Every month, Combat Press will provide MMA rankings for 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 month.
- Jon Jones (1)
- Francis Ngannou (2)
- Ciryl Gane (3)
- Sergei Pavlovich (4)
- Curtis Blaydes (5)
- Tom Aspinall (6)
- Alexander Volkov (7)
- Tai Tuivasa (8)
- Ryan Bader (9)
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik (10)
On Apr. 22, Sergei Pavlovich and Curtis Blaydes headlined UFC Vegas 71. The Russian fighter quickly disposed of the American in Round 1, and both fighters maintain their respective positions in the rankings.
- Jiří Procházka (1)
- Jamahal Hill (2)
- Glover Teixeira (3)
- Magomed Ankalaev (4)
- Jan Błachowicz (5)
- Vadim Nemkov (6)
- Aleksandar Rakić (7)
- Corey Anderson (8)
- Anthony Smith (9)
- Thiago Santos (10)
No fighters were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Israel Adesanya (2)
- Alex Pereira (1)
- Robert Whittaker (3)
- Marvin Vettori (4)
- Dricus du Plessis (5)
- Jared Cannonier (6)
- Paulo Costa (7)
- Johnny Eblen (8)
- Sean Strickland (9)
- Derek Brunson (10)
In April, UFC 287 saw the second MMA bout, and fourth fight overall, between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, after Pereira took away Adesanya’s belt in their last meeting. The Brazilian also won both of their kickboxing matches. This time around, with his back against the cage at the end of Round 2, Adesanya caught the newly minted champ, and scored a knockout victory to win his title back. The two swap positions at the top of the division.
- Leon Edwards (1)
- Kamaru Usman (2)
- Colby Covington (3)
- Khamzat Chimaev (4)
- Gilbert Burns (5)
- Belal Muhammad (6)
- Yaroslav Amosov (7)
- Shavkat Rakhmonov (8)
- Stephen Thompson (9)
- Sean Brady (10)
The world finally saw the sunset to Jorge Masvidal’s long and storied career at UFC 287. For three full rounds, Gilbert Burns battered the veteran to score a decision victory, and Masvidal retired during his post-fight speeach. Burns maintains his position at No. 5 in the rankings.
- Islam Makhachev (1)
- Charles Oliveira (2)
- Dustin Poirier (3)
- Justin Gaethje (4)
- Beneil Dariush (5)
- Michael Chandler (6)
- Rafael Fiziev (7)
- Mateusz Gamrot (8)
- Usman Nurmagomedov (9)
- Arman Tsarukyan (10)
No fighters were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Alex Volkanovski (1)
- Yair Rodriguez (2)
- Max Holloway (3)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (4)
- Brian Ortega (5)
- Josh Emmett (6)
- Arnold Allen (7)
- A.J. McKee (8)
- Chan Sung Jung (9)
- Calvin Kattar (10)
On Apr. 15, May Holloway went a full five rounds for the eighth time in a row, when he and Arnold Allen headlined UFC Kansas City. The Hawaiian former champ cruised to victory to get back in the win column. Both men keep their respective positions in the rankings.
- Aljamain Sterling (1)
- Demetrious Johnson (2)
- Merab Dvalishvili (3)
- Sean O’Malley (4)
- Cory Sandhagen (5)
- Petr