Top 10 Best Female UFC Fighters Ever

The UFC's female division has only been around since 2013, and since its inclusion, the increase in skill is clear to see in today's world.

The first-ever female bout took place in the women's bantamweight division between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche, which was also the first time females featured in a UFC main event. Rousey defeated her opponent and she was crowned the first ever women's UFC champion. Of course, Rousey is on this list, but who else will join her?

10. Julianna Pena 

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Julianna Peña was the first woman to win The Ultimate Fighter, and this victory was just the start of something special.

Peña produced one of the biggest shocks in UFC history when she defeated Amanda Nunes via submission at UFC 269 to claim the women's bantamweight title. However, a year later Nunes avenged her defeat. 

9. Miesha Tate

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Miesha Tate started professionally competing in MMA way back in 2007 and she still competes in the sport today. 

Throughout her career, she has had some intriguing rivalries: two fights against Ronda Rousey, one in Strikeforce and one in the UFC where she was submitted by armbar twice. She had a rivalry with Holly Holm as well, but Tate came out on top in that one submitting her opponent. 

“Cupcake” is a former Strikeforce bantamweight champion and former UFC bantamweight champion.

8. Jessica Andrade

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Jessica Andrade made her UFC debut in 2013, and the Brazilian is still looking strong in the organisation to this day. 

Andrade has showcased her versatility in the UFC by fighting at multiple weight classes, but her sole UFC achievement came at strawweight when she defeated Rose Namajunas after a brutal slam KO to claim the belt.

7. Holly Holm

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When Holly Holm arrived in the UFC back in 2015, she brought with her a sense of excitement because of her fighting background: she was a well-decorated world champion boxer, and at the time was the best female striker the UFC had seen.

Holm undoubtedly lived up to her hype when she head kicked Ronda Rousey in her third UFC fight to claim the bantamweight title. 

6. Rose Namajunas

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“Thug” Rose has already had a very good career in the UFC, being a two-time strawweight champion, and at 32, she still has a lot more to give.

Namajunas has delivered some exceptional striking performances over the last few years, and now she plies her talent in the UFC flyweight division.

Some of her most notable wins have come against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Zhang Weili and Jessica Andrade.

5. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

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Joanna Jedrzejczyk is regarded as the greatest strawweight fighter of all time by many, including UFC legend Daniel Cormier who claims the Polish fighter put the strawweight division “on the map”.

The reason why she is described as the strawweight GOAT is because Jedrzejczyk won the UFC strawweight title and then proceeded to defend it five times. Some of her notable defences came against Jessica Andrade and Claudia Gadelha. “Boogeywoman” lost her title to Rose Namajunas in 2017, she would attempt to avenge her defeat several months later but fell short against Namajunas once more. 

Jedrzejczyk had another thrilling fight series against Zhang Weili, but she was on the receiving end of back-to-back losses to the Chinese fighter, which ended up signalling the end of her career.

4. Cris Cyborg

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Cris Cyborg's career speaks for itself. In 30 fights, she has lost only twice: the first loss was in her professional debut, while the other one came against Amanda Nunes.

Cyborg is a former UFC featherweight champion, and she has won multiple titles in other organisations. In her seven UFC bouts, she won six of them, four of them came by brutal knockouts.

She now fights in Bellator where she is the featherweight champion.

3. Ronda Rousey 

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Many of the female fighters today are thankful to Ronda Rousey for bringing women's MMA to the mainstream media. Without her devastating era between 2011-2015, the UFC's female divisions would be far less popular.

Throughout her time in Strikeforce and the UFC, every single fight she won came inside the distance, either via a nasty submission or via a vicious KO. Her dominance saw her claim the bantamweight title in Strikeforce and the UFC.

In 2016, Rousey called an end to her MMA career after she lost back-to-back fights against Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. 

2. Valentina Shevchenko

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Valentina Shevchenko is regarded as the most complete female fighter of all time. Her excellent muay thai fighting style and her judo skills helped her dominate the UFC's flyweight division from 2018 up to 2022 where she racked up seven successful title defences.

At UFC 285, the Kyrgyzstan fighter came up against the fearless Mexican fighter Alexa Grasso. The underdog Grasso did not crumble under the pressure of Shevchenko and instead flipped the script and claimed a submission victory.

Months later, Shevchenko attempted to get her title back, however, the rematch ended in a split decision draw which meant Grasso retained the title. The pair are set for a trilogy fight at some point in 2024.