UFC rankings are viewed by many fight fans as a listing of the very best fighters in each major division in mixed martial arts. However, which competitors get ranked and where is always a source of much debate. Ringside Intel is here to further the subjective discourse with our rundown of the top fighters in the UFC.
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This space will be your one-stop shop for the top 10 in the UFC rankings, from the men’s flyweight division to the women’s pound-for-pound list. Scroll down and feast your eyes on the latest rankings.
Men’s pound-for-pound UFC rankings
Fourteen straight victories are part of why UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is at the top of our current pound-for-pound UFC rankings. However, it is also how dominant he has been in his victories over UFC legends Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski, and Dustin Poirier that place him head and shoulders above any other fighters in the promotion right now.
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Last 3 Results |
| #1 | Islam Makhachev | 26-1 | W-W-W |
| #2 | Alex Pereira | 11-2 | W-W-W |
| #3 | Ilia Topuria | 15-0 | W-W-W |
| #4 | Alexander Volkanovski | 26-4 | L-L-W |
| #5 | Belal Muhammad | 24-3 | W-W-W |
| #6 | Merab Dvalishvili | 18-4 | W-W-W |
| #7 | Alexandre Pantoja | 28-5 | W-W-W |
| #8 | Leon Edwards | 22-4 | L-W-W |
| #9 | Max Holloway | 26-7 | W-W-L |
| #10 | Dricus Du Plessis | 22-2 | W-W-W |
UFC flyweight rankings
Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja has had a long hard road to becoming the UFC flyweight king. He toiled away inside the division for five years before he was finally able to earn a title fight at UFC 290. In his first chance at being champion, he made good by scoring a second (third unofficial) win over division king Brandon Moreno.
Since then he has defended his belt twice and turned away some of the best 125-pounders in the world. There is no clear challenger that will be able to knock “The Cannibal” off his thrown.
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Last 3 Results | ||
| #1 | Alexandre Pantoja | 28-5 | W-W-W | ||
| #2 | Brandon Royval | 16-7 | W-L-W | ||
| #3 | Amir Albazi | 17-1 | W-W-W | ||
| #4 | Brandon Moreno | 21-8-2 | L-L-W | ||
| #5 | Kai Kara-France | 25-11 | W-L-L | ||
| #6 | Tatsuro Taira | 16-0 | W-W-W | ||
| #7 | Manel Kape | 19-7 | L-W-W | ||
| #8 | Steve Erceg | 12-3 | L-W-W | ||
| #9 | Tim Elliott | 20-13-1 | W-L-W | ||
| #10 | Alex Perez | 25-9 | L-W-L |
UFC bantamweight rankings
What had the potential to be a dominant title reign was unceremoniously cut short by Merab Dvalishvili. The Ray Longo student had little trouble handling everything Sean O’Malley threw his way at UFC 306. Save for a few moments in the final round, “The Machine” controlled the entire 25 minutes and left no doubts when the decision was read.
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Last 3 Results | |
| #1 | Merab Dvalishvili | 18-4 | W-W-W | |
| #2 | Sean O’Malley | 17-2-1 | L-W-W | |
| #3 | Umar Nurmagomedov | 18-0 | W-W-W | |
| #4 | Cory Sandhagen | 17-4 | L-W-W | |
| #5 | Petr Yan | 17-5 | W-L-L | |
| #6 | Deiveson Figueiredo | 24-3-1 | W-W-W | |
| #7 | Marlon Vera | 23-8-1 | L-L-W | |
| #8 | Yadong Song | 21-8 | L-W-W | |
| #9 | Henry Cejudo | 16-4 | L-L-W | |
| #10 | Jose Aldo | 32-8 | W-L-W |
UFC featherweight rankings
After five straight wins to start his UFC career, Ilia Topuria became one of the new rising stars at 145 pounds. Then big wins over Bryce Mitchell and former interim championship challenger Josh Emmett cemented his place as not just an impressive talent but a true world title contender.
In February, he stamped his place in division history when he was able to be the first man to not only hang an L on Alexander Volkanovski at featherweight but also dramatically finish him. At just 27, Topuria is set up to begin a lengthy and dominant title run of his own over the next few years.
