The 15 Best UFC Women’s Fighters of All Time, Ranked

• Record: 14-5-0
• Best fight: Amanda Nunes at UFC 178

Cat Zingano is an OG in the game and holds wins over some of the top fighters in the last few years, including Amanda Nunes and Miesha Tate, wins that have aged incredibly well. As many great things as she did in the cage, she’s also always been an incredible role model for the sport outside of it too. 

• Record: 16-3-1
• Best fight: Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285

The current flyweight champion has wins over a lot of her peers and by all accounts, became somewhat of an overachiever when she shocked the world and beat Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285. She was always a good fighter, but before the win streak that led her to the title fight, she was 3-3 in the UFC and her career could have very easily gone a different way. 

• Record: 10-0-0
• Best fight: Alexa Grasso at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman

A lot of people might think it’s too early for Tatiana Suarez to appear on a list like this, but if you’re clued in, you know that she’s one of the most skilled wrestlers in the organization and her potential knows no bounds. She won TUF 23 in 2016 and has since finished a couple of fighters that appear ahead of her here. Her toughest obstacle so far has been her own injuries, but she racked up a pair of solid wins in 2023 and 2024 looks bright. 

• Record: 19-7-0
• Best fight: Rose Namajunas at TUF 20 Finale

Before women were fighting in the UFC, Carla Esparza already had nearly a dozen fights to her name. In the UFC, she holds two wins over Rose Namajunas, including her second title win, which truly felt like the culmination of a lot of years of hard work, even despite Carla being the first ever Strawweight champion. 

• Record: 10-5-0
• Best fight: Amanda Nunes at UFC 269

Peña earned her spot on this list when she tapped Amanda Nunes at UFC 269, ending The Lioness’ 12-fight win streak in one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history. Nunes tied it up less than a year later and it doesn’t look like they’ll settle the score, but Peña still has title aspirations and may well end 2024 as the champion once again. 

• Record: 25-12-0
• Best fight: Rose Namajunas at UFC 237

In the years when fans didn’t expect to see many vicious finishes from women's MMA, Andrade was essentially a knockout artist, proving many wrong. She has KO/TKO wins over Mackenzie Dern, Cynthia Calvillo, Rose Namajunas and more staples of multiple divisions. 

• Record: 15-6-0-1
• Best fight: Ronda Rousey at UFC 193

Not many people picked Holly Holm to beat Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 and in hindsight it’s hard to see why. Ronda had a lot of momentum and hype, but Holly Holm was three leagues above her in terms of her striking skill. Since that fight, she’s got a losing record, but skill for skill, she remains one of the UFC’s best amongst the women.

• Record: 20-9-0
• Best fight: Holly Holm at UFC 196

Miesha Tate’s legacy was dangerously close to being Ronda Rousey’s main foe for a while, but she got a pair of wins in 2014 and a pair of wins in 2015, which earned her a title shot against Holly Holm in 2016 at UFC 196. Against the odds, she forced Holly to tap with just 90 seconds left in the fight and became the bantamweight champion. She’s 2-2 since coming out of retirement and still has high ambitions for the future. 

• Record: 27-2-0
• Best fight: Gina Carano at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg

Cyborg was one of the most anticipated signings to the UFC and when she finally came over in 2015, she didn’t disappoint. She racked up five wins in less than two years, three of them being title fights. She would ultimately go on to lose to Amanda Nunes in devastating fashion when they finally met, but her legacy as one of the greats remains to this day.

• Record: 24-3-0
• Best fight: Jéssica Andrade at UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Zhang

Weili debuted in the UFC in August of 2018 and by August of 2019, she became the UFC’s first Chinese champion, putting out Jéssica Andrade in 42 seconds in her home country. Her first title defense came against a former dominant champion in the division in Joanna and it was pretty much the best women’s fight of all time. After losing the title to Rose, she ended up winning it back and putting another defense under her belt in the summer of 2023. 

• Record: 12-2-0
• Best fight: Cat Zingano at UFC 184

Ronda put women’s MMA on the map and for that, she should always have a place on MMA’s Mt. Rushmore reserved for her. During her run, she beat her opponents in ways that would seem unrealistic in a video game and while it came crashing down a little quicker than most would have expected, what she did could never be taken away. 

• Record: 16-5-0
• Best fight: Carla Esparza at UFC 185

Joanna entered the UFC with six wins under her belt and when the competition stepped up, she still looked unstoppable through one of the best title runs in women’s MMA. Joanna looked like evolution on the women’s side of the sport and was very technical while remaining fun to watch. That isn’t conveyed better than her first fight with Zhang Weili, which is easily one of the best fights of all time. 

• Record: 11-6-0
• Best fight: Zhang Weili at UFC 261

Until UFC 217, Rose was a solid fighter, but that night she truly levelled up when she finished Joanna Jędrzejczyk in round one, ending her 14-fight win streak. The win was elevated by Joanna’s trash talk leading up to the bout and it instantly made Rose a fan favorite. She put a stamp on it with a decision win and has had shining moments avenging a tough loss against Jéssica Andrade and knocking out Zhang Weili in less than 80 seconds.

• Record: 23-4-1
• Best fight: Jessica Eye at UFC 238

The Bullet was knocking opponents down like dominos for years but more than the actual wins on her record, it’s how effortlessly she seemed to be winning her fights that made her look so great. Against many formidable opponents, she made world title fights looks like sparring sessions. There’s a vocal minority that believe she deserved a decision win against Nunes in their rematch, but regardless, she’s no worse than the second-best women's fighter in the UFC. 

• Record: 23-5-0
• Best fight: Ronda Rousey at UFC 207

Amanda Nunes has wins over six fighters on this list, many of them being first round finishes. There’s not a shred of doubt that she’s the best and most accomplished women's fighter of all time and there’s a fair bit of distance between her and Valentina, who she boasts two wins over. Nunes retired in the summer of 2023, but most believe she could easily come back and win the 135lb title if she wanted. She is the embodiment of dominance.