In what was a solid year for women’s mixed martial arts, these were the five fiercest female fighters in the UFC, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.
5: Raquel Pennington
A Jill of all trades and master of none, Pennington (16-9) had an underdog story that did her “Rocky” nickname justice. A no-nonsense grafter, she became one of the most unlikely champions in UFC history at UFC 297, the first pay-per-view of the year.
Pennington pushed the pace against Mayra Bueno Silva throughout and ultimately outworked the Brazilian to secure the vacant bantamweight belt. She’d go on to lose the gold in an extremely close fight to the next star on the list, but her title triumph in Toronto warrants her a place amongst the year’s best performers.
4: Julianna Pena
Pena (12–5) was the comeback queen of 2024. Returning for the first time since losing the bantamweight title back to Amanda Nunes in July, “The Venezuelan Vixen” had an immediate opportunity to reclaim the title, albeit against new champion Pennington.
Their clash at UFC 307 in October was 11 years in the making. The pair had competed on Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2013 as members of Miesha Tate’s team, who fought for a UFC contract with a group of fighters coached by Ronda Rousey.
Pena ended up winning the show, and more than a decade later, she scored a split decision win over Pennington to return to the pinnacle of the 135-pound division.
3: Zhang Weili
Zhang (25–3) continued to make history this year. The first-ever Chinese UFC champion made the second defence of her second reign as strawweight queen against countrywoman Yan XiaonanatUFC 300 in April.
The bout marked the first time two Chinese fighters competed for a UFC title, and “Magnum” showed her champion qualities as she put in all together beautifully to retain by decision.
Second on the pound-for-pound list, the victory stretched her win streak to four and solidified Zhang as the absolute best at 115 pounds.
2: Kayla Harrison
A decorated dominator, Harrison (18-1) finally arrived in the UFC in 2024 and wasted no time establishing herself as a freakish force to be reckoned with at bantamweight.
A two-time Olympic gold medallist in judo and two-time PFL tournament champion, she woman-handled and submitted former champion Holly Holm in her much-anticipated promotional debut in April and cemented herself as the No. 1 contender at 135 pounds with a decision win over Ketlen Vieira in October.
A one-of-one beast of an athlete, many regard her as the uncrowned champion.
1: Valentina Shevchenko
Shevchenko (24–4–1) stands tall as the Female Fighter of the Year after reclaiming the flyweight championship and putting her rivalry with Alexa Grasso to bed in commanding fashion.
The Kyrgyzstan ace had a chip on her shoulder and a score to settle with the woman who’d dethroned her last March. Nothing was settled in the rematch six months later as it ended in a controversial draw after a disputed 10-8 final round for Grasso.
After serving as coaches on Season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter, they met in the UFC’s first female trilogy at UFC 306 in September at the mind-blowing Sphere in Las Vegas, where “Bullet – a multi-time K-1 and Muay Thai champion – showed her grappling is every bit as good as her striking.
Dominating from start to finish, the greatest 125-pounder of all time took back her title with a decision win that let everyone know she’s the gold standard, the pound-for-pound queen and that she’s not going anywhere.
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