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)
- Josh Barnett (8)
- Mark Hunt (9)
- Travis Browne (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)
- Derek Brunson (8)
- Anderson Silva (9)
- Robert Whittaker (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Tyron Woodley (1)
- Robbie Lawler (2)
- Demian Maia (3)
- Carlos Condit (4)
- Ben Askren (5)
- Stephen Thompson (6)
- Rory MacDonald (7)
- Kelvin Gastelum (8)
- Jake Ellenberger (9)
- Donald Cerrone (10)/Dong Hyun Kim (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Eddie Alvarez (1)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (2)
- Rafael dos Anjos (3)
- Donald Cerrone (4)
- Tony Ferguson (6)
- Edson Barboza (7)
- Nate Diaz (8)
- Justin Gaethje (9)
- Will Brooks (5)
- Michael Johnson (10)
It was not a good weekend for former Bellator MMA titleholder Will Brooks. First, Brooks’ opponent, Alex Oliveira, missed weight by 5.5 pounds. Then Oliveira kneed Brooks in the ribs during the first round of their UFC Fight Night 96 clash, which led to Brooks wincing in pain throughout the rest of the fight. Oliveira eventually stopped Brooks in the third round. Even though the fight technically wasn’t in the lightweight division, the lackluster performance by Brooks causes him to slide to ninth in our rankings.
- Conor McGregor (1)
- José Aldo (2)
- Frankie Edgar (3)
- Max Holloway (4)
- Chad Mendes (5)
- Anthony Pettis (6)
- Ricardo Lamas (7)
- Cub Swanson (8)
- Charles Oliveira (9)
- Daniel Straus (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Dominick Cruz (1)
- T.J. Dillashaw (2)
- Bibiano Fernandes (3)
- Cody Garbrandt (4)
- John Lineker (9)
- Marlon Moraes (5)
- Jimmie Rivera (6)
- Urijah Faber (7)
- Raphael Assuncao (8)
- Eduardo Dantas (10)
The win didn’t come without controversy, but Brazil’s John Lineker left Portland with a decision nod over John Dodson as UFC Fight Night 96. The close fight could have gone either way, but Lineker has positioned himself for contention in the coming months. The Brazilian climbs all the way to the No. 5 spot in the rankings with the victory.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Joseph Benavidez (2)
- Henry Cejudo (3)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (4)
- Zach Makovsky (5)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (6)
- Wilson Reis (7)
- Dustin Ortiz (8)
- Matheus Nicolau (9)
- John Moraga (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Louis Smolka (10)
The biggest upset of the weekend came in the flyweight division. Louis Smolka was the biggest favorite on the UFC Fight Night 96 card, but he suffered a first-round submission loss to last-minute opponent Brandon Moreno at UFC Fight Night 96. The loss results in Smolka falling out of the top 10, while former title challenger John Moraga re-enters the rankings.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Daniel Cormier (3)
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (4)
- Dominick Cruz (5)
- Stipe Miocic (6)
- Conor McGregor (7)
- José Aldo (8)
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk (9)
- Eddie Alvarez (10)/Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (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.