Sherdog’s WMMA Pound-for-Pound Top 10

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Liz Carmouche fought as if she had something to prove.

The 41-year-old former Bellator MMA champion scored a first-round technical knockout of Ilara Joanne in the first round of the 2025 Professional Fighters League World Tournament, earning a semifinal date with Elora Dana later this year. It was an impressive return to form after “Girl-Rilla” suffered her first defeat since 2019 against Taila Santos in the PFL postseason last August.

Since she left the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Carmouche has won 10 of 11 fights and captured a title belt — and she’ll look to add some PFL hardware to that collection with two more victories. That’s good enough to hang on to the No. 15 spot in the latest female pound-for-pound poll, though top UFC strawweight contender Virna Jandiroba is breathing down her neck following her latest showing, a domination of former title challenger Yan Xioanan.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

1. Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (28-2, 1 NC) | Bellator [1]

Even at 39 years old, “Cyborg” remains the cream of the crop in the women’s featherweight division. She once again proved her supremacy in the PFL “Battle of the Giants” co-main event, where she outdueled Larissa Pacheco for five rounds to capture the promotion’s Superfights belt. The heavy-handed Brazilian has now captured championships in the UFC, PFL, Strikeforce, Bellator and Invicta, making her perhaps the most accomplished female fighter ever. With a lack of depth at 145 pounds, Justino’s next move will prove to be interesting indeed.

2. Valentina Shevchenko (24-4-1) | UFC [2]

Shevchenko was a woman on a mission in the UFC 306 co-main event, as she dominated Alexa Grasso with takedowns and positional control en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision triumph at the Sphere in Las Vegas. “Bullet” regains the flyweight belt she lost to Grasso in a massive upset at UFC 285 and evens their trilogy at 1-1-1. Perhaps more impressively, Shevchenko improved to 9-2-1 during her current run of 11 straight title fights, further solidifying her status as the greatest female flyweight of all-time. Next, Shevchenko will face top contender Manon Fiorot in the UFC 315 co-main event.

3. Weili Zhang (26-3) | UFC [3]

Zhang was more dominant than anyone could have imagined in the UFC 312 co-main event, as she overwhelmed Tatiana Suarez for four rounds after dropping the opening stanza. Not only did Zhang batter her opponent on the feet, but she also controlled the vast majority of the grappling exchanges against an accomplished wrestler. “Magnum” is now tied for the most title victories (six) in UFC strawweight history, and there doesn’t appear to be a clear threat to her reign at the top of the division at this point in time.

4. Alexa Grasso (16-4-1) | UFC [4]

Grasso spent much of her trilogy bout against Valentina Shevchenko on her back, and the Mexican star paid the price, as she relinquished her flyweight title in a unanimous decision loss at UFC 306. Grasso struggled to find her range on the feet and outside of a couple submission attempts, was unable to seriously threaten her rival over the course of the 25-minute affair. Still, Grasso is 1-1-1 against Shevchenko overall, so she shouldn’t be too far from contention at 125 pounds. The Lobo Gym MMA standout will return to action against rising contender Natalia Silva at UFC 315.

5. Manon Fiorot (12-1) | UFC [5]

Fiorot relied on her physical advantages at UFC on ESPN 54, as she cruised to a unanimous decision triumph over Erin Blanchfield in the evening’s main event at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Fiorot’s winning streak now stands at seven, and while it wasn’t an especially enthralling performance, it’s hard to deny the Frenchwoman her place as the division’s No. 1 contender. She’ll get her championship opportunity against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 315.

6. Erin Blanchfield (13-2) UFC [6]

After suffering her first UFC defeat against Manon Fiorot in March, Blanchfield rebounded with a pivotal, five-round unanimous decision triumph against former strawweight queen Rose Namajunas in the UFC Edmonton co-main event. “Cold Blooded” started slowly, but she was gradually able to take control over the bout’s final 15 minutes. With victories over Namajunas, Taila Santos and Jessica Andrade already on her resume, the New Jersey will look to add to her record when she meets Maycee Barber on May 31.

7. Dakota Ditcheva (14-0) | PFL [7]

After rolling through largely unheralded opposition in her first 13 professional outings, Ditcheva made a significant statement at the PFL Championships, where she stopped former UFC title challenger Taila Santos in the second round of the co-headlining clash. With a resume that now includes flyweight titles in the PFL and PFL Europe, Ditcheva appears to be fulfilling her considerable potential. The Brit’s next step will likely be a spot on an upcoming PFL Champions Series card.

8. Rose Namajunas (13-7) | UFC [8]

Things appeared to be going well for Namajunas in the early rounds against Erin Blanchfield at UFC Edmonton, but “Thug” Rose was unable to keep the fight at her preferred range down the stretch. That resulted in a narrow five-round defeat for the former strawweight champion, who falls to 2-2 since moving to 125 pounds and sees her title hopes dashed for the time being. Next, Namajunas will face Miranda Maverick on June 14.

9. Julianna Pena (12-5) | UFC [9]

Returning to action at UFC 307 after more than two years away, “The Venezuelan Vixen” picked up right where she left off, edging out Raquel Pennington by split decision to reclaim the title she lost in July 2022. In so doing, the Washington state native became one of the unlikeliest two-time champs in UFC history, proving that when healthy, she can hold her own with anyone. While she used her moment in the spotlight to try and goad retired former champ Amanda Nunes into a rubber match, the first title defense of her second reign will be a showdown against surging newcomer Kayla Harrison in the UFC 316 co-main event.

10. Taila Santos (22-4) | PFL [10]

Santos figured to be the most stern test for Dakota Ditcheva to date, but the Brazilian was largely outclassed in their PFL final matchup, falling via technical knockout 4:41 into the second round of the flyweight title affair. While the one-sided nature of the defeat was something of a surprise, Santos enjoyed a productive 2024 campaign overall, posting a 3-1 mark that included a triumph over Bellator flyweight queen Liz Carmouche. She was supposed return to action as part of PFL’s flyweight tournament against Juliana Velasquez before withdrawing from the event.

Other Contenders: Seika Izawa, Raquel Pennington, Larissa Pacheco, Kayla Harrison, Liz Carmouche.

Sherdog’s divisional and pound-for-pound rankings are compiled by a panel of Sherdog.com staff members and contributors: Tristen Critchfield, Mike Fridley, Brian Knapp, Ben Duffy, Jay Pettry, Marcelo Alonso, Keith Shillan, Tyler Treese, Sayan Nag and Robert Sargent.