B/R Women's MMA Rankings, October 2014

Women's MMA is growing, and we must keep up with the times. Women are getting more and more opportunities in mixed martial arts and are becoming more prevalent on the big stage.

The UFC, Invicta and World Series of Fighting are just three of the major organizations that host female fighters. When you consider Jewels, MMA Super Heroes and several other promotions that let the ladies compete, you have a bunch of proving grounds for these up-and-coming athletes.

Here is this month's installment of Bleacher Report's women's MMA rankings.

Featherweight

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

1. Cris "Cyborg" Justino (BRA) (1)
2. Marloes Coenen (NET) (2)
3. Julia Budd (CAN) (3)
4. Pannie Kianzad (SWE) (4)
5. Talita Nogueira (BRA) (5)
6. Latoya Walker (USA) (9)
7. Fiona Muxlow (AUS) (6)
8. Annalisa Bucci (ITA) (7)
9. Lissette Neri (USA) (10)
10. Elina Nilsson (SWE) (11)
11. Andria Wawro (USA) (12)
12. Arlene Blencowe (AUS) (13)
13. Faith van Duin (AUS) (14)
14. Maria Hougaard Djursaa (DEN) (NR)
15. Kelly McGill (USA) (15)

*Dropped out of the rankings: Charmaine Tweet (8)

The featherweight division has seen Latoya Walker quietly storm up the rankings. She has been using the regional circuit to belt out fights and rack up the wins. She has become the dark horse of the division.

With people moving up the bracket like Walker, we have seen an exit, but not in a bad way. Charmaine Tweet's second straight fight in the lightweight division has jumped her from the 145-pound rankings, though she must be considered a top lightweight in the world.

Otherwise, featherweight has been "all quiet on the western front." However, with Bellator's inclusion of featherweights in their company, you can expect the pace at which fights are taken to increase.

Top-15 Results from September

Latoya Walker (6)

def.

Anita Rodriguez

Top-15 Fights in October

Marloes Coenen (2)	vs.	Annalisa Bucci (8)
*Lissette Neri (9)*	vs.	Jessica Doerner

*Fight will be contested at 135 pounds

Bantamweight

Matt Strasen/Associated Press

1. Ronda Rousey (USA) (1)
2. Cat Zingano (USA) (2)
3. Miesha Tate (USA) (3)
4. Sara McMann (USA) (4)
5. Alexis Davis (CAN) (5)
6. Jessica Eye (USA) (6)
7. Sarah Kaufman (CAN) (7)
8. Lauren Murphy (USA) (9)
9. Amanda Nunes (BRA) (8)
10. Holly Holm (USA) (10)
11. Liz Carmouche (USA) (12)
12. Germaine de Randamie (NET) (13)
13. Jessica Andrade (BRA) (NR)
14. Rin Nakai (JPN) (11)
15. Bethe Correia (BRA) (15)

*Dropped out of the rankings: Larissa Pacheco (14)

A hype train was run off the tracks a bit in September, as Larissa Pacheco took her first pro loss in lopsided fashion. Either that, or we found out how good Jessica Andrade really is.

Andrade ran roughshod through her 20-year-old counterpart in a way that really turned heads. She has become a Brazilian underdog that can really make a run toward the title picture along with Bethe Correia.

Further than that, Rin Nakai got a rude welcoming from Miesha Tate in her home country of Japan. Nakai was unable to secure takedowns throughout the fight, which allowed Tate to outstrike her for three rounds.

Also, Cat Zingano returned successfully to the cage, earning a gritty finish of Amanda Nunes. It was a win that puts her back in top contention.

The bantamweight division is very heavy, so new, talented women are going to really step up their game.

Top-15 Results from September

Cat Zingano (2)	def.	Amanda Nunes (9)
Miesha Tate (3)	def.	Rin Nakai (14)
Jessica Andrade (13)	def.	Larissa Pacheco

Top-15 Fights in October: None

Flyweight

1. Barb Honchak (USA) (1)
2. Vanessa Porto (BRA) (2)
3. Jennifer Maia (BRA) (3)
4. DeAnna Bennett (USA) (NR)
5. Nina Ansaroff (USA) (4)
6. Zoila Gurgel (USA) (5)
7. Munah Holland (USA) (6)
8. Julia Berezikova (RUS) (8)
9. Roxanne Modafferi (USA) (NR)
10. Pearl Gonzalez (USA) (9)
11. Aline Serio (BRA) (10)
12. Viviane Pereira (BRA) (12)
13. Elaine Albuquerque (BRA) (13)
14. Kate Jackson (UK) (NR)
15. Reyna Cordoba (SLV) (15)

*Dropped out of the rankings: Brenda Gonzales (7), Alexa Grasso (11), Delaney Owen (14)

Some major changes really shaped up the rankings at 125 pounds. Three women dropped out because of a weight-class change, which allowed three other women to fill in their spots.

