With Cris Cyborg in the fight, SUPER LUTAS elects the best fighters of the year 2024; see the list

Chris Cyborg derrotou Larissa pacheco in the PFL: Battle of Giants (Photo: Reproduction/instagram Chris Cyborg

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While Alex Poatán e Ilia Topuria stand out as the main names of 2024 in MMA, women also shone in the season, whether with new stars, like Dakota Ditcheva, old ones, like Chris Cyborg, or with throne retakes like that of Valentina Shevchenko.

The team at SUPER FIGHTS got together to vote for the top fighters of the year. The voting went as follows: each member of the team put together an individual top 5, knowing that first place would be worth 5 points, second place would be worth 4 points, and so on. With all the votes recorded, the points were added up to close the final top 5 of the SUPER FIGHTS. Let's get to the list!

Honorable Mentions

Virna jandiroba in victory over Amanda lemos. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc

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Before revealing the five best fighters of the year, honorable mentions are due to those who had brilliant years, were remembered by part of our team in the voting, but did not achieve enough points for the top 5.

The first honorable mention goes to Virna jandiroba. The straw weight (up to 52,1 kg) from Bahia went through Lupita Godinez and finished the compatriot Amanda lemos to rise to third place in the category ranking and dream of a belt dispute in 2025.

The second belongs to Julianna Pena. The 'Venezuelan Vixen' returned to the octagon after more than two years and defeated the then champion Rachel Pennington to retake the category's throne.

5) Weili Zhang (9 points)

Weili Zhang derrotou yan xiaonan No. UFC 300. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter @UFCNews

As much as Julianna Pena, Weili Zhang only saw action once in the year 2024, but was responsible for the co-main event of the historic UFC 300. On that occasion, the champion dominated her compatriot yan xiaonan to defend the strawweight title (up to 52,1 kg) and secure fifth place on our list.

4) Valentina Shevchenko (13 points)

Valentina Shevchenko makes a strategic fight, beats Alex Grasso in a trilogy and regains the belt in UFC 306. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/UFC News

After a 2023 to forget, with a defeat and a draw against Alexa grasso, Valentina Shevchenko celebrated in 2024 a dominant victory in the trilogy against her Mexican rival and the recovery of the flyweight belt (up to 56,7 kg), enough to appear in fourth place on the list of SUPER FIGHTS.

3) Kayla Harrison (18 points)

Kayla harrison in a UFC fight. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc

Kayla harrison didn't even need a title fight to open the podium of our competition. In her first year in the UFC, the two-time Olympic champion 'ran over' Holly holm, superor Ketlen Scallop and has become a strong candidate to win the bantamweight title (up to 61,2 kg) in 2025.

2) Cris Cyborg (27 points)

Chris Cyborg won the title of the 5 main MMA leagues Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/@bellatormma

The 'silver medal' of SUPER FIGHTS goes to the legendary Chris Cyborg. At the age of 39, the Bellator champion made her PFL debut in October and put on a show in her victory over the two-time champion Larissa pacheco, nine years younger, carrying the organization's special belt.

1) Dakota Ditcheva (34 points)

Dakota Ditcheva won $1 million by defeating Taila Santos in the PFL finals / PFL Reproduction

Elected almost unanimously by the team of SUPER FIGHTS, the best fighter of 2024 is Dakota Ditcheva. Champion of PFL Europe in 2023, the 26-year-old British fighter competed in her first regular season of the global PFL, running over four opponents, including the Brazilian Taila Santos and was crowned champion, taking home the belt and the US$1 million prize.