Ronda Rousey is remaining mum on her perceived World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) debut. The legendary former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, who has largely stayed out of the public eye as she’s abandoned fighting for a future with husband Travis Browne, has been rumored to be making her pro-wrestling debut soon after appearing at a few […]
Ronda Rousey is remaining mum on her perceived World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) debut.
The legendary former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, who has largely stayed out of the public eye as she’s abandoned fighting for a future with husband Travis Browne, has been rumored to be making her pro-wrestling debut soon after appearing at a few of former teammate Shayna Baszler’s matches for WWE.
When ‘Rowdy’ was asked about the topic by TMZ, she said that she wouldn’t reveal any of the juicy details, because as a longtime pro-wrestling fan herself, she wouldn’t want to know before it happened:
“If you were a real fan, would you really wanna know? I enjoy it more that way and I don’t wanna ruin anything.”
If and when she does make a more prolonged appearance in the WWE after appearing at WrestleMania in 2015, Rousey may do so alongside her UFC heavyweight husband “Hapa,” whose once-skyrocketing MMA career has taken a severe turn for the worst after four straight losses in the octagon.
When he was asked about his future, Browne also remained coy, but also would not say no to WWE if they came calling:
“We’re still making decisions on my part. I’m not gonna say no.”
Are you excited to watch Rousey – and potentially Browne – competing inside the squared circle?
It’s borderline miraculous that Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Holly Holm appear to be closing in on a women’s featherweight title fight for UFC 219.
Not so long ago, these two women were both down and out, with Justino facing a lengthy doping suspension an…
It’s borderline miraculous that Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Holly Holm appear to be closing in on a women’s featherweight title fight for UFC 219.
Not so long ago, these two women were both down and out, with Justino facing a lengthy doping suspension and Holm reeling from three straight losses. The 145-pound division itself had been so problematic it seemed possible the UFC might scrap the whole thing while it was still in its infancy.
Yet somehow, here we are, with Justino vs. Holm suddenly looming as the biggest women’s MMA bout on the horizon.
If the money is right, both parties have already said they’re game, and Justino is very publicly campaigning for a spot on the company’s end-of-the-year pay-per-view Dec. 30 in Las Vegas.
Not only does this booking represent a complete reversal of fortunes for both Cyborg and Holm, but it’s also a commentary on the state of WMMA—which is slumping toward the end of 2017 right along with the rest of the UFC.
Back when Ronda Rousey reigned as women’s bantamweight champ from 2013-15, there was no more vibrant storyline than the arrival of women in the Octagon. Rousey was the promotion’s biggest star and her popularity put the UFC’s female fighters on equal footing with the men, a rarity in professional sports.
Following her absence after back-to-back losses, however, women’s MMA finds itself without a focal point and therefore on uncharacteristically shaky promotional ground.
New 135-pound champ Amanda Nunes has given her division a modicum of stability, but the bantamweight hasn’t yet connected with a large portion of UFC fans. Add in her last-minute withdrawal from UFC 213 and a questionable split decision win over Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 215 this month, and Nunes has ways to go before establishing herself as a reliable drawing card.
At strawweight, Joanna Jedrzejczyk continues to be unstoppable and a favorite of the hardcore MMA set. Her impending bout against Rose Namajunas will be a crackerjack, but it will take third-tier billing on a jam-packed UFC 217 card on Nov. 4.
Meanwhile, the women’s flyweight division is still a work in progress. The ongoing Season 26 of The Ultimate Fighter aims to crown the UFC’s first women’s 125-pound champion, but it remains unclear how viable that division will ultimately be—or whether Jedrzejczyk will merely add its title to her already impressive collection.
That unexpectedly leaves Justino and Holm—perhaps two of the only proven draws left in WMMA—to carry much of the load.
But turn back the clock a year or so and that was certainly not the way things were trending.
Holm’s loss of the women’s bantamweight title to Miesha Tate at UFC 196 touched off a lengthy and difficult stretch for her. She dropped her next fight to Shevchenko in July 2016, then a third straight to Germaine de Randamie at UFC 208 in June.
The losing streak effectively squandered the momentum Holm had established upon arriving in the UFC, when she notched a pair of wins and shocked the world by knocking out Rousey at UFC 193.
At the same time, her relationship with her UFC bosses appeared strained. In March 2016, White blasted Holm’s longtime manager, Lenny Fresquez, as “an old boxing guy who thinks he’s smart and he isn’t” (via MMA Fighting’s David St. Martin) for putting her into the fight with Tate in the first place.
Already 35 years old, it’s clear Holm needs to act fast to preserve her status as a top-level UFC star.
Justino’s on-again, off-again feuds with company brass have also been well-documented.
Long regarded as one of the best fighters in MMA, Justino was already the former Strikeforce and current Invicta FC featherweight champ when she landed an overdue UFC contract in March 2015.
