MMA is known as a vicious but highly respectful sport where contenders battle it out in the octagon to be crowned king or queen of the night. Women in MMA have been around just as long as men in MMA but have much more attention due to recent events. In today’s article, we take a look at the best women MMA fighters in 2022, and why you should pay attention to them.
What is MMA?
MMA, otherwise known as Mixed-Martial Arts or “cage fighting” is a no holds barred, a bare-knuckle fighting sport that allows for mixed martial artists to fight it out in the octagon. This full-contact sport can result in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears and contenders battle it out in a set of several-minute rounds till someone is either knocked out, or all the rounds have been fought out.
Do you want to learn more about women’s MMA? You can learn about MMA here, on how to learn MMA and increase your knowledge in this fast-action, high-energy sport.
Who are the best Women MMA fighters?
There are several hundred well-known pound-for-pound women MMA fighters out there, but our list of the best, and most well-known fighters is as follows. We’ve added a few in here that you might have already heard of!
Valentina Shevchenko
Valentina Shevchenko, otherwise known as “Bullet” is one of the fastest, and highest-ranking women MMA fighters out there. With an impressive 23-3-0 record as of writing, she is one of the highest-ranked MMA fighters and is also one of the fastest.
This 34-year-old Kygyztanian is not only super impressive but dominates the flyweight class weighing between 120lbs and 126lbs depending on her opponent. Her current 9-win streak outclasses many of her opponents and is one of the best women MMA fighters in her class.
Amanda Nunes
Amanda Nunes, otherwise known as “The Lioness” is quite frankly living up to her name. This fierce thunder lioness is one of the taller and more impressive MMA fighters on this list. With a career record of 22-5-0, she’s got an impressive record and an impressive fight history.
Fighting out of Bahia, Brazil, Amanda Nunes has captured the hearts of the audience with her true grit and determination to dominate in her class (bantamweight) and now lives in Florida. Amanda Nunes is one of the strongest and most fierce fighters on our list.
Rose Namajunas
Rose Namajunas is another fighter on our list who is living up to their very impressive name. Otherwise known as “Thug”, Rose Namajunas boasts a great 11-5-0 record and is one of the best in her class (Strawweight) which is a little lighter than other weight classes.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and fighting out of Arvada, Colorado, Rose Namajunas is a young (30-year-old) fighter who loves to battle it out in the octagon. We think that Rose will dominate in her weight class for years to come and we’re sure she’ll climb her way on this list.
Weili Zhang
Someone you may not have heard of is Weili Zhang. This impressive 22-3 Chinese MMA fighter is not only staggering to watch but boasts an incredible record and win streak in her class. Similarly to Rose Numajunas, Weili Zhang fights in the Strawweight class and can dominate most opponents in her class.
At 33 years old, the “Magnum” is well-decorated both in China and around the world for her fighting abilities, and similarly to other ladies on this list, we expect to see Weili Zhang excel in her class and climb her way to MMA stardom, further than she already has!
Carla Esparza
Carla Esparza, otherwise known as “The Cookie Monster” is sure eating up her cookies in the weight class. Fighting out of the US (California), Carla Esparza is one of the smallest, yet most decorated in her class (Strawweight). Weighing in at around 115 lbs, this 19-6-0 MMA fighter strikes fear into her opponents at every chance.
Being well decorated, and being on a massive 6-win streak at the time of writing, we’re sure that Carla will climb her way up on the official MMA rankings. She currently stands at number 2 for the best female strawweight and number 5 pound-for-pound fighter.
Julianna Pena
This US-born-and-raised fighter, Julianna Pena is another well-ranked, highly-rated MMA fighter. Known as the “Venezuelan Vixen”, this Bantamweight contender is one of the best in her class, with an 11-5-0 record.
Despite being well-decorated, Julianna Pena is still racking up fights in the future and we know she’ll climb the MMA ladder to stardom, and dominate her class no matter what. We’re rooting for you, Julianna!
Ronda Rousey
Now signed to the WWE, Ronda Rousey may turn a few heads around as one of the most well-known MMA fighters around. Ronda Rousey is now retired but boasted a clean record until falling to the likes of Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes.
Now a WWE contender, Ronda Rousey hung up her MMA gloves back in 2016 due to complications with fighting but is now loving life in the hills fighting for entertainment, rather than for victory. We’d love to see Rousey back in the octagon, but we think it might be a tough ask.
Can you bet on Women’s MMA?
Of course! Just like most sports, there is a betting market for women’s MMA, and typically the odds are favorable for people wanting to place bets on women’s MMA. MMA typically has their preferred betting place, for example, “Stake.com”, however, you can bet on many casinos and sportsbooks around the globe – typically on the outcome of the fight, or how the fight has concluded (i.e a knockout or through judges cards/scoring).
Conclusion
All in all, MMA in general can be seen as a brutal, yet exhilarating combat sport that has garnered the attention of millions of people around the world. Both women’s and men’s MMA is exciting to watch, and even participate in, so what are you waiting for – learn how to participate and maybe we’ll see you on this list one day!
