The women’s flyweight division is officially the most underrepresented and underrated division in all of MMA. Despite producing some of the most talented fighters in the history of women’s MMA, the division has no has no representation in some of the largest MMA organizations in the world. Although UFC had its first ever women’s flyweight match recently, the division has not seen any clear direction in the company. And so far, the only promotion which can boast about having a well-defined women’s flyweight division is Invicta FC.
Honoring these fighters PRO MMA NOW proudly presents their first-ever women’s flyweight rankings. Kindly note that it is not possible to keep a track of every promotion and hence almost every fighter is from Invicta FC, hence if we miss out any fighter kindly pardon it and do let us know whom we have forgotten by commenting below.
1. Barb Honchak (10-2)
Barb Honchak is definitely one of the most dominating fighters in women’s MMA history. “The Little Warrior” is on a nine-fight winning streak with victories over UFC veteran and TUF 20 competitor Aisling Daily, known UFC straw-weight Nina Ansaroff, popular UFC bantamweight who recently fought Cris Cyborg, Leslie Smith, and ranked UFC straw weight Felice Herrig. She has gone on to deliver the best display of MMA in the Invicta FC cage. Standing as the most dominant champion in the women’s MMA world today “The Little Warrior” holds the Invicta FC flyweight belt and has already defended the belt twice. Training out of Alliance MMA and forming a deadly duo with former opponent Cat Zingano, the 36-year-old has time and again delivered super action packed matches. With UFC planning to create a flyweight division, Honchak should definitely be their first pick to sign up for the division. And with Joanna Jedrzejczyk expressing her interest in becoming the first person to hold two titles in the UFC, and making it pretty clear that she will fight in the division, a match between these two alpha predators would be the most amazing square off in the history of women’s MMA.
2. Jennifer Maia (13-4-1)
Well it is not yet clear whether Barb Honchak will fight in the UFC or not, but one thing which is clear is the fact that she will have to face Maia. Jennifer stands with an impressive MMA record with victories over top ranked UFC straw-weight Jessica Andrade and popular bantamweight Zoila Frausto. Her match against Kalindra Faria ended up in an exciting draw. Her last loss came in 2014 and since then she has managed an impressive four-fight winning streak in which she avenged her loss against Vanessa Porto and also managed to capture the Invicta FC interim flyweight belt. Standing as an immediate threat to champ Barb Honchak, her fight against Honchak will be both unpredictable as well as exciting.
3. Vanessa Porto (18-7)
Vanessa stands as one of the most underrated women MMA fighters of all time. She stands as one of the most experienced flyweight fighter and is also a pioneer of the sport. Since making her debut way back in 2005, Porto has managed to work her way into an impressive MMA record which includes victories over TUF vet Roxanne Modafferi, known fighter Zoila Frausto, MMA pioneer and UFC vet Tara LaRosa, famed UFC bantamweight and 10-time kickboxing world champ Germaine De Randamie, ranked bantamweight and current Invicta FC champion Tonya Evinger. Apart from these impressive victories, she also stands as someone who managed to go three rounds against Cris Cyborg, certainly a feat worth bragging about. Despite these facts Porto has never been able to capture the ultimate gold, the Invicta FC championship which right now stands as the highest recognized women’s belt in MMA. The tale of true fighters not being able to capture gold is not unheard of, as we have seen in the case of Claudia Gadelha against Joanna “Champion”, Urijah Faber against Dominick Cruz and many more.
4. Roxanne Modafferi (19-12)
Roxanne stands as one of those fighters who has been out-shined many times but she cannot be out-shined forever. The 33-year-old may not stand with an impressive record but if you take a close look at her career, “The Happy Warrior” who was once on a six fight losing streak, has now has managed to bounce back with some really impressive wins including victories over known flyweights Deanna Bennet and Andrea Lee. Roxanne is not near a title shot at the moment but she has definitely solidified herself as a strong contender with some really impressive victories acting as a strong foundation for her well-deserved spot in the division.
