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 (1)
- Fabricio Werdum (2)
- Cain Velasquez (3)
- Alistair Overeem (4)
- Junior dos Santos (5)
- Brock Lesnar (-)
- Ben Rothwell (6)
- Travis Browne (7)
- Andrei Arlovski (8)
- Mark Hunt (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Josh Barnett (10)
An old face has returned to the heavyweight rankings following UFC 200. Former heavyweight champion and current WWE superstar Brock Lesnar used his wrestling chops to neutralize dangerous striker Mark Hunt and earn a unanimous decision win. Lesnar’s first fight in nearly five years proved that the 38-year-old is still relevant in the sport, but his fighting future remains up in the air. Lesnar’s re-entry into the rankings bumps Josh Barnett from the top 10, but Lesnar wasn’t the only fighter in the top 10 in action at the event. Former champion Cain Velasquez rebounded from a title defeat to Fabricio Werdum to dominate and finish Travis Browne to kick off the night’s pay-per-view card.
- 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)
Unfortunately for UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and fight fans, there was no rematch with Jon Jones at UFC 200. After Jones failed a pre-fight drug test, Cormier was left to face former middleweight champion Anderson Silva on just two days’ notice. Cormier used his wrestling game to smother the Brazilian for three rounds.
- Michael Bisping (1)
- Luke Rockhold (2)
- Chris Weidman (3)
- Yoel Romero (4)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (5)
- Vitor Belfort (6)
- Lyoto Machida (7)
- Anderson Silva (8)
- Derek Brunson (9)/Robert Whittaker (9)
- David Branch (10)
As mentioned above, the eighth-ranked Silva stepped in on short notice to take on Cormier at 205 pounds. While it was a lopsided loss, it has no impact on the Brazilian’s place in the middleweight rankings.
- Robbie Lawler (1)
- Carlos Condit (2)
- Ben Askren (3)
- Stephen Thompson (4)
- Demian Maia (5)
- Rory MacDonald (6)
- Matt Brown (7)
- Tyron Woodley (9)
- Neil Magny (10)
- Kelvin Gastelum (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Johny Hendricks (8)
How far has former champion Johny Hendricks fallen? After missing weight for UFC 200, he was outworked by The Ultimate Fighter winner Kelvin Gastelum and dropped his third fight in his last four outings. As such, Hendricks now lands outside the top 10, while Gastelum enters the rankings for the first time.
- Eddie Alvarez (4)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (2)
- Rafael dos Anjos (1)
- Donald Cerrone (3)
- Will Brooks (5)
- Tony Ferguson (6)
- Edson Barboza (7)
- Nate Diaz (8)
- Anthony Pettis (9)
- Dustin Poirier (10)
The biggest winner of International Fight Week was lightweight Eddie Alvarez. While most expected Alvarez to be dominated by Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 90, the veteran Alvarez had other ideas. The well-traveled fighter, who has held belts in numerous organizations, including Bellator MMA, ran through the Brazilian with crisp boxing. The win marked the culmination of Alvarez’s long path to the title. He now sits atop the rankings. Will Brooks, another former Bellator titleholder, was also in action this week. Brooks was successful in his UFC debut, besting former TUF winner Ross Pearson by decision at the TUF 23 Finale.
- Conor McGregor (1)
- José Aldo (2)
- Frankie Edgar (3)
- Max Holloway (4)
- Chad Mendes (5)
- Ricardo Lamas (6)
- Cub Swanson (7)
- Charles Oliveira (8)
- Daniel Straus (9)
- Patricio Freire (10)/Dennis Bermudez (10)
Brazilian José Aldo served up a big plate of crow to pundits who had written him off following his loss to Conor McGregor. Aldo rematched Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 for the interim title and put on one of the most dominant performances of his career. Edgar barely touched Aldo over the course of five rounds, and Aldo’s takedown defense was masterful throughout. While the McGregor loss leaves Aldo eager for revenge, his fight with Edgar helped reaffirm his claim as the greatest featherweight of all-time.
- Dominick Cruz (1)
- T.J. Dillashaw (2)
- Renan Barão (3)
- Urijah Faber (4)
- Bibiano Fernandes (5)
- Raphael Assuncao (6)
- Marlon Moraes (7)
- Eduardo Dantas (8)
- Cody Garbrandt (9)
- Bryan Caraway (10)/Thomas Almeida (10)
Former champion T.J. Dillashaw exacted revenge at UFC 200, besting Brazilian Raphael Assuncao by clear-cut decision. Unlike the pair’s first meeting, the judges got it right and rewarded Dillashaw for his crisp striking attack. Both fighters maintained their spots in the rankings with the result.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Joseph Benavidez (2)
- Ian McCall (3)
- Henry Cejudo (4)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (5)
- Zach Makovsky (6)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (7)
- Wilson Reis (9)
- Dustin Ortiz (10)
- Matheus Nicolau (-)
Dropped from the rankings: John Moraga (8)
During the reign of Demetrious Johnson over the flyweight division, the UFC has been forced to fast-track challengers on multiple occasions. One of those challengers was John Moraga, who’s record indicated he only loses to the upper echelon of the division. However, that was not the case at the TUF 23 Finale, where Moraga looked flat and was thoroughly outworked by Brazilian Matheus Nicolau. The loss causes Moraga to tumble from the top 10, while Nicolau claims the No. 10 spot.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Robbie Lawler (3)
- Daniel Cormier (4)
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (5)
- Dominick Cruz (6)
- Stipe Miocic (8)
- Conor McGregor (9)
- José Aldo (10)
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Rafael dos Anjos (7)
Eddie Alvarez’s win at UFC Fight Night 90 marked the end of Rafael dos Anjos’ run in the pound-for-pound top 10, but it opened the door for another of the weekend’s winners, women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk. The Polish fighter put on a “Fight of the Year” candidate with Claudia Gadelha at the TUF 23 Finale, but came out with her belt. As such, she joins Invicta featherweight queen Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino as female fighters in our pound-for-pound elite.
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.