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
- 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)
- Alistair Overeem (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Roy Nelson (10)
In a fight that had the potential for someone looking up at the lights after being knocked unconscious, former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem put on the most complete performance of his UFC tenure, edging Roy Nelson by unanimous decision at UFC 185. Overeem used his reach to perfection and battered Nelson with kicks and knees from the outside. He managed to avoid Nelson’s dangerous right hand and claimed not only victory, but a spot in the top 10 once again.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (2)
- Alexander Gustafsson (3)
- Daniel Cormier (4)
- Rashad Evans (5)
- Ryan Bader (6)
- Phil Davis (7)
- Glover Teixeira (8)
- Vitor Belfort (9)
- Ovince Saint Preux (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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)
- Gegard Mousasi (9)
- Michael Bisping (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Robbie Lawler (1)
- Johny Hendricks (2)
- Georges St-Pierre (3)
- Ben Askren (4)
- Rory MacDonald (5)
- Hector Lombard (6)
- Matt Brown (7)
- Tyron Woodley (8)
- Carlos Condit (9)
- Rousimar Palhares (10)
Former champion Johny Hendricks likely cemented his status as the No. 1 contender yet again, topping the always tough Matt Brown on the scorecards at UFC 185. Hendricks mixed in takedowns and excellent top control throughout the contest. He managed to defend numerous submission attempts from Brown and proved he’s ready for the winner of the Robbie Lawler-Rory MacDonald title tilt later this year. Brown, meanwhile, holds on to his No. 7 spot in the rankings despite the loss.
- Rafael dos Anjos (4)
- Anthony Pettis (1)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (3)
- Gilbert Melendez (2)
- Donald Cerrone (5)
- Benson Henderson (6)
- Eddie Alvarez (7)
- Will Brooks (8)
- Myles Jury (9)
- Michael Johnson (10)
There’s a new king at 155 pounds. Brazil’s Rafael dos Anjos executed a perfect game plan and completely dominated incumbent champion Anthony Pettis for five rounds. Dos Anjos used forward pressure and solid combinations to prevent Pettis from creating space. He took Pettis down in each round and threatened to end the fight with submissions. With the loss, Pettis fell to the second spot in the rankings, behind dos Anjos and just ahead of unbeaten Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov.
- Jose Aldo (1)
- Chad Mendes (2)
- Frankie Edgar (3)
- Cub Swanson (4)
- Conor McGregor (5)
- Ricardo Lamas (6)
- Dennis Bermudez (7)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (8)
- Dustin Poirier (9)
- Max Holloway (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- T.J. Dillashaw (1)
- Renan Barão (2)
- Dominick Cruz (3)
- Urijah Faber (4)
- Bibiano Fernandes (5)
- Raphael Assuncao (6)
- Michael McDonald (7)
- Marlon Moraes (8)
- Joe Warren (9)
- Eduardo Dantas (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Joseph Benavidez (2)
- John Dodson (3)
- John Lineker (4)
- Ian McCall (5)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (6)
- Zach Makovsky (7)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (8)
- John Moraga (9)
- Henry Cejudo (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Ali Bagautinov (10)
It may have taken Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo a handful of tries to finally reach the flyweight limit, but once he did, he immediately established himself as a possible contender for Demetrious Johnson’s 125-pound title. Cejudo easily handled former title challenger Chris Cariaso with a mix of strong boxing and takedowns, and moved into the No. 10 slot in our rankings.
- Jose Aldo (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Ronda Rousey (3)
- Demetrious Johnson (4)
- Cain Velasquez (5)
- Chris Weidman (6)
- T.J. Dillashaw (8)
- Robbie Lawler (9)
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (10)
- Johny Hendricks (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Anthony Pettis (7)
Anthony Pettis may have stayed in the top five of the lightweight ranks, but his loss sent him tumbling from the pound-for-pound rankings. As a result, former welterweight kingpin Johny Hendricks sneaks back into the 10th slot on the heels of his win over Matt Brown.