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 (1)
- Cain Velasquez (2)
- Stipe Miocic (3)
- Ben Rothwell (4)
- Alistair Overeem (5)
- Junior dos Santos (6)
- Andrei Arlovski (7)
- Travis Browne (8)
- Josh Barnett (9)
- Mark Hunt (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)
- Ovince Saint Preux (8)
- Liam McGeary (9)
- Jimi Manuwa (10)
The lone ranked 205er in action this weekend was eighth-ranked Ovince Saint Preux. The Tenneesse native survived an injury to his right ankle to overcome former Strikeforce titleholder Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante at UFC Fight Night 82. Saint Preux appeared ripe for the picking in the opening round after an awkward kick, but Cavalcante could not capitalize and was dominated for the final two rounds.
- Luke Rockhold (1)
- Chris Weidman (2)
- Yoel Romero (3)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (4)
- Anderson Silva (5)
- Vitor Belfort (6)
- Lyoto Machida (7)
- Tim Kennedy (8)
- Michael Bisping (9)
- David Branch (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Robbie Lawler (1)
- Carlos Condit (3)
- Ben Askren (4)
- Rory MacDonald (5)
- Matt Brown (6)
- Stephen Thompson (-)
- Johny Hendricks (2)
- Hector Lombard (7)
- Tyron Woodley (8)
- Demian Maia (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Rousimar Palhares (10)
There’s a new contender in the 170-pound ranks and it’s decorated striker Stephen Thompson. “Wonderboy” completely dominated former champion Johny Hendricks in the UFC Fight Night 82 main event and jumps all the way up to the No. 6 spot in our rankings. Hendricks, meanwhile, tumbles from the second spot all the way down to seventh.
- Rafael dos Anjos (1)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (2)
- Donald Cerrone (3)
- Eddie Alvarez (4)
- Anthony Pettis (5)
- Gilbert Melendez (6)
- Will Brooks (7)
- Tony Ferguson (8)
- Nate Diaz (9)
- Justin Gaethje (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Conor McGregor (1)
- José Aldo (2)
- Frankie Edgar (3)
- Chad Mendes (4)
- Max Holloway (5)
- Ricardo Lamas (6)
- Cub Swanson (7)
- Charles Oliveira (8)
- Daniel Straus (9)
- Patricio Freire (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Dominick Cruz (1)
- T.J. Dillashaw (2)
- Renan Barão (3)
- Urijah Faber (4)
- Bibiano Fernandes (5)
- Raphael Assuncao (6)
- Marlon Moraes (7)
- Marcos Galvao (8)
- Thomas Almeida (9)
- Aljamain Sterling (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)
- Ian McCall (4)
- Henry Cejudo (5)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (6)
- Zach Makovsky (7)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (8)
- John Moraga (9)
- Wilson Reis (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Ray Borg (10)
It was a busy weekend for the flyweight division. Former title challenger Joseph Benavidez continued to prove that he’s the best 125-pound fighter not named Demetrious Johnson. Benavidez showcased a more technical striking attack, cruising to a decision win over seventh-ranked Zach Makovsky. Also in action, previously ranked Ray Borg was completely dominated by opponent Justin Scoggins, allowing recent winner Wilson Reis to climb into the top 10.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Robbie Lawler (3)
- Daniel Cormier (4)
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (5)
- Fabricio Werdum (6)
- Conor McGregor (7)
- Luke Rockhold (8)
- José Aldo (9)
- Dominick Cruz (10)/Rafael dos Anjos (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
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.