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 (6)
- Josh Barnett (7)
- Mark Hunt (8)
- Derrick Lewis (9)
- Francis Ngannou (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)
- Liam McGeary (9)
- Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Corey Anderson (10)
UFC Fight Night 106 had its fair share of finishes, but few thrilled the crowd more in Fortaleza, Brazil, than that of former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Shogun showcased patience throughout his match-up with Gian Villante, finding a home for his right hand over and over again. The third-round knockout victory now gives the 35-year-old a three-fight winning streak, which has earned him a place inside the top 10 once again.
- 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)
- Anderson Silva (9)
- Kelvin Gastelum (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Derek Brunson (10)
The main event of UFC Fight Night 106 saw Kelvin Gastelum pick up his second straight win at 185 pounds, stopping former titleholder Vitor Belfort in the first round. Now that Gastelum is focused on fighting his opponents and not the scales, the former TUF winner could make a run at the middleweight strap. The victory moved Gastelum into the No. 10 spot, pushing Derek Brunson outside the top 10.
- Tyron Woodley (1)
- Stephen Thompson (2)
- Robbie Lawler (3)
- Demian Maia (4)
- Carlos Condit (5)
- Ben Askren (6)
- Rory MacDonald (7)
- Jorge Masvidal (8)
- Donald Cerrone (9)
- Dong Hyun Kim (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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)
The most devastating finish at UFC Fight Night 106 came from the knee of Brazilian Edson Barboza. The vaunted striker already had quite the highlight reel of finishes, but his flying-knee demolition of Beneil Dariush will be something that will be replayed for years to come. Barboza remains firmly planted at No. 6 in the rankings with the victory.
- José Aldo (1)
- Max Holloway (3)
- Frankie Edgar (2)
- Chad Mendes (4)
- Ricardo Lamas (5)
- Cub Swanson (6)
- Anthony Pettis (7)
- Charles Oliveira (8)
- Chan Sung Jung (9)
- Daniel Straus (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Cody Garbrandt (1)
- Dominick Cruz (2)
- T.J. Dillashaw (3)
- Marlon Moraes (4)
- Bibiano Fernandes (5)
- John Lineker (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)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (4)
- Wilson Reis (6)
- Ray Borg (-)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (5)
- Tim Elliott (8)
- Dustin Ortiz (7)
- Zach Makovsky (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Matheus Nicolau (10)
To put it bluntly, the bottom half of the flyweight top 10 is a mess. New Mexico’s Ray Borg made sure of this at UFC Fight Night 106, where he defeated Jussier “Formiga” da Silva on the scorecards. Formiga entered the contest with wins over Wilson Reis, Dustin Ortiz and Zach Makovsky, while Borg had fallen short against Ortiz in the pair’s meeting in 2014. Borg re-entered the rankings, ahead of Formiga at No. 6, which allowed Reis to climb to No. 5 as he prepares for his title match-up with Demetrious Johnson.
- Demetrious Johnson (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Daniel Cormier (3)
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (4)
- Conor McGregor (5)
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk (6)
- Stipe Miocic (7)
- José Aldo (8)
- Amanda Nunes (9)
- 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.