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 (1)
- Daniel Cormier (2)
- Francis Ngannou (3)
- Curtis Blaydes (4)
- Junior dos Santos (5)
- Derrick Lewis (6)
- Alexander Volkov (7)
- Jair Rozenstruik (8)
- Alistair Overeem (9)
- Blagoy Ivanov (10)
UFC 247 featured sixth-ranked Derrick Lewis in action against former light heavyweight Ilir Latifi. The closely contested fight ended with a decision win for Lewis, who stays in sixth with the victory.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Ryan Bader (2)
- Dominick Reyes (5)
- Thiago Santos (3)
- Anthony Smith (4)
- Jan Błachowicz (7)
- Corey Anderson (6)
- Glover Teixeira (8)
- Volkan Oezdemir (9)
- Johnny Walker (10)/Vadim Nemkov (10)
In a month that featured plenty of controversial decisions, none garnered as much attention as the UFC 247 main event between Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes. The title fight appeared to go the way of the challenger Reyes, but the Texas judges had other ideas. Jones remains atop the rankings after retaining his title, while Reyes vaults into third after nearly dethroning the champion. Elsewhere, Jan Błachowicz got revenge against Corey Anderson at UFC on ESPN+ 25. The first-round knockout moves the Polish fighter into sixth, while Anderson slips to seventh.
- Israel Adesanya (1)
- Robert Whittaker (2)
- Paulo Costa (3)
- Yoel Romero (4)
- Darren Till (5)
- Kelvin Gastelum (6)
- Jared Cannonier (7)
- Rafael Lovato Jr. (8)
- Jack Hermansson (9)
- Gegard Mousasi (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Kamaru Usman (1)
- Tyron Woodley (2)
- Colby Covington (3)
- Jorge Masvidal (4)
- Leon Edwards (5)
- Nate Diaz (6)
- Michael Chiesa (7)
- Douglas Lima (8)
- Stephen Thompson (9)
- Demian Maia (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)
- Dustin Poirier (3)
- Conor McGregor (4)
- Justin Gaethje (5)
- Dan Hooker (10)
- Paul Felder (7)
- Donald Cerrone (6)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (8)
- Edson Barboza (9)/Charles Oliveira (10)
The lightweight division continues to be the sport’s most competitive. At UFC on ESPN+ 26, Kiwi Dan Hooker was on the receiving end of a victory in another tightly scored match-up. Hooker edged Paul Felder in Auckland and rockets into sixth, one spot ahead of Felder.
- Alex Volkanovski (1)
- Max Holloway (2)
- Brian Ortega (3)
- Zabit Magomedsharipov (4)
- Chan Sung Jung (5)
- Frankie Edgar (6)
- Yair Rodriguez (7)
- Renato Moicano (8)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (9)
- Bibiano Fernandes (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Henry Cejudo (1)
- Marlon Moraes (2)
- Demetrious Johnson (3)
- José Aldo (4)
- Cory Sandhagen (5)
- Raphael Assunção (6)
- Aljamain Sterling (7)
- Petr Yan (8)
- Pedro Munhoz (9)
- Cody Garbrandt (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Deiveson Figueiredo (4)
- Joseph Benavidez (2)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (3)
- Alexandre Pantoja (5)
- John Moraga (6)
- Dustin Ortiz (7)
- Brandon Moreno (8)
- Askar Askarov (9)
- Kai Kara-France (-)
- Hiromasa Ogikubo (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Henry Cejudo (1), Rogério Bontorin (10)
This was the month’s busiest division. The UFC stripped Henry Cejudo of his title for failing to defend it and planned to crown a new champion at UFC on ESPN+ 27. However, Brazilian Deiveson Figueiredo missed weight for the title affair and then defeated Joseph Benavidez by TKO, leaving the belt vacant. Cejudo’s focus on the bantamweight division results in his exclusion from the rankings. Figueiredo’s finish of Benavidez allows him to claim the top spot. Recently ranked Brazilian Rogério Bontorin came up short at UFC on ESPN+ 25 against Ray Borg and falls out of the top 10. The two spots in the top 10 are filled by Kai Kara-France and Hiromasa Ogikubo. Kara-France was in action at UFC on ESPN+ 26, where he defeated Tyson Nam via decision. The Shooto champ Ogikubo captures the 10th spot based on his body of work.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Amanda Nunes (2)
- Henry Cejudo (3)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (4)
- Demetrious Johnson (5)
- Stipe Miocic (6)
- Valentina Shevchenko (9)
- Kamaru Usman (8)
- Daniel Cormier (7)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (10)
Top-ranked Jon Jones wasn’t the only one in action at UFC 247, as women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko dispatched of Katlyn Chookagian by TKO. Shevchenko climbs to seventh in the pound-for-pound rankings with the dominant victory.
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.