The evolution of women’s Mixed Martial Arts has been nothing short of meteoric. In less than two decades, we have gone from fighting for mere acceptance on main cards to headlining the biggest pay-per-views on the planet.
Determining a “Greatest of All Time” (GOAT) list is always a lightning rod for controversy. Different eras and weight classes make direct comparisons difficult. However, to bring objectivity to the chaos, we have compiled our definitive ranking of the top six female martial artists based on three specific, undeniable pillars of combat sports success:
- Professional Record & Quality Of Opposition: Who did they beat, and when did they beat them?
- Title Length & Defenses: Were they a flash in the pan, or did they clear out a division?
- Knockout Power: The ability to end a fight with strikes at any moment.
Based on these criteria, we are favoring dominant champions who possessed true fight-ending intentions over point-fighters or pure submission specialists.
Below are our picks for the top 6 female mixed martial artists of all time.
6. Weili “Magnum” Zhang
Professional Record: 25-3
Key Titles: Two-time UFC Strawweight Champion (current)
Weili Zhang represents the modern pinnacle of female MMA evolution. She is incredibly strong, highly technical, and possesses dynamite in her hands that few in the 115-pound division can match.
Zhang burst onto the scene with a 21-fight win streak, culminating in a brutal 42-second knockout of Jessica Andrade to capture the title in China. While she briefly lost the belt to Rose Namajunas, her resurgence has been terrifying. Her regaining of the title involved turning the highly durable Carla Esparza into a pretzel, and her title defense against Amanda Lemos demonstrated scary power for the weight class.
The Defining Criterion: KO Power. Zhang’s inclusion here is heavily weighted by her striking impact. Her KO of Andrade was pure violence, but her greatest hit might be the spinning backfist that turned Joanna Jędrzejczyk’s face into a mask of swelling in their 2020 Fight of the Year. When “Magnum” connects cleanly, people fall.
5. Joanna Jędrzejczyk
Professional Record: 16-5
Key Titles: UFC Strawweight Champion (5 defenses)
Before Weili and Rose, there was the “Joanna Champion” era. Jędrzejczyk’s inclusion on this list is secured by her incredible championship reign. She didn’t just hold the belt, she cleaned out the division, successfully defending her throne five times against the very best of her generation, including Claudia Gadelha (twice), Carla Esparza, and Jessica Penne.
While the criteria emphasize knockout power, Joanna is the exception who proves the rule through sheer volume. She didn’t often turn lights out with one shot, she subjected opponents to a death by a thousand cuts, a relentless, high-paced, Muay Thai meat grinder that broke their will and faces.
The Defining Criterion: Title Length. Her reign from 2015 to 2017 remains the gold standard for the UFC strawweight division. She set records for significant strikes landed that still stand today, proving that power comes in many forms, including relentless accumulation.
4. Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm
Professional Record: 15-7
Key Titles: UFC Bantamweight Champion, Multiple-time World Boxing Champion (WBF, WBA, WBC, IBA).
While some fighters on this list rely on long title reigns to secure their spot, Holly Holm earns the number four ranking based on the sheer magnitude of her “Quality of Opposition” and one specific, undeniable fact, she is the greatest giant-killer in the history of the sport.
Holm is the only athlete in history to hold world titles in both professional boxing and the UFC. While her MMA title reign was short, her path was harder than perhaps anyone else’s. She didn’t pad her record, she fought the absolute elite, going toe-to-toe with Amanda Nunes, Cris Cyborg, Valentina Shevchenko, Miesha Tate, and Ronda Rousey.
The Defining Criterion: The Ultimate Knockout Power. The criteria for this list weighs knockout power heavily, and Holly Holm owns the most significant knockout in combat sports history. At UFC 193, she did the unthinkable. She didn’t just beat the undefeated Ronda Rousey, she dismantled her technically before delivering the “head kick heard ’round the world.”
3. Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko
Professional Record: 23-4-1
Key Titles: UFC Flyweight Champion (Record 7 defenses)
If you were to build the perfect female fighter in a laboratory, she would look like Valentina Shevchenko. A Master of Sport in multiple disciplines, “Bullet” is perhaps the most technically complete female striker to ever compete in MMA.
For years, the UFC Flyweight division existed solely as Valentina’s kingdom. She racked up seven consecutive title defenses, often making world-class contenders look like amateurs. Her only significant losses came against Amanda Nunes (twice, at a higher weight class) and a recent upset by Alexa Grasso, which she fought to a draw in the rematch.
The Defining Criterion: KO Power & Technique. Shevchenko isn’t a brawler, she is a sniper. She possesses true one-shot knockout power in all four limbs. Her head-kick KO of Jessica Eye remains perhaps the most devastating knockout in women’s UFC history, a chilling display of perfect technique meeting raw power.
2. Cris Cyborg
Professional Record: 27-2 (1 NC)
Key Titles: Strikeforce, Invicta FC, UFC, and Bellator Featherweight Champion (Current Bellator Champ)
Before Rousey, before Nunes, there was only Cyborg. For over a decade, Cristiane Justino was the boogeywoman of women’s combat sports.
Cyborg’s career is a testament to longevity and sheer terror. After losing her pro debut in 2005, she went unbeaten for 13 years. She is the only fighter in history, male or female, to hold championship belts in four major promotions (Strikeforce, Invicta, UFC, Bellator).
While she has developed her overall game later in her career, her foundation is based on terrifying aggression and heavy hands. She didn’t just beat opponents, she overwhelmed them physically, winning 21 of her 27 victories by knockout.
The Defining Criterion: KO Power & Longevity. Cyborg defined “knockout power” in women’s MMA. For a decade, if you signed a contract to fight her, you were signing up to get hurt. Her TKO of Gina Carano in 2009 was the fight that first put women’s MMA on the mainstream map.
1. Amanda “The Lioness” Nunes
Professional Record: 23-5
Key Titles: UFC Bantamweight Champion (5 defenses), UFC Featherweight Champion (3 defenses)
There is no debate. There is only The Lioness.
Amanda Nunes is the undisputed greatest female fighter of all time, and she perfectly embodies every single criterion set for this ranking. Her resume reads like a hit-list of the biggest names in the sport. She didn’t just beat the best, she violently dismantled them.
Nunes is the only woman in UFC history to become a simultaneous two-division champion, and the only fighter ever to defend both of those titles actively.
Let’s look at the criteria.
Record: She holds wins over every other person on this top-6 list (beating Shevchenko twice, destroying and Cyborg in 51 seconds). Title Length: Her reign over the Bantamweight division lasted from 2016 until her retirement in 2023 (minus one hiccup against Julianna Peña, which she brutally avenged). KO Power: She is arguably the hardest punching female fighter in history.
The Defining Criterion: The Complete Package. Nunes’ run from 2016 to 2019 is the greatest stretch in MMA history. In that span, she knocked out Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, and the seemingly invincible Cris Cyborg in the first round. She is the gold standard against which all future female fighters will be measured.
From Holly Holm’s iconic, era-ending head kick that changed the sport’s landscape, to Cris Cyborg’s decade of destruction, and Valentina Shevchenko’s surgical technical mastery, the bar has been set unbelievably high. Yet, sitting above them all is the Lioness, Amanda Nunes, whose undisputed status as the only simultaneous two-division champion to defeat nearly every other queen on this list ensures her legacy is cemented as the definitive GOAT. These six women represent the absolute pinnacle of combat sports excellence, and the task for the next generation is simple, but monumental, dethrone these legends if you can.
