Sherdog’s WMMA Pound-for-Pound Top 10

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Weili Zhang spotted Tatiana Suarez a round, but after that, the rout was on.

The reigning strawweight queen outclassed her opponent in all aspects of their fight, rolling to a dominant unanimous decision triumph in the UFC 312 co-main event at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Saturday night. While Suarez’s wrestling was expected to be a stern test for Zhang, the Chinese standout stuffed 14 takedowns while battering her shellshocked adversary on the feet to secure her sixth victory in UFC title bouts — tied for the most in strawweight history.

At this point in her career, it’s fair to consider that Zhang might be the greatest strawweight of all time, and her place among the sport’s pound-for-pound elite is also secure. In fact, “Magnum” probably has a legitimate claim to the top spot. However, so do the women ranked above her: Valentina Shevchenko and Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino. For now, Zhang stays put at No. 3, but there’s a legitimate case to be made that she deserves to be higher. Perhaps that day will arrive in the coming months.

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.

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.

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.

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 native has targeted a showdown against former 125-pound champ Alexa Grasso for her next Octagon appearance.

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 be interesting, whether it’s another entry into the PFL season or higher-profile pairings in the promotion’s pay-per-view division.

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.

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 35-year-old 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, it seems much more likely that the first title defense of her second reign will be either a rematch with Pennington, or against surging newcomer Kayla Harrison.

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

Santos figured to be the sternest 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

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.