Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Women’s Atomweight

1. Ayaka Hamasaki (14-2)

Before she was Invicta champion and the top atomweight in the world, Hamasaki was a pretty good strawweight and had only ever lost to UFC title challenger Claudia Gadelha. Her return to 115 pounds, however, saw her knocked out by another Brazilian, and this time, it was much nastier. Hamasaki stepped up to strawweight to face former Invicta titleholder Livia Renata Souza on March 25 and got blistered with punches in less than two minutes.

2. Jinh Yu Frey (5-2)

Frey’s slated bout with unbeaten Brazilian prospect Janaisa Morandin looked like it could steal the show at Invicta 22. Unfortunately, the highly appealing clash of styles never happened, as Morandin came in five pounds overweight and Frey was unwilling to accept more than a three-and-a-half pound allowance, canceling the contest on weigh-in day.

3. Herica Tiburcio (11-4)

It was nearly two years ago that Ayaka Hamasaki upset Tiburcio to take the Invicta atomweight title. It was over 14 months ago that Tiburcio came back to the Invicta cage, only to be upset by Jinh Yu Frey. Now, the 25-year-old Brazilian has put together back-to-back decision wins over Simona Soukupova and fellow ranker Tessa Simpson and may not be far off from another crack at Invicta's 105-pound strap.

4. Mina Kurobe (10-2)

Kurobe avenged an outstanding loss to Naho Sugiyama in February, winning the Deep Jewels title in the process. Now, the 40-year-old Japanese fighter is looking to collect another piece of hardware for her trophy case, but this one may prove more difficult. Kurobe will take on UFC veteran Seo Hee Ham for the Road Fighting Championship women's atomweight title in “Hamderlei Silva's” native South Korea on June 10.

5. Naho Sugiyama (12-5)

Sugiyama topped Emi Tomimatsu in June to become Deep Jewels atomweight champion. Unfortunately, in her first title defense on Feb. 25, she could not replicate her November 2015 win over Mina Kurobe, dropping a unanimous decision and the strap.

6. Tessa Simpson (5-2)

Since finishing college and returning to MMA, Simpson has been sterling, taking quality wins over Satomi Takano and Simona Soukupova. At Invicta 23, the Guam native took a jump up in competition, faced former promotional atomweight champion Herica Tiburcio and pushed the Brazilian to the limit. However, Simpson ultimately wound up losing a split decision on the scorecards after 15 minutes.

7. Janaisa Morandin (9-0)

With a perfect 9-0 record and an exciting fight style that has resulted in six stoppages, it seemed like everything was coming together for Morandin when she was lined up to face former Invicta title challenger Jinh Yu Frey on March 25. The 22-year-old Brazilian even received a sponsorship and fight gear from comedian Hannibal Burress. Unfortunately, “The Evil Princess” blew weight by five pounds, nixing the bout.

8. Satomi Takano (10-8)

Following a pair of losses to Emi Tomimatsu and Tessa Simpson, Takano has bounced back in style, winning three straight under the Deep Jewels banner. While her two first-round submissions over anonymous fighters Miyuki Furusawa and Ye Jin Jung are not much to write home about, “Sarami” got a much more serious and worthwhile win on May 20, pounding out Tomo Maesawa in the second round. It was Takano's second win over Maesawa, a woman against whom she won a two-round decision in May 2015.

9. Julia Jones (5-0)

Jones in May was scheduled to take on fellow top-10 talent Tessa Simpson at Invicta FC 17. However, the bout -- which would have provided some clarity for the 105-pound division -- was scrapped. Instead, “Jewels” returned in September, dominating Stephanie Skinner and choking her out in the first round to run her pro record to 5-0.

10. Ashley Cummins (5-3)

Cummins lost three in a row at 115 pounds in the Invicta cage and then got knocked out by Lanchana Green in the opening round of “The Ultimate Fighter 23.” Undeterred, “Smashley” has bounced back in style. First, she choked out Nicole Smith in a 110-pound bout at Bellator 157 and then made her official drop to 105 pounds at Invicta 22, earning an exciting unanimous decision over former Invicta title challenger Amber Brown.

Other Contenders: Amber Brown, Paulina Granados, Tomo Maesawa, Andy Nguyen, Sheila Padilla.