The UFC is one of the most exciting and fastest growing sports in the world. Nowadays, it’s drawing more attention from people all around North America and Europe. With a record number of spectators, there is also a record number of female fighters who are making their way to the octagon with their male counterparts. In this blog post, we will introduce you to the hottest UFC female fighters who have drawn worldwide attention with their moves in the ring.
1. Paige VanZant
This American mixed martial artist is best known for her victory against Ronda Rousey in the first season of the UFC. Paige VanZant has earned a record of 2 wins and 1 loss in her professional career. Many say that Paige has a star sign that is also called “The Fire Monkey”. However, she prefers to call it “The Scorpio” instead and it coincidentally shares the same symbol as The Scorpion, a character from Chinese mythology often associated with bad luck.
2. Amanda Ribas
Amanda Ribas is one of the highest-ranked bantamweight female fighters in the UFC. She is a Jiu Jitsu practitioner and an MMA fighter who is 6 feet tall and weighs 135 lbs. Her nickname is “Supernova” and she fights out of Brazil with her long brown hair and blue eyes. Another notable feature about Amanda Ribas is that she has a Brazilian Jiu jitsu purple belt.
3. Michelle Waterson
Michelle Waterson is a professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division. She’s known as “The Karate Hottie” and is considered one of the best female fighters in the world.
She started her career competing in judo and muay Thai before she realized that she was better at fighting than anything else. Since then, she has excelled in multiple combat sports before eventually moving to the UFC.
4. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is a Polish mixed martial artist who made a name for herself as one of the toughest female fighters in the UFC. She has defeated no less than 11 opponents in only 8 fights. During her MMA career, she’s held five championships, most of them being interim titles. Joanna has won 4 out of 8 fights by knock-out and has made seven submissions in her career so far.
5. Mackenzie Dern
Mackenzie Dern is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the flyweight division. Dern is a professional competitor since 2016 when she debuted at UFC 222. Dern has also become a champion at the past two UFC events she competed in.
In 2017, Dern won her first professional fight which was against Ashley Yoder at UFC 222 as well as in 2018 against Alexa Grasso at UFC Fight Night 121.
6. Rachael Ostovich
Rachael Ostovich,a half Japanese and half Filipino. She was a standout wrestler in her high school days and represented the state of Hawaii in several tournaments. Despite her wrestling prowess, she joined the MMA world when she was 21 years old. This is where she became a serious contender and defeated some of the top fighters of the UFC including Kailin Curran, Laura D.
7. Miesha Tate
Miesha Tate is one of the newest additions to the UFC and has already made a name for herself with her excellent performance in the ring. She is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division of her sport. In 2011, she was named ‘Fighter of the Year’ by Sherdog.com and later became Invicta FC’s first female fighter.
When Tate was attending Arizona State University, she used to do wrestling as well as boxing.
8. Tracy Cortez
With a height of 5’6” and a weight of 135 lbs, Tracy Cortez is one of the hottest female fighters in the UFC. Having fought in numerous number of fights, she is renowned for her impressive performance in the ring. Her fighting style mainly consists of boxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling techniques. Being a mother to two children, it is certainly not easy for her to be at the top among other hot female fighters in this sport today.
9. Alexa Grasso
Alexa Grasso is regarded as one of the most promising fighters in Mexico. She is currently a part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the strawweight division. She holds a professional MMA record of 9 wins and 2 losses. Her nickname in the ring is “Sassy” for her aggressive moves and edgy attitude on the Octagon.
10. Juliana Peña
Juliana Peña is an American professional mixed martial artist who fights as a Strawweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She is a native of Lemont, Illinois. She trains under the tutelage of Team Hurricane Awesome in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has been fighting since 2009.
Herrig fought for organizations such as Women’s Extreme Fighting, IFC, Tuff-n-uff and TKO promotions before the UFC signed her to their roster in 2014.
11. Jessica Eye
Jessica Eye is a professional mixed martial artist and an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter. This gorgeous lady has a total of 12 wins out of her 13 wins. She is known in the UFC for being one of the best female fighters who is fighting for the title belt. Jessica Eye has been active in the fighting arena for 5 years now.
12. Aleksandra Albu
Aleksandra Albu is a Romanian MMA fighter also known as ‘The Bullet’. She has been fighting in the UFC since April 19, 2013. She currently competes in the women’s strawweight (105 lbs) division.
She has a total professional record of 8 wins and 2 losses and she has won 6 of her 7 fights with the UFC.
13. Randa Markos
Sole Canadian female UFC fighter, Randa Markos trained in Thai boxing from the young age of 12. With her incredible expertise in martial arts, Randa Markos has been a member of several kickboxing and Muay Thai teams. She once admitted that she shouldn’t be the only woman in the ring against men because they are stronger than her. So, instead of picking up male contenders to fight on her behalf, Randa instead decided to train with them.
14. Claudia Gadelha
Claudia Gadelha is a Brazilian fighter who joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2014. She has been active in the world of MMA since her debut in 2008 at the age of 18 (yes, she’s one of the youngest fighters.) Her family was very poor but she was always determined to be something more. She graduated from college with a Psychology degree and for four years, she practiced JuJitsu, Boxing and Muay Thai. Her nickname is Claudia “Claudinha”.
15. Holly Holm
Holly Holm is a former professional boxer who is currently one of the hottest UFC female fighters. Before joining the UFC, she was a world champion. In fact, she had an undefeated run on her record before suffering her first loss to an American Debbie Lusze. After her loss, Holm decided to retire from boxing and join the UFC after being invited by the team manager at UFC.
Holm belongs to Albuquerque which isn’t exactly a hotbed of entertainment in the United States.
16. Tecia Torres
Besides being the most recent UFC female fighter, Tecia Torres also has a very impressive record. Tecia Torres is the only female fighter to ever defeat Joanne Calderwood. She once defeated her by knockout due to punches from her left hand. Also, she is now undefeated in her 9th professional fight.
With 2 wins and 6 draws, Tecia’s career is still on track which gives us a lot more excitement for what she can do in the future.
17. Andrea Lee
Andrea Lee is an American mixed martial artist and kickboxer representing the American Top Team in the UFC. She is basically known as the female version of Floyd Mayweather Jr. Because of this, she is dubbed as “The Pretty Boy Floyd” by her fans. She has been fighting in the UFC since Cyborg vs Holm, on March 14, 2015 where she won by TKO (technical knockout). Andrea Lee has earned a total to date of $100,000 from her five fights in the UFC.
18. Valentina Shevchenko
Valentina is no stranger to the world of mixed martial arts. Valentina Shevchenko is a multiple-time Shooto and CageSport Champion in her native Ukraine. She has also competed in the WFA, Lion Fight, and Invicta FC leagues. In 2013, she made her MMA debut in Invicta FC where she defeated Daria Ibragimova by unanimous decision. Valentina then made her UFC debut at UFC 171 against Liz Carmouche for the women’s bantamweight title.
19. Ashley Yoder
Ashley Yoder is a female UFC fighter who is well known for her grappling skills in the octagon. She has a record of 2 wins and 3 losses and has earned herself the nickname “The Bully”. She had her first fight when she was just 19 years old and lost to Heather Clark in the first round. However, she wouldn’t let that defeat stop her from pursuing her dream of becoming a professional fighter.
20. Cat Zingano
First and original UFC fighter, MMA welterweight champion Megumi Fujii says that Cat Zingano is the current strongest woman in the UFC.
5’8″ (173cm) and weighing 108lbs, Zingano has been known for her signature Brazilian style and agility. She has a one-punch knockout win over Miesha Tate at UFC 178 which was one of the most important fights in her career as she won the belt.
21. Angela Hill
Angela Hill is a mixed martial artist who holds the UFC record for the most wins by a female fighter. Angela was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. Before she began her mixed martial arts career, Angela was also a four-year member of the United States Military. She currently fights for Invicta FC in Las Vegas. Angela’s nickname is “The Stunning” and she stands at 5 feet and 6 inches tall.
22. Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey is the world’s most famous female fighter in the UFC. She has trained in Judo since she was young. She broke into the public eye when she beat Miesha Tate at UFC Tate vs Rousey to become Women’s Bantamweight Champion at only 25 years of age. Her popularity has gone viral and her fan base has even gone beyond the limits of her homeland. She is a perfect example of how popularity can turn one’s life upside down.
23. Ariane Lipski
This Brazilian fighter has been called the Queen of Jiu Jitsu by many fans and media. Ariane Lipski is one of the few female fighters who have made it to the UFC and captured a UFC belt. She beat Jessica Aguilar in her first round, which took place at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brazil. It was a submission win by 2nd round armbar.
24. Cheyanne Buys (Vlismas)
This newcomer was originally from Canada, but later moved to the United States of America. Even at a young age, this girl has always had a keen interest in martial arts and her skills have developed far beyond her peers. She started to compete in show boxing, fashion modeling and wrestling until Cheyanne Buys (Vlismas) joined the UFC. She’s trained under famous MMA fighters like Dan Henderson, Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir among others to reach her current position.
25. Carla Esparza
Carla Esparza was a recent UFC fighter who made the attention of MMA fans all around the world when she won her debut match on the octagon. Her victory earned her the title “The Queen of Sprawl” and with this title, she quickly became known as one of the best female fighters in the UFC.
Her most memorable fight is when she fought Tecia Torres for a spot in the TUF 21 Finale against Ronda Rousey’s potential challenger.
26. Joanne Calderwood
Joanne Calderwood is a beast on the cage. The undefeated Scottish fighter is one of the rising stars of UFC. Joanne Calderwood takes part in the women’s flyweight division and she has already registered her impressive performance to this division. In her debut fight, she defeated Aspen Ladd by split decision and in June 2015, she made a quick finish to Sarah Kaufman by rear-naked choke.
27. Rose Namajunas
Rose Namajunas is a current UFC bantamweight champion, who has only fought in the UFC. She is one of the most powerful fighters in the division. Her record includes seven wins with zero losses. She entered into judo in the fifth grade and always stuck to her training that lead her to capture this title. Namajunas was named as The Ring’s “Female Fighter of the Year” for 2016 and “Fighter of the Year” for 2017.
28. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
This Polish beauty has already managed to put a mark on the UFC with her sharp-shooting techniques and her devastating leg kicks. Kowalkiewicz is a deadly combination of quickness and strength, which makes her lethal. Karolina Kowalkiewicz has started fighting since 2009 and successfully participated in many grappling tournaments.
She made history in 2014 when she became the first ever European female fighter to win the UFC title in History. Since then, she has continued to amaze fans with her knockout punches and eye-catching performances.
29. Montana De La Rosa
Montana De La Rosa is a fighter from the women’s featherweight division and she is known for her short set of tattooed curves. She is currently competing in the UFC and has won three out of six fights so far. De La Rosa has also been featured in Maxim, Sports Illustrated, FHM, and just to top it off – Playboy. With her pretty features and tattoos, Montana De La Rosa would certainly be a title contender in any other weight class.
30. Veronica Macedo
One of the UFC’s youngest fighters, Veronica Macedo is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai submission fighter who has made headlines as one of the most beautiful people in the sport. She is also known for being an accomplished competitor as she has held titles in every MMA organization on which she has competed. These include, BJJ World Championship, American National Championship, American National Muay Thai Championships and others.
