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.
- Stipe Miocic (3)
- Fabricio Werdum (1)
- Cain Velasquez (2)
- Alistair Overeem (4)
- Junior dos Santos (5)
- Ben Rothwell (6)
- Travis Browne (7)
- Andrei Arlovski (8)
- Mark Hunt (9)
- Josh Barnett (10)
There’s a new king in the heavyweight division and it’s Cleveland’s Stipe Miocic. The American went into enemy territory at UFC 198 and knocked out Brazilian Fabricio Werdum with a short right hand midway through the opening round. Werdum drops to No. 2 and will have to regroup after failing to defend the title.
- 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)
Bellator 154 was headlined by a No. 1 contender clash between UFC veteran Phil Davis and former Strikeforce champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. After three rounds, it appeared as if Lawal had done enough to claim victory, as well as a title shot against Liam McGeary, but the judges saw it differently. Davis hangs onto the No. 5 spot in our rankings with the controversial win.
- Luke Rockhold (1)
- Chris Weidman (2)
- Yoel Romero (3)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (4)
- Vitor Belfort (5)
- Lyoto Machida (6)
- Michael Bisping (7)
- Anderson Silva (8)
- Derek Brunson (9)/Robert Whittaker (9)
- David Branch (10)
The co-main event of UFC 198 turned out to be a showcase for fourth-ranked Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. The Brazilian completely battered fellow countryman Vitor Belfort en route to a first-round TKO. With Yoel Romero on the sidelines due to a tainted supplement suspension, don’t be surprised if Jacare gets the first crack at the winner of the UFC 199 rematch between Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman.
- Robbie Lawler (1)
- Carlos Condit (2)
- Ben Askren (3)
- Rory MacDonald (4)
- Demian Maia (9)
- Matt Brown (5)
- Stephen Thompson (6)
- Johny Hendricks (7)
- Tyron Woodley (8)
- Neil Magny (10)
The welterweight division can’t be happy watching what Demian Maia has been doing inside the cage of late. The Brazilian again showcased his world-class grappling game at UFC 198, eventually submitting Matt Brown after three rounds of complete domination. Maia vaults into the No. 5 spot in the rankings, while Brown slides to No. 6 after the loss.
- Rafael dos Anjos (1)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (2)
- Donald Cerrone (3)
- Eddie Alvarez (4)
- Will Brooks (5)
- Tony Ferguson (6)
- Edson Barboza (7)
- Nate Diaz (8)
- Anthony Pettis (9)
- Gilbert Melendez (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)/Dennis Bermudez (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)
- Ian McCall (3)
- Henry Cejudo (4)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (5)
- Zach Makovsky (6)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (7)
- John Moraga (8)
- Wilson Reis (9)
- Dustin Ortiz (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)
- Luke Rockhold (7)
- Dominick Cruz (8)
- Rafael dos Anjos (9)
- Stipe Miocic (-)
- Conor McGregor (10)
Dropped from the rankings: Fabricio Werdum (6)
One of the biggest stories coming from UFC 198 was the promotional debut of Invicta FC champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino. The Brazilian needed just 81 seconds to stop Leslie Smith and make her mark on the promotion. While the featherweight made it clear that her desire is to continue to compete at 145 pounds for Invicta, it may not be long before she’s in the Octagon yet again.
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.