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Last 3 Results |
| #1 | Ilia Topuria | 15-0 | W-W-W |
| #2 | Alexander Volkanovski | 26-4 | L-L-W |
| #3 | Max Holloway | 25-7 | W-W-L |
| #4 | Josh Emmett | 18-4 | W-L-L |
| #5 | Movsar Evloev | 18-0 | W-W-W |
| #6 | Yair Rodriguez | 19-5 | L-L-W |
| #7 | Arnold Allen | 20-3 | W-L-L |
| #8 | Aljamain Sterling | 23-4 | W-L-W |
| #9 | Brian Ortega | 16-3 | W-L-L |
| #10 | Diego Lopes | 25-6 | W-W-W |
What are MMA rankings?
MMA rankings are just like rankings for boxers of NFL teams. It is a list of the best fighters in a particular weight class or overall in the sport of mixed martial arts.
UFC lightweight rankings
Islam Makhachev, like his friend and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, has been a dominant force in the UFC lightweight division. He won 10 straight and has one of the best back-to-back title defenses in weight class history when he defeated former champ Charles Oliveria and featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski. He has added a second win over the Aussie and a submission victory over Dustin Poirier since.
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Last 3 Results | ||
| #1 | Islam Makhachev | 25-1 | W-W-W | ||
| #2 | Arman Tsarukyan | 21-3 | W-W-W | ||
| #3 | Charles Oliveira | 34-9 | W-L-W | ||
| #4 | Justin Gaethje | 25-4 | W-W-L | ||
| #5 | Dustin Poirier | 29-8 | W-L-W | ||
| #6 | Beniel Dariush | 22-6-1 | L-W-W | ||
| #7 | Michael Chandler | 23-8 | L-W-L | ||
| #8 | Rafael Fiziev | 12-2 | L-W-W | ||
| #9 | Dan Hooker | 24-12 | W-W-W | ||
| #10 | Mateusz Gamrot | 24-2 | L-W-W |
UFC welterweight rankings
You can no longer doubt the talents of Belal Muhammad. He has beaten high-level fighters like Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, and Gilbert Burns, and now can call himself world champion after defeating Leon Edwards at UFC 304.
His rise to the top is one of the best stories in the UFC. Now, he must solidify his place among the best welterweights ever and get a few defenses under his golden belt.
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Last 3 Results | |
| #1 | Belal Muhammad | 24-3 | W-W-W | |
| #2 | Leon Edwards | 22-4 | L-W-W | |
| #3 | Shavkat Rakhmonov | 18-0 | W-W-W | |
| #4 | Ian Garry | 15-0 | W-W-W | |
| #5 | Sean Brady | 17-1 | W-W-L | |
| #6 | Jack Della Maddalena | 17-2 | W-W-W | |
| #7 | Stephen Thompson | 17-7-1 | L-W-L | |
| #8 | Joaquin Buckley | 19-6 | W-W-W | |
| #9 | Kamaru Usman | 20-4 | L-L-L | |
| #10 | Gilbert Burns | 22-8 | L-L-L |
UFC middleweight rankings
At UFC 293, Sean Strickland stunned the MMA world by beating division legend Israel Adesanya despite being a +440 underdog entering fight night. It was a stunning moment that forever changed opinions about who is the division GOAT and opened up the top of the division to all sorts of possibilities in the months ahead.
However, his reign at the top was short-lived as history was made in his first title defense when Dricus Du Plessis defeated him to be the first South African-born fighter to win a UFC championship. With the fall of Adesanya, the division is as wide open as it’s been in years.
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Last 3 Results | ||
| #1 | Dricus Du Plessis | 22-2 | W-W-W | ||
| #2 | Robert Whittaker | 26-7 | W-W-L | ||
| #3 | Sean Strickland | 29-6 | W-L-W | ||
| #4 | Israel Adesanya | 24-4 | L-L-W | ||
| #5 | Brendan Allen | 24-5 | W-W-W | ||
| #6 | Nassourdine Imavov | 14-4 | W-W-NC | ||
| #7 | Caio Borralho | 17-1 | W-W-W | ||
| #8 | Jared Cannonier | 17-8 | L-L-W | ||
| #9 | Marvin Vettori | 19-7-1 | L-W-L | ||
| #10 | Paulo Costa | 14-4 | L-L-W |
UFC light heavyweight rankings
In a short amount of time, Alex Pereira stamped his place as one of the best middleweight MMA fighters on the planet. His knockout win over former champion Israel Adesanya forever stamped his spot in division lore and he likely would have been first in line to get a chance to again beat new champion Sean Strickland. However, he switched divisions and rapidly rose to the top at light heavyweight.
At UFC 295, he proved any doubters left wrong when he scored a destructive second-round finish over former champion Jiri Prochazka. Not only is he the ninth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two divisions, but he is by far the fastest to ever achieve the legendary feat as he did it in just seven fights.
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Last 3 Results | ||
| #1 | Alex Pereira | 11-2 | W-W-W | ||
| #2 | Magomed Ankalaev | 19-1-1 | W-D-W | ||
| #3 | Jamahal Hill | 12-2 | L-W-W | ||
| #4 | Jiri Prochazka | 30-5-1 | L-W-L | ||
| #5 | Jan Blachowicz | 29-10-1 | W-D-W | ||
| #6 | Nikita Krylov | 30-9 | W-W-W | ||
| #7 | Khalil Rountree | 13-5 | W-W-W | ||
| #8 | Aleksandar Rakic | 14-4 | L-L-W | ||
| #9 | Azamat Murzakanvo | 13-0 | W-W-W | ||
| #10 | Carlos Ulberg | 10-1 | W-W-W |
UFC heavyweight rankings
Englishman Tom Aspinall is the best heavyweight in the UFC. While the current title he holds is an interim belt, with all due respect to lineal champion Jon Jones, Aspinall has beaten many of the best fighters in the division for the last three years instead of a great win in one fight.
His lone defeat in the company came after he tore knee ligaments against Curtis Blaydes, otherwise, he has met little resistance during eight bouts in the Octagon and he stamped his place as the best in the class with a destructive championship win over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Last 3 Results | ||
| #1 | Tom Aspinall | 15-3 | W-W-W | ||
| #2 | Jon Jones | 27-1 | W-W-W | ||
| #3 | Ciryl Gane | 12-2 | W-L-W | ||
| #4 | Alexander Volkov | 38-10 | W-W-W | ||
| #5 | Curtis Blaydes | 18-5 | L-W-L | ||
| #6 | Sergei Pavlovich | 18-3 | L-L-W | ||
| #7 | Jailton Almeida | 20-3 | L-W-W | ||
| #8 | Serghei Spivac | 17-4 | W-L-W | ||
| #9 | Derrick Lewis | 28-12 | W-L-W | ||
| #10 | Jairzinho Rozenstruik | 15-5 | W-W-L |
Women’s UFC pound for pound rankings
With Amanda Nunes walking away from the sport, the women’s pound-for-pound rankings are now wide open. In the wake of the GOAT’s departure and Valentina Shevchenko’s shocking loss, Chinese superstar Zhang Weili jumped into the top spot. At UFC 292 she showed why she is one of the best female fighters alive with a dominant win as she used a complete attack to beat Amanda Lemos.
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| Rank | Fighter | Record | Last 3 Results |
| #1 | Zhang Weili | 25-3 | W-W-W |
| #2 | Valentina Shevchenko | 24-4-1 | W-D-L |
| #3 | Alexa Grasso | 16-4-1 | L-D-W |
| #4 | Manon Fiorot | 12-1 | W-W-W |
| #5 | Yan Xiaonan | 17-4 | L-W-W |
| #6 | Rose Namajunas | 13-6 | W-W-L |
| #7 | Erin Blanchfield | 11-2 | L-W-W |
| #8 | Julianna Pena | 12-5 | L-W-W |
| #9 | Tatiana Suarez | 10-0 | W-W-W |
| #10 | Raquel Pennington | 15-8 | W-W-W |
Where is Islam Makhachev ranked?
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is ranked in two categories in our current UFC rankings and the Russian star lands in the top spot for both. Makhachev is No. 1 in our latest lightweight and pound-for-pound rankings.
Who is the best pound for pound MMA history?
Deciding who is the greatest MMA fighter ever is very subjective. But if one had to be chosen, either light heavyweight great Jon Jones, welterweight legend Georges St. Pierre, and flyweight icon Demetrious Johnson would be the likely choices for many fight fans.
