Top 30 Women Athletes in UFC History 10-1 | UFC 30th Anniversary

Jessica “Bate Estaca” Andrade is one of the most feared women in the UFC. Becoming one of the most dominant athletes in the sport, she holds ranks in two divisions (#5 in flyweight, #4 in strawweight) along with a number eight spot on the pound-for-pound list. The Brazilian started her fighting career with Jiu-Jitsu in 2011, and eight months later she made her professional debut. Making a name for herself, the UFC welcomed her in 2013 as a replacement for Miesha Tate against Liz Carmouche. This began her long, successful career. The BJJ black belt holds numerous accomplishments that leave her as one of the best active athletes to date, such as former strawweight champion, five Performance of the Night bonuses, tied for most wins in UFC women’s history, and she has the first standing arm-triangle choke finish in UFC history. This is just scratching the surface of everything she has accomplished in her decade-long UFC career, and she yearns to continue to cement her legacy as she awaits her next bout against Yan Xiaonan.

(Watch Jessica Andrade On UFC Fight Pass)

#9 – Miesha Tate

Miesha Tate started her journey as a wrestler competing on her high school boys’ team. From there, she was exposed to the world of MMA and hasn’t looked back. Going 5-1 in her amateur career, Tate won the Strikeforce title as a pro, and then moved to the UFC in 2013, when she competed in The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale against Cat Zingano. The bantamweight’s first UFC victory came against Liz Carmouche via unanimous decision. That was the catalyst for Tate to soar. She won the bantamweight championship in 2016, has earned Fight of the Night honors twice, and Performance of the Night twice. The veteran is ranked #11 in the bantamweight division but has recently secured a couple flyweight bouts under her belt. She returns to the bantamweight division at UFC Fight Night 226 against Mayra Bueno Silva.

(Watch Miesha Tate On UFC Fight Pass)

#8 – Holly Holm

Before Holly Holm started her UFC career, she was a three-division world boxing champion with a 33-2-3 record. In 2015, we would see “The Preacher’s Daughter” become the first person to defeat Ronda Rousey, as she won the UFC bantamweight championship. The knockout would not only earn her the belt, but Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night honors. Holm’s inaugural year in the Octagon put her on the map, landing her 2015 Upset of the Year, Knockout of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year. Since then, Holm has competed in both the bantamweight and featherweight divisions, sharing the Octagon with names like Miesha Tate, Amanda Nunes, and Cris Cyborg. The 14-6 fighter sees herself at #3 in the bantamweight rankings and #15 on the pound-for-pound list. She recently was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and continues her career at UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen.

(Watch Holly Holm On UFC Fight Pass)

#7 – Zhang Weili

Zhang Weili is currently the strawweight champion and #4 in the pound-for-pound rankings. The Chinese fighter started training Muay Thai and began her professional MMA career in 2013 with Kunlun Fight. She would amass a 16-1 record prior to her signing with the UFC in 2018. In her short career in the UFC, Zhang has become champion twice and made history by becoming the UFC’s first Chinese champion. The strawweight has only lost twice times in the Octagon and has won 23 of her last 25.

(Watch Zhang Weili On UFC Fight Pass)

#6 – Cris Cyborg

Joanna Jedrzejczyk has been referred to as the greatest strawweight mixed martial artist of all time. She began Muay Thai as a teenager, winning over 60 amateur matches. Her MMA career began in 2012 and she went undefeated in her first 14 fights, defeating Carla Esparza at UFC 185 for the strawweight championship that she successfully defended five times against some of the biggest names in the sport, including Jessica Andrade and Claudia Gadelha. The champion did not lose until 2017. The list of accolades Jedrzejczyk had in her UFC career is impressive, and she made history as the first Polish champion, competed in the most title bouts in UFC strawweight history, had the most consecutive wins in strawweight history, and is tied for the most title fights in the UFC’s women’s divisions.

(Watch Joanna Jedrzejczyk On UFC Fight Pass)

#4 - Rose Namajunas

Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko began Taekwondo at the age of five and has been a force to be reckoned with ever since. She made her UFC debut as a short notice replacement in 2015 against Sarah Kaufman. Shevchenko battled with Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight championship at UFC 215 and then made the move to the 125-pound division. This started her long reign in the flyweight division. Battling big names like Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Liz Carmouche, and Taila Santos, she won the vacant belt against Jedrzejczyk and successfully defended her title seven times before losing the crown to Alexa Grasso earlier this month. Shevchenko had the most consecutive title defenses in women’s UFC history, the most knockouts in the flyweight division, and numerous other accomplishments in the flyweight division that make her one of the greats.

(Watch Valentina Shevchenko On UFC Fight Pass)

#2 – Ronda Rousey

“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey is one of the most recognizable names in all of sports because of her numerous accolades and the prominent pathway she has created for women in combat sports. Rousey’s career started with Judo as she started winning world championships at the age of 17. She represented team USA in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and came out with a bronze medal. Retiring from Judo, she picked up MMA a year later and started competing at the amateur level in 2010. Dominating the competition, the Olympian was 3-0 and the combined duration of her fights was just under two minutes. She moved to Strikeforce and used her lethal armbar to submit her opponents all the way to a bantamweight championship. Soon after, she would be announced as the UFC’s first female champion and she would defend her title against Liz Carmouche at UFC 157, the first women’s fight in UFC history. Rousey would successfully defend her title six times, have the most armbar finishes, and be the first woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Rousey is retired but will go down as a pioneer whose legacy will be forever cemented in the sport.

(Watch Ronda Rousey On UFC Fight Pass)

#1 – Amanda Nunes

Amanda Nunes is known as the G.O.A.T. of women in combat sports. The Brazilian grew up training jiu-jitsu and started professional MMA at 19 years old. Hitting the UFC Octagon in 2013, she took on Germaine de Randamie and won via TKO in the first round in only her second fight. Nunes would become one of the most decorated athletes the sport has ever seen, winning the bantamweight championship at UFC 200 and successfully defending it five times. While she held the bantamweight title, she defeated veteran Cris Cyborg for the featherweight title to become the first female and third athlete to hold UFC titles in two divisions simultaneously. Her resume not only includes top accomplishments in the women’s division, like most finishes in UFC women’s history, but she has also made history among all athletes in the sport with the longest combined UFC title reign.

(Watch Amanda Nunes On UFC Fight Pass)