Sherdog’s WMMA Pound-for-Pound Top 10

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It was a rough week for Liz Carmouche, to say the least.

After missing weight on Thursday, “Girl-Rilla” came up short in her Professional Fighters League flyweight semifinal matchup against Taila Santos a day later, losing a narrow decision at Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday night.

That ends a nine-bout winning streak for Carmouche, who had been nearly unstoppable since leaving the UFC for Bellator after a championship loss to Valentina Shevchenko in August 2019. Santos, who also knows something about coming up short against Shevchenko in the Octagon, will now get a chance to win a PFL title at 125 pounds when she squares off against top prospect Dakota Ditcheva later this year. For now, the Brazilian’s biggest triumph to date is against Carmouche, and it results in a shakeup of the women’s pound-for-pound poll. Santos enters the rankings at No. 9, while Carmouche falls from sixth to 11th.

Elsewhere, Virna Jandiroba strengthened her case for a strawweight title shot with a second-round submission of former No. 1 contender Amanda Lemos in the UFC on ESPN 60 headliner on July 20. Jandiroba’s current four-bout winning streak includes victories over ranked foes Lemos, Lupita Godinez, Marina Rodriguez and Angela Hill, allowing her to join the pound-for-pound rankings at No. 12.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

1. Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (27-2, 1 NC) | Bellator [1]

“Cyborg” turned away another challenger with ease, as Cat Zingano found herself outstruck and outwrestled before succumbing to a torrent of ground-and-pound in the first round of their co-headlining tilt at Bellator 300. The win was Justino’s fifth straight in Bellator and sixth since her shocking knockout loss to Amanda Nunes almost five years ago. With Professional Fighters League’s recent purchase of Bellator, Justino appears to be on a collision course with Larissa Pacheco after Kayla Harrison signed with the UFC.

2. Alexa Grasso (16-3-1) | UFC [2]

Grasso proved she was no fluke in the UFC Fight Night 227 headliner, as she battled Valentina Shevchenko tooth-and-nail for five rounds at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The end result was a split draw that provided little in the way of closure for either woman, but it does allow Grasso to keep her flyweight crown for at least one more defense. Grasso will coach against Shevchenko on “The Ultimate Fighter 32,” setting the stage for their trilogy later in 2024.

3. Weili Zhang (25-3) | UFC [3]

While Zhang was potentially robbed of a first-round finish against Xiaonan Yan in the UFC 300 co-main event, the reigning flyweight queen was undeterred, as she kept her focus and rolled to a five-round verdict over her Chinese rival. “Magnum” now has five victories in UFC title bouts to her credit — second most in strawweight history — and she remains head and shoulders above the rest of the contenders in the division. However, Zhang could use another boost like the one she received from her first fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2020 to raise her star profile to another level.

4. Valentina Shevchenko (23-4-1) | UFC [4]

Shevchenko displayed a champion’s resolve in her rematch with Alexa Grasso at UFC Fight Night 227, but a split draw kept “Bullet” from regaining the title she held for more than four years. To her credit, Shevchenko rebounded from being dropped for the first time in her UFC tenure in the second round to author a strong performance behind a stiff jab, solid wrestling and positional control. Shevchenko is expected to receive a trilogy bout against her Mexican rival after coaching opposite Grasso on “The Ultimate Fighter 32.”

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. However, Fiorot might have to wait until Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko square off for a third time after coaching on “The Ultimate Fighter 32” — or even longer than that, depending on the result of their trilogy.

6. Erin Blanchfield (12-2) UFC [7]

Blanchfield appeared to be overmatched by the larger Manon Fiorot in the UFC on ESPN 54 main event, as she struggled to close the distance for 25 minutes in a clear-cut unanimous decision defeat. While Blanchfield deserves credit for staying in her opponent’s face until the final horn, the Elmwood Park, New Jersey native missed out on a golden opportunity to assert herself as the division’s No. 1 contender. Instead, “Cold Blooded” has more questions to answer after seeing her six-bout winning streak come to an end.

7. Rose Namajunas (13-6) | UFC [8]

Namajunas was a step ahead of short-notice foe Tracy Cortez throughout their UFC on ESPN 59 headlining encounter, cruising to a unanimous decision at Ball Arena in Denver. After falling to Manon Fiorot in her 125-pound debut, the ex-strawweight queen has rallied to post five-round verdicts over Cortez and Amanda Ribas to establish herself as a person of interest in the flyweight division.

8. Raquel Pennington (16-8) | UFC [9]

Persistence paid off for Pennington, who became a champion 18 bouts into her promotional tenure with a grinding five-round verdict against Mayra Bueno Silva in the UFC 297 co-main event. “Rocky” wore her opponent down with a superior gas tank and grueling clinch work, earning her sixth consecutive UFC triumph in the process. A title defense against Julianna Pena could be next for Pennington.

9. Taila Santos (22-3) | PFL [NR]

Santos mixed clean combination striking with opportunistic grappling to take a hard-fought unanimous verdict over Bellator flyweight queen Liz Carmouche in the PFL semifinals on Aug. 2. Santos, who came up short in her bid for UFC gold at 125 pounds, will get a crack at $1 million and the PFL flyweight crown against Dakota Ditcheva later this year.

10. Seika Izawa (13-0) | Rizin [10]

Izawa captured the Deep Jewels atomweight title with a second-round ninja choke submission of Si Yoon Park at Deep Jewels 44 on March 24 at New Pier Hall in Tokyo. With the victory — her fourth straight via submission — Izawa claimed her third championship belt and continues to solidify herself as one of the sport’s most impressive lighter weight female fighters.

Other Contenders: Liz Carmouche, Virna Jandiroba, Xiaonan Yan, Larissa Pacheco, Kayla Harrison.

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.