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)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Luke Rockhold (1)
- Chris Weidman (2)
- Yoel Romero (3)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (4)
- Vitor Belfort (5)
- Lyoto Machida (6)
- Tim Kennedy (8)
- Michael Bisping (8)
- Anderson Silva (9)
- Derek Brunson (10)/Robert Whittaker (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Robbie Lawler (1)
- Carlos Condit (2)
- Ben Askren (3)
- Rory MacDonald (4)
- Matt Brown (5)
- Stephen Thompson (6)
- Johny Hendricks (7)
- Hector Lombard (8)
- Tyron Woodley (9)
- Demian Maia (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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)
Ninth-ranked Nate Diaz took a headlining slot at UFC 196 in a welterweight contest against UFC golden boy Conor McGregor and Diaz helped turn the MMA world upside down. The Stockton, Calif., native survived an early onslaught from the Irishman to put on a vintage Diaz performance. From his crisp boxing to his lethal submission game, Diaz made a strong case that he’s ready for something bigger at either lightweight or welterweight.
- 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)/Dennis Bermudez (10)
UFC featherweight kingpin Conor McGregor had his hype train derailed at UFC 196 by Nate Diaz, but you can’t fault the Irishman for fighting two divisions above his normal weight class. The loss won’t see him fall in the 145-pound ranks, but his aura of invincibility is certainly gone.
- 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 (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Robbie Lawler (3)
- Daniel Cormier (4)
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (5)
- Fabricio Werdum (6)
- Luke Rockhold (8)
- Dominick Cruz (10)
- Rafael dos Anjos (10)
- Conor McGregor (7)
Dropped from the rankings: José Aldo (9)
McGregor’s loss had a ripple effect on the pound-for-pound rankings. The talk of the Irishman fighting for the lightweight or welterweight belts has to be shelved for the foreseeable future. And since former champion José Aldo is directly linked to McGregor, the loss drops the Brazilian out of the top 10, while McGregor falls to No. 10.
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.