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)
- Jimi Manuwa (8)
- Ovince Saint Preux (9)
- Liam McGeary (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Michael Bisping (1)
- Yoel Romero (4)
- Luke Rockhold (2)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (5)
- Chris Weidman (3)
- Lyoto Machida (6)
- Derek Brunson (7)
- Anderson Silva (8)
- Gegard Mousasi (9)
- Robert Whittaker (10)
The UFC’s debut in New York was a nightmare for former champion Chris Weidman. The New York native squared off with Cuba’s Yoel Romero and landed on the receiving end of one of the most violent flying-knee knockouts in recent memory. After a back-and-forth opening two rounds, Romero timed the knee perfectly as Weidman shot for a takedown. The flying knee left Weidman unconscious on the mat. Romero vaults into the No. 2 spot and will likely be the next to challenge champion Michael Bisping, while Weidman tumbles to fifth.
- Tyron Woodley (1)
- Stephen Thompson (6)
- Robbie Lawler (2)
- Demian Maia (3)
- Carlos Condit (4)
- Ben Askren (5)
- Rory MacDonald (7)
- Kelvin Gastelum (8)
- Jake Ellenberger (9)
- Donald Cerrone (10)/Dong Hyun Kim (10)
The welterweight title picture is no more clear after UFC 205 than it was before the event. Champion Tyron Woodley left the building with his title, but only because of a majority draw with challenger Stephen Thompson. The five-round war earned the pair “Fight of the Night” honors, and they’ll rematch in the near future. Thompson’s performance moves him up to No. 2. Elsewhere, eighth-ranked Kelvin Gastelum missed weight yet again, forcing the cancellation of his match-up with No. 10 Donald Cerrone.
- Conor McGregor (-)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (2)
- Tony Ferguson (3)
- Eddie Alvarez (1)
- Rafael dos Anjos (4)
- Edson Barboza (6)
- Nate Diaz (7)
- Justin Gaethje (8)
- Will Brooks (9)
- Michael Johnson (10)
Dropped from the rankings: Donald Cerrone (5)
There’s a new champion in the UFC lightweight division. Featherweight kingpin Conor McGregor moved up in weight and dethroned Eddie Alvarez in the UFC 205 main event. McGregor repeatedly landed his powerful left hand, dropping Alvarez over and over. The second-round finish for McGregor enabled him to become the first fighter to hold two UFC belts simultaneously. The Irishman takes over the top spot, while Alvarez slides to fourth. Also on the card, Khabib Nurmagomedov remained undefeated, completely dominating No. 10 Michael Johnson. With McGregor’s addition to the division, previously ranked Donald Cerrone has been removed from the rankings. Cerrone has been scheduled for his fourth straight fight at welterweight.
- 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)
Although the spotlight was on McGregor at UFC 205, another former champion, Frankie Edgar, scored a decision win over hard-hitting Jeremy Stephens. Edgar maintains his No. 3 spot with the win, but finds himself on the outside looking in of the title picture.
- Dominick Cruz (1)
- T.J. Dillashaw (2)
- Bibiano Fernandes (3)
- Cody Garbrandt (4)
- John Lineker (5)
- Marlon Moraes (6)
- Jimmie Rivera (7)
- Urijah Faber (8)
- Raphael Assuncao (9)
- Eduardo Dantas (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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 (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Daniel Cormier (3)
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (4)
- Conor McGregor (7)
- Dominick Cruz (5)
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk (9)
- Stipe Miocic (6)
- José Aldo (8)
- Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (10)
Dropped from the rankings: Eddie Alvarez (10)
McGregor’s title win helps him move into the pound-for-pound top five, but until he actually defends one of his belts, he’ll stay behind the fighters above him. Also moving up was UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk, who outlasted countrywoman Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 205.
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.