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)
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik (5)
- Junior dos Santos (6)
- Derrick Lewis (7)
- Alexander Volkov (8)
- Alistair Overeem (9)
- Ryan Bader (10)/Augusto Sakai (10)
UFC on ESPN+ 34 featured ninth-ranked Alistair Overeem against No. 10 Augusto Sakai. The veteran Overeem was patient, battering the Brazilian over five rounds before scoring a late finish. The rankings remain unchanged with the result.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Jan Błachowicz (4)
- Dominick Reyes (2)
- Thiago Santos (3)
- Corey Anderson (5)
- Glover Teixeira (6)
- Aleksandar Rakić (7)
- Jiří Procházka (8)
- Anthony Smith (9)
- Vadim Nemkov (10)
UFC 253 crowned a new light-heavyweight champion after top-ranked Jon Jones vacated the belt. Fourth-ranked Jan Błachowicz crushed second-ranked Dominick Reyes to earn a second-round TKO and the belt. The Polish slugger moves into second with the impressive win, while Reyes slides to third in defeat.
- Israel Adesanya (1)
- Robert Whittaker (2)
- Paulo Costa (3)
- Yoel Romero (4)
- Jared Cannonier (5)
- Darren Till (6)
- Jack Hermansson (7)
- Kelvin Gastelum (8)
- Rafael Lovato Jr. (9)
- Gegard Mousasi (10)
If there was any doubt about the legitimacy of Israel Adesanya’s title reign, it was quickly erased at UFC 253. The Nigerian-born, New Zealand-based champion put on an absolute master class. He demolished challenger Paulo Costa and handed the Brazilian his first career defeat. Both fighters keep their prior ranking.
- 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)
The main event of UFC on ESPN+ 36 was a clash between former interim champion Colby Covington and former titleholder Tyron Woodley. Covington largely dominated the fight before a fifth-round rib injury left Woodley unable to continue. Both fighters keeps their existing spot in the top 10.
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (1)
- Justin Gaethje (2)
- Dustin Poirier (3)
- Tony Ferguson (4)
- Conor McGregor (5)
- Dan Hooker (6)
- Paul Felder (7)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (8)
- Charles Oliveira (9)
- Michael Chandler (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)
- Yair Rodriguez (6)
- Renato Moicano (7)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (8)
- Bibiano Fernandes (9)
- Calvin Kattar (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Henry Cejudo (1)
- Petr Yan (2)
- Demetrious Johnson (3)
- Marlon Moraes (4)
- Aljamain Sterling (5)
- José Aldo (6)
- Cory Sandhagen (7)
- Frankie Edgar (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 (1)
- Joseph Benavidez (2)
- Brandon Moreno (3)
- Alex Perez (4)
- Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (5)
- Askar Askarov (6)
- Alexandre Pantoja (7)
- Brandon Royval (-)
- Kai Kara-France (8)
- Rogério Bontorin (9)
Dropped from the rankings: Joshua Pacio (10)
UFC 253 was a coming-out party for Colorado’s Brandon Royval, who earned both “Fight of the Night” honors and a submission victory over Kai Kara-France. Royval captures Kara-France’s No. 8 spot in the top 10 and pushes recently added Joshua Pacio back outside the top 10.
- Jarred Brooks (1)
- Namiki Kawahara (2)
- Haruo Ochi (3)
- Mitsuhisa Sunabe (4)
- Adam Antolin (5)
- Tatsuya So (6)
- Gexi Sanlang (7)
- Hiroaki Ijima (8)
- Akhmednabi Magomedov (9)
- Ryo Hatta (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)
- Israel Adesanya (10)
- Kamaru Usman (7)
- Valentina Shevchenko (8)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (9)
The performance that Adesanya put on at UFC 253 was one of the most dominant displays in recent memory. The unbeaten striking stalwart jumps into the No. 7 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings with the impressive 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.