5. Deanna Bennett (8-2)
If there was a list of fighters who deserve to be in UFC, Bennett would top the list. “The Argentine Assassin” holds notable and dominating victories over famous and talented MMA fighters which include TUF 18 winner Julianna Pena, former Invicta FC title challenger Colleen Schneider, current Invicta FC interim flyweight champion Jennifer Maia, and former Invicta FC straw-weight champion Katja Kankaanpaa. Though the 30-year-old has dropped her last two fights, and so far has had a bad 2016, the former Invicta FC title challenger has definitely managed an impressive record to be ranked in the list.
6. Agnieszka Niedzwiedz (8-0)
Polish women have established themselves as an important part of the women’s MMA community; first Joanna, then Karolina, and now Agnieszka. Popularly known by her nickname “Kuma”, unlike Joanna and Karolina, is a grappler. A decorated Judoka, she has managed to rattle off real impressive victories. She recently made her Invicta FC debut and showed a really good performance against famed flyweight Christine Stanley on short notice. The 21-year-old charged with impressive takedowns and displayed a rich ground game that earned her the unanimous decision win. She has the potential of becoming a great fighter, out of her 8 victories 6 come by stoppages. Her mind games are really good; she is both a horrible trash talker as well as a badass fighter. In the near future she could be that celebrity who can take the women’s flyweight division to UFC.
7. Sarah D’Alelio (10-6)
Sarah stands as one of the strongest and one of the largest flyweight fighters in women’s MMA today. She has managed to create an impressive resume with wins over current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, ultra-tough and heavily underrated Vanesa Porto, Invicta FC bantamweight Raquel Pa’aluhi and decorated flyweight fighter Andrea Lee. The 35-year-old has locked horns with some of the most popular and dangerous women MMA fighters on the planet including former decorated UFC fighter and former bantamweight world champ Ronda Rousey, current Invicta FC bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger, UFC vet Lauren Murphy and many more. Her last fight which was with SFL, Asia’s largest MMA promotion, and it was a dominating one-sided beat down. Riding a three-fight win streak, if she can manage a fair few more victories it might just push her in the title picture.
8. Poliana Botelho (5-1)
Standing with an impressive record Poliana Botelho beyond doubt has managed to impress people. The Brazilian is the former XFCL flyweight champion and is on three-fight winning streak, including victories over notable flyweight fighters like Antonia da Silva and Silvana Gomez. She is also the current XFCL flyweight champion and has managed to knockout her last three opponents. Her only loss comes at the hands off top Brazilian seed and undefeated Viviane Pereira. The 27-year-old was recently signed up by UFC and so far, has no match scheduled.
9. Julia Berezikova (10-4)
She may not be undefeated but Julia stands as someone who can brag about fighting the best fighters in the world. The Russian right now is riding a two-fight winning streak since losing to No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound female fighter in world Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Yes, so one of her losses can be considered practically invalid as no one so far has come close to defeating the Polish sensation Joanna “Champion”. Berezikova, by the way, has defeated UFC vet Milana Dudieva, and before facing Joanna was riding a six fight win streak. She has also locked horns with some of the most talented female fighters in women’s MMA history including Tara LaRosa, Julie Kedzie and Rosi Sexton. Her last fight against Rosy Duarte in Oct. 2015 ended in a knockout victory for her and since then she has not fought.
10. Ilima-Lei MacFarlane (4-0)
I am biased but Ilima is one of the most talented flyweight fighters, who has not been ranked or recognized by the masses. She does not only stand with a perfect pro record but also with a perfect amateur record of 5-0. Currently signed with Bellator, the 26-year-old stands with victories over Rebecca Ruth and Amber Tackett. A well-rounded fighter with two submissions and one knockout victory, in the near future she can definitely be a true superstar and someone who can act as a torch bearer who takes women MMA to the next level of fame and success.
Remember everybody, all women must fight.
Let the game of supreme power now begin.
-Paarth Pande
(@PandePaarth)