With Alexa Grasso and Delaney Owen moving to 115 and Brenda Gonzales moving to 135, flyweight was open season to audition for the top 15.

DeAnna Bennett made the biggest leap, jumping into the rankings after a dominant performance against Michelle Ould. In addition, Roxanne Modafferi and Kate Jackson also won bouts in the month of September, earning them huge leaps into the top 15.

Flyweight is bleeding competitors to other divisions that have better opportunities. That said, they still have lots of talent worth taking a look at.

Top-15 Results from September

DeAnna Bennett (4)	def.	Michelle Ould
Roxanne Modafferi (9)	def.	Tara LaRosa
Kate Jackson (14)	def.	Paulina Bonkowska

Top-15 Fights in October

Viviane Pereira (12)	vs.	Fernanda Pinheiro
Elaine Albuquerque (13)	vs.	Gisele Campos

Strawweight

Charles Sykes/Associated Press

1. Jessica Aguilar (USA) (1)
2. Carla Esparza (USA) (2)
3. Claudia Gadelha (BRA) (3)
4. Joanne Calderwood (UK) (4)
5. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (POL) (5)
6. Mizuki Inoue (JPN) (6)
7. Katja Kankaanpaa (FIN) (9)
8. Tecia Torres (USA) (7)
9. Kalindra Faria (BRA) (8)
10. Felice Herrig (USA) (10)
11. Stephanie Eggink (USA) (11)
12. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (POL) (12)
13. Bec Rawlings (AUS) (13)
14. Rose Namajunas (USA) (14)
15. Herica Tiburcio (BRA) (15)

*Dropped out of the rankings: N/A

The strawweight division has come to its stage of importance: The Ultimate Fighter 20.

The show has finally come, and so far, it has not disappointed. That said, the fights are exhibitions, so they don't count on their pro records and will not affect the rankings.

On the show, Tecia Torres was upset by Randa Markos in the first fight of the season. Following that, Joanne Calderwood defeated Emily Kagan to make the quarterfinals.

Outside the show, we had a huge fight between Katja Kankaanpaa and Stephanie Eggink. After dominating the fight, Eggink was caught in a comeback and defeated by Kankaanpaa, making the Finnish fighter the Invicta 115-pound champ.

More excitement is bound to come both outside and inside the UFC.

Top-15 Results from September

Katja Kankaanpaa (7)	def.	Stephanie Eggink (11)
*Joanne Calderwood (4)*	def.	Emily Kagan
Randa Markos	def.	*Tecia Torres (8)*

*Fight was considered an exhibition bout

Top-15 Fights in October: None

Atomweight

1. Michelle Waterson (USA) (1)
2. Jessica Penne (USA) (2)
3. Seo Hee Ham (KOR) (3)
4. Ayaka Hamasaki (JPN) (4)
5. Naho Sugiyama (JPN) (5)
6. Simona Soukupova (UK) (6)
7. Lacey Schuckman (USA) (7)
8. Alex Chambers (AUS) (8)
9. Jodie Esquibel (USA) (10)
10. Cassie Rodish (USA) (9)
11. Amy Davis (USA) (11)
12. Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (USA) (12)
13. Diana Rael (USA) (13)
14. Amber Brown (USA) (14)
15. Catherine Costigan (IRE) (15)

*Dropped out of the rankings: N/A

The atomweight division saw its biggest star perform in September: Michelle Waterson.

In a fashion we have come to know with Waterson, she dominated Yasuko Tamada on the first-ever Invicta card to air on UFC Fight Pass. She is a well-rounded fighter that has great marketability and star power.

Further than that, top atomweight Jessica Penne participated on TUF 20 and beat Lisa Ellis in her exhibition bout. It put her in the semifinals with a dominant performance, ending in a rear-naked choke.

Needless to say, the lighter-weight women can really scrap.

Top-15 Results from September

Michelle Waterson (1)	def.	Yasuko Tamada
Jodie Esquibel (9)	def.	Jinh Yu Frey

Top-15 Fights in October

Cassie Rodish (10)

def.

Raquel Magdaleno