5 Greatest Female UFC Fighters of All Time

Both male and female fighters have worked their way to the peak of their human form, especially in the UFC. There’s only a handful of female fighters who can be considered the greatest, and since the inclusion of women in combat sports, the UFC has produced numerous top-quality MMA fighters.

In this article, we’ll give the rundown on the top 5 greatest female UFC fighters of all time based on multiple achievements.

5. Rose Namajunas

Beginning our list of top female UFC fighters of all time is Rose Namajunas, who knocks Joanna Jerdzejczyk off the list with a super close career record of 14-7. Namajunas takes the #5 spot over Jedrzejczyk (16-5) because she knocked her out in the strawweight title fight. Not only would Jedrzjeczyk succumb to Namajunas wrath, but she’d KO Weili Zhang (26-3) at the height of her career.

Being a two-time strawweight titleholder is truly impressive. Namajunas is still kicking it to this day, as she looks to improve to the flyweight division to improve her status as one of the greatest female UFC fighters ever.

4. Valentina Shevchenko

If you know UFC, you’ve heard of Valentina Shevchenko and her tear in the MMA world, sitting at a record of 24-4-1. Shevchenko is the current women’s pound-for-pound top-ranked fighter and holds the flyweight title. She defeated nine straight opponents of the highest caliber, including Holly Holm and Julianna Pena.

One of her toughest fights involved one of the top female fighters of all time, Amanda Nunes, where they’d fight for 10 rounds before Nunes would win by decision (some think unfairly). The “Bullet” is one of the best female UFC fighters of all time, with eight wins by KO and seven from submission against some of the most difficult opponents in the business.

3. Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey was the top catalyst for igniting the inclusion of women in the UFC, and she’d prove that the sport caters to no gender with her impressive yet short-lived 12-2 record. It started with 12 straight wins, all of which ended relatively quickly due to her lethal striking accuracy in areas like the head, leading her to win three fights by KO and nine by submission.

While Rousey is hands down one of the top female fighters to enter the octagon, she had two unfortunate consecutive losses, the first against Holly Holm who ended her undefeated streak, and the second against Amanda Nunes, which ender her career as a professional fighter. Still, Rousey revolutionized the sport for future generations of young women and even proved a female fighter can go on an incomprehensible tear for some time.

2. Cris Cyborg

Cris Cyborg is an absolute machine (no pun intended), as she is the only UFC fighter in history to be a Grand Slam Champion at 39 years old, holding five titles across five major MMA promotions. She boasts an impressive 28-2 (1 NC) overall record. A whopping 22 of those fights were ended by KO, as the legendary striker does not like to leave her opponents standing.

Although her last fight was in October of 2024, the Brazilian MMA fighter managed to achieve World Featherweight titles in the UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC with her most recent loss, the only one in the last decade, coming from the legendary Amanda Nunes. For most fighters, male or female, 28-2 is top-tier, which is why a fighter like Cris Cyborg deserves the #2 spot of greatest female UFC fighters of all time.

1. Amanda Nunes

Finally, the #1 female fighter of all time on this list goes to Amanda Nunes, and for good reason. Nunes may showcase a 23-5 record, but she has a successful hit list of all the top female fighters. The legendary “Lioness” has finished 14 fights in the first round, boasting 13 wins by KO and four by submission.

When it comes to taking down the top fighters out there, Nunes overcame the likes of Valentina Shevchenko, Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg, some of which resulted in her putting her opponent’s careers to bed. She undoubtedly deserves the top spot of the greatest female fighter of all time, and she currently holds the UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight titles.