Today, women all over the world are aiming to reach the top of the UFC’s weight class divisions.
* Women’s featherweight usually doesn’t have enough active fighters to rank, but Amanda Nunes and others occasionally compete in this division.
Here’s an easy-to-understand infographic of the women’s weight divisions in the UFC:
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Continue reading to learn more about the UFC’s women’s weight divisions!
1 UFC women’s weight classes in order UFC women’s weight classes Women’s Featherweight Division Rankings Women’s Featherweight Division Rankings Women’s Bantamweight Division Rankings Women’s Featherweight Division Rankings History of UFC women’s weight classes Introduction to women’s featherweight weight classesLaunch of the UFC division UFC match of women’s UFC division women’s weight classes How many women’s divisions in UFC?What is the heaviest weight class in the women’s UFC?Who is the heaviest female UFC fighter?What is the lightest UFC women’s weight class? What are the UFC women’s divisions? Final thoughts on the women’s divisions in the UFC
UFC women’s weight classes in order
UFC women’s weight classes in order
Here is the list of four weight classes for the women of the UFC, including their maximum weight class in pounds and kilograms:
Weight Class (Division) Weight (lbs) Weight (kg) Strawweight115 lbs52.2 kg Flyweight 125 lbs56.7 kg Bantamweight135 lbs61.2 kg Featherweight145 lbs65.8 kg MMA Unified Rules, 2018
Currently, there are only four weight divisions for UFC women’s matchups.
Three (flyweight, bantamweight, and featherweight) match up to the men’s UFC weight classes.
But Strawweight is added only for women’s matchups.
Women are usually different than men because they are smaller in size, frame and weight.
So the divisions represent that, along with the currently available pool of most female MMA fighters.
Although there is a featherweight division for women, fights rarely take place in that division because most fighters cannot make this weight of 145 lbs.
The women’s schedule is only one-third to one-half the size of the men’s, so no additional weight classes have been added yet.
It may be possible to add an Atom weight class or another similar weight in the future.
UFC women’s weight class rankings
The UFC rankings in the women’s divisions change from time to time, especially after fighters compete against each other in a top-fifteen position.
But it could depend on many factors, such as a winning streak, but maybe only Dana White knows the real reasoning for rating changes!
I’ve compiled dynamically updated rankings for each women’s UFC weight class.
Women’s Strawweight Division Rankings
Name: womens_strawweight Rank Fighter 0 Zhang, Weili 1 Esparza, Carla 2 Namajunas, Rose 3 Lemos, Amanda 4 Andrade, Jessica 5 Rodriguez, Marina 6 Yan, Xiaonan 7 Dern, Mackenzie 8 Torres, Tecia 9 Jandiroba, Virna 10 Ribas, Amanda 10 Ribas Suarez, Tatiana 12 Waterson-Gomez, Michelle 13 Hill, Angela 14 Pinheiro, Luana 15 Ricci, Tabatha Last updated at: 2023-04-21T13:36:39+00:00
Women’s Flyweight Division Rankings
Name: womens_flyweight Rank Fighter 0 Grasso, Alexa 1 Shevchenko, Valentina 2 Fiorot, Manon 3 Santos, Taila 4 Blanchfield, Erin 5 Andrade, Jessica 6 Chookagian, Katlyn 7 Murphy, Lauren 8 Maia, Jennifer 9 Ribas, Amanda 10 Araujo, Viviane 1 Barber, Maycee 12 O’Neill, Casey 13 Lee, Andrea 14 Cortez, Tracy 15 Maverick, Miranda Last updated at: 2023-04-21T13:36:39+00:00
Women’s Bantamweight Division Rankings
Name: womens_bantamweight Rank Fighter 0 Nunes, Amanda 1 Pena, Julianna 2 Pennington, Raquel 3 Holm, Holly 4 Vieira, Ketlen 5 Aldana, Irene 6 Santos, Yana 7 Kianzad, Pannie 8 Chiasson, Macy 9 Rosa, Karol 10 Mayrao Silva 11 Tate , Miesha 12 Avila, Julia 13 Dumont Viana, Norma 14 Nunes, Josiane 15 Chandler, Chelsea Last updated at: 2023-04-21T13:36:39+00:00
Women’s Flyweight Division Rankings
Name: womens_featherweight Rank Fighter 0 Nunes, Amanda Last updated at: 2023-04-21T13:36:39+00:00
There aren’t enough female fighters who can match 145 lbs / 65.8 kg consistently enough for a women’s featherweight division to be active.
