Invicta 6 Results: Ranking the Top 15 Women in Each Division

Women's MMA keeps truckin' along with the help of key promotions like the UFC and Invicta FC. This weekend marked the sixth event by Invicta, an all-female promotion that boasts some of the top talents in five distinct weight classes.

The show was headlined by a 145-pound championship bout between Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino and Marloes Coenen. It was a rematch from their Strikeforce days, which Santos won via knockout in the third round. 

There was some other high-quality action that completely shifted the landscape in the five weight classes.

Here are the top-15 rankings for each division in the aftermath of Invicta 6.

Featherweight (145)

1. Cris "Cyborg" Justino
2. Marloes Coenen
3. Ediane Gomes
4. Julia Budd
5. Elaina Maxwell
6. Germaine de Randamie
7. Romy Ruyssen
8. Hiroko Yamanaka
9. Veronica Rothenhausler
10. Tamikka Brents
11. Ashley Sanchez
12. Pannie Kianzad
13. Fiona Muxlow
14. Gabrielle Holloway
15. Peggy Morgan

The 145-pound division really should have shaped up more than it did, but there was high drama this weekend outside of the cage. In addition to Veronica Rothenhausler not being medically cleared to fight previous to the weigh-ins, Tamikka Brents was injured backstage before her fight with Ediane Gomes, who went through several opponents before not actually fighting.

As mentioned, Cris Justino knocked out Marloes Coenen to hold the top spot in the rankings. Assuming she continues to stay clean and off the drug test radar, she is going to be the champion for a long time in Invicta. Her next challenge should come in the form of Ediane Gomes, who went through a lot this week and is still a top-three fighter.

The division is getting kind of light on talent, so hopefully the prospects will pick up the slack in the near future. My eye is on Rothenhausler, the jaw-rattling power puncher with great physical gifts and a sky that limits her potential.

Bantamweight (135)

1. Ronda Rousey 
2. Cat Zingano
3. Sara McMann
4. Miesha Tate
5. Sarah Kaufman 
6. Alexis Davis
7. Liz Carmouche
8. Shayna Baszler 
9. Lauren Taylor
10. Sarah D'Alelio
11. Amanda Nunes
12. Rin Nakai
13. Hitomi Akano
14. Jessica Andrade
15. Miriam Nakamoto

The only female division the UFC currently has is the bantamweight division, which is ruled by armbar machine Ronda Rousey. She is currently caught up coaching The Ultimate Fighter opposite Miesha Tate, whom she will throw down with at UFC 168 in December. Tate stepped in for Cat Zingano after the top contender went down with a knee injury.

Making a big leap into the rankings is Lauren Taylor, who upset Sarah D'Alelio on Saturday with a workmanlike performance. Taylor has emerged quickly as of late, winning Invicta bouts against D'Alelio and Kaitlin Young.

Possibly the biggest ascent was Miriam Nakamoto, whom I may be jumping the gun on. Nakamoto has been a destruction machine in her young career, including her thrashing of Duda Yankovich over the weekend. Her Muay Thai is equally beautiful and devastating all in one.

Liz Carmouche and Jessica Andrade will be fighting on the UFC on Fox card coming up, which could further scramble up the division.

Flyweight (125)

1. Jessica Eye
2. Barb Honchak
3. Vanessa Porto
4. Leslie Smith
5. Jennifer Maia
6. Michelle Ould
7. Munah Holland
8. Zoila Gurgel
9. Tara LaRosa
10. Kalindra Faria
11. Tonya Evinger
12. Marianna Kheyfets
13. Aisling Daly
14. Brenda Gonzales
15. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

The flyweight division is in an interesting position, as the top 125er is in Bellator, not Invicta. Jessica Eye is incredibly skilled, but most of her competition lies in Invicta. That being said, names like Michelle Ould, Munah Holland and Marianna Kheyfets all compete or have competed for Bellator, so it's not like she completely has no competition.

Barb Honchak is the champion in Invicta after beating Vanessa Porto a few months back. She now will have to defend her belt against former bantamweight contender Leslie Smith, whose victory over Jennifer Maia over the weekend pushed her into the title shot.

The dark horse of the division may be Kalindra Faria, despite the fact that she only fights in Brazil. Her busy schedule this year has seen her go undefeated in 2013, including a win over the weekend against Carina Damm. There are more than a few people who would love to see Faria compete for Invicta soon.

Strawweight (115)

1. Jessica Aguilar
2. Megumi Fujii
3. Carla Esparza
4. Claudia Gadelha
5. Joanne Calderwood
6. Felice Herrig
7. Katja Kankaanpaa
8. Ayaka Hamasaki
9. Tecia Torres
10. Mizuki Inoue
11. Bec Hyatt
12. Rose Namajunas
13. Stephanie Eggink
14. Mei Yamaguchi
15. Yuka Tsuji

Like the flyweight division, the strawweight division is in a weird spot due to the fact that top-ranked fighter Jessica Aguilar competes for Bellator. She took that spot when she defeated soon-to-be-retired Megumi Fujii last year.

The champion of Invicta is Carla Esparza, who has a couple of contenders to be worried about in the meanwhile. Claudia Gadelha earned the first crack at the champ with her win over Ayaka Hamasaki over the weekend. Add to that the fact that buzzsaw Joanne Calderwood has been destroying everything in her path, and you have a stacked division of contenders.

In two big shapeups, top prospects Tecia Torres and Mizuki Inoue earned wins over the weekend against Rose Namajunas and Bec Hyatt, respectively. Consider the fact that Inoue is just 18 years of age, and you may be looking at a future champion.

Atomweight (105)

1. Michelle Waterson
2. Jessica Penne
3. Seo Hee Ham
4. Lisa Ellis
5. Simona Soukupova
6. Naho Sugiyama
7. Alex Chambers
8. Lacey Schuckman
9. Cassie Rodish
10. Jodie Esquibel
11. Stephanie Frausto
12. Amy Davis
13. Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc
14. Kikuyo Ishikawa
15. Diana Rael

The atomweight division is like the three lowest weight classes in the UFC: fun, fast and fan friendly.

Michelle Waterson is the extremely marketable champion of Invicta and will likely rematch Jessica Penne for the title in her next bout. Penne earned that right when she tapped out Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc over the weekend to get back in the win column.

Seo Hee Ham is one of the few names that needs to head over to Invicta. The South Korean skyrocketed up the rankings when she re-entered the division and defeated former No. 1 Naho Sugiyama this year. She could provide Invicta with another title challenger.