Ahead of Pivotal UFC 248 Title Bout, Ranking the Top Strawweights in MMA History
Next Saturday at UFC 248, Zhang Weili doesn't just defend her UFC women's strawweight title; she will also look to continue her quiet but forceful journey up the list of the best 115-pounders in MMA history.
Thus far, China's first UFC champ has proved worthy of the mantle, using deceptive power and creativity to flat-out dominate opponents. She's also a consummate professional, radiating smarts, humility and plain old friendliness whenever someone thinks to pass her the mic.
Her opponent next Saturday, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, is a former dominant champ herself. You may know her. She's fallen on hard times of late, dropping three of her last five and making some odd and inflammatory comments along the way. But she and her tiny-grain-thresher muay thai are still very much live threats, and after UFC 248, she could be right back on top and celebrated as if none of her other problems ever happened. It is the MMA way.
This got us to thinking. Wang is still new on the landscape, and Joanna Violence has at least for now lost her shine, but could either be the best strawweight ever? And if the answer is "no," who is?
Strawweights first competed in the Octagon in 2014. But the UFC didn't invent this weight class and doesn't hold a monopoly. There are plenty of fighters with top-flight records in shows around the world, and a lot of them were and are pretty good, too.
Let us now count down the best strawweights ever. Points are awarded based on record, caliber of competition and sustained success over time. There is one tricky issue at play, which is that several prominent Asia-based promotions have different ways of organizing their weight divisions, so it's not always an apples-to-apples situation. But we're all friends here. We'll all understand that a few pounds here or there doesn't violate the spirit of the list, right? I'll look forward to seeing all your agreements in the comments.
10. It's a Five-Way Tie
1 of 10
These fighters felt like more than honorable mentions. So let's split the difference and award a multi-way tie for these competitors. In no particular order.
- Claudia Gadelha
- Mei Yamaguchi
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz
- Xiaonan Yan
- Michelle Waterson
9. Seo Hee Ham (23-8)
2 of 10
Most recent promotion: Rizin FF
Years active: 2007-present
It's not as wacky as you think.
Yes, Seo Hee Ham sank like a stone upon entering the UFC, going 1-3 in the big show from 2014-2016. Judge her by that alone and her place on this list is a head-scratcher. Judge her on her full body of work and it starts to make sense.
Known as "Hamderlei" because her hyper-aggressive style reminds fans of the legendary Wanderlei Silva, Ham was simply too small to compete with UFC fighters who were making significant weight cuts.
That's reflected in her current career, where she's found a home in Rizin's super atomweight division. That divisional limit is 49 kilograms or 108 pounds. But as that's only seven pounds off and she has spent much of her career at strawweight, she belongs on this list.
8. Carla Esparza (15-6)
3 of 10
Most recent promotion: UFC
Years active: 2010-present
Give it up for the inaugural UFC strawweight champion. Carla Esparza nabbed it in 2014 after choking out Rose Namajunas.
In her first defense, however, Jedrzejczyk unceremoniously swept Esparza out of the picture with a dervish of a second-round knockout. Cookie Monster alternated a win and a loss after that but neither was particularly notable. She was consigned to the MMA trivia bin.
But then a funny thing happened: she won four of her next six. Known as a wrestler, she added striking to her arsenal. Truth be told, her style is not a thing of beauty, with inaction being a hallmark in fans' minds. It's a good thing for her there are no style points in MMA.
She's shown improvement, she's climbed back into the contention picture, and there's no reason to think she'll slow down. The former champ is reinvigorated and has secured her legacy beyond that history-making title fight.
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7. Tatiana Suarez (8-0)
4 of 10
Most recent promotion: UFC
Years active: 2014-present
Tatiana Suarez is still very new to MMA in general and this division in particular, with only eight contests under her belt. But those have been eight dominant performances. Further, that number is lower than it could be because, quite simply, no one will fight her.
And with good reason. The former Olympic hopeful (a bout with cancer ended that dream and propelled her into MMA) has suffocating wrestling—she's been called a female version of lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov—and the kind of strength and skill that only comes when you've been wrestling since the first grade, as Suarez has.
Her striking is a work in progress, but what difference does it make? You're not getting off the mat anyway.
Suarez has all the makings of a future champion. So consider this a purchase on the futures market.
6. Angela Lee (10-2)
5 of 10
Most recent promotion: ONE Championship
Years active: 2015-present
Angela Lee has shuttled back and forth between divisions but is properly ensconced as the queen of ONE's atomweight (115 pounds) division. She's been the champ (and a star) there for nearly four years now.
The Hawaii resident is a submissions ace, with seven of her 10 wins coming by tapout. One of those tapouts came via twister, the gnarly and rare submission that instantly places you in some pretty grand company.
Lee is a deft and athletic grappler, capable of outmaneuvering opponents or overpowering them with deceptive strength. Her only two defeats came at strawweight, which in ONE is 125 pounds. This is all just confusing.
Lee captured the atomweight title in 2016 and hasn't let it go since. An electric last-second submission win in her return to that division makes her 125-pound run feel more like Michael Jordan playing baseball, except Lee is 23 years old and a fighter. It may have been a fun diversion, but her home is at 115 pounds. Who knows? Maybe we'll see her in the UFC one day.
5. Rose Namajunas (8-4)
6 of 10
Most recent promotion: UFC
Years active: 2013-present
Namajunas has one of the best stories on the UFC roster. She's a very exciting fighter and a fan favorite for all the right reasons. She is also a champion, defeating Jedrzejczyk not once, but twice—the only fighter to pull off that feat.
