This is the Pro MMA Now women’s pound-for-pound rankings for May 2016.

Women of MMA have been impressing viewers world-wide. They have gone on to prove that fighting is not just man stuff, they have proven themselves time and again that they can be equally dominating and dangerous. This ranking marks the best female fighters in all of MMA, this ranking is non-biased which takes record from performance of past matches, presence in the octagon, record and capability to finish off opponents in the cage.

cris cyborg

1. Cristiane Justino (16-1, 1 NC)

“Cyborg” has established herself as the strongest woman combatant. She made an impactful octagon debut at UFC 198 by destroying Leslie Smith in 90 seconds. She has had an amazing 2016, she destroyed Daria Ibragimova in the first round on January 16. Apart from that she has been undefeated for the past 10 years and has destroyed fighters like Gina Carano and Marloes Coenen. Out of her 16 wins 14 have come by knockouts. Hence she has earned the title of the best female MMA fighter on the planet.

joanna jedrzejczyk

2. Joanna Jędrzejczyk (11-0)

Joanna showed a display of deadly striking yet again when she locked horns with Valerie Letourneau at UFC 193. The former kickboxing world champion captured the UFC strawweight championship from Carla Esparza back in March 2015. She has completed over a year as a champion and has had two successful title defenses. She is now coaching against rival Claudia Gadelha on season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter. The pair is set to clash at the finale of the season.

miesha tate

3. Miesha Tate (18-5)

It took “Cupcake” two attempts to capture the gold, but she at last managed to take the belt at UFC 196. Despite being the underdog Tate gave a super performance and managed a last second submission to defeat multiple time boxing world champion Holly Holm. She has been undefeated for the past two years, and holds victories over Sara McMann, Jessica Eye and Holly Holm. Her last defeat came back at the hands of the former champion Ronda Rousey, but since then she has gone on to win five straight matches. Miesha is now set to clash Amanda Nunes at UFC 200.

holly holm_qna

4. Holly Holm (10-1)

After her stunning and savage KO over Ronda Rousey at UFC 193, everyone was sure that Holly was going for a long and dominating reign as a champion. Her display of perfect footwork and deadly striking showed what an elite level athlete she was. Her calm and humble attitude made sure fans understood what sportsman spirit is all about; she thanked Ronda for the match, she was down to Earth, and never spoke about how great she was. Also, she wanted to be an active fighter and did not want to wait for Rousey’s return. This showed her love and respect for the sport. But her reign and glory was cut short by Rousey’s worst rival, Miesha Tate. Now Holm is set to clash kickboxing world champion Valentina Shevchenko on July 23, 2016.

rousey ronda smile

5. Ronda Rousey (12-1)

Ronda Rousey suffered her career’s first defeat at the hands of multiple time boxing champion Holly Holm. She had a great 2015 with both of her matches coming to an end in the very first minute of the fight. She even won the ESPY award for best female athlete. But her aura of invincibility was destroyed by “The Preacher’s Daughter” at UFC 196 where she was savagely knocked out by a head kick in round 2. Now it looks like “Rowdy” could face the winner of Tate vs. Nunes for the title, though when she will return is not clear.

claudia gadelha

6. Claudia Gadelha (13-1)

Claudia lost her perfect record to Joanna “Champion” back in late 2014. She then returned to the octagon and faced former WSOF strawweight champion Jessica Aguilar in a title eliminator match. Jessica had been on a 10 fight winning streak over a five year period prior to that. The match took place at UFC 190 and Claudia smashed Jessica. Her punches had anger seeping through them and her dominating presence showed that Claudia had not taken the loss lightly. This victory earned her a title shot and a coaching spot on TUF 23 opposite Joanna. The duo is set to lock horns at the finale of the season.

jessica aguilar

7. Jessica Aguilar (19-5)

A 10 fight winning streak came to an end for the former World Series of Fighting champion as she met the angry Claudia Gadelha in her octagon debut. Jessica had been unbeaten since 2011 and held victories over Carla Esparza and Megumi Fujii. She however could not stand up to Claudia as she lost the fight via unanimous decision at UFC 190. She was supposed to meet Julianna Lima at UFC 197, but ended up tearing her ACL and hence is out of action at the moment.

tonya evinger

8. Tonya Evinger (18-5)

After completing 10 years in her MMA career Tonya Evinger has finally found her well-earned glory as the reigning Invicta FC 135-pound champion. She is currently on a nine-fight winning streak and has defeated some of the top contenders in the bantamweight division. She recently locked horns against fellow veteran Colleen Schneider and won by a unanimous decision. Her last defeat came way back in 2011. It is quite surprising that she, the Invicta FC bantamweight champ, and Miesha Tate, the UFC women’s bantamweight champ, hold the same record. Let’s see what awaits “Triple Threat”.

amanda nunes

9. Amanda Nunes (12-4)

With Holly Holm not being the first choice because of her disappointing performance at UFC 196 and with Rousey on the sidelines, the best option as next title contender was Amanda “Lioness” Nunes. Amanda holds a UFC record of 5-1 and she has won three straight fights, with a win at the same UFC 196 event where Holly lost her title. Apart from being a good grappler Nunes has shown displays of chiseled striking. She has won four of her last five matches and holds a UFC record 5-1, with her only loss in the octagon coming at the hands of Cat Zingano. Amanda is now set to fight for the title against Miesha Tate at UFC 200.

julianna pena

10. Julianna Pena (7-2)

Julianna is the only one apart from Amanda Nunes who deserves a title shot. Julianna has been undefeated for the past two years, has gone on to develop her game and holds a victory over Jessica Eye. Since winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 18, “The Venezuelan Vixen” has been unstoppable. She now holds a UFC record of 3-0 and is set to clash against Cat Zingano at UFC 200.

-Paarth Pande
(@PandePaarth)

Also check out the Pro MMA Now women’s bantamweight and strawweight rankings.

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