on May 15. Regardless of the nature of the win, Chookagian has now won three of her last four outings since falling to Valentina Shevcheneko in a flyweight title bout at UFC 247 in February 2020. That’s enough to keep “Blonde Fighter” relevant in the division, though another title bout could be difficult to come by as long as Shevchenko is champ.

7. Lauren Murphy (15-5) [7]

Murphy was gun shy from the outset against Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC 266 co-headliner before she was eventually stopped via technical knockout 4:00 into the fourth round of their flyweight title bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. There’s no shame in being outclassed by one of the sport’s best pound-for-pound talents for Murphy, who wasn’t expected to be competitive and saw a five-bout UFC winning streak come to an end in defeat.

8. Vanessa Porto (23-9) [8]

After falling to Liz Carmouche in her promotional debut, Porto rebounded to take a closely-contested split decision triumph against Ilara Joanne at Bellator 263 in Los Angeles on July 31. The former Invicta FC flyweight queen has been victorious in five of her last six professional bouts dating back to December 2017.

9. Jennifer Maia (19-7-1) [9]

One bout removed from a title loss to reigning 125-pound queen Valentina Shevchenko, Maia battled through a competitive matchup with Jessica Eye to capture a unanimous decision triumph at UFC 264 on July 10. The former Invicta FC titlist is 4-3 in the Octagon, with additional triumphs over Joanne Calderwood, Roxanne Modafferi and Alexis Davis.

10. Joanne Calderwood (15-6) [10]

Calderwood had a chance to state her case for a title shot with a win against Lauren Murphy at UFC 263 but ultimately came up short, losing a narrow split-decision at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., on June 12. Calderwood has been up and down since 2019, alternating wins and losses in her last six promotional appearances. Up next, the Scot will lock horns with Alexa Grasso on Nov. 20.

Other Contenders: Cynthia Calvillo, Jessica Eye, Viviane Araujo, Taila Santos, Jingnan Xiong.

Continue Reading » Women’s Strawweight