Prior to that, she had publicly beefed both with White and Rousey. A bout between Rousey and Justino was a frequent topic of internet speculation but never seemed close to fruition.
Even after officially joining the UFC, things didn’t go all that smoothly for Cyborg.
For starters, since the UFC didn’t yet have a featherweight division—which would have been Justino’s natural landing spot—her first two bouts were contested at 140-pound catchweights. Then, when the organization finally did institute the 145-pound class, it couldn’t come to terms with her in time for its inaugural title fight.
Instead, the UFC put the championship on De Randamie after she edged Holm via decision.
To make matters even more circuitous, Cyborg failed a drug test in December 2016. The transgression threatened to sidetrack her for up to two years, until the UFC and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency retroactively granted her a therapeutic use exemption for a banned diuretic and wiped away the suspension.
After that, it was all systems go. The UFC stripped De Randamie in June due to her unwillingness to defend the title against Cyborg. Justino then defeated Tonya Evinger for the vacant belt at UFC 214 and now stands poised to take her place as one of the UFC’s more marketable champions.
Just as quickly, Holm revitalized her own career with a head-kick knockout of Bethe Correia three months ago. The victory abruptly made her the consensus No. 1 contender in both the bantamweight and featherweight divisions—and it’s Justino that makes the most sense as an opponent.
Justino has duly established herself as the most fearsome woman on the planet, but it has been a long time since she has faces truly elite competition. Holm will certainly fit the bill in that regard, as a former UFC champ and a decorated striker in her own right.
Cyborg is known as an aggressive knockout artist and Holm is at her best against opponents who bring the fight straight to her. Stylistically, it couldn’t be much better.
More importantly, both fighters possess notable fan followings and their bout should move the needle more than anything Nunes or Jedrzejczyk could come up with at this point.
In a year when the UFC has struggled to book big fights, the best option available at the moment is to book this all-star matchup for the 145-pound title.
That means giving fans Cyborg vs. Holm before the end of 2017.
Glendale Gym head coach Edmond Tarverdyan has recently discussed some of the details surrounding Ronda Rousey’s painful battering at the hands of Amanda Nunes in Dec. 2016 Rousey was returning to the octagon for the first time since her shocking knockout loss to Holly Holm the year prior at UFC 193. The former dominant women’s […]
Glendale Gym head coach Edmond Tarverdyan has recently discussed some of the details surrounding Ronda Rousey’s painful battering at the hands of Amanda Nunes in Dec. 2016 Rousey was returning to the octagon for the first time since her shocking knockout loss to Holly Holm the year prior at UFC 193. The former dominant women’s […]
Mixed martial arts has never been an exclusive boy’s club, but the representation of women used to be relegated to a few promotions around the world.
Slowly but surely, the numbers have increased—and so has the star power. Gina Carano’s succ…
Mixed martial arts has never been an exclusive boy’s club, but the representation of women used to be relegated to a few promotions around the world.
Slowly but surely, the numbers have increased—and so has the star power. Gina Carano’s success led to Ronda Rousey, and now we are entering a new phase with the UFC having four separate divisions for women to compete in. In this new age, we are left wondering one question: Who is the best female fighter on the planet?
The criteria are not scientific, but they are technique, performance and dominance/competition.
Technical proficiency is the biggest factor in determining who is the best fighter, with in-cage performance coming in second. A fighter’s dominance weighed by her level of competition is a virtual tiebreaker. Why? A one-dimensional fighter can appear dominant against lesser competition. Complete martial artists get better positioning, but one cannot outright discount a fighter’s dominance.
Thus, let us get down to it and look at the five best women competing today.
Honorable Mention
In the honorable mention category, we are going to look at three young prospects to watch in the coming months and years.
Herica Tiburcio leads this charge. The 24-year-old is already a former Invicta FC atomweight champion, but her loss to Ayaka Hamasaki will only make her a better fighter in the long-term. The Brazilian has a solid ground attack with growing stand-up acumen. If the UFC adds an atomweight division, look for Tiburcio to be one of the faces of it.
The UFC has added a flyweight division, and there are two names to familiarize yourself with as it gets underway: Agnieszka Niedzwiedz and MacKenzie Dern.
Dern is a noted jiu-jitsu ace who is growing her game on the regional circuit, but don’t be surprised if you see herinka UFC deal before year’s end. She’s exceptionally talented with a high ceiling. Likewise, Invicta FC’s Niedzwiedz is flying under the radar.
Niedzwiedz is undefeated at 10-0, and at just 22 years of age, she is already ranked No. 2 in the world, perMMARising.com.
Keep an eye on these names as they could be atop the MMA world sooner rather than later.
