As MMA continues to grow its presence with the UFC, Bellator MMA, WSOF and ONE Championship, 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 all 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)
- Ben Rothwell (7)
- Josh Barnett (8)
- Mark Hunt (9)
- Travis Browne (10)
- Derrick Lewis (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Brock Lesnar (6)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, however, with Brock Lesnar’s suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission finalized, the former titleholder has been removed from the rankings. As such, Derrick Lewis has entered the rankings at No. 10.
- 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 (2)
- Luke Rockhold (3)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (4)
- Chris Weidman (5)
- Lyoto Machida (6)
- Gegard Mousasi (7)
- Robert Whittaker (8)
- Derek Brunson (9)
- Anderson Silva (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Tyron Woodley (1)
- Stephen Thompson (2)
- Robbie Lawler (3)
- Demian Maia (4)
- Carlos Condit (5)
- Ben Askren (6)
- Rory MacDonald (7)
- Donald Cerrone (8)
- Kelvin Gastelum (9)
- Dong Hyun Kim (10)
It wasn’t pretty, but 10th-ranked Dong Hyun Kim left the cage at UFC 207 with a victory over Tarec Saffiedine. The grueling fight saw Kim pressure forward throughout, but neither fighter generated much offense. The judges rewarded the South Korean with a decision win, allowing him to remain in the rankings.
- Conor McGregor (1)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (2)
- Tony Ferguson (3)
- Eddie Alvarez (4)
- Rafael dos Anjos (5)
- Edson Barboza (6)
- Nate Diaz (7)
- Justin Gaethje (8)
- Will Brooks (9)
- Michael Chandler (10)
World Series of Fighting champion Justin Gaethje faced one of his toughest tests to date against Brazilian Luiz Firmino at WSOF 34. The veteran Firmino was undeterred by Gaethje’s power and landed with volume. Gaethje was unfazed and battered the the right eye of Firmino, forcing the doctor’s intervention at the end of round three. A rematch will likely be in order, but for now, Gaethje remains in the No. 8 spot in the rankings.
- José Aldo (1)
- Max Holloway (3)
- Frankie Edgar (2)
- Chad Mendes (4)
- Ricardo Lamas (5)
- Cub Swanson (6)
- Anthony Pettis (7)
- Charles Oliveira (8)
- Daniel Straus (9)
- Patricio Freire (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Cody Garbrandt (4)
- Dominick Cruz (1)
- T.J. Dillashaw (2)
- Marlon Moraes (6)
- Bibiano Fernandes (3)
- John Lineker (5)
- Jimmie Rivera (7)
- Urijah Faber (8)
- Raphael Assuncao (9)
- Eduardo Dantas (10)
There’s a new UFC bantamweight champion after UFC 207. Team Alpha Male’s Cody Garbrandt unseated longtime divisional king Dominick Cruz with a masterful performance. The loss dropped Cruz from the No. 1 spot, while Garbrandt moved up from fourth. Also at UFC 207, former champion T.J. Dillashaw dominated fifth-ranked John Lineker to likely earn the first crack at his former teammate, Garbrandt. Finally, WSOF titleholder Marlon Moraes continued his dominance, stopping countryman Josenaldo Silva in the first round at WSOF 34. The Brazilian vaulted to the fourth spot in the rankings with the win.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Joseph Benavidez (2)
- Henry Cejudo (3)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (4)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (5)
- Wilson Reis (6)
- Dustin Ortiz (7)
- Zach Makovsky (8)
- Tim Elliott (9)
- Matheus Nicolau (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 (5)
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk (7)
- Stipe Miocic (8)
- José Aldo (9)
- Amanda Nunes (-)
- Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (10)
Dropped from the rankings: Dominick Cruz (6)
Cruz’s loss at UFC 207 led to him falling outside the top 10. That opened the door for women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes to enter the top 10 for the first time. The Brazilian dismantled former champion Ronda Rousey in just 48 seconds to solidify her title reign.
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.