5 Best Female MMA Fighters of All Time | Explained
In this page we will cover who are the best female MMA fighters of all time, along with what made them so great.
Table of Contents
1. Amanda Nunes
The 'Lioness' is widely considered the greatest female fighter of all time, the GOAT.
Although she had suffered losses early in her career and only had a 9-4 MMA record, she would turn things around by going on a 12 fight winning streak.
In this winning streak she would dismantle fighters such as Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm & Cris Cyborg.
Most impressively is how she was able to move up a weight class, and end Cris Cyborg's 20 fight winning streak, and doing it by way of knock out in the first round.
She would not only win the Bantamweight championship, but would move up and win the Featherweight championship as well, becoming one of the only 'Double Champions' in this history of the UFC.
Additionally, she would then move up and down both weight classes and defend both titles.
2. Cris Cyborg
Cyborg was long known as the greatest female fighter until Amanda Nunes came along. Cyborg would began her career 0-1 and then go on a 20 fight winning streak, viciously finishing her opponents.
Out of her 25 wins, she has finished 20 of them.
Cyborg is known as one of the most formidable fighters on the planet, using her relentless pressure and heavy hands to knock out her opponents.
Cyborg would become a UFC champion, Invicta Champion, Strikeforce champion and Bellator champion in her career.
3. Valentina Schevchenko
Shevchenko is widely known as one of the greatest female fighters of all time using her Muay Thai and counter striking to pick apart her opponents.
Shevchenko is a unique case as her natural weight class at Flyweight, wasn't introduced into the UFC until 2017.
Due to this, she was fighting up a weight class and still had massive success, except for 2 close bouts against Amanda Nunes, which could have been scored for either fighter.
After her second loss to Nunes, Shevchenko would drop down to her natural weight class and completely dominate her opponents.
At the time of this writing, Shevchenko hold a 22-3 record.
4. Ronda Rousey
Rousey is widely known as a trailblazer of women's MMA. She was the first Bantamweight champion in the UFC, and her rivalry with Miesha Tate is credited as a large reason as to why female fighters began fighting in the UFC.
Rousey would have 12 wins in her career, and all 12 would result in a finish (Knockout, TKO or submission).
Having the ability to finish every opponent that she faced, along with her looks (in a sport dominated by cauliflower ears and scars), allowed her to skyrocket in popularity.
Rousey would look so unstoppable that long-time commentator Joe Rogan would exclaim that she could probably beat 50% of men in the Bantamweight division.
Although she would lose 2 consecutive fights before retiring, Rousey's impact is forever ingrained in history.
5. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Jedrzejczyk similarly to Shevchenko, is an extremely skilled Muay Thai/kickboxer who at one point was undefeated at 14-0.
For years, she would make all of her opponents seem like they weren't on her level as she racked up the most wins in the Strawweight division (10), and defended her championship time after time.
It wasn't until Rose Namajunas came along and pulled a massive upset that all of that changed. Jedrzejczyk was unbeated for almost 6 years before that moment.
Regardless of her recent losses, Jedrzejczyk is still one of the best female fighters on the planet, and is only currently interested in big fights and big paychecks.
Honorable Mentions
Rose Namajunas
Holly Holm
Gina Carrano