5. Valentina Shevchenko
Shevchenko narrowly lost to Amanda Nunes at UFC 196. Had she won, she would have likely gone for gold against Miesha Tate at UFC 200. Instead, she had to pick up wins over Holly Holm and Julianna Pena before getting a rematch with the now-champion Nunes. And she came up just short again.
Shevchenko is known for her world-class striking, but her ground game is very efficient. She showed that side of her gamewitha submission win over Pena.
What is perhaps even more remarkable about Shevchenko is that while she is almost at the top of 135, she is doing it as a flyweight. Shevchenko is actually a little undersized as a bantamweight, and with the new inclusion of flyweight in the UFC, perhaps we’ll see her there soon.
Regardless, Shevchenko has shown all the tools in her arsenal that make her one of theelite fighters in the game. A few more punches here, a defended takedown there, and she may be wearing bantamweight gold and sitting a couple of spots higher. Andifshe moves to 125, she could turn into a dominant champion.
4. Claudia Gadelha
Gadelha could have the best strawweight technique in the world. But styles make fights, and she’s come up short against Joanna Jedrzejczyk twice.
The Brazilian strawweight contender made the move to Alburqueque to train under Chris Luttrell in the summer of 2016. The move appears to be paying off as she blew through No. 2-ranked contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz with ease in her last outing. In an interview with UFC.com’s Thomas Gerbasi, Luttrell said her most recent loss to the champion may have been a result of overtraining.
Time will tell if that move pays off in gold, but if her performance against Kowalkiewicz is any indication, it is difficult to see how she won’t ascend to the top of the division.
Gadelha has all of the tools at her disposal. Putting them all together would likely show the world that as an all-around fighter, she is the best.
3. Cris Cyborg
There is a good case for Cyborg to be at the top of the list. So, why isn’t she?
Cyborg’s lack of competition drastically hurts her cause. Because of a lack of featherweights, Cyborg routinely fought undersized women that helped bolster her record. From the likes of Vanessa Porto (currently an Invicta FC flyweight) to the woefully undersized Hitomi Akano to, most recently, Tonya Evinger.
One of the most impressive feats of Cyborg is her willingness to learn and improve in the face of dominating her opposition. She likely could have rested on her size and strength to overwhelm her opponents, but she actively worked on improving her technique.
That is how she dominated her Strikeforce opposition. It was a barrage of high pressure and strikes. She didn’t put on technical masterpieces. However, you can see her evolution as a fighter since that time. Her grappling has improved tremendously, she is more patient with her stand-up, and Cyborg has turned her strength into power.
If featherweight had more credible opposition, then perhaps Cyborg would be at the top of this list, but it’s difficult to thrust her onto the top of the mountain when she has never had anyone close to her equal standing opposite her in a cage.
2. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Pound for pound, Joanna Champion may be the most entertaining fighter in MMA today.
The high output of highly technical strikes is something to behold. She works at the highest of levels in her stand-up, and no one at 115 pounds has been able to stop her. She has another level to her striking that others simply cannot withstand.
Jedrzejczyk also has excellent takedown defense. And she can hurt her opponents while defending takedowns with brilliant elbows from inside the clinch.
Jedrzejczyk only fails to top the list because she does lack a top-end ground game. Her jiu-jitsu, by itself, won’t blow anyone away. Fortunately, this is MMA. Her defense and striking more than make up for her deficiencies as a pure grappler.
She is set to defend the title next against Rose Namajunas in November. Another title defense will tie Rousey’s UFC record, and, if successful, we would be hard-pressed not to debate whether Jedrzejczyk is the greatest female mixed martial artist we have ever seen.
1. Amanda Nunes
The reigning UFC bantamweight champion tops the list. She is technically proficient on the feet and on the ground, and she has faced the stiffest competition.
Her current six-fight win streak includes Shayna Baszler, Sara McMann, Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey. That’s a sensational run.
Nunes’ biggest shortcoming in the cage is her cardio. She has always tended to fade after fast starts, but the in those fast starts she is hurting her opponents and going for the finish. Ask Cat Zingano about how Nunes can fade. In her most recent title defense against Shevchenko, Nunes showcased improved stamina by pacing herself better throughout five rounds.
Nunes’ all-around game puts her at the top of the list, but that doesn’t mean she is not vulnerable. She has a tough road in defending her belt.
The scary part? She’s just 29 and reaching her athletic peak. At American Top Team, with teammates like Jedrzejczyk, expect her growth to continue. We’ve only begun to see the best of The Lioness.
Yesterday, Ronda Rousey’s longtime head coach Edmond Tarverdyan slithered his way back into the headlines by calling out UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino for his pupil. Rousey was famously involved in a heated back-and-forth with Cyborg during her time as a dominant UFC women’s bantamweight champion, when a bout between the two seemingly […]
Rousey was famously involved in a heated back-and-forth with Cyborg during her time as a dominant UFC women’s bantamweight champion, when a bout between the two seemingly unstoppable forces was one of the hottest topics in MMA.
