Sherdog’s WMMA Pound-for-Pound Top 10

Weili Zhang put forth a performance befitting a pound-for-pound standout at UFC 292.

“Magnum” authored one of 2023’s most lopsided beatdowns in her strawweight title defense against Amanda Lemos, relying on takedowns, positional control and ground-and-pound to cruise to a unanimous verdict in Saturday’s co-main event at TD Garden in Boston. Now on her second reign as 115-pound champ, Zhang has crafted a resume that includes four victories in championship bouts and wins over the likes of Lemos, Carla Esparza, Joanna Jedrzejczyk (twice), Jessica Andrade and Tecia Torres. With her latest effort, Zhang surpasses Valentina Shevchenko and takes over the No. 4 spot, and there’s clear potential for even more upward movement in the future.

Meanwhile, Larissa Pacheco continued her quest to become a Professional Fighters League two-division champion, as she stopped Olena Kolesnyk via 14-second TKO on Friday to advance to the organization’s featherweight final. The heavy-handed Brazilian is now the owner of a nine-bout winning streak in PFL, which allows her to keep her No. 14 ranking. At this point, the only thing holding Pacheco back is a relatively weak strength of schedule.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

1. Amanda Nunes (23-5) | UFC [1]

Nunes was rarely threatened in a lopsided unanimous decision triumph over Irene Aldana in the UFC 289 headliner, and she capped off that performance by announcing her retirement from mixed martial arts. “Lioness” exits the sport as a two-division champion and arguably the most accomplished female fighter of all-time with a resume that includes wins over the likes of Cristiane Justino, Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Miesha Tate, Germaine de Randamie and Julianna Pena. While Nunes leaves a potential trilogy with Pena on the table, she really had nothing left to accomplish in a decorated career. If her retirement holds up, Nunes’ rankings eligibility will expire on June 10, 2024.

2. Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (26-2, 1 NC) | Bellator [2]

It took a little bit longer than their first meeting, but “Cyborg” nonetheless improved to 2-0 against Arlene Blencowe with a unanimous decision triumph in the Bellator 279 main event at Neil S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. The reigning featherweight queen has won six straight since her shocking loss to Amanda Nunes in December 2018 and still looks to be head and shoulders above the 145-pound field in Bellator. After an extended layoff that included a pair of boxing matches, Justino has re-signed with Bellator and will defend her crown against Cat Zingano at Bellator 300.

3. Alexa Grasso (16-3) | UFC [3]

Those who were looking ahead to Valentina Shevchenko’s next title defense against Erin Blanchfield obviously forgot about Grasso. The Mexican standout authored what figures to be one of the biggest upsets of 2023, as she submitted Shevchenko in the fourth-round of their co-headlining encounter at UFC 285. Grasso extends her own winning streak to five and becomes the third female flyweight title holder in UFC history. Grasso’s first title defense will be an immediate rematch against Shevchenko at a UFC event in Vegas on Sept. 16.

4. Weili Zhang (24-3) | UFC [5]

Zhang bullied Amanda Lemos for five rounds, winning a lopsided decision triumph in the UFC 292 co-main event. Currently on her second reign as strawweight queen, “Magnum” has rebounded from back-to-back losses to Rose Namajunas in 2021 to win her last three outings in impressive fashion. With a resume that includes notable wins over the likes of Lemos, Carla Esparza, Joanna Jedrzejczyk (twice), Jessica Andrade and Tecia Torres, the Chinese standout ranks among the top females in the sport.

5. Valentina Shevchenko (23-4) | UFC [4]

Shevchenko lost in stunning fashion at UFC 285, falling victim to a face crank from Alexa Grasso after missing the mark on an ill-advised spinning back kick in the fourth-round of their co-main event encounter. Given Shevchenko’s struggles against Taila Santos in her previous outing, perhaps her fall against Grasso shouldn’t be so surprising. Regardless, “Bullet’s” dominance at 125 pounds has allowed her to receive an immediate rematch against Grasso in Las Vegas on Sept. 16.

6. Carla Esparza (19-7) | UFC [6]

Esparza’s second reign as strawweight champion was as short-lived as the first, as she relinquished the crown to Weili Zhang in a second-round submission defeat in the UFC 281 co-main event. “Cookie Monster” rebuilt her career after the first title bout loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2015, and it’s possible she could rise to the top again — especially if the title changes hands. After having a six-bout winning streak snapped in defeat, Esparza will be in line to face another highly ranked foe in her next outing. That won’t come until 2024, as Esparza recently revealed that she is awaiting the birth of her first child.

7. Rose Namajunas (11-5) | UFC [7]

Namajunas gave one of the most perplexing performances by a defending champion in recent memory, as she refused to engage for the majority of 25 minutes against Carla Esparza in a split decision loss in the UFC 274 co-main event. Though Esparza didn’t do much to force the issue, the “Cookie Monster” did just enough to get the nod from two cageside judges and improve to 2-0 against “Thug” Rose. On the heels of that performance, Namajunas will move to 125 pounds to face top contender Manon Fiorot at UFC Paris.

8. Liz Carmouche (19-7) | Bellator [8]

Down 3-0 on the scorecards in her rematch against DeAnna Bennett, Carmouche showed her mettle with a fourth-round submission victory in the Bellator 294 headliner in Honolulu. Though her opponent missed weight, Carmouche risked vacating the 125-pound strap had she suffered an upset loss. Instead, “Girl-Rilla” has won six consecutive fights since signing with Bellator MMA. Next on the agenda is a title defense against friend and longtime training partner Ilima-Lei Macfarlane at Bellator 300.

9. Erin Blanchfield (11-1) UFC [9]

While Blanchfield has been on the radar as a future contender for some time now, her ascent to the top of the flyweight division accelerated following a second-round submission of Jessica Andrade in the UFC Fight Night 219 headliner. With five consecutive victories in UFC competition — including three via submission — “Cold Blooded” appears to be a serious threat to the top of the division. Next, she’ll lock horns with former 125-pound title challenger Taila Santos at UFC Singapore on Aug. 26.

10. Xiaonan Yan (18-3, 1 NC) | UFC [10]

Yan picked up the biggest victory of her career at UFC 288, stunning former champ Jessica Andrade with a huge right hand and follow-up ground strikes in the first round. Yan’s first knockout win in the UFC could not have come at a more opportune time, as most of the rest of the promotion’s top strawweights are either coming off losses, have already fought champ Weili Zhang, or are pregnant—or all three, in the case of Carla Esparza. “Fury” looks to be in an excellent position to navigate the 115-pound traffic jam, and the UFC’s first ever all-Chinese title fight may become a reality at some point in 2023.

Other Contenders: Julianna Pena, Seika Izawa, Raquel Pennington, Larissa Pacheco, Tatiana Suarez.

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, Robert Sargent, Tudor Leonte, Keith Shillan, Mike Sloan, Tyler Treese, John Brannigan and Lev Pisarsky.