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)
- Junior dos Santos (3)
- Derrick Lewis (4)
- Francis Ngannou (5)
- Curtis Blaydes (6)
- Alistair Overeem (7)
- Alexander Volkov (8)
- Fabricio Werdum (9)
- Aleksei Oleinik (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Alexander Gustafsson (2)
- Ryan Bader (3)
- Anthony Smith (4)
- Thiago Santos (5)
- Dominick Reyes (6)
- Corey Anderson (7)
- Glover Teixeira (8)
- Volkan Oezdemir (9)
- Johnny Walker (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Robert Whittaker (1)
- Israel Adesanya (2)
- Yoel Romero (3)
- Luke Rockhold (4)
- Gegard Mousasi (5)
- Kelvin Gastelum (6)
- Jack Hermansson (7)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (8)
- Chris Weidman (9)
- Paulo Costa (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Kamaru Usman (1)
- Tyron Woodley (2)
- Colby Covington (3)
- Ben Askren (4)
- Rafael dos Anjos (5)
- Robbie Lawler (6)
- Anthony Pettis (7)
- Stephen Thompson (8)
- Demian Maia (9)
- Rory MacDonald (10)
The UFC’s 10th card on ESPN+ featured fifth-ranked Rafael dos Anjos, who welcomed former lightweight Kevin Lee to the division. The Brazilian put Lee away in round four by arm-triangle choke and maintains his ranking in the process.
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (1)
- Tony Ferguson (2)
- Conor McGregor (3)
- Dustin Poirier (4)
- Justin Gaethje (5)
- Donald Cerrone (7)
- Al Iaquinta (6)
- Kevin Lee (8)
- Edson Barboza (9)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Michael Chandler (10)
UFC on ESPN+ 9 featured a battle of top-10 lightweights Donald Cerrone and Al Iaquinta. Cerrone continued his late-career resurgence, besting Iaquinta on the scorecards after five rounds. Cerrone climbs to sixth with the win, while Iaquinta drops to seventh. The other bout that shook up the top 10 took place at Bellator 221. The promotion’s featherweight king, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, moved up in weight to challenge Michael Chandler for the 155-pound belt. Just 61 seconds into the contest, Freire was a two-division champion. He now holds the No. 10 spot in the division.
- Max Holloway (1)
- Alex Volkanovski (5)
- José Aldo (2)
- Brian Ortega (3)
- Frankie Edgar (4)
- Renato Moicano (6)
- Zabit Magomedsharipov (7)
- Jeremy Stephens (8)
- Josh Emmett (9)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (10)/Bibiano Fernandes (10)
If there were any doubts about the lengthy winning streak of Alexander Volkanovski prior to UFC 237, his systematic win over former champion José Aldo should have put those to bed. The Australian vaults into the No. 2 spot in the division, as Aldo drops to third.
- T.J. Dillashaw (1)
- Marlon Moraes (2)
- Raphael Assunção (3)
- Demetrious Johnson (4)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (5)
- Pedro Munhoz (6)
- Cory Sandhagen (7)
- John Lineker (8)
- Cody Garbrandt (9)
- Aljamain Sterling (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Henry Cejudo (1)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (2)
- Sergio Pettis (3)
- Joseph Benavidez (4)
- Deiveson Figueiredo (5)
- Alexandre Pantoja (6)
- John Moraga (7)
- Wilson Reis (8)
- Dustin Ortiz (9)
- Brandon Moreno (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Daniel Cormier (2)
- Demetrious Johnson (3)
- Max Holloway (4)
- Henry Cejudo (5)
- Amanda Nunes (6)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (7)
- Kamaru Usman (9)
- Dustin Poirier (10)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Rose Namajunas (8)
In the UFC 237 main event, Brazilian Jéssica Andrade dethroned Rose Namajunas with a vicious slam knockout. The result cost Namajunas her belt, but also her spot in the pound-for-pound top 10. The opening paves the way for two-division Bellator titleholder Patricio “Pitbull” Freire to move into the top 10 for the first time.
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.