Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Women’s Bantamweight

1. Kayla Harrison (19-1) UFC [3]

After hitting 135 pounds on the nose for the first time, Harrison handled her business at UFC 316, rolling to a second-round submission victory over Julianna Pena to claim bantamweight gold at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on June 7. The two-time Olympic gold medalist has lived up to her advance billing since signing with the UFC, and things only figure to get more interesting in the months to come: After winning the title, Harrison squared off with Amanda Nunes inside the Octagon, setting the stage for a high stakes clash in the near future.

2. Julianna Pena (12-6) | UFC [1]

While Pena did her best to sell the UFC 316 co-main event with some pre-fight animosity, she was no match for Kayla Harrison once the Octagon doors closed. Despite the edge in UFC championship experience, “The Venezuelan Vixen” mounted little in the way of offense before succumbing to a kimura near the end of the second round. That makes two title reigns without a successful defense for Pena, who to her credit might rank among the most unlikely champions in UFC history.

2. Raquel Pennington (16-9) | UFC [2]

Pennington’s storybook title run came to an end – at least for now – as she surrendered the belt to Julianna Pena in a hard-fought split decision at UFC 307. The razor-close fight obliged “Rocky” with the kind of grimy grind that normally favors her, but she nonetheless came up short. “Rocky” does not figure to fall far from the title picture, though she will have to wait until dominant newcomer Kayla Harrison has her say.

4. Macy Chiasson (10-4) | UFC [4]

Chiasson may have been ahead of schedule in her weight cut for UFC Vegas 107, but the same couldn’t be said for opponent Ketlen Vieira, and as a result the bout was moved to featherweight ahead of the event. Perhaps Vieira was too comfortable without making a weight cut, as she controlled large portions of the fight on the ground against Chiasson in a unanimous decision triumph. No matter how it happened, it’s a disappointing setback for Chiasson, who was on the verge of making serious noise in the bantamweight division.

5. Norma Dumont (12-2) | UFC [5]

Dumont continued her ascent in the bantamweight division, as she thoroughly outstruck former title challenger Irene Aldana over the course of three rounds in a clear-cut unanimous decision triumph at UFC 306. The Brazilian has won back-to-back fights at 135 pounds over Germaine de Randamie and Aldana, putting her on the short list of top contenders in the weight class. Dumont has won five straight UFC appearances overall, a streak that includes victories at both bantamweight and featherweight.

6. Holly Holm (15-7, 1 NC) | UFC [6]

Holm employed a questionable game plan against Kayla Harrison and paid the price at UFC 300, suffering a second-round submission loss to the two-time Olympic judo gold medalist. While some might have expected “The Preacher’s Daughter” to rely on her striking skills, she instead elected to clinch and was overwhelmed by a powerful foe who previously competed at 155 pounds. The Jackson-Wink MMA standout has now won just one of her last four Octagon appearances. She was granted her UFC release at the beginning of 2025 and was subsequently selected in the Global Fight League draft. Holm was scheduled to meet Julia Budd before the GFL canceled its first events.

7. Irene Aldana (15-8) | UFC [7]

Aldana displayed plenty of heart against Norma Dumont in their bantamweight clash at Noche UFC, but she was outstruck by a whopping 159-to-69 count over the course of three rounds — and also received a nasty gash on her forehead due to an accidental clash of heads — in a unanimous decision defeat. The 36-year-old Lobo Gym MMA product has lost two of her last three outings and has some work to do if she hopes to receive another title shot before the end of her UFC career.

8. Ketlen Vieira (15-4) | UFC [8]

Vieira was largely dominant against Macy Chiasson at UFC Vegas 107, taking a clear-cut unanimous decision against the Fortis MMA product at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on May 31. However, the victory was marred by the Brazilian’s inability to make weight, which led to the bout being moved from bantamweight to 145 pounds ahead of the event. “Fenomeno" is 9-4 in the Las Vegas-based promotion since making her Octagon debut in 2017.

9. Ailin Perez (12-2) | UFC [9]

It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but Perez was certainly effective enough to earn a unanimous decision triumph against Brazilian veteran Karol Rosa in their UFC 311 clash. The Argentinian twerking specialist has been victorious in her last five Octagon appearances, making her increasingly difficult to ignore as a potential contender in the women’s bantamweight division.

10. Karol Rosa (18-7) | UFC [10]

Rosa dropped a three-round verdict to Ailin Perez in their preliminary matchup at UFC 311 in Los Angeles on Jan. 18. Though the Brazilian was competitive throughout, she didn’t display the sense of urgency necessary to get the nod on the judges’ scorecards. Rosa has now alternated wins and losses in her last eight UFC outings.

Other Contenders: Jennifer Maia, Yana Santos, Talita Bernardo, Mayra Bueno Silva, Jacqueline Cavalcanti.

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