5 fighters who could overtake Amanda Nunes as the UFC female GOAT

Not so long ago, Amanda Nunes was everyone's choice as the UFC's female GOAT (greatest of all-time). However, following her loss to Julianna Peña at UFC 269, that spot may now be in jeopardy. There are certainly plenty of talented women snapping at her heels in an attempt to one day make that spot theirs.

The loss showed a chink in Nunes' armor that we haven't seen for years. It also opened the door for other fighters to stake their claim as the UFC's female GOAT. For starters, Nunes was knocked off the top spot in the women's pound-for-pound list for the first time since those rankings started.

The wealth of talent in the women's roster may also be at an all-time high. There is no shortage of potential contenders to snatch the GOAT label away from Nunes. Here are five fighters who could overtake Amanda Nunes as the UFC female GOAT:

---

#5. Julianna Peña - UFC bantamweight champion

Julianna Peña holds a record of 11-4

The main thing going for Julianna Peña's case is obviously her win over Amanda Nunes in her last fight. While she still has a long way to go to become the GOAT, she could have set herself up for a number of big fights that just might get her there.

Peña's record currently stands at an unspectacular 11-4 but only has two losses in the octagon, coming at the hands of Germaine de Randamie and Valentina Shevchenko. She will likely have to get revenge over these two opponents if she wants to cement her spot as the female GOAT.

However, there is a path for her to do so. Next up, Peña will likely take on Nunes in a rematch. Should she win that, it's not too unlikely that Valentina Shevchenko could be her next challenger.

If she were able to win that too and add some more title defenses, ideally including a rematch with de Randamie and maybe even a trilogy with Shevchenko, she would have a very strong case to be the female GOAT.

#4. Joanna Jedrzejczyk - Former UFC strawweight champion

Joanna Jedrzejczyk holds a record of 16-4

At one point Joanna Jedrzejczyk was likely the consensus pick as the UFC's female GOAT. At the moment, however, she faces some tough challenges to get back to that status. With that being said, there is definitely a path that could lead her back to that position.

Jedrzejczyk has stated that she is likely to face Weili Zhang in a rematch next time out. A win in that one would likely see her challenge for the strawweight title and quite possibly a third fight with Rose Namajunas. Should she beat Namajunas, the Polish star would most likely cement herself as the greatest strawweight ever.

From there, if she were to move up to flyweight, once again, and this time beat Valentina Shevchenko, she would suddenly become tough to deny as the female GOAT. A win in a potential fourth fight with Namajunas would certainly cement her as the greatest female fighter ever.

---

#3. Rose Namajunas - UFC strawweight champion

Rose Namajunas holds a record of 11-4

Rose Namajunas possibly has the least complicated path to becoming the UFC female GOAT on the list. She is the current strawweight champion and has already avenged two of her four career losses. She will have a chance to make it three next time out when she faces old foe Carla Esparza in a rematch.

A win in that one would help her case massively. Namajunas would be in a position to go on a potentially lengthy title reign given she is only 29 years old. If she were to overtake Jedrzejczyk for strawweight title defenses, that might just be enough to become the female GOAT. However, she might need some help from elsewhere to secure GOAT status.

Given that a move up in weight class is unlikely for 'Thug Rose', she would likely need further slip-ups from the likes of Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko in order to overtake them. All Namajunas can do to help her case is continue to pick up wins, and she's been doing a great job of that as of late.

#2. Kayla Harrison - 2-time PFL lightweight champion

Kayla Harrison holds a record of 12-0

Kayla Harrison is not even in the UFC, which is obviously a major obstacle. On top of that, it seems at the moment she is more likely to re-sign with the PFL. However, should she have a change of heart, she could one day end up as the UFC's female GOAT.

Harrison sports a perfect 12-0 record and pairing this with her two Olympic gold medals is quite the starting point. Should she join MMA's biggest organization, she would likely have to compete at featherweight, meaning any path to the belt would most likely go through Amanda Nunes.

Beating Amanda Nunes, potentially multiple times, and maintaining a perfect record with a number of title defenses could make Harrison the female GOAT. While she might struggle for competition at featherweight, a perfect record after joining the biggest MMA promotion could see her be touted as the best female star the promotion has seen.

---

#1. Valentina Shevchenko - UFC flyweight champion

Valentina Shevchenko holds a record of 22-3

The current No.1 ranked pound-for-pound female is comfortably the most likely to overtake Amanda Nunes as the female GOAT. Valentina Shevchenko is in the midst of a flyweight title run that already includes six successful defenses and has boosted her record to 22-3.

The main issue with her current case are the two losses on her record to Amanda Nunes. While the second fight between the pair was highly controversial, she will likely need a win over 'The Lioness' to completely overtake her in people's minds.

Shevchenko can challenge the winner of the Peña-Nunes rematch. Winning that would earn her champ-champ status, which would be a big plus. From there, continuing to rack up title defenses and ideally beating Nunes at least at some point would make it tough to deny her the status of the UFC's female GOAT.