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)
- Derrick Lewis (3)
- Alexander Volkov (4)
- Francis Ngannou (5)
- Curtis Blaydes (6)
- Alistair Overeem (7)
- Fabricio Werdum (8)
- Junior dos Santos (9)
- Vitaly Minakov (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Daniel Cormier (2)
- Alexander Gustafsson (3)
- Ryan Bader (4)
- Anthony Smith (5)
- Corey Anderson (6)
- Dominick Reyes (7)
- Volkan Oezdemir (8)
- Glover Teixeira (9)
- Jan Blachowicz (10)
Ninth-ranked Glover Teixeira showcased his experience and grappling ability at UFC on ESPN+ 1 by submitting short-notice opponent Karl Roberson in the first round. Also in the cage last month was fourth-ranked Ryan Bader, albeit at heavyweight. Bellator MMA’s current light heavyweight titleholder picked up a second belt while destroying MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in just 35 seconds to claim the promotion’s heavyweight grand prix.
- Georges St-Pierre (1)
- Robert Whittaker (2)
- Yoel Romero (3)
- Luke Rockhold (4)
- Gegard Mousasi (5)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (6)
- Kelvin Gastelum (7)
- Chris Weidman (8)
- Israel Adesanya (9)
- Paulo Costa (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Tyron Woodley (1)
- Colby Covington (2)
- Stephen Thompson (3)
- Rafael dos Anjos (4)
- Robbie Lawler (5)
- Rory MacDonald (6)
- Kamaru Usman (7)
- Darren Till (8)
- Demian Maia (9)
- Santiago Ponzinibbio (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (1)
- Tony Ferguson (2)
- Conor McGregor (3)
- Dustin Poirier (4)
- Eddie Alvarez (5)
- Justin Gaethje (6)
- Al Iaquinta (7)
- Edson Barboza (7)
- Donald Cerrone (-)
- Anthony Pettis (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Kevin Lee (8), Michael Chandler (10)
There’s a familiar face in the lightweight rankings. After a run at welterweight, former title challenger Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone returned to 155 pounds at UFC on ESPN+ 1 and completely dominated prospect Alex Hernandez. The impressive TKO finish vaults Cerrone into ninth in the rankings. The move results in a domino effect that breaks the tie between Al Iaquinta and Edson Barboza, which in turn causes both Kevin Lee and Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler to fall from the top 10.
- Max Holloway (1)
- José Aldo (2)
- Brian Ortega (3)
- Frankie Edgar (4)
- Renato Moicano (5)
- Alex Volkanovski (6)
- Chad Mendes (7)
- Jeremy Stephens (8)
- Josh Emmett (9)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- T.J. Dillashaw (1)
- Cody Garbrandt (2)
- John Lineker (3)
- Raphael Assunção (4)
- Marlon Moraes (5)
- Jimmie Rivera (6)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (7)
- John Dodson (8)
- Darrion Caldwell (9)
- Pedro Munhoz (10)
The lone fighter in the top 10 to step in the cage in January was top-ranked T.J. Dillashaw, as he sought to become a two-division champion. Dillashaw challenged flyweight champion Henry Cejudo at UFC on ESPN+ 1, but quickly was erased in under a minute.
- Henry Cejudo (1)
- Demetrious Johnson (2)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (3)
- Sergio Pettis (4)
- Joseph Benavidez (5)
- Ray Borg (6)
- Deiveson Figueiredo (7)
- John Moraga (8)
- Wilson Reis (9)
- Dustin Ortiz (10)
Long live the flyweights! After rumors of the UFC closing down the division, champion Henry Cejudo embarrassed bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw in just 32 seconds at UFC on ESPN+ 1 to breathe some life into the weight class. Also in action were fifth-ranked Joseph Benavidez and 10th-ranked Dustin Ortiz. After three back-and-forth rounds, Benavidez again edged Ortiz on the scorecards. Both fighters remain at their current spots in the top 10.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Daniel Cormier (2)
- Georges St-Pierre (3)
- Demetrious Johnson (4)
- Max Holloway (5)
- Henry Cejudo (8)
- Amanda Nunes (6)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (7)
- Tyron Woodley (10)
- T.J. Dillashaw (9)
Henry Cejudo’s knockout win over T.J. Dillashaw at UFC on ESPN+ 1 caused some shuffling in the pound-for-pound top 10. Cejudo climbs to sixth with the dominant win, while Dillashaw slides to 10th with the defeat.
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.