From its earliest days, determining the bestwomen’s MMA fighter in the world has been an almost impossible challenge. The top fighters were separated by time, distance and weight classes, on parallel paths that almost never crossed.
For years, this was a debate for only the hardest of hardcore fans. Women’s MMA was conducted in darkness, far from the bright lights of television that were making stars on the men’s side household names with sports fans. The UFC didn’t feature women on their fight cards. Neither did its Japanese equivalent, Pride Fighting Championships.
To most fans, women’s MMA might as well not have existed at all.