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.
- Fabricio Werdum (2)
- Cain Velasquez (1)
- Junior dos Santos (3)
- Josh Barnett (4)
- Stipe Miocic (5)
- Andrei Arlovski (6)
- Travis Browne (7)
- Ben Rothwell (8)
- Mark Hunt (9)
- Alistair Overeem (10)
UFC 188 saw the UFC heavyweight belt unified once again as Brazilian Fabricio Werdum stunned the MMA world by submitting Cain Velasquez in the third round. Werdum has come full circle from his initial UFC release, topping off an impressive run in both the Octagon and Strikeforce to sit atop the heavyweight ranks. Velasquez, who showed obvious ring rust from his lengthy absence, will have to work his way back into contention.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Daniel Cormier (2)
- Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (3)
- Alexander Gustafsson (4)
- Ryan Bader (5)
- Phil Davis (6)
- Glover Teixeira (7)
- Ovince Saint Preux (8)
- Liam McGeary (9)
- Jimi Manuwa (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Chris Weidman (1)
- Anderson Silva (2)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (3)
- Luke Rockhold (4)
- Lyoto Machida (5)
- Vitor Belfort (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)
- Ben Askren (3)
- Rory MacDonald (4)
- Hector Lombard (5)
- Matt Brown (6)
- Tyron Woodley (7)
- Carlos Condit (8)
- Rousimar Palhares (9)
- Dong Hyun Kim (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Rafael dos Anjos (1)
- Anthony Pettis (2)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (3)
- Donald Cerrone (4)
- Benson Henderson (6)
- Eddie Alvarez (7)
- Gilbert Melendez (5)
- Will Brooks (8)
- Myles Jury (9)
- Michael Johnson (10)
It was years in the making, but former Bellator MMA champion Eddie Alvarez and former Strikeforce titleholder Gilbert Melendez finally locked horns in the Octagon at UFC 188. Melendez battered Alvarez in the opening frame, forcing his left eye to swell shut, but Alvarez switched to his wrestling came and eked out a decision win. Both fighters still have work to do in order to get back into the title picture.
- Jose Aldo (1)
- Chad Mendes (2)
- Frankie Edgar (3)
- Conor McGregor (4)
- Ricardo Lamas (5)
- Dennis Bermudez (6)
- Max Holloway (7)
- Cub Swanson (8)
- Urijah Faber (9)
- Charles Oliveira (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)
- Marcos Galvao (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)
- Henry Cejudo (10)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (8)
- John Moraga (9)
It wasn’t pretty, but Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo remained undefeated, topping Chico Camus at UFC 188. It wasn’t the type of performance that will have anyone calling for Cejudo to challenge champion Demetrious Johnson anytime soon, but Cejudo still has the potential to be a future contender.
- Jose Aldo (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Demetrious Johnson (3)
- Ronda Rousey (4)
- Chris Weidman (6)
- T.J. Dillashaw (7)
- Robbie Lawler (8)
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (9)
- Daniel Cormier (-)
- Fabricio Werdum (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Cain Velasquez (5), Johny Hendricks (10)
Werdum’s win sent a shockwave through the pound-for-pound rankings. The Brazilian slid into the top 10, while recently crowned light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier moved into the top 10 as his AKA teammate Velasquez fell out.
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.