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)
- Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (10)
- Volkan Oezdemir (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Misha Cirkunov (10)
The week’s busiest division was the 205-pound division as former title challengers Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira headlined UFC Fight Night 109 in Stockholm. The towering Swede Gustafsson stated his case for a shot at the winner of the UFC 214 main event between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, battering the Brazilian Teixeira before knocking him out in the fifth round. Gustafsson remains at No. 4 in the rankings, while Teixeira stays at No. 7. Also on the card, Switzerland’s Volkan Oezdemir demolished 10th-ranked Misha Cirkunov in just 28 seconds. The win vaults Oezdemir into the top 10 for the first time.
- 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)
- Mamed Khalidov (10)
- Ben Askren (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Kelvin Gastelum (9)
There was plenty of action in the bottom half of the top 10 as KSW champion Mamed Khalidov topped Borys Mańkowski at KSW 39: Colosseum in Poland. Khalidov climbs to No. 9 with the victory. Also in action was ONE Championship titleholder Ben Askren, who dispatched of Agilan Thani in the first round at ONE Championship: Dynasty of Heroes. With the promotion shifting all of its weight classes up, Askren exits the welterweight rankings and debuts inside the middleweight division. His inclusion bumps Kelvin Gastelum outside the top 10.
- Tyron Woodley (1)
- Stephen Thompson (2)
- Robbie Lawler (3)
- Demian Maia (4)
- Carlos Condit (5)
- Rory MacDonald (7)
- Jorge Masvidal (8)
- Gunnar Nelson (9)
- Donald Cerrone (10)
- Dong Hyun Kim (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Ben Askren (6)
With ONE Championship shifting its weight classes, sixth-ranked Ben Askren drops from the rankings. This opens the door for Dong Hyun Kim to return to the top 10.
- 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)
- Frankie Edgar (2)
- Max Holloway (3)
- Chad Mendes (4)
- Ricardo Lamas (5)
- Cub Swanson (6)
- Anthony Pettis (7)
- Charles Oliveira (8)
- Chan Sung Jung (9)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (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 (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)
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.