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)
If there was any doubt about Stipe Miocic’s reign as UFC heavyweight champion, it was emphatically put to rest at UFC 211. The Cleveland native erased a previous defeat to former champion Junior dos Santos with a violent, first-round finish of the Brazilian. Miocic remains atop the division, while dos Santos stays at No. 5 with the loss.
- 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 (3)
- Luke Rockhold (4)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (5)
- Gegard Mousasi (6)
- Chris Weidman (7)
- Anderson Silva (8)
- Kelvin Gastelum (9)
- Mamed Khalidov (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)
- Jorge Masvidal (8)
- Gunnar Nelson (9)
- Donald Cerrone (10)
Brazil’s Demian Maia reminded everyone that he’s the clear-cut No. 1 contender at UFC 211, using his world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to dominate Jorge Masvidal. Maia was rewarded with a title shot for his efforts. Masvidal remains at No. 8, even in defeat, after surviving numerous choke attempts that many fighters have succumbed to previously.
- 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)
UFC 211 didn’t quite go as planned for former champion Eddie Alvarez. In his match-up with Dustin Poirier, Alvarez dropped the first round based on the patience and tactical attack of Poirier. In round two, Poirier rocked Alvarez, but like in so many of his past fights, Alvarez showcased his resilience and was able to hurt Poirier along the fence. Unfortunately, Alvarez delivered illegal knees to a downed Poirier and the fight was ruled a no-contest. As such, Alvarez keeps the No. 4 spot in the rankings, but a rematch with Poirier is likely on the horizon.
- José Aldo (1)
- Frankie Edgar (3)
- Max Holloway (2)
- Chad Mendes (4)
- Ricardo Lamas (5)
- Cub Swanson (6)
- Anthony Pettis (7)
- Charles Oliveira (8)
- Chan Sung Jung (9)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (10)
New Jersey’s Frankie Edgar may never wear featherweight gold, but the former lightweight titleholder is the perfect measuring stick for potential contenders. At UFC 211, Edgar dismantled Mexico’s Yair Rodriguez to earn a second-round TKO victory. With another hype train derailed, Edgar reclaims the No. 2 ranking and has already asked for the winner of the UFC 212 title unification bout between José Aldo and Max Holloway.
- 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 (5)
- Wilson Reis (6)
- Ray Borg (7)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (8)
- Brandon Moreno (9)
- Dustin Ortiz (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 (6)
- Stipe Miocic (7)
- José Aldo (8)
- Amanda Nunes (9)
- Cody Garbrandt (10)
Miocic’s win over dos Santos was certainly impressive, but the most complete performance of the night at UFC 211 belonged to women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk. After an early scare against challenger Jessica Andrade, the Polish fighter turned it up a notch, battering the Brazilian with jabs, low kicks and head kicks. The result was never in doubt as Jędrzejczyk successfully defended her title for a fifth straight time. She is planted at No. 6 in the pound-for-pound rankings, one spot ahead of Miocic.
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.