If there was any doubt left that Ronda Rousey is the world’s best women’s mixed martial artist, they were erased in just 54 seconds on Saturday night.
That’s the amount of time it took Rousey, the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion, to finish former champ Sarah Kaufman in the main event of Saturday night’s card in San Diego.
As you’ve already had drilled into your head, that’s six first-round armbar finishes for Rousey in six pro fights. Average match time: One minute, 16.5 seconds.
And as you’ve had equally drilled into your head, the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao of women’s MMA is Rousey vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, the clear-cut case of a No. 1 vs. a No. 2. Or at least, it would be No. 1 vs. No. 2 if the fighter who would be in the No. 2 spot right now, Santos, wasn’t under suspension.
But the women’s sport won’t stay on hold while the Rousey-Santos soap opera plays out. Far from it. The past month alone featured enough top-notch WMMA competition to dramatically shake up the top 10 pound-for-pound list, from Rousey-Kaufman to Miesha Tate’s win over Julie Kedzie to Sara McMann’s victory over Shyana Baszler at Incvicta 2.
(Official MMAFighting.com ranking policy: Fighters who are under commission suspensions are ineligible to be ranked during the duration of their penalty. In the women’s pound-for-pound list, this currently affects Cristiane Santos).
1. Ronda Rousey (6-0) — What more needs to be said?
2. Miesha Tate (13-3) — Maybe Tate wasn’t impressed with her win over Kedzie, but everyone else was.
3. Jessica Aguilar — (14-4) May victory over Megumi Fujii cements her spot.
4. Megumi Fujii — (25-2) Still doesn’t have next fight lined up after losing to Aguilar
5. Sarah Kaufman (15-2) — Can’t drop her too far after losing to Rousey.
6. Tara La Rosa — (21-2) Pioneering women’s fighter has lost only once since 2003.
7. Sara McMann — (6-0) The 2004 Olympic wrestling silver medalist is a star on the rise.
8. Marloes Coenen (20-5) — Former Strikeforce champ is 4-3 in her past seven fights.
9. Naho Sugiyama (8-0) — Japanese standout will compete for first Invicta atomweight title in October when she meets Jessica Penne.
10. Liz Carmouche (7-2) — Has rebounded nicely from losses to Coenen and Kaufman.
Honorable mention: Rosi Sexton, Alexis Davis, Jessica Penne, Ayaka Hamasaki.