Women’s flyweight is the most lopsided division in the UFC. Not because the contenders aren’t good — several of them are excellent fighters — but because Valentina Shevchenko set a standard during her championship run that has taken years for the division to build real challengers around. The landscape in 2025 is the deepest it’s been. The question is whether anyone is deep enough.
Champion: Alexa Grasso
Grasso pulled off one of the biggest upsets in women’s MMA history when she submitted Shevchenko in the fourth round at UFC 285. The submission was legitimate — a rear naked choke from a position Shevchenko should have defended — and Grasso’s performance that night was the best of her career. She set the trap, stayed patient, and seized the moment when it opened.
Her title reign has since been defined by the rematch, which ended in a controversial majority draw. Both fights confirmed what that first bout suggested: Grasso is a legitimate champion, not a fluke. She’s durable, her submissions are real, and she fights with a composure that doesn’t crack under pressure.
#1: Valentina Shevchenko (23-4)
Seven title defenses. The most dominant run in women’s flyweight history. A striking game built on Muay Thai footwork and precision that is still elite at 36 years old. Shevchenko lost the belt but she did not lose her status as the most dangerous flyweight on the planet on any given night.
The draw in the rematch left the rivalry unresolved and her the immediate top contender. The third fight — if and when it happens — carries the weight of all three bouts combined. Shevchenko doesn’t fight like someone who’s finished. She fights like someone recalibrating.
#2: Erin Blanchfield (12-1)
Blanchfield is the most credible new challenger to emerge in women’s flyweight in years. Her ground game is legitimate — she submits people at 125 pounds who have no business being submitted by anyone. Her pressure game on the feet is improving, and she’s 25 years old, which means she’s building toward a peak that hasn’t arrived yet.
The loss to Manon Fiorot doesn’t change her ceiling — it adjusted expectations on her timeline. She’s still a title contender, still one of the most interesting fighters in the division, and still the best submission threat below the champion level.
#3: Manon Fiorot (12-1)
Fiorot beat Blanchfield convincingly and sits in the best position of her career heading into 2025. The French striker has elite footwork for the division and an output game that makes her difficult to deal with over three or five rounds. She doesn’t finish fights at the rate Shevchenko did in her prime, but she wins rounds clearly and consistently.
A top-three ranking is where she belongs. She’s earned it with performances and she has the tools to make any title fight competitive.
#4: Maycee Barber (14-2)
Barber went from hype prospect with durability questions to a legitimate top-five flyweight in the span of two years. The growth in her game has been genuine — she’s more patient than the highlight reel version, she mixes levels better, and she’s learned how to protect herself against submission threats.
At 26, she’s entering her prime. A win over a top-three contender puts her directly into the title picture. She has the athleticism and the record to make that step.
#5: Taila Santos (22-3)
Santos nearly took the title from Shevchenko in one of the closest title fights in women’s flyweight history. The controversial split decision loss at UFC 275 remains a legitimate grievance — many ringside observers scored it for Santos. She’s been fighting back toward relevance since, and her power and wrestling combination makes her dangerous for any version of the top five.
At 30, she’s still in her prime years. A reset win to push her back into the top-three conversation is entirely achievable.
#6: Andrea Lee (14-5)
Lee is a consistent top-ten flyweight who wins more than she loses and does so with a grappling-heavy game that gives strikers problems. She’s not a title contender in 2025, but she’s a legitimate measuring stick for fighters coming up through the division. A good run could change her position quickly in a division this competitive.
#7: Natalia Silva (17-5-1)
Silva has been one of the more quietly effective flyweights on the roster — a finishing threat on the ground who can create problems for anyone above her in the rankings. Her record over the last three years reflects genuine development as a complete fighter. Worth watching as a potential disruptor if matched with top-five competition.
#8: Casey O’Neill (9-2)
O’Neill’s submission game was the most exciting thing in women’s flyweight when she came onto the scene. Back-to-back losses slowed momentum but didn’t eliminate the potential. At 26, she still has time to rebuild, and the talent is genuinely there. A streak of wins gets her back in the picture.
#9: Katlyn Chookagian (20-8)
Chookagian has been a durable, active top-ten flyweight for years. She’s not a title contender at this stage of her career, but she remains a legitimate gatekeeper and a fighter who can extend any contender she’s matched against. Her volume striking and cardio continue to make her a difficult fight regardless of ranking.
#10: Amanda Ribas (12-4)
Ribas moved up to flyweight after establishing herself at strawweight and has carved out a spot in the rankings with a complete ground game and solid striking fundamentals. She’s a well-rounded flyweight who can beat fighters above her on the right night.
Division Outlook
Women’s flyweight in 2025 has a clearer shape than it’s had in years. Grasso holds the title. Shevchenko is the mandatory contender by virtue of the draw and her resume. Blanchfield and Fiorot represent a genuine next generation that wasn’t there two years ago.
The Grasso-Shevchenko trilogy is the biggest fight in the division and one of the biggest in women’s MMA. If that happens first, Blanchfield and Fiorot are competing to be next. If it doesn’t, either of them could force the champion’s hand with the right result against each other.
The division is no longer one fighter deep. It’s three or four fighters deep for the first time. That’s what makes 2025 the most interesting year women’s flyweight has had.
