Erin Blanchfield, left, dropped from the top 10 after her Oct. 17 loss to Jasmine Jasudavicius. Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCESPNMultiple AuthorsOct 21, 2026, 09:00 AM ETOpen Extended ReactionsVirna Jandiroba has a fight coming up on Nov. 7 and an opportunity to prove her worth as a top-10 women’s fighter.Jandiroba enters the ESPN women’s pound-for-pound rankings this week without having fought since April, because previously ninth-ranked Erin Blanchfield lost at UFC Edmonton over the weekend. Moving up one spot to No. 9 is Tatiana Suarez, who faces Jandiroba in two weeks.Jandiroba is the new No. 10 after receiving support from three of the five ESPN panelists. The other two voted for Jasmine Jasudavicius, who beat Blanchfield on Saturday, and bantamweight Joselyne Edwards, winner of five fights in a row.For the ESPN divisional MMA rankings, click here.Note: Results are current; rankings are as of Oct. 21. To be eligible for the rankings, a fighter must have competed over the past 12 months or must have an upcoming fight booked.
Fighters who have been dropped for inactivity can be reinstated only after they compete.Women’s pound-for-pound rankings1. Valentina ShevchenkoUFC flyweight Record: 26-4-1 Last: W (UD) vs. Zhang Weili, Nov. 15, 2025 Next: TBAShevchenko’s dominance came under question in 2022 and 2023, when she went 1-1-1 in a trilogy with Alexa Grasso. Boy, does that feel like a long time ago now.
Shevchenko more than reasserted herself as the best flyweight in the world, and then she established herself as the No. 1 woman in the world, period. It wasn’t surprising that she beat Zhang, but it was surprising how easy she made it look. Shevchenko is out injured, however, so she has vacated her UFC title, which Natalia Silva captured by beating Wang Cong at UFC 332. When Shevchenko is healed up, she’ll be looking to take back the belt.2.
Zhang WeiliUFC flyweight / strawweight Record: 26-4 Last: L (UD) vs. Valentina Shevchenko, Nov. 15, 2025 Next: TBAIt’s hard to move up in weight, especially at the highest level. That sounds like it should be obvious, but Zhang had been dominant at 115 pounds for so long, some of us might have taken for granted how big of a challenge moving to 125 would be. UFC 322 was a bad night for Zhang, but she doesn’t have many.
And if she decides to stay at flyweight, it certainly seems reasonable to believe she’ll fare better in the future.3. Cris CyborgPFL featherweight champion Record: 30-2, 1 NC Last: W (UD) vs. Ketlen Vieira, Aug. 22 Next: TBAIt had been a while since Cyborg had fought an elite opponent in MMA until she met Larissa Pacheco in 2024. That was a legitimate matchup — and many within the industry were predicting Cyborg’s downfall.
Instead, she took out the PFL’s two-weight champion, upending all of Pacheco’s momentum. One of the original pioneers of women’s MMA is once again a champion after getting her second career submission at PFL Lyon in December. The PFL promoted her fight with Vieira as a retirement bout, but after her win Cyborg did not sound like someone who is done fighting.4. Natalia SilvaUFC flyweight champion Record: 21-5-1 Last: W (UD) vs.
Wang Cong, Oct. 3 Next: TBASilva was looking every bit the part of a future UFC champion following a dominant display against Alexa Grasso at UFC 315 and a victory over Rose Namajunas at UFC 324. And now she has fulfilled that expectation, beating Wang at UFC 332 to win the belt vacated by injured Valentina Shevchenko. Silva’s stick-and-move style has frustrated even the highest level of opponent, and she’s got youth on her side as she won’t turn 30 until 2027.5. Mackenzie DernUFC strawweight champion Record: 17-5 Last: W (UD) vs.
Gillian Robertson, Aug. 15 Next: TBADern’s rise to the 115-pound throne was truly a changing of the guard. She is the division’s first first-time champion since 2019, because the previous three champs — Zhang Weili, Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas — all were in their second reigns. Dern, nearly a decade into her MMA career after multiple jiu-jitsu world championships, has won four fights in a row, including a dominant performance against a fellow grappling-heavy fighter, Robertson, in her first title defense.6. Alexa GrassoUFC flyweight Record: 18-5-1 Last: W (UD) vs.
