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Anthony Smith and Michael Bisping recently ranked their top five female fighters in the history of MMA.
Both men agreed that it was a demanding task to make a list of only five fighters as there have been many legendary names in the history of the sport. However, they eventually shared their list.
'Lionheart' named Amanda Nunes, Rose Namajunas, Valentian Shevchenko, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and Zhang Weili in his list of top-five fighters in that order. Here's what the former light heavyweight title challenger stated on a recent episode of the Believe You Me podcast:
"I would put Amanda Nunes at the top. I would put Rose number two. The I would put Shevchenko....Then probably Joanna. Either way, one and two aren't even the champions and I put them above the champions in the division."
Smith was skeptical of the fact that neither Namajunas nor Nunes are champions in all the divisions they fought in. Namajunas was recently beaten by Carla Esaparza at UFC 274. Nunes, meanwhile, lost her bantamweight title when she succumbed to a defeat against Julianna Pena at UFC 269. However, 'The Lioness' is still the women's featherweight champion.
Bisping then went on to give his list of top-five female fighters. 'The Count' put Valentina Shevchenko at the top of his list, followed by Amanda Nunes and Rose Namajunas at the No. 2 and 3 spots respectively.
He put former strawweight queen and Chinese star Zhang Weili in the fourth spot, followed by Joanna Jedrzejczyk at five. Here's what the former middleweight champion stated:
"I'd have Shevchenko one, Nunes two, Rose three, Zhang four, Joanna five."
Watch Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith list their top-five female fighters of all time:
Anthony Smith set to take on Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277
Anthony Smith is set to return to the octagon at UFC 277 as he will fight Magomed Ankalaev in a potential No. 1 contender's fight. Both fighters are in red-hot form at the moment and could secure the chance to fight Jiri Prochazka with a win at UFC 277.
Anthony Smith is on a three-fight winning streak at the moment in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. He has finished the likes of Devin Clark, Jimmy Crute, and Ryan Spann in his last three fights. He will take on Ankalaev, who is on a eight-fight winning streak.
'Lionheart' has previously challenged for the title at UFC 235 where he lost against Jon Jones. Whether he can mount another challenge for the belt remains to be seen.
