Top 30 Women Athletes In UFC History | UFC 30th Anniversary

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#29 - Taila Santos

Taila Santos is a Dana White Contender Series Brazil graduate. She came into the UFC with a 15-0 record and has only lost two fights in her 21 match career. The Brazilians Muay Thai background has been nothing shy of successful, giving her 10 wins by knockout, a #1 ranking in the flyweight division, and a #10 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.  

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#28 - Irene Aldana

Irene Aldana actively fights in the bantamweight division and holds the #5 ranking. She started fighting at a local gym in Mexico and has had an expedited career since. She became pro in 2012 without an amateur fight under her belt and earned a couple of gold medals in two national jiu-jitsu tournaments. Her UFC debut was only a few years later. Aldana is now 14-6 with eight wins by knockout and isn't ready to stop.

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#27 - Andrea Lee

Andrea Lee starting training in 2009 when she was 20 years-old. She became professional in 2014 and earned multiple kickboxing and Muay Thai championships before she signed with the UFC in 2017. Her UFC debut was against Veronica Macedo where she won by unanimous decision and earned Fight of the Night. That debut win set her up for a very successful career that has her ranked #11 in the flyweight division. Some notable performances she can accredit to her ranking are the triangle arm-bar submission to Antonina Shevchenko and her knockout against Cynthia Calvillo that earned her Performance of the Night. Lee sits at an overall record of 13-6 and awaits her bout against #12 Maycee Barber at UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen. 

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#25 - Tecia Torres 

Tecia Torres has been a part of the fighting world since she could remember. She started karate when she was five years old, falling in love with the discipline and respect that it took to be great, she quickly transferred over her skills to kickboxing, BJJ, and MMA. Torres made history as one of the first 11 women to be a part of the inaugural UFC women's strawweight division, making her debut on The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale against Angela Magaña. "The Tiny Tornado" was nothing short of a dominant performance that the judges unanimously deemed a victory. Torres is now ranked #8 in the strawweight division and will forever go down as a pioneer of the sport.  

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#24 - Bethe Correia

Bethe "Pitbull" Correia is a retired mixed martial artist from Brazil. She competed in the bantamweight division making her UFC promotional debut in 2013 against Julie Kedzie. With only six professional bouts under her belt, The Brazilian won via split decision. This was the catalyst to her appearance in the bantamweight championship at UFC 190 where she fought Ronda Rousey. Though she took a loss, Correia still had a fulfilling, active career until her final bout in 2021. The boxer will still go down as one of the best strikers in the sport, utilizing punching combinations and spinning back fists to dominate her opponents. 

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#23 - Paige VanZant

Paige "12 Gauge" VanZant started her UFC journey in 2013, making her debut in the strawweight division against Kailin Curran where she won via knockout. This performance earned her Fight of the Night honors. The grappler quickly became a fan favorite and won her next three out of four bouts. The Oregon native accredited her ability to be agile and flexible in the Octagon, to her 13 years of dance background. She showcased these skills when she knocked out Bec Rawlings via flying head kick. PVZ concluded her run in the division ranked #12. Her flyweight career was short lived due to a persisting injury but nonetheless grabbed a submission win against Rachael Ostovich in round two of UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Dillashaw. 

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#22 - Germaine de Randamie

Germaine "The Iron Lady" de Randamie started training Muay Thai at the age of 15 and never looked back. The Dutch fighter holds over 10 word titles in Muay Thai, earning an outstanding, undefeated professional record with 46 wins. She began her UFC journey in the bantamweight division, taking an unanimous decision victory over Julie Kedzie. Dominating in the division, de Randamie moved up a weight class to face Holly Holm in the inaugural Featherweight championship and won by unanimous decision. She then made her return to bantamweight and took down some heavy hitters like Raquel Pennington and Julianna Peña. She currently ties the record for fastest knockout in the women's bantamweight division alongside Ronda Rousey at 16 seconds. 

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#21 - Roxanne Modafferi

Roxanne Modafferi is an American-born mixed martial artist that started her professional career in 2003. The black belt in BJJ competed in Strikeforce and held many international titles before making her official UFC debut on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs Team Tate in the finale against Raquel Pennington. “The Happy Warrior” is rightfully considered a pioneer in women’s MMA due to her appearance on The Ultimate Fighter 26, where she competed to be the inaugural flyweight champion. Modafferi has multiple accolades from her near decade-long UFC career such as Fight of the Night vs Nicco Montaño, the second most fights in UFC women’s flyweight division history (ten), and the 2020 Upset of the Year with her unanimous decision victory over Maycee Barber.

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