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)
- Francis Ngannou (9)
- Derrick Lewis (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)
- Ryan Bader (8)
- Phil Davis (6)
- Glover Teixeira (7)
- Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (9)
- Volkan Oezdemir (10)
Bellator MMA has a new light heavyweight champion, as promotional newcomer Ryan Bader edged out Phil Davis by split decision in the Bellator 180 main event. The pair had met previously under the UFC banner and the rematch was equally lackluster, but closely contested. Bader’s victory causes him to climb to sixth in the rankings, while Davis slides to seventh with the loss.
- 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 (9)
- Ben Askren (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)
- Rory MacDonald (6)
- Jorge Masvidal (7)
- Gunnar Nelson (8)
- Donald Cerrone (9)
- Rafael dos Anjos (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)
- Edson Barboza (5)
- Nate Diaz (6)
- Justin Gaethje (7)
- Michael Johnson (9)
- Dustin Poirier (10)
- Kevin Lee (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Michael Chandler (8)
It was a tumultuous weekend for the lightweight top 10. Bellator MMA’s first visit to Madison Square Garden didn’t go as planned for Michael Chandler, who surrendered his title to Brent Primus after injuring his ankle. Chandler’s defeat opened the door for UFC Fight Night 112 headliner Kevin Lee. Lee defeated Michael Chiesa in Oklahoma City, but it wasn’t without controversy. Referee Mario Yamasaki halted the bout before Chiesa tapped to the rear-naked choke. Lee’s win was enough to move him into the No. 10 spot in the rankings.
- Max Holloway (1)
- José Aldo (2)
- Frankie Edgar (3)
- Ricardo Lamas (4)
- Cub Swanson (5)
- Bibiano Fernandes (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)
- John Lineker (4)
- Raphael Assunção (5)
- Marlon Moraes (6)
- Jimmie Rivera (7)
- Eduardo Dantas (8)
- John Dodson (9)
- Bryan Caraway (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 (5)
- Ray Borg (6)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (7)
- Brandon Moreno (8)
- Dustin Ortiz (9)/Ben Nguyen (9)
- Tim Elliott (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)
- Amanda Nunes (8)
- Max Holloway (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.