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 strawweight, 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)
- Ryan Bader (10)/Augusto Sakai (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Ryan Bader (2)
- Dominick Reyes (3)
- Thiago Santos (4)
- Jan Błachowicz (5)
- Corey Anderson (6)
- Glover Teixeira (7)
- Anthony Smith (8)
- Jiří Procházka (-)
- Volkan Oezdemir (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Vadim Nemkov (10)
UFC 251 featured the UFC debut of Jiří Procházka, who promptly put his mark on the division by knocking out former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir in the second round. The win vaults Procházka into ninth in the rankings and pushes Bellator MMA’s Vadim Nemkov out of the top 10.
- Israel Adesanya (1)
- Robert Whittaker (2)
- Paulo Costa (3)
- Yoel Romero (4)
- Jared Cannonier (7)
- Darren Till (5)
- Jack Hermansson (9)
- Kelvin Gastelum (6)
- Rafael Lovato Jr. (8)
- Gegard Mousasi (10)
July was a busy month for the middleweight division, with nearly half of the top 10 in action. UFC on ESPN+ 30 featured ninth-ranked Jack Hermansson against recent title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. Hermansson needed just 78 second to submit Gastelum with a heel hook. The Norwegian climbs into the No. 7 spot with the quick victory, with Gastelum sliding to eighth. The final fight card on “Fight Island,” a.k.a. UFC on ESPN 14, featured the return of former champion Robert Whittaker. The Australian battled England’s Darren Till in a closely contested match-up, but came out victorious. Whittaker keeps his No. 2 ranking, while Till drops one spot to sixth.
- Kamaru Usman (1)
- Gilbert Burns (2)
- Colby Covington (3)
- Jorge Masvidal (4)
- Leon Edwards (5)
- Tyron Woodley (6)
- Nate Diaz (7)
- Michael Chiesa (8)
- Douglas Lima (9)
- Stephen Thompson (10)/Anthony Pettis (10)
UFC 251 was a showcase for welterweight king Kamaru Usman. He completely dominated third-ranked Jorge Masvidal from bell to bell and retained his 170-pound title. Given the short-notice nature of the bout, Masvidal keeps his spot in the rankings despite the defeat.
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (1)
- Justin Gaethje (2)
- Dustin Poirier (3)
- Tony Ferguson (4)
- Conor McGregor (5)
- Dan Hooker (6)
- Paul Felder (7)
- Donald Cerrone (8)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (9)
- Charles Oliveira (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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)/Calvin Kattar (-)
The rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway at UFC 251 was the month’s closest fight. In the end, the judges were split in their verdict, but Volkanovski retained his championship and top spot in the rankings. At UFC on ESPN 13, Calvin Kattar worked his way into the rankings by topping Dan Ige. Kattar claims a 10th-place tie with veteran Bibiano Fernandes.
- Henry Cejudo (1)
- Petr Yan (7)
- Demetrious Johnson (3)
- Marlon Moraes (2)
- Aljamain Sterling (5)
- José Aldo (4)
- Cory Sandhagen (6)
- Pedro Munhoz (8)
- Cody Garbrandt (9)
- Raphael Assunção (10)
The UFC’s bantamweight strap was not vacant for long. Russia’s Petr Yan stopped former featherweight king José Aldo in the fifth round to claim the belt at UFC 251. Yan jumps from seventh to second in the rankings with the victory. Aldo slides from fourth to sixth in defeat.
- Deiveson Figueiredo (1)
- Joseph Benavidez (2)
- Brandon Moreno (4)
- Alex Perez (5)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (6)
- Askar Askarov (7)
- Alexandre Pantoja (3)
- Kai Kara-France (8)
- Hiromasa Ogikubo (9)
- Rogério Bontorin (10)
Deiveson Figueiredo made weight for his UFC on ESPN+ 30 rematch with Joseph Benavidez, and the result was no different than the pair’s first meeting. The Brazilian battered Benavidez and choked him unconscious to capture UFC gold. Also on the card, Russia’s Askar Askarov upset Brazilian Alexandre Pantoja on the scorecards. Askarov moves up to sixth with the win, while Pantoja falls from third to seventh.
- Jarred Brooks (1)
- Haruo Ochi (2)
- Mitsuhisa Sunabe (3)
- Adam Antolin (4)
- Tatsuya So (5)
- Gexi Sanlang (6)
- Hiroaki Ijima (7)
- Akhmednabi Magomedov (8)
- Ryo Hatta (9)
- Dôglas Cunha (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Amanda Nunes (2)
- Henry Cejudo (3)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (4)
- Demetrious Johnson (5)
- Stipe Miocic (6)
- Kamaru Usman (8)
- Valentina Shevchenko (7)
- Daniel Cormier (9)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (10)
Usman was the lone member of the pound-for-pound elite to compete in July. His dominant win was enough to bump him up one spot into seventh in the rankings.
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.