Manon Fiorot, Sept. 12 Next: TBAGrasso went nearly three years without winning a fight, but her 2023 win right before the skid was a huge one, a submission of Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC title. What followed were two more fights with Shevchenko — a draw, then a loss — and then a loss to Natalia Silva. But she reasserted herself with a finish of Maycee Barber in March, then got the best of Fiorot, a fellow title contender, at Noche UFC to put herself in position for another title shot.7. Dakota DitchevaPFL flyweight Record: 16-0 Last: W (UD) vs.
Denise Kielholtz, July 31 Next: TBANot only did Ditcheva win the PFL’s flyweight season in 2024, but she did so in spectacular fashion — a TKO finish over Taila Santos, who once challenged for a UFC title. Ditcheva fought only once in 2025, dominating Sumiko Inaba in the co-main event of the first PFL Champions Series card in Cape Town, South Africa. She then spent over a year on the sideline, healing injuries to both hands, before returning at PFL New York with a dominant win over Kielholtz.8. Manon FiorotUFC flyweight Record: 13-3 Last: L (UD) vs.
Alexa Grasso, Sept. 12 Next: TBAFiorot had handled everyone the UFC put in front of her — except the champion, Valentina Shevchenko, who defeated the Frenchwoman at UFC 315 in May 2025. But then, with another title shot within her grasp, Fiorot ran into Grasso, a former champion, at Noche UFC and lost a competitive fight.9. Tatiana SuarezUFC strawweight Previous ranking: 10 Record: 12-1 Last: W (Sub2) vs. Loopy Godínez, April 11 Next: Nov. 7 vs.
Virna JandirobaIf Suarez is still feeling the effects of last year’s humbling defeat to Zhang Weili in a title challenge, she certainly didn’t show it at UFC 327, overcoming early adversity to thrash Godinez, a fellow top-10 strawweight. Suarez is going to be a tough out for anyone at 115 pounds.10. Virna JandirobaUFC strawweight Previous ranking: Unranked Record: 23-4 Last: W (UD) vs. Tabatha Ricci, April 4 Next: Nov. 7 vs.
Tatiana SuarezJandiroba fell short in last October’s fight with Mackenzie Dern for the vacant title, but she bounced back in April with a victory over Ricci. Up next is a top-10 showdown with Suarez, who also lost a title challenge last year. The winner will be right back in the championship mix.Other fighter receiving votes: Joselyne Edwards and Jasmine Jasudavicius.How our panel votedBrett Okamoto: 1. Valentina Shevchenko; 2.
Zhang Weili; 3. Mackenzie Dern; 4. Natalia Silva; 5. Cris Cyborg; 6.
Alexa Grasso; 7. Manon Fiorot; 8. Dakota Ditcheva; 9. Tatiana Suarez; 10.
Virna Jandiroba.Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Cyborg; 3. Silva; 4.
Zhang; 5. Dern; 6. Grasso; 7. Ditcheva; 8.
Suarez; 9. Fiorot; 10. Jasmine Jasudavicius.Andrew Davis: 1. Shevchenko; 2.
Zhang; 3. Cyborg; 4. Silva; 5. Dern; 6.
Grasso; 7. Ditcheva; 8. Fiorot; 9. Suarez; 10.
Jandiroba.Dre Waters: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Zhang; 3. Cyborg; 4.
Dern; 5. Silva; 6. Grasso; 7. Ditcheva; 8.
Fiorot; 9. Suarez.; 10. Joselyne Edwards.Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Shevchenko; 2.
Zhang; 3. Cyborg; 4. Silva; 5. Grasso; 6.
Dern; 7. Fiorot; 8. Suarez; 9. Ditcheva; 10.
Jandiroba.Men’s pound-for-pound rankings1. Islam MakhachevUFC welterweight champion Record: 29-1 Last: W (UD) vs. Ian Machado Garry, Aug. 15 Next: TBAMakhachev vacated the UFC lightweight championship to go for a second title at welterweight. By winning that belt last November with a thrashing of Jack Della Maddalena, Makhachev staked his place among MMA’s greatest — not just in today’s sport but of all time.
His win over Machado Garry at UFC 330 was his 17th straight, breaking the UFC record for consecutive wins. Makhachev is piling up unprecedented achievements.2. Petr YanUFC bantamweight champion
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