Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Women’s Flyweight

1. Valentina Shevchenko (21-3) [1]

Jessica Andrade was supposed to provide Shevchenko with her most difficult test since winning the vacant flyweight crown against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in December 2018. Instead, “Bullet” rolled past the Brazilian, landing seven takedowns and finishing the fight in Round 2 with elbows from the mounted crucifix position. That makes five successful title defenses and seven consecutive victories overall for Shevchenko, who will potentially look to the winner of the Joanne Calderwood-Lauren Murphy fight at UFC 263 for her next opponent. .

2. Juliana Velasquez (11-0) [2]

In a championship matchup of undefeated fighters, Velasquez ended Ilima-Lei Macfarlane’s flyweight reign with a clear-cut five-round verdict in the Bellator 254 headliner on Dec. 10. The Brazilian judoka has been victorious in her first six promotional appearances and looks destined for a future showdown with Macfarlane training partner and former UFC title challenger Liz Carmouche. A rematch with Macfarlane or a clash with ex-Invicta champ Vanessa Porto are also possibilities.

3. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-1) [3]

For five rounds, Macfarlane struggled to navigate the size and strength advantages of Juliana Velasquez en route to a unanimous decision loss in the Bellator 254 headliner on Dec. 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. That ended the championship reign of the Hawaiian, who captured the Bellator’s inaugural 125-pound crown and defended it four times, all while becoming one of the California-based promotion’s biggest stars. Considering those credentials, Macfarlane may not be far off from another title shot — and an immediate return date with Velasquez might not be that farfetched.

4. Liz Carmouche (15-7) [4]

Carmouche moved closer to a flyweight title shot with a workmanlike three-round verdict against former Invicta FC title holder Vanessa Porto at Bellator 256 on April 9. “Girl-Rilla” has won four of her last five outings at 125 pounds – including Bellator wins against Porto and DeAnna Bennett – and appears poised for a showdown with reigning promotional champ Juliana Velasquez down the road, provided Team Hurricane Awesome training partner Ilima-Lei Macfarlane doesn’t receive an immediate rematch against Velasquez first.

5. Jessica Andrade (21-9) [5]

Andrade had no answers for Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 261, as she was taken down repeatedly and finished with elbows from the mounted crucifix position in the second-round of their flyweight title bout on April 24. The former strawweight champion’s next move should be interesting. She has lost three of her last four UFC appearances, including setbacks to newly-crowned strawweight queen Rose Namajunas and ex-champ Weili Zhang. However, her 1-1 record vs. Namajunas could set the stage for a trilogy bout down the road.

6. Katlyn Chookagian (16-4) [6]

Chookagian’s pace and volume carried her to a slightly contentious unanimous decision triumph over Viviane Araujo in a featured matchup at UFC 262 on May 15. Regardless of the nature of the win, Chookagian has now won three of her last four outings since falling to Valentina Shevchneko in a flyweight title bout at UFC 247 in February 2020. That’s enough to keep “Blonde Fighter” relevant in the division, though another title bout could be difficult to come by as long as Shevchenko is champ.

7. Lauren Murphy (14-4) [7]

Murphy continued her march toward title contention at UFC 254, where she tapped out replacement foe Liliya Shakirova with a rear-naked choke 3:31 into Round 2 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 24. It was the first career submission victory for Murphy, who is riding a four-bout winning streak in the Las Vegas-based promotion. Murphy is on the short list of top contenders for reigning champion Valentina Shevchenko.

8. Vanessa Porto (22-9) [8]

Given an opportunity to make a statement against Liz Carmouche in her Bellator debut on April 9, Porto fell flat, losing a lackluster unanimous decision in a matchup of flyweight contenders. The Bellator 256 defeat halted a four-bout winning streak for the former Invicta champ, who was making her first appearance since November 2019.

9. Jennifer Maia (18-7-1) [9]

After 10 minutes, Maia was on even terms with Valentina Shevchenko in their flyweight title bout at UFC 255. That proved to be a smokescreen, however, as Shevchenko dominated the rest of the way with sharp striking and timely takedowns to retain her 125-pound belt with a unanimous decision victory. In defeat, the former Invicta FC title holder falls to 3-3 during her tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion. Maia will return against fellow former title challenger Jessica Eye on July 10.

10. Joanne Calderwood (15-5) [10]

Calderwood put on a muay Thai exhibition at UFC 257, outlanding Jessica Eye with a variety of punches, elbows, kicks and knees in a unanimous decision triumph at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23. All told, Calderwood landed 148 significant strikes in victory – a UFC record for a three-round flyweight fight. The Scotswoman also puts herself back in the conversation for a matchup with reigning champion Valentina Shevchenko down the road.

Other Contenders: Cynthia Calvillo, Jessica Eye, Viviane Araujo, Roxanne Modafferi, Andrea Lee.

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