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.
- Stipe Miocic (2)
- Daniel Cormier (1)
- Francis Ngannou (3)
- Junior dos Santos (4)
- Derrick Lewis (5)
- Curtis Blaydes (6)
- Alistair Overeem (7)
- Alexander Volkov (8)
- Blagoy Ivanov (9)
- Ryan Bader (10)
UFC 241 featured one of the best heavyweight title fights in UFC history, as Stipe Miocic stopped Daniel Cormier in the fourth round to reclaim the heavyweight belt and his place atop the rankings.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Ryan Bader (2)
- Thiago Santos (3)
- Anthony Smith (4)
- Alexander Gustafsson (5)
- Dominick Reyes (6)
- Corey Anderson (7)
- Glover Teixeira (8)
- Johnny Walker (9)/Jan Blachowicz (9)
- Aleksandar Rakić (10)/Volkan Oezdemir (-)
Former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir quickly re-enters the rankings one month after exiting them. The Swiss fighter stopped Sweden’s Ilir Latifi with a knee at UFC on ESPN+ 14 to move into a tie for 10th in the rankings.
- Robert Whittaker (1)
- Israel Adesanya (2)
- Paulo Costa (-)
- Yoel Romero (3)
- Luke Rockhold (4)
- Kelvin Gastelum (5)
- Jack Hermansson (6)
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (7)
- Rafael Lovato Jr. (8)
- Gegard Mousasi (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Chris Weidman (10)
Brazilian Paulo Costa scored the biggest win of his career at UFC 241, where he edged former title combatant Yoel Romero on the scorecards. Costa vaults into the rankings, capturing the third spot and pushing former champion Chris Weidman from the top 10. Romero slides to fourth with the loss.
- Kamaru Usman (1)
- Tyron Woodley (2)
- Colby Covington (3)
- Jorge Masvidal (4)
- Leon Edwards (5)
- Rafael dos Anjos (6)
- Nate Diaz (-)
- Anthony Pettis (7)
- Stephen Thompson (8)
- Ben Askren (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Robbie Lawler (10)
The month of August featured plenty of action in the welterweight ranks. UFC on ESPN 5 was headlined by a dominant performance from former interim titleholder Colby Covington, who dispatched former champion Robbie Lawler. UFC 241 included the return of former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz, who had not competed for three years. The Stockton fighter topped former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis on the scorecards to move into the rankings in the seventh spot. Diaz’s inclusion, coupled with Lawler’s loss to Covington, pushes Lawler outside the rankings.
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (1)
- Tony Ferguson (2)
- Conor McGregor (3)
- Dustin Poirier (4)
- Justin Gaethje (5)
- Donald Cerrone (6)
- Al Iaquinta (7)
- Edson Barboza (8)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (9)
- Paul Felder (10)/Michael Chandler (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Max Holloway (1)
- Alex Volkanovski (2)
- José Aldo (3)
- Brian Ortega (4)
- Frankie Edgar (5)
- Zabit Magomedsharipov (6)
- Chan Sung Jung (7)
- Renato Moicano (8)
- Jeremy Stephens (9)
- Josh Emmett (10)/Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Henry Cejudo (1)
- Marlon Moraes (2)
- Demetrious Johnson (4)
- Cory Sandhagen (8)
- Raphael Assunção (3)
- Aljamain Sterling (6)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (5)
- Pedro Munhoz (7)
- Petr Yan (9)
- Cody Garbrandt (10)
The bantamweight division was the busiest weight class during the past month. Former pound-for-pound king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson continued his march through ONE Championship’s 135-pound “flyweight” grand prix by topping Tatsumitsu Wada at ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes. Cory Sandhagen and Raphael Assunção collided at UFC 241. Colorado’s Sandhagen largely dominated the Brazilian, climbing all the way to fourth in the rankings as a result. The most shocking outcome of the month took place at Rizin 18, where Rizin and Bellator MMA champion Kyoji Horiguchi was knocked out by Kai Asakura in under two minutes in a non-title affair. Horiguchi remains in the top 10 based on his body of work, but he slides to seventh due to the loss. That allows Johnson to move up one spot to third.
- Henry Cejudo (1)
- Joseph Benavidez (2)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (3)
- Sergio Pettis (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)
- Amanda Nunes (3)
- Henry Cejudo (4)
- Max Holloway (5)
- Demetrious Johnson (6)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (7)
- Valentina Shevchenko (8)
- Daniel Cormier (2)
- Kamaru Usman (8)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Jessica Andrade (10)
The multitude of UFC title fights in August had a major impact on the pound-for-pound top 10. Daniel Cormier’s knockout loss at UFC 241 results in the former two-division champion dropping all the way down to eighth in the rankings. Women’s flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko completely outclassed Liz Carmouche in a lackluster UFC on ESPN+ 14 headliner, which moves Shevchenko into the seventh position. At the month’s final event, UFC on ESPN+ 15 in Shenzhen, China, Weili Zhang demolished strawweight champion Jessica Andrade in just 42 seconds. The knockout loss pushes Andrade outside the top 10.
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.