At the same time, who in this division has been more mercurial inside the cage than Thug Rose?
Namajunas makes her next walk in April at UFC 249 to face another ex-champ in Jessica Andrade. The two originally met last year, with Andrade winning with a controversial slam. Before that slam, Namajunas was piecing her up on the feet.
No matter who wins in April, that fighter stands to shake up this list. If she isn't the winner, here's hoping Namajunas, who has toyed with retirement before, stays in the game to continue padding her legacy.
4. Jessica Andrade (20-7)
7 of 10
Current promotion: UFC
Years active: 2011-present
Andrade is emblematic of this young and volatile strawweight division. One minute, you're the next big thing. The next, you're smushed back into the amorphous pile of contenders.
She won the title last May by beating Namajunas with that slam KO, then turned around and lost it to Weili the next time out. She was the second of five UFC strawweight champions to lose the belt without a successful defense. Only Jedrzejczyk has defended more than once.
As for Andrade, she's made her bones with output, power and aggression. She's very hard to deal with. Her size—remember, she started her UFC career in the 135-pound bantamweight division—has been a huge advantage since dropping down to strawweight. She's 7-2 since the move, not to mention a champion.
No, Andrade is not the most, uh, refined fighter in terms of technical prowess. But when you're a force of nature, it doesn't seem to matter as much.
Her rematch with Namajunas looms, with a notable amount of legacy on the line. Namajunas is an early favorite, but it's easy to picture Andrade flipping that notion—and maybe Namajunas again, too—on its ear.
3. Zhang Weili (20-1)
8 of 10
Most recent promotion: UFC
Years active: 2013-present
Here fight with Tecia Torres last March proved to be Weili's true coming-out party.
She matched Torres' pace while showing good power and a nice striking arsenal, particularly her kicks. The cardio in particular is important to note, especially when a fighter is as stocky and muscular as Weili is.
Against Andrade, she used knees and punches to finish the incumbent in 42 crisp seconds. It emerged as a possibility even in the first few seconds—that was all it took for her to figure out Andrade, use the champ's aggression against her, establish range and timing, and notch a surgical knockout. It was the first time the Brazilian had taken a TKO since 2013.
Her grappling game appears to be a work in progress, but it's easy to have faith in someone with her fight IQ. At 30 years old, it's probably a stretch to say time is on her side, but there's time nonetheless. She has the toughest test of her career to date in Jedrzeczyk. If she can pass it, she'll jump up this list.
Let's also not forget that her nickname—Magnum—is quite simply the best nickname in the UFC today. Do nicknames earn points? Yes, they do.
2. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-3)
9 of 10
Most recent promotion: UFC
Years active: 2012-present
If Jedrzejczyk wins at UFC 248, she climbs one spot from here.
All she's done is win the UFC strawweight title and defend it five times. Her muay thai, particularly her kicks, are like a wood chipper. After the horn sounds, her opponents often find themselves a bloody mess. Her long reach helps, as does her rock-solid 81 percent takedown defense rate.
It was hard to imagine her losing until Namajunas did it twice and stopped the train dead in its tracks. Her next fight, a win over Tecia Torres, was an entertaining though unremarkable affair that led to proclamations that she was "back."
But that wasn't the case. A dalliance at flyweight—and a loss to current champ Valentina Shevchenko—again derailed the train.
But she could get untracked any time. The fact is, only Thug Rose has managed to get the best of Joanna Violence at 115 pounds. Jedrzejczyk is supremely talented with a mean streak that, when healthily directed, fuels a consummate killer instinct. We'll see where things stand come next Sunday.
1. Megumi Fujii
10 of 10Most recent promotion: Vale Tudo Japan
Years active: 2004-2013
Megumi Fujii is the OG of women's strawweights. The cult hero, the legend, the pioneer, the submission wizard, the one, the only, Mega Megu herself, Megumi Fujii!
She's so legendary, in fact, that I blessed you with a highlight reel. Look at that and then tell me grapplers aren't fun to watch.
Fujii started her pro MMA career in 2004. She didn't take her first loss until 2013. She's beaten three fighters on this list—Esparza, Ham and Yamaguchi—despite being significantly past her prime by the time those young bucks came around.
She did it with a dynamic, pro wrestling-influenced grappling style. Think a smaller, female Kazushi Sakuraba. During her long career she notched 19 submission victories.
She did cross over to the American mainstream, but by the time she got to Bellator, she was 36 years old and past her prime. And yet, she found a way to go 3-1 during her time there, submitting Esparza and another UFC veteran in Lisa Ellis along the way. (She also beat Ellis back in 2007.)
Fujii returned once more to Bellator, this time at age 38, where she ran into Jessica Aguilar. Fujii's record would be even shinier if she hadn't dropped that decision and the rematch.
Her OG status is ironically cemented by her being simply too old to capitalize on the sport's momentum—the same momentum she helped create. The timing just didn't work out so that she could fully reap the fruits of her own labor. Other people did that for her.
Nevertheless, she's remembered here and elsewhere as a singularly important and talented figure in the 115-pound division. Could she defeat Weili or Jedrzejczyk? Comparing across eras is tough, but the sport has certainly evolved. Still, she's a legend, and someone will have to step up and knock her off this perch. Because otherwise, she's not going anywhere.
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