Top Female UFC Fighters 2021

5 – Julianna Pena

Julianna Nicole Pena is an American Venezuelan professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division of the UFC, where she is the current UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion. Peña is also the first woman to win The Ultimate Fighter. As of December 13, 2021, she is ranked no.4 in the women’s pound for pound rankings.

Pena was expected to face Sara McMann on January 16, 2021, at UFC on ABC 1 before being pushed back a week later to UFC 257 on January 24, 2021. Pena won the fight via submission in round three.

She was expected to face Amanda Nunes for the Women’s Bantamweight Championship on August 7, 2021, at UFC 265. However, Nunes tested positive for COVID-19 on July 29, 2021. The bout was rescheduled to UFC 269 for December 11, 2021. After a dominant round one from Nunes, Peña came back in the second to win the bout and championship by rear-naked choke submission in what is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

4 – ZHANG WEILI

Zhang Weili is a Chinese mixed martial artist. She is the former Kunlun Fight (KLF) strawweight champion and competes in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where she is a former UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion. She is the first-ever Chinese and East Asian champion in UFC history. As of April 26, 2021, she is #1 UFC women’s strawweight rankings and as of December 13, 2021, she is #5 in UFC women’s pound-for-pound rankings.

In the second defense of her title, Zhang faced Rose Namajunas on April 24, 2021, at UFC 261. She lost the fight by knockout early in the first round after getting caught with a head kick.

A rematch between Zhang and Namajunas for UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship took place on November 6, 2021, at UFC 268. After a back and forth bout, Weili lost the bout via split decision. 14 out of 22 media scores gave it to Namajunas.

3 – AMANDA NUNES

Amanda Nunes is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion and a former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion. As of December 13, 2021, she is ranked no.1 in the UFC women’s bantamweight rankings and no.3 in UFC women’s pound-for-pound rankings.

She is the first woman to become a two-division champion, and the third fighter to hold titles in two weight classes simultaneously, after Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier. Nunes is also the first and only fighter to defend two titles while holding both. She is widely regarded as the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time.

Nunes was expected to defend her featherweight title against Megan Anderson in December 2020 at UFC 256. It was announced on November 9 that Nunes pulled out due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was postponed to 2021. The bout was rescheduled for March 6, 2021, at UFC 259. Nunes won the fight via triangle armbar in round one. Amanda Nunes lost her last fight and bantamweight title against Julianna Pena at UFC 269.

2 – VALENTINA SCHEVCHENKO

Valentina Anatolievna Shevchenko is a Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. She competes in the women’s Flyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where she is the reigning Women’s Flyweight Champion. Shevchenko became champion at UFC 231 after defeating Joanna Jędrzejczyk. As of December 13, 2021, she is ranked #1 in women’s pound-for-pound rankings.

In her fifth title defense, Shevchenko faced Jéssica Andrade on April 24, 2021, at UFC 261. After dominating Andrade for most of the bout, Shevchenko won via TKO in round two. Shevchenko faced Lauren Murphy on September 25, 2021, at UFC 266. She won the fight via technical knockout in round four.

1 – ROSE NAMAJUNAS

Rose Gertrude Namajunas is an American professional mixed martial artist. She is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where she competes in the women’s strawweight division and is the two-time and current Women’s Strawweight Champion. As of December 2021, she is ranked no.2 in the women’s pound for pound rankings.

Namajunas faced Zhang Weili for the Women’s Strawweight Championship on April 24, 2021, at UFC 261. She won the fight by knockout early in the first round after landing a head kick, claiming the Women’s Strawweight World Champion for the second time. Namajunas became the first female fighter to successfully regain the Championship belt. The rematch between Namajunas and Zhang for the Women’s Strawweight Championship took place on November 6, 2021, at UFC 268. After a back and forth bout, Namajunas defended her title, winning the bout via split decision.