ESPN names Rousey most famous female athlete on planet

Who are the most famous athletes on the planet?

ESPN director of analytics Ben Alamar devised a formula that combines athletes’ endorsements, their following on the social media Big Three (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) and Google search popularity, to create the ESPN World Fame 100 rankings.

Three MMA fighters made the list, including Ronda Rousey, who was the highest female athlete of the top 100:

Ronda Rousey #16 (+7 from last year)
Endorsements: $8 million
Instagram followers: 9.5 million
Twitter followers: 3.4 million
Facebook followers: 11.3 million

Conor McGregor #25 (+12)
Endorsements: $8 million
Instagram followers: 11.1 million
Twitter followers: 3.6 million
Facebook followers: 5.2 million

Anderson Silva #39 (unrated)
Endorsements: $4 million
Instagram followers: 2.6 million
Twitter followers: 7.9 million
Facebook followers: 5.9 million

Below Rousey discusses the joys of bursting a ganglion cyst on someone’s forehead with the characteristic unvarnished demeanor that help make her the most famous figure in mixed martial arts history. And arguably, the most famous female athlete on Earth.

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A post shared by Ronda Rousey (@rondarousey)

The jump for all three fighters from last year may be due in part to change in ESPN’s formula – salaries/earnings were removed. If MMA fighters are under compensated given their popularity, the removal of pay from the formula should move them up the rankings.

Complete list:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. LeBron James
3. Lionel Messi
4. Roger Federer
5. Phil Mickelson
6. Neymar
7. Usain Bolt
8. Kevin Durant
9. Rafael Nadal
10. Tiger Woods
11. Stephen Curry
12. Novak Djokovic
13. Virat Kohli
14. Rory McIlroy
15. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
16. Ronda Rousey
17. Jordan Spieth
18. Kaká
19. Serena Williams
20. Kei Nishikori
21. Tom Brady
22. Gareth Bale
23. Maria Sharapova
24. Dwyane Wade
25. Conor McGregor
26. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
27. James Rodríguez
28. James Harden
29. Alexis Sánchez
30. Mesut Özil
31. Wayne Rooney
32. Andy Murray
33. Derrick Rose
34. Kyrie Irving
35. Russell Westbrook
36. Antoine Griezmann
37. Andrés Iniesta
38. Luis Suárez
39. Anderson Silva
40. Paul Pogba
41. Carmelo Anthony
42. Stan Wawrinka
43. Dustin Johnson
44. Karim Benzema
45. Marcelo Vieira
46. Radamel Falcao
47. Cam Newton
48. Simone Biles
49. Sergio Agüero
50. Ivan Rakitic
51. Chris Paul
52. Drew Brees
53. David Luiz
54. Cesc Fàbregas
55. Russell Wilson
56. Aaron Rodgers
57. Dani Alves
58. Sergio Garcia
59. Manny Pacquiao
60. Eli Manning
61. Damian Lillard
62. Rickie Fowler
63. Blake Griffin
64. Odell Beckham Jr.
65. Dwight Howard
66. Ning Zetao
67. Ryan Lochte
68. Bastian Schweinsteiger
69. Dale Earnhardt Jr
70. Javier Hernández
71. Ma Long
72. Toni Kroos
73. Justin Rose
74. J.J. Watt
75. Hope Solo
76. Thiago Silva
77. Raheem Sterling
78. Eden Hazard
79. Theo Walcott
80. Didier Drogba
81. Mario Götze
82. Robert Lewandowski
83. Marco Reus
84. Lewis Hamilton
85. Jason Day
86. Jimmie Johnson
87. Caroline Wozniacki
88.  Lin Dan
89. Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez
90. Yuvraj Singh
91. Thomas Müller
92. Felipe Massa
93. Eugenie Bouchard
94. Bubba Watson
95.  Suresh Raina
96. Gabriel Jesus
97. Manuel Neuer
98. Adam Scott
99. Aly Raisman
100. Mohamed Salah

Two boxers made the list, Manny Pacquiao (#59) and Canelo Alvarez (#89). Floyd Mayweather was not eligible as, despite the ongoing negotiations to box Conor McGregor, he is considered retired. And Ronda Rousey, who is widely believed to be retired, is considered not retired.