As MMA continues to grow its presence with the UFC, Bellator MMA, KSW, PFL and ONE Championship, fighters are constantly jockeying for position in the eyes (and rankings) of the media.
Every month, 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 the previous rankings.
- Daniel Cormier (1)
- Stipe Miocic (2)
- Alexander Volkov (3)
- Curtis Blaydes (4)
- Derrick Lewis (5)
- Francis Ngannou (6)
- Alistair Overeem (7)
- Fabricio Werdum (8)
- Junior dos Santos (9)
- Vitaly Minakov (10 – tie)
Dropped from the rankings: Mark Hunt (10 – tie)
The lone ranked heavyweight in action in September was New Zealand’s Mark Hunt, who took on Russian Aleksei Oleinik at UFC Fight Night 136 in Moscow. In a wild round, Oleinik was able to submit Hunt, which sends the former K-1 kickboxer out of the top 10.
- Daniel Cormier (1)
- Alexander Gustafsson (2)
- Ryan Bader (3)
- Phil Davis (4)
- Volkan Oezdemir (5)
- Corey Anderson (6)
- Ilir Latifi (7)
- Glover Teixeira (8)
- Anthony Smith (9)
- Jan Blachowicz (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Dominick Reyes (10)
The shuffle in the light heavyweight ranks continues. Poland’s Jan Blachowicz gave Nikita Krylov a rude welcome back to the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 136. Blachowicz submitted Krylov in the second round to earn the 10th spot in the rankings.
- Georges St-Pierre (1)
- Robert Whittaker (2)
- Yoel Romero (3)
- Luke Rockhold (4)
- Gegard Mousasi (5)
- Chris Weidman (6)
- Kelvin Gastelum (7)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (8)
- Israel Adesanya (9)
- Derek Brunson (10)
Fifth-ranked Gegard Mousasi continued his success outside the UFC. He successfully defended his Bellator title against the promotion’s welterweight champion, Rory MacDonald, at Bellator 206. Mousasi dominated the Canadian from the opening bell and eventually earned a second-round finish. Mousasi remains at No. 5 in the rankings with the victory.
- Tyron Woodley (1)
- Colby Covington (2)
- Stephen Thompson (3)
- Rafael dos Anjos (4)
- Robbie Lawler (5)
- Rory MacDonald (7)
- Kamaru Usman (8)
- Darren Till (6)
- Jorge Masvidal (9)
- Demian Maia (10)
UFC 228 was hyped as Tyron Woodley’s biggest test to date, but the welterweight champion made it look easy by thoroughly beating Englishman Darren Till via a second-round D’arce choke. Woodley remains firmly atop the rankings, while Till’s loss sends him to the No. 8 spot. Sixth-ranked Rory MacDonald moved up in weight to challenge for the Bellator MMA middleweight belt. The Canadian was unsuccessful, however, and will shift his focus back to 170 pounds as part of the promotion’s grand prix tournament.
- Tony Ferguson (1)/Khabib Nurmagomedov (1)
- Dustin Poirier (2)
- Eddie Alvarez (3)
- Kevin Lee (4)
- Justin Gaethje (5)
- Edson Barboza (6)
- Anthony Pettis (7)
- Brent Primus (8)
- Al Iaquinta (9)
- Michael Chandler (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Max Holloway (1)
- José Aldo (2)
- Brian Ortega (3)
- Bibiano Fernandes (4)
- Frankie Edgar (5)
- Chad Mendes (6)
- Renato Moicano (7)
- Jeremy Stephens (8)
- Josh Emmett (9)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- T.J. Dillashaw (1)
- Cody Garbrandt (2)
- Dominick Cruz (3)
- John Lineker (4)
- Raphael Assunção (5)
- Marlon Moraes (6)
- Jimmie Rivera (7)
- John Dodson (8)
- Darrion Caldwell (9)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (10)
The bantamweight top 10 holds steady, as seventh-ranked Jimmie Rivera edged eighth-ranked John Dodson by decision at UFC 228. Both fighters keep their ranking with the result.
- Henry Cejudo (1)
- Demetrious Johnson (2)
- Sergio Pettis (3)
- Joseph Benavidez (4)
- Ray Borg (5)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (6)
- Deiveson Figueiredo (7)
- John Moraga (8)
- Wilson Reis (9)
- Dustin Ortiz (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Daniel Cormier (1)
- Georges St-Pierre (2)
- Demetrious Johnson (3)
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (4)
- Max Holloway (5)
- T.J. Dillashaw (6)
- Henry Cejudo (7)
- Amanda Nunes (8)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (9)
- Tyron Woodley (10)
Tyron Woodley marked the only member of the pound-for-pound top 10 to fight in September. The UFC’s welterweight champion cemented his place inside the top 10 with his dominant win over Darren Till.
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 twice in their new division. Fighters who announce their retirement will remain ranked for a period of six months following their final bout.