Who are the best female UFC fighters of 2022? To be great in MMA today, female fighters must know a myriad of disciplines like kickboxing, wrestling, Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and even karate. The toughest women's UFC fighters can fight standing up or grapple on the mat, until they find themselves with the opportunity for a ground-and-pound in the Octagon. Who's the best female UFC fighter of 2022? Which of the best UFC women fighters do you love?
When it comes to the pound-for-pound best women UFC fighter right now, Valentina Shevchenko and Amanda Nunes have to be near the top of the list, while also among the best female UFC fighters of all time. The best woman UFC fighters like Rose Namajunas and Julianna Peña have their claim to the best female fighter in UFC title as well.
Alexa Grasso (born August 9, 1993) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the flyweight division. She is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 16, 2021, she is #11 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings.
Valentina Anatolievna Shevchenko (born March 7, 1988) is a Kyrgyzstani professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. Shevchenko competes in the women's flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current Women's Flyweight champion. She became champion at UFC 231 beating Joanna Jędrzejczyk, who Shevchenko also previously beat three times in amateur Muay Thai bouts. She is widely considered as one of the best female fighters in the world. As of August 12, 2019, she is ranked #12 in UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
Julianna Nicole Peña (born August 19, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where she is the current UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. Peña is the first woman to win The Ultimate Fighter. As of May 9, 2022 she is #3 in the UFC women's pound for pound rankings.
Zhang Weili (born August 13, 1989), nickname Magnum, is a Chinese mixed martial artist. She was the former Kunlun Fight strawweight champion and currently competes in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Women's Strawweight Champion. She is the first ever Chinese champion in UFC history. Zhang was born in Handan, Hebei, China. She started training Sanda, Shuai Jiao and later Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) after watching others practicing BJJ in the gym where she worked as a fitness instructor, and she then later transitioned to MMA.
Amanda Lourenço Nunes (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is the reigning champion of the Women's Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions. She is the first woman in UFC history to become a two-division champion and the first woman in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously. As of August 19, 2019, she is #5 in official UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
Mackenzie Lynne Dern Santos (born March 24, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. She is a former world No. 1 ranked IBJJF competitor, currently ranked 6th among the female divisions. She is an ADCC and no gi BJJ (black belt) World Champion. As of November 23, 2021, she is #5 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings and as of December 20, 2021, she is #14 in the UFC women's pound for pound rankings.