But with Rousey having lost her last two fights by one-sided knockout, the shine has worn off the fight, and with Rousey currently headed for a WWE career, it’s highly doubtful that she ever returns to the cage. That didn’t stop Tarverdyan, who has been embroiled in a highly-publicized bankruptcy case, from stirring up old beef and calling out Cyborg himself during The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani yesterday:
“That’s the one,” Tarverdyan said. “I want that fight. When I trained Ronda, I know Ronda could beat Cyborg. I know that. Cyborg is too slow.”
Today, Cyborg responded to the callout to MMA Fighting, offering the belief everyone already knows – that Rousey has long been checked out of MMA and would offer little resistance to the true top women’s fighter in MMA. With that said, however, Cyborg did offer to face Rousey in WWE, a place where she believes her ‘joke’ of a coach Tarverdyan would fit in well:
“If Ronda wants to come back for a fight,” Cyborg said, “I believe it’s better for her to fight Miesha Tate. I’m in another stage of my career. I wanted to fight Ronda when she was psychologically well and confident.
“Now, if she wants to make a good fight for the fans, we can make it at WWE,” she said. “It would fit perfectly [for her] to go to Hollywood, and for me would be another challenge in my career.
“And something brilliant, her coach would fit perfectly in her corner in WWE, he’s nothing but a joke.”
It’s hard to argue with Cyborg’s response, as the many fight fans who have witnessed Rousey look absolutely lost in the stand-up game versus Holm and Nunes can plainly see things most likely wouldn’t go any better versus by far the most powerful knockout artist the female side of the sport has ever seen.
Rousey’s unlikely to return to the octagon at any point, and Tarverdyan calling out the best fighter after two brutal knockout losses which many attributed to him only looks like what most have already called it – a money grab.
Would Rousey have any shot at returning to MMA if she ditched Tarverdyan?
Ronda Rousey has largely chosen to stay out of the limelight following her knockout loss to Amanda Nunes in her long-awaited return at last December’s UFC 207. She even went as far as to have her wedding to UFC heavyweight Travis Browne on August 26, the same day as Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor. While […]
Ronda Rousey has largely chosen to stay out of the limelight following her knockout loss to Amanda Nunes in her long-awaited return at last December’s UFC 207.
She even went as far as to have her wedding to UFC heavyweight Travis Browne on August 26, the same day as Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor. While she has appeared at WWE events that will reportedly lead to her pro-wrestling debut, it’s a strategy she’s implemented ever since her first knockout loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 almost two years back.
Few believe she will ever come back to fighting, and that’s kept the criticism of her oft-blasted head coach Edmond Tarverdyan to a minimum. That is, until today, when Tarverdyan appeared on The MMA Hourwith Ariel Helwani to fire back at his critics before voicing his desire for Rousey to come back for one more fight. Not surprisingly, it was her oft-rumored but never capitalized-upon match with current UFC women’s featherweight champion Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino:
“That’s the one,” Tarverdyan said. “I want that fight. When I trained Ronda, I know Ronda could beat Cyborg. I know that. Cyborg is too slow.”
Tough words from Tarverdyan considering Cyborg is unbeaten since her first MMA fight in May 2005 and has cut a swath through every opponent she has faced since outside of one no contest. Rousey also doesn’t appear motivated to fight the best females in MMA anymore, but Tarverdyan insisted that ‘Rowdy’ would be motivated by Cyborg’s prior use of steroids:
“I don’t know. I don’t know. We’ll live and we’ll see. If injuries weren’t there and everything was where it was, we would take that fight and I’m telling you she’s too slow for us. And Ronda will beat her. Ronda needs a challenge that she really needs to be like this person is no good and I need to prove something to the whole world. That’s how Ronda works good.
“And she didn’t have that with Holly, she’s the one that pushed and wanted some aggressiveness before the weigh-ins. This one she has it. She said she cheated before, she’s hurt women and she wants to come and beat her.”
With that said, Tarverdyan also believes Rousey is now in a good place mentally thinks to her marriage to Browne, and that would also propel her to a victory over Cyborg:
“That’s why if she wants to make a comeback and get one fight, I think she will do the best she’s ever done and I think she’ll be victorious. Because I know Ronda’s personality, because she’s happy right now and she has a good challenge in front of her that she focuses on. I think whatever she wants to do right now, she can do. It’s in her mind.”
Many have billed Tarverdyan as a sort of snake oil salesman who took Rousy away from her world-class judo background so he could trick her into thinking she was an elite striker, something that proved painfully true when she faced true great strikes like Nunes and Holm.
Would Rousey really have any chance at Cyborg if her mind was right, or is Tarverdyan just getting his name back in the media in hopes of one last major payday?
It’s borderline miraculous that Cris “Cyborg” Justino and 