Sherdog’s WMMA Pound-for-Pound Top 10

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It’s safe to say Dakota Ditcheva has arrived.

Prior to Friday, the British muay thai stylist was a heavily promoted but largely untested commodity looking to make a name under the Professional Fighters League banner. At the PFL Championships, Ditcheva brushed the skeptics aside with a dominant second-round stoppage victory against Taila Santos in the evening’s co-main event at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. By besting a former UFC title challenger and pound-for-pound contender, “Dangerous” has officially graduated from prospect to legitimate star. Perhaps most impressive of all, Ditcheva made Santos look no different than much of her previous, less-heralded opposition.

Thus far, the 26-year-old Ditcheva has crafted a 14-0 record, winning flyweight championships in the PFL and PFL Europe along the way. While finding suitable opposition will always be a challenge going forward, Ditcheva has earned her No. 7 ranking in Sherdog’s latest pound-for-pound update.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

1. Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (28-2, 1 NC) | Bellator [1]

Even at 39 years old, “Cyborg” remains the cream of the crop in the women’s featherweight division. She once again proved her supremacy in the PFL “Battle of the Giants” co-main event, where she outdueled Larissa Pacheco for five rounds to capture the promotion’s Superfights belt. The heavy-handed Brazilian has now captured championships in the UFC, PFL, Strikeforce, Bellator and Invicta, making her perhaps the most accomplished female fighter ever. With a lack of depth at 145 pounds, Justino’s next move will prove to be interesting indeed.

2. Valentina Shevchenko (24-4-1) | UFC [2]

Shevchenko was a woman on a mission in the UFC 306 co-main event, as she dominated Alexa Grasso with takedowns and positional control en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision triumph at the Sphere in Las Vegas. “Bullet” regains the flyweight belt she lost to Grasso in a massive upset at UFC 285 and evens their trilogy at 1-1-1. Perhaps more impressively, Shevchenko improved to 9-2-1 during her current run of 11 straight title fights, further solidifying her status as the greatest female flyweight of all-time.

3. Weili Zhang (25-3) | UFC [3]

While Zhang was potentially robbed of a first-round finish against Xiaonan Yan in the UFC 300 co-main event, the reigning flyweight queen was undeterred, as she kept her focus and rolled to a five-round verdict over her Chinese rival. “Magnum” now has five victories in UFC title bouts to her credit — second most in strawweight history — and she remains head and shoulders above the rest of the contenders in the division. However, Zhang could use another boost like the one she received from her first fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2020 to raise her star profile to another level.

4. Alexa Grasso (16-4-1) | UFC [4]

Grasso spent much of her trilogy bout against Valentina Shevchenko on her back, and the Mexican star paid the price, as she relinquished her flyweight title in a unanimous decision loss at UFC 306. Grasso struggled to find her range on the feet and outside of a couple submission attempts, was unable to seriously threaten her rival over the course of the 25-minute affair. Still, Grasso is 1-1-1 against Shevchenko overall, so she shouldn’t be too far from contention at 125 pounds.

5. Manon Fiorot (12-1) | UFC [5]

Fiorot relied on her physical advantages at UFC on ESPN 54, as she cruised to a unanimous decision triumph over Erin Blanchfield in the evening’s main event at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Fiorot’s winning streak now stands at seven, and while it wasn’t an especially enthralling performance, it’s hard to deny the Frenchwoman her place as the division’s No. 1 contender.

6. Erin Blanchfield (13-2) UFC [6]

After suffering her first UFC defeat against Manon Fiorot in March, Blanchfield rebounded with a pivotal, five-round unanimous decision triumph against former strawweight queen Rose Namajunas in the UFC Edmonton co-main event. “Cold Blooded” started slowly, but she was gradually able to take control over the bout’s final 15 minutes. With victories over Namajunas, Taila Santos and Jessica Andrade already on her resume, the New Jersey native has targeted a showdown against former 125-pound champ Alexa Grasso for her next Octagon appearance.

7. Dakota Ditcheva (14-0) | PFL [NR]

After rolling through largely unheralded opposition in her first 13 professional outings, Ditcheva made a significant statement at the PFL Championships, where she stopped former UFC title challenger Taila Santos in the second round of the co-headlining clash. With a resume that now includes flyweight titles in the PFL and PFL Europe, Ditcheva appears to be fulfilling her considerable potential. The Brit’s next step will be interesting, whether it’s another entry into the PFL season or higher-profile pairings in the promotion’s pay-per-view division.

8. Rose Namajunas (13-7) | UFC [7]

Things appeared to be going well for Namajunas in the early rounds against Erin Blanchfield at UFC Edmonton, but “Thug” Rose was unable to keep the fight at her preferred range down the stretch. That resulted in a narrow five-round defeat for the former strawweight champion, who falls to 2-2 since moving to 125 pounds and sees her title hopes dashed for the time being.

9. Julianna Pena (12-5) | UFC [8]

Returning to action at UFC 307 after more than two years away, “The Venezuelan Vixen” picked up right where she left off, edging out Raquel Pennington by split decision to reclaim the title she lost in July 2022. In so doing, the 35-year-old Washington state native became one of the unlikeliest two-time champs in UFC history, proving that when healthy, she can hold her own with anyone. While she used her moment in the spotlight to try and goad retired former champ Amanda Nunes into a rubber match, it seems much more likely that the first title defense of her second reign will be either a rematch with Pennington, or against surging newcomer Kayla Harrison.

10. Taila Santos (22-3) | PFL [9]

Santos figured to be the most stern test for Dakota Ditcheva to date, but the Brazilian was largely outclassed in their PFL final matchup, falling via technical knockout 4:41 into the second round of the flyweight title affair. While the one-sided nature of the defeat was something of a surprise, Santos enjoyed a productive 2024 campaign overall, posting a 3-1 mark that included a triumph over Bellator flyweight queen Liz Carmouche

Other Contenders: Seika Izawa, Raquel Pennington, Larissa Pacheco, Kayla Harrison, Liz Carmouche.

Sherdog’s divisional and pound-for-pound rankings are compiled by a panel of Sherdog.com staff members and contributors: Tristen Critchfield, Mike Fridley, Brian Knapp, Ben Duffy, Jay Pettry, Marcelo Alonso, Keith Shillan, Tyler Treese, Sayan Nag and Robert Sargent.