As MMA continues to grow its presence with the UFC, Bellator MMA, WSOF and ONE FC, fighters are constantly jockeying for position in the eyes (and rankings) of the media.
Every week, Combat Press will rank each weight class from heavyweight to flyweight, as well as the pound-for-pound rankings (including both genders).
Note: the numbers in parentheses represent the fighter’s ranking from last week.
- Stipe Miocic (1)
- Fabricio Werdum (2)
- Cain Velasquez (3)
- Alistair Overeem (4)
- Junior dos Santos (5)
- Brock Lesnar (6)
- Ben Rothwell (7)
- Josh Barnett (8)
- Mark Hunt (9)
- Travis Browne (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Daniel Cormier (2)
- Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (3)
- Alexander Gustafsson (4)
- Phil Davis (5)
- Glover Teixeira (6)
- Ryan Bader (7)
- Jimi Manuwa (8)
- Ovince Saint Preux (9)
- Liam McGeary (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Michael Bisping (1)
- Yoel Romero (2)
- Luke Rockhold (3)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (4)
- Chris Weidman (5)
- Lyoto Machida (6)
- Gegard Mousasi (7)
- Robert Whittaker (8)
- Derek Brunson (9)
- Anderson Silva (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Tyron Woodley (1)
- Stephen Thompson (2)
- Robbie Lawler (3)
- Demian Maia (4)
- Carlos Condit (5)
- Ben Askren (6)
- Rory MacDonald (7)
- Kelvin Gastelum (8)
- Donald Cerrone (10 – tie)
- Dong Hyun Kim (10 – tie)
Dropped from the rankings: Jake Ellenberger (9)
Only one fighter in the top 10 was in action this week. Things didn’t go well for ninth-ranked Jake Ellenberger at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale. Ellenberger was battered on the feet by Jorge Masvidal in the opening minutes of the fight, but managed to survive. Then, Ellenberger launched a jumping knee near the fence and got his foot caught in the cage. The strange situation led to referee Herb Dean halting the fight and handing Masvidal the win via TKO, while Ellenberger tumbles back out of the top 10.
- Conor McGregor (1)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (2)
- Tony Ferguson (3)
- Eddie Alvarez (4)
- Rafael dos Anjos (5)
- Edson Barboza (6)
- Nate Diaz (7)
- Justin Gaethje (8)
- Will Brooks (9)
- Michael Chandler (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- José Aldo (2)
- Frankie Edgar (3)
- Max Holloway (4)
- Chad Mendes (5)
- Anthony Pettis (6)
- Ricardo Lamas (7)
- Cub Swanson (8)
- Charles Oliveira (9)
- Daniel Straus (10)
- Patricio Freire (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Conor McGregor (1)
The featherweight rankings have changed, but not due to action in the cage. The UFC has forced titleholder Conor McGregor to vacate the 145-pound belt to focus on the lightweight division. As a result, interim champion José Aldo has been elevated to champion and third-ranked Max Holloway will battle fifth-ranked Anthony Pettis for a new interim belt at UFC 206.
- Dominick Cruz (1)
- T.J. Dillashaw (2)
- Bibiano Fernandes (3)
- Cody Garbrandt (4)
- John Lineker (5)
- Marlon Moraes (6)
- Jimmie Rivera (7)
- Urijah Faber (8)
- Raphael Assuncao (9)
- Eduardo Dantas (10)
Bellator MMA champion Eduardo Dantas retained his title at Bellator 166, getting revenge against Joe Warren on the scorecards. The win keeps Dantas firmly planted inside the top 10.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Joseph Benavidez (2)
- Henry Cejudo (3)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (4)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (5)
- Zach Makovsky (6)
- Wilson Reis (7)
- Tim Elliott (-)
- Dustin Ortiz (8)
- Matheus Nicolau (9)
Dropped from the rankings: John Moraga (10)
Flyweight king Demetrious Johnson survived an early scare against TUF 24 winner Tim Elliott before cruising to a lopsided decision win. Johnson maintains the top spot, while Elliott re-enters the rankings after capturing the reality show and giving Johnson a formidable challenge.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Daniel Cormier (3)
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (4)
- Conor McGregor (5)
- Dominick Cruz (6)
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk (7)
- Stipe Miocic (8)
- José Aldo (9)
- Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (10)
With his ninth straight title defense, Johnson cemented his place atop the pound-for-pound rankings. He’ll look to break Anderson Silva’s promotional record in his next outing.
Editor’s Note: Fighters are eligible to be ranked if they have competed in the last 18 months. Any fighter that chooses to switch weight classes will be ranked in their previous weight class until they have competed in their new division.