5 blockbuster women's matchups that could headline UFC PPVs

Had Nunes won on Saturday, many would have called for Nunes vs. Shevchenko III

The first women's matchup to headline a UFC pay-per-view was Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 in 2013.

• First Women's title fight
• First Women's main event
• Ronda Rousey's UFC debut

#OnThisDay history was made at UFC 157.
https://t.co/kzMTPxHeEF

2021 will be the first year since women were brought into the promotion where no UFC PPVs were headlined by female fighters.

This may be due to a number of reasons. For starters, women's MMA undoubtedly misses its biggest star as Ronda Rousey has not fought in the octagon since 2016. Another reason could be a lack of competition in some of the weight divisions.

While this is to their credit, both Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko have dominated their divisions, leaving a lack of close matchups that create intrigue. On top of that, the featherweight division is so light there aren't even rankings for 145lbs.

That is not to say we are seeing a decline in women's MMA. The UFC roster is still packed with exciting talent that you could argue are competing at a higher level than ever before. Julianna Peña's shocking upset of Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 proved this. With more talent than ever, there's no lack of great matchups to be made.

Furthermore, there are still matchups to be made that would be deserving of a spot at the top of a UFC PPV card. Here are five fights that are big enough to live up to that billing:

#5. Joanna Jedrzeczyk vs. Zhang Weili II

Weili defeated Jedrzeczyk via split decision at UFC 248

First off, the obvious issue with this one at the moment is that neither fighter currently holds a UFC title. However, given both women have done so in the past, there is no reason to believe that that will not change in the future.

Regardless, given that their first fight was widely regarded as the greatest women's MMA fight of all time, there would likely still be a number of fans willing to pay to see the rematch.

The WMMA Rankings “Fight of the Year” award for 2020 goes to . . . as voted for by YOU . . .
🏆 @MmaWeili vs. @joannamma (UFC 248, March 7th 2020) https://t.co/OwReHFXfZI

The first bout between the two saw a back-and-forth striking war that did not let up through five rounds of action. Both women left everything inside the cage and the result was very close. Weili was given the nod and won via split-decision.

In any case, Joanna Jedrzeczyk returning to the octagon in 2022 will be a big deal for women's MMA. Pairing her up against a world-class competitor like Zhang Weili would draw plenty of eyes, particularly given the way the pair's first bout went.