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 254 featured a heavyweight clash between eighth-ranked Alexander Volkov and Walt Harris. The Russian Volkov needed less than two rounds to put away Harris with a vicious body kick. “Drago” keeps his No. 8 spot with the victory.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Jan Błachowicz (2)
- Dominick Reyes (3)
- Thiago Santos (4)
- Corey Anderson (5)
- Glover Teixeira (6)
- Aleksandar Rakić (7)
- Jiří Procházka (8)
- Anthony Smith (9)
- Vadim Nemkov (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Israel Adesanya (1)
- Robert Whittaker (2)
- Paulo Costa (3)
- Yoel Romero (4)
- Jared Cannonier (5)
- Darren Till (6)
- Jack Hermansson (7)
- Kelvin Gastelum (8)
- Gegard Mousasi (10)
- Derek Brunson (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Rafael Lovato Jr. (9)
Former UFC titleholder Robert Whittaker picked up his second-straight win when he bested fifth-ranked Jared Cannonier at UFC 254. Whittaker stays in the second spot in the rankings, with Cannonier maintaining the fifth spot. With Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Lovato Jr. making his retirement official, he drops from the rankings. The man he defeated to win the belt, Gegard Mousasi, was in action at Bellator 250, where he topped the promotion’s welterweight king Douglas Lima to become a two-time champion. Mousasi moves up to ninth in the rankings with the win. Derek Brunson re-enters the rankings in 10th with the opening created by Lovato’s departure.
- 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)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- 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)
UFC 254 was a showcase for top-ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Dagestan native kept his perfect record intact with a dominant display in Abu Dhabi. He effortlessly choked interim champion Justin Gaethje unconscious to retain his lightweight title and his top spot in the rankings.
- 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)
The UFC on ESPN+ 38 main event featured a pair of former title challengers, but the fight turned into a showcase for third-ranked Brian Ortega, who completely dominated fifth-ranked Chan Sung Jung over five rounds. Both fighters maintain their places in the top 10 with the result.
- Henry Cejudo (1)
- Petr Yan (2)
- Demetrious Johnson (3)
- Aljamain Sterling (5)
- Cory Sandhagen (7)
- Marlon Moraes (4)
- José Aldo (6)
- Frankie Edgar (8)
- Pedro Munhoz (9)
- Cody Garbrandt (10)
At UFC on ESPN+ 37, Cory Sandhagen scored the biggest victory of his career when he stopped former title challenger Marlon Moraes with a spinning heel kick. Sandhagen vaults into the fifth spot with the win, with Moraes falling to the sixth spot.
- 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 (8)
- Kai Kara-France (9)
- Rogério Bontorin (10)
No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the past month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Jarred Brooks (1)
- Namiki Kawahara (2)
- Haruo Ochi (3)
- Mitsuhisa Sunabe (4)
- Adam Antolin (5)
- Tatsuya So (6)
- Gexi Sanlang (7)
- Akhmednabi Magomedov (9)
- Hiroshi Minowa (-)
- Yuta Miyazawa (-)
Dropped from the rankings: Hiroaki Ijima (8), Ryo Hatta (10)
October’s action led to a shakeup at the bottom of the strawweight rankings. Yuta Miyazawa stopped eighth-ranked Hiroaki Ijima at Pancrase 319. The result pushes both Ijima and 10th-ranked Ryo Hatta from the rankings. Shooto champion Hiroshi Minowa moves into ninth and the victorious Miyazawa claims 10th.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Amanda Nunes (2)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (4)
- Henry Cejudo (3)
- Demetrious Johnson (5)
- Stipe Miocic (6)
- Israel Adesanya (7)
- Kamaru Usman (8)
- Valentina Shevchenko (9)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (10)
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov said he was retiring after his UFC 254, and if he never competes again, he leaves the sport with a perfect 29-0 record and the No. 3 spot in our pound-for-pound 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.