Mackenzie
Dern is climbing the women’s pound-for-pound rankings.Mackenzie Dern closes in on the Top 10 after beating Gillian
Robertson

UFC
330 provided some answers, including the fact that Dern (17-5,
12-5 UFC) is the fighter to beat in the 115-pound division. With
former divisional queen Weili Zhang
taking a break from competition, Dern managed to secure her first
championship defense at the expense of Gillian
Robertson in the UFC 330 co-main event. Zhang kept her No. 3
spot in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings, since she remains
within the pound-for-pound activity window, even though she’s
dropped from her division’s rankings. Dern, meanwhile, moved up a
couple of spots. Sherdog’s panelists agreed Dern’s performance
deserved to be rewarded with the No. 11 position, just outside the
Top 10. In the future, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace will have the
chance to showcase her skills and move up again.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.
In one of the most highly-anticipated women’s super fights in
recent memory, Shevchenko left no doubt as to who holds the No. 1
spot, as she dominated Weili Zhang for five rounds to earn a
unanimous decision in the UFC 322 co-main event. Now tied with
Amanda Nunes for the most title fight victories in UFC women’s
history, “Bullet” will look ahead to her next challenge at 125
pounds. That could come against the likes of Natalia Silva or Erin
Blanchfield, both of whom were mentioned by the champion in her
post-fight interview

Even at 40 years old, “Cyborg” remains inevitable. The heavy-handed
Brazilian claimed vacant featherweight gold in unusual fashion (at
least for her), as she submitted Sara Collins with a face crank in
the third round of the PFL Lyon co-main event on Dec. 13. With the
second submission victory of her career, Justino extends her
current winning streak to nine — a run that dates back to July
2019. Though retirement might be in the not-too-distant future for
the Chute Boxe star, she isn’t showing any sign of slowing down.
Justino is set to lock horns with Ketlen Vieira on Aug. 22.
Zhang looked out of her depth against Valentina Shevchenko in the
UFC 322 co-main event, as she was outstruck on the feet and
controlled on the canvas in a lopsided unanimous decision defeat.
That snapped a five-bout winning streak for the Chinese standout,
who vacated the strawweight belt for a shot at two-division glory.
“Magnum” didn’t have any answers for the size or skill of her
opponent, nor did she provide a clear response as to whether she
will remain at flyweight or return to the division where she once
reigned. More clarity will likely arrive after Zhang takes some
time off.
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. The two-time Olympic
gold medalist was scheduled to face women’s MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes
in the UFC 324 co-main event, but neck surgery forced Harrison to
withdraw from the card. With a recovery that figures to require at
least six months, Harrison vs. Nunes is on hold until the champ is
fully healthy.
It wasn’t necessarily her best performance, but Silva edged out
Rose Namajunas, taking a closely contested unanimous decision in
their main card encounter at UFC 324. The Brazilian, who replaced
Alexa Grasso on short notice, has won eight straight contests
within the Las Vegas-based promotion. However, there still seems to
be a significant gap between Silva and reigning 125-pound queen
Valentina Shevchenko.
One bout removed from a failed title bid against Valentina
Shevchenko in May 2025, Fiorot made a statement at UFC Vancouver,
where she dispatched the streaking Jasmine Jasudavicius in just 74
seconds on Oct. 18. The Frenchwoman has been victorious in eight of
her nine promotional outings and after ending Jasudavicius’
five-bout winning streak, “The Beast” shouldn’t be too far away
from title contention once again. Fiorot will have the chance to
climb the pound-for-pound rankings once again as she takes on Alexa
Grasso on Sept. 12.
After nearly being finished early, Izawa rallied to submit Rena
Kubota in the second round and retain her super atomweight title at
Rizin “Shiwasu no Cho Tsuwamono Matsuri” on Dec. 31 in Saitama,
Japan. That caps off a 3-0 2025 for Izawa, who bested Kubota, Saori
Oshima and Yu Jin Shin under the Rizin banner. During an
intermission at Rizin “Landmark Vol. 13,” Izawa announced that she
is pregnant and will vacate her super atomweight belt as she awaits
the birth of her child. Izawa likely won’t be back until sometime
in 2027 at the earliest.
Grasso ended a three-bout winless streak in emphatic fashion in the
UFC Seattle co-main event, as she authored a brutal club-and-sub
finish of Maycee Barber. The Mexican standout knocked Barber out
cold with a punch, then transitioned to a (mostly unnecessary)
rear-naked choke with ruthless efficiency to bring their rematch to
an end at the 2:42 mark of Round 1. While Grasso’s shocking upset
of Valentina Shevchenko to capture flyweight gold in 2023 remains
the defining moment of her career, this might be a close second for
the Lobo Gym MMA standout. Grasso faces Manon Fiorot in an
intriguing matchup on Sept. 12.
Blanchfield became the first person to finish Tracy Cortez in the
Octagon, as she submitted the Arizonan with a rear-naked choke 4:44
into Round 2 of their preliminary encounter at UFC 322. By avenging
a previous loss to Cortez that occurred under the Invicta FC banner
in 2019, Blanchfield remains one of the top contenders at 125
pounds. “Cold Blooded” has compiled an Octagon resume that includes
victories over the likes of Cortez, Rose Namajunas, Taila Santos
and Jessica Andrade. Blanchfield will return to the Octagon in her
scheduled tilt with Jasmine Jasudavicius on Oct. 17.
Ditcheva picked up where she left off. Returning from a year-long
hiatus, the unbeaten rising talent showed no signs of cage rust as
she outpointed former Bellator MMA title challenger Denise
Kielholtz over three rounds at PFL New York, taking a clean
unanimous decision. The performance keeps Ditcheva at No. 6 in the
women’s flyweight rankings and holds her at No. 10 pound-for-pound,
as she did exactly what a ranked fighter should against unranked
opposition. The American Top Team representative will be out for a
while as she’s dealing with broken hands once again.

Other Contenders: Rose
Namajunas, Julianna
Pena, Mackenzie
Dern, Virna
Jandiroba, Taila
Santos.

Sherdog’s divisional and pound-for-pound rankings are compiled
by a panel of Sherdog.com staff members and contributors: Tudor
Leonte, Mike Fridley, Ben Duffy, Brian Knapp, Marcelo Alonso, Keith
Shillan, Tyler Treese, Sayan Nag, Rob Sargent, Christian Stein,
Dayne Fox, Chandrit Naik, Kunal Singh, Scottie Smith, Sean Sheehan
and Sourav Chakraborty.