That’s why you only see the champion in this ranking.
But it is still possible for women to compete in this weight class, and perhaps in the future, this division will expand as more women fight into the UFC.
History of UFC women’s weight classes
We’ll cover some of the unique history of women’s involvement in the UFC.
Introduction to women’s weight classes
More than ten years ago, Dana White (CEO of the UFC) confirmed that the company would introduce the first weight class for women.
The UFC signed the then women’s Bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, in November 2012.
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Ronda was awarded the Bantamweight title and made her first title defense against Liz Carmouche at the first UFC event to feature women’s MMA, UFC 157, in February 2013.
Female fighters were still being introduced to the UFC in 2013.
The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, in April 2013, saw a women’s bantamweight showdown between Cat Zingano and Miesha Tate.
This was another big step in building the popularity of women’s MMA.
Straw weight division launch
In late 2013, the UFC signed contracts with eleven fighters from Invicta FC to launch the Strawweight division.
In the championship rounds of that historic season for women’s MMA, Rose Namajunas won three fights in a row by claiming Carla Esparza in the final.
Rose’s submission streak ended when Carla won the fight by submission of Namajunas and became the first women’s strawweight champion in UFC history.
Over ten years of UFC women’s championships
Women’s fights grew over the next few years, reaching another milestone as Carla Esparza lost her title to Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 185 in 2015.
Since then, the women’s UFC has not gone from strength to strength.
Women’s matchups appear on almost every fight card, whether preliminary or main.
And all of those fights have spanned a decade of elite-level competition with the UFC.
We have benefited from the era of fighters like Cris Cyborg, Amanda Nunes, Zhang Weili, and more, who continue to push the boundaries of what was once thought possible.
Questions about UFC women’s weight classes
A lot of questions come up about women’s divisions in the UFC, and I’ll answer them below:
How many women’s divisions in UFC?
The UFC has four women’s divisions or weight classes.
Although Featherweight rarely has enough participants to have a consistent ranking.
What is the heaviest weight class in the women’s UFC?
The Bantamweight division is the heaviest weight class in the women’s UFC.
There is also a weight class above that, the featherweight division, but there are rarely enough fighters at that weight to compete.
Who is the heaviest female UFC fighter?
Megan Anderson is the heaviest female UFC fighter on record, weighing in at 145 lbs/66kg.
What is the lightest UFC women’s weight class?
The lightest UFC women’s weight class is strawweight at 115lbs/52.2kg.
How much do the UFC flyweight women weigh?
Women’s UFC flyweight is 125lbs / 56.7kg.
It has the same weight as the men’s weight class.
Who is the toughest female fighter?
Amanda Nunes is often said to be the toughest female fighter for the level of competition she has had in her career, taking on challenges from almost any fighter.
Who is the number 1 female fighter?
Amanda Nunes still seems to be the top female fighter, despite recently losing her belt to Carla Esparza.
What are the UFC women’s divisions?
The UFC women’s divisions are actually UFC weight classes or weight divisions.
They are strawweight, flyweight, bantamweight, and featherweight.
They are strawweight, flyweight, bantamweight, and featherweight.
Final thoughts on the women’s divisions in the UFC
Now that there have been female fighters in the UFC for over a decade, we can hope to see the divisions filled with even more competition and skills.
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