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)
- Jimi Manuwa (5)
- Phil Davis (6)
- Glover Teixeira (7)
- Ryan Bader (8)
- Liam McGeary (9)
- Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Michael Bisping (1)
- Yoel Romero (2)
- Robert Whittaker (7)
- Luke Rockhold (3)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (4)
- Gegard Mousasi (5)
- Chris Weidman (6)
- Anderson Silva (8)
- Kelvin Gastelum (9)
- Mamed Khalidov (10)
The biggest winner of the week might be Australia’s Robert Whittaker, who established himself as a legit threat to the UFC middleweight belt by dispatching of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at UFC on Fox 24. Whittaker survived an early grappling exchange with the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and then battered the Brazilian on the feet. The win vaults Whittaker into the No. 3 spot in the rankings, while Souza now lands at No. 5.
- Tyron Woodley (1)
- Stephen Thompson (2)
- Robbie Lawler (3)
- Demian Maia (4)
- Carlos Condit (5)
- Ben Askren (6)
- Rory MacDonald (7)
- Jorge Masvidal (8)
- Gunnar Nelson (9)
- Donald Cerrone (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)
- Michael Chandler (9)
- Michael Johnson (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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)
- Tim Elliott (8)
- Wilson Reis (5)
- Ray Borg (6)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (7)
- Dustin Ortiz (9)
- Zach Makovsky (10)
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson earned his 10th consecutive title defense at UFC on Fox 24, methodically destroying challenger Wilson Reis. Reis never got started, as Johnson picked him apart on the feet. In the third round, Mighty Mouse used his wrestling to get the fight to the ground, where he moved to mount and then tapped the BJJ black belt with an armbar. Reis slides to No. 6 with the loss. Former title challenger Tim Elliott was also in action at the event and engaged in an all-out war with Louis Smolka that earned “Fight of the Night” honors. The win moved Elliott into the No. 5 spot in the rankings. Kyoji Horiguchi holds steady in the No. 4 spot after a weekend win over Yuki Motoya at Rizin 2017 in Yokohama: Sakura.
- 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)
- Cody Garbrandt (10)
If there was any doubt whether Johnson is the pound-for-pound king, his performance at UFC on Fox 24 should have quieted any skeptics. The real question at this point is whether Mighty Mouse is the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time. If nothing else, he’s in the conversation.
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.