Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Women’s Strawweight

1. Weili Zhang (21-1)

One bout removed from a 42-second stoppage of Jessica Andrade, Zhang showcased an ability to prevail in a battle of attrition, as she outdueled Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a five-round classic to retain the strawweight crown in the UFC 248 co-main event. Zhang extended her winning streak to 21 thanks to superior punching power that left a grotesque hematoma on Jedrzejczyk’s forehead. Zhang’s victory was all the more impressive considering that her camp was altered due to coronavirus concerns in her homeland of China. Zhang and Jedrzejczyk could be destined for a rematch down the road, but it will be difficult to top their first meeting, which ranks as perhaps the greatest female fight of all-time..

2. Jessica Andrade (20-7)

Andrade’s championship reign proved to be short lived – one of the shortest in UFC history, in fact – as she suffered a 42-second technical knockout loss to Weili Zhang in the UFC Fight Night 157 headliner in Shenzhen, China on Aug. 31. The Brazilian’s willingness to engage ultimately cost her when Zhang clipped her with a right hook and unloaded with knees, elbows and punches in close quarters for a surprisingly quick finish. That ends a four-bout winning streak for “Bate Estaca,” who was coming off consecutive knockout wins over Rose Namajunas and Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

3. Rose Namajunas (8-4)

Namajunas looked sharp in her second title defense at UFC 237. That is, until challenger Jessica Andrade knocked her unconscious with a slam 2:58 into the second round of their headlining bout in Rio de Janeiro. Namajunas’ reaction after the defeat was one of relief, and it seemed as though the 26-year-old was leaning toward an early retirement. After taking some time off, Namajunas elected against calling it a career.

4. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-4)

Jedrzejczyk was all heart at UFC 248. Despite being left nearly unrecognizable by the end of her co-headlining bout with Weili Zhang, the Polish star never kept pressing the action in the strawweight championship clash. Although she outlanded her foe in significant strikes, Jedrzejczyk wasn’t as powerful as the Chinese champion in striking exchanges and came up just short in a split-decision defeat. Once one of the sport’s most dominant champions, Jedrzejczyk only raised her stock despite falling to 6-4 in UFC title fights.

5. Tatiana Suarez (8-0)

Suarez may still very well be a future champion, but she showed some flaws in a victory over Nina Ansaroff at UFC 238. The American used her wrestling to bank two rounds on the judges scorecards, but faded in the third round. Perhaps even more concerning was Ansaroff’s ability to land offense in the final stanza. Nonetheless, Suarez captured a unanimous decision for her fifth consecutive triumph within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The Milennia MMA product could be an interesting potential foe for champion Weili Zhang, though she may need another victory to truly enter the title conversation.

6. Nina Ansaroff (10-6)

Ansaroff didn’t beat the highly-touted Tatiana Suarez at UFC 238, but she did show some chinks in the American wrestler’s armor. Ansaroff spent most of the first two stanzas on her back but did a decent job neutralizing Suarez’s offense with her guard. In Round 3, Ansaroff took advantage of her tiring opponent to land 30 significant strikes — more than Suarez’s first-four UFC foes landed combined. Nonetheless, Ansaroff dropped a unanimous decision to see her four-bout winning streak snapped. Ansaroff announced that she will be taking a year off from MMA to start a family with fiancee Amanda Nunes.

7. Claudia Gadelha (18-4)

Gadelha has shown an uncanny knack for emerging on the right side of narrow split decisions of late, both against Carla Esparza in 2018 and in the UFC on ESPN 8 co-main event vs. Angela Hill on May 16. While it was a highly contentious result, “Claudinha” was able to win for the third time in four outings against Hill thanks to her ability to hold her own in exchanges with the high-output “Overkill.” After the triumph, the 31-year-old Brazilian called for a rematch with Esparza, who has accused Gadelha of greasing in their first meeting.

8. Carla Esparza (16-6)

With her wrestling stymied, Esparza had to figure out another way to win against Michelle Waterson at UFC 249, and “Cookie Monster” used a third-round surge to eke out a split-decision triumph over “The Karate Hottie.” The 32-year-old Team Oyama representative has now fashioned a three-bout winning streak to rebound from back-to-back losses against Tatiana Suarez and Claudia Gadelha in 2018.

9. Cynthia Calvillo (8-1-1)

A strong finish in the third frame earned a pair of 10-8 scorecards from the cageside judges and salvaged a majority draw for Calvillo against Marina Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, D.C. Calvillo missed weight badly ahead of the bout and struggled with her opponent’s strong clinch game for the first two rounds, so salvaging a draw had to feel like a somewhat positive outcome. Calvillo’s strong wrestling bailed her out down the stretch and continues to make her a difficult matchup for many an opponent at 115 pounds.

10. Marina Rodriguez (12-0-2)

Stepping in on short notice for Claudia Gadelha, Rodriguez gave Cynthia Calvillo all she could handle at UFC on ESPN 7, battling her opponent to a majority draw in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 7. Though the Brazilian Contender Series alum has already had a couple of interesting scorecards — she also had a majority draw vs. Randa Markos — during her promotional tenure, her UFC resume includes solid decision wins over Tecia Torres and Jessica Aguilar, as well.

Other Contenders: Michelle Waterson, Brianna Van Buren, Xiaonan Yan, Alexa Grasso, Angela Hill.

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