Jan 23, 2021; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Julianna Pena punches Sara McMann in a bantamweight fight during the UFC 257 event inside Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports
There is constant debate about the “official” UFC fighter rankings, which are based on voting from a panel of journalists. Such is the case with something as subjective as voting – it’s totally based on voter’s opinion, and biases are bound to seep through, whether intentional or no. So to try to put a fresh, objective, data-driven spin on rankings, The MMA Manifesto has come up with a performance based ranking system, solely based on how a fighter has performed in the cage. Next up: The Women’s Featherweights & Bantamweights
*stipulations: 1) any fighter currently suspended or 2) inactive for at least 12 months (without an upcoming fight scheduled) are excluded from the rankings
- Scoring based on a fighter’s past 10 UFC performances (we use a five year time limit, so if they have fought less than 10 times in past five years, only the fights within that time frame are counted)
- Points based on a fighter’s opponent’s UFC win/loss record (ie strength of schedule – the more successful a vanquished opponent is, the more points awarded), extra points given for finishes, extra points given for title fight wins.
- Points are weighed so most recent fights are worth more (ie most recent fight counts the most, 10th most recent fight the least)
- No points awarded for a loss
(first column performance based ranking, second column is previous ranking, third column is official UFC ranking from UFC.com)
| Stats | Last | UFC | Total | |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | ||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Amanda Nunes | 479 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | Germaine de Randamie | 159.5 |
| 3 | 3 | 5 | Irene Aldana | 83 |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | Holly Holm | 66 |
| 5 | 5 | Megan Anderson | 61.5 | |
| 6 | 6 | 7 | Ketlen Vieira | 60.5 |
| 7 | 8 | Sabina Mazo | 52 | |
| 8 | 7 | 9 | Sara McMann | 51 |
| 9 | 22 | 6 | Julianna Pena | 49 |
| 10 | 9 | 10 | Marion Reneau | 46 |
| 11 | 10 | Jessica-Rose Clark | 42 | |
| 12 | 12 | 11 | Macy Chiasson | 35 |
| 13 | 15 | Bea Malecki | 27.5 | |
| 14 | 17 | 14 | Sijara Eubanks | 24.5 |
| 15 | 17 | 8 | Yana Kunitskaya | 24.5 |
| 16 | 16 | Wu Yanan | 24 | |
| 17 | 19 | Felicia Spencer | 23 | |
| 18 | 20 | 13 | Pannie Kianzad | 22.5 |
| 19 | 21 | Ashlee Evans-Smith | 20.5 | |
| 20 | NR | 15 | Karol Rosa | 18.5 |
| 21 | 23 | Bethe Correia | 12 | |
| 22 | 24 | Tracy Cortez | 9.5 | |
| 23 | 25 | Veronica Macedo | 9 | |
| 24 | 26 | 16 | Julia Avila | 8.5 |
| 25 | 27 | Alexis Davis | 6.5 | |
| 26 | 28 | Norma Dumont | 5 | |
| 26 | 29 | Vanessa Melo | 5 | |
| 28 | NR | Joselyne Edwards | 4.5 | |
| 29 | 29 | Julija Stoliarenko | 0 | |
| 29 | 29 | Sarah Alpar | 0 | |
| 29 | 29 | Stephanie Egger | 0 | |
| 29 | 29 | Zarah Fairn dos Santos | 0 |
Check back Monday for our women’s flyweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Lightweight
Featherweights
Bantamweights
Flyweights
Women’s Flyweights
Women’s Strawweights
Pound for Pound
(The MMA Manifesto is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com)
View the original article on MMA Manifesto: UFC Performance Based Fighter Rankings: Women's Feather/Bantamweights: Feb 19/21
