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.
Note: the numbers in parentheses represent the fighter’s ranking from last week
- Cain Velasquez (1)
- Fabricio Werdum (2)
- Junior dos Santos (3)
- Travis Browne (4)
- Josh Barnett (5)
- Stipe Miocic (6)
- Mark Hunt (7)
- Ben Rothwell (8)
- Andrei Arlovski (9)
- Roy Nelson (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Alexander Gustafsson (2)
- Daniel Cormier (3)
- Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (4)
- Rashad Evans (5)
- Phil Davis (7)
- Glover Teixeira (6)
- Vitor Belfort (8)
- Ryan Bader (9)
- Jimi Manuwa (10)
The co-main event of UFC 179 featured two 205-pound fighters looking to rebound from tough losses earlier in the year. Former NCAA wrestling champion Phil Davis earned one of the most important wins of his career, as he thoroughly dominated former title challenger Glover Teixeira for three rounds. As such, the two fighters have flipped positions in the rankings.
- Chris Weidman (1)
- Vitor Belfort (2)
- Anderson Silva (3)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (4)
- Lyoto Machida (5)
- Luke Rockhold (6)
- Yoel Romero (7)
- Tim Kennedy (8)
- Michael Bisping (9)
- Gegard Mousasi (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Johny Hendricks (1)
- Robbie Lawler (2)
- Georges St-Pierre (3)
- Ben Askren (4)
- Rory MacDonald (5)
- Matt Brown (6)
- Hector Lombard (7)
- Tyron Woodley (8)
- Carlos Condit (9)
- Dong Hyun Kim (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Anthony Pettis (1)
- Gilbert Melendez (2)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (3)
- Rafael dos Anjos (4)
- Benson Henderson (5)
- Donald Cerrone (6)
- Eddie Alvarez (7)
- T.J. Grant (8)
- Will Brooks (9)
- Bobby Green (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jose Aldo (1)
- Chad Mendes (2)
- Cub Swanson (3)
- Frankie Edgar (4)
- Ricardo Lamas (5)
- Dennis Bermudez (6)
- Conor McGregor (7)
- Chan Sung Jung (8)
- Dustin Poirier (9)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (10)
UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo faced the toughest test of his title reign in his rematch with Chad Mendes, but the Brazilian left the cage with his belt. The bout was an instant classic, as both fighters came close to scoring finishes. Despite the loss, Mendes remains firmly planted in the No. 2 slot. Unfortunately for the Team Alpha Male product, the second loss to Aldo likely means he’ll serve as a gatekeeper so long as Aldo is champion.
- T.J. Dillashaw (1)
- Renan Barão (2)
- Dominick Cruz (3)
- Urijah Faber (4)
- Bibiano Fernandes (5)
- Raphael Assuncao (6)
- Michael McDonald (7)
- Iuri Alcantara (8)
- Marlon Moraes (9)
- Joe Warren (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- John Dodson (2)
- Joseph Benavidez (3)
- Ian McCall (4)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (5)
- Zach Makovsky (6)
- John Lineker (7)
- Ali Bagautinov (8)
- John Moraga (9)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jose Aldo (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Demetrious Johnson (3)
- Ronda Rousey (4)
- Cain Velasquez (5)
- Chris Weidman (6)
- Anthony Pettis (7)
- Johny Hendricks (8)
- T.J. Dillashaw (9)
- Anderson Silva (10)
For those that have doubted Aldo’s place atop the pound-for-pound rankings, UFC 179 should serve as a reminder of his brilliance inside the cage. The current longest-reigning UFC champion faced one of the biggest challenges of his career and he was able to retain his title. The Brazilian’s supposed cardio issues were nowhere to be found on Saturday night, as he pushed the pace in the fifth and final round.