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 (6)
- Ben Rothwell (7)
- Travis Browne (8)
- Andrei Arlovski (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.
- 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)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Tyron Woodley (8)
- Robbie Lawler (1)
- Carlos Condit (2)
- Ben Askren (3)
- Stephen Thompson (4)
- Demian Maia (5)
- Rory MacDonald (6)
- Neil Magny (9)
- Kelvin Gastelum (10)
- Jake Ellenberger (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Matt Brown (7)
There was a major upheaval in the welterweight division at UFC 201, as Tyron Woodley needed less than a round to end the reign of Robbie Lawler and capture UFC gold. The win vaults Woodley to the top of the division, while Lawler drops to No. 2. Also on the card, Jake Ellenberger reintroduced himself to the top 10 with violent, first-round finish of Matt Brown. Ellenberger, who at one point lost five out of six fights to top 10 competition, rocked Brown with an overhand right in the opening seconds and then finished him with a liver kick less than two minutes into the fight. The second straight loss for Brown sees him fall from the rankings.
- Eddie Alvarez (1)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (2)
- Rafael dos Anjos (3)
- Donald Cerrone (4)
- Will Brooks (5)
- Tony Ferguson (6)
- Edson Barboza (7)
- Nate Diaz (8)
- Anthony Pettis (9)
- Dustin Poirier (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)
- Max Holloway (4)
- Chad Mendes (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)
- Marlon Moraes (7)
- Raphael Assuncao (6)
- Cody Garbrandt (8)
- Eduardo Dantas (9)
- John Lineker (10)
World Series of Fighting champion Marlon Moraes continued his dominance over the promotion by knocking out Canadian Josh Hill in the pair’s rematch at WSOF 32. Unlike the first meeting that went the distance, Moraes used a head kick to turn out the lights on Hill. Moraes jumps up to the No. 6 spot with yet another title defense.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Joseph Benavidez (2)
- Henry Cejudo (4)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (5)
- Zach Makovsky (6)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (7)
- Wilson Reis (8)
- Dustin Ortiz (9)
- Matheus Nicolau (10)
- Louis Smolka (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Ian McCall (3)
It was an unfortunate week for the flyweight ranks. Ian McCall was slated to face Justin Scoggins at UFC 201 in Atlanta, but because Scoggins could not make weight, the bout was scrapped. As a result, McCall has now been out of the cage for 18 months and falls from the rankings. The good news for McCall is that he got his show and win money since it was Scoggins who forced the cancellation. Another 125-pound fighter did fight on the card, but not against the fighter he wanted to face. Brazilian Wilson Reis was slated to face champion Demetrious Johnson at the event, but ended up welcoming Hector Sandoval to the promotion. Reis made short work of Sandoval, but may have to wait until the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter 24 before he gets his shot at gold.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Daniel Cormier (4)
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (5)
- Dominick Cruz (6)
- Stipe Miocic (7)
- Conor McGregor (8)
- José Aldo (9)
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk (10)
- Eddie Alvarez (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Robbie Lawler (3)
Lawler’s knockout loss to Woodley marked the seventh UFC belt to change hands in 2016. That has resulted in the pound-for-pound rankings becoming a revolving door. Lawler tumbles out of the top 10, allowing for recently crowned lightweight kingpin Eddie Alvarez to grab the No. 10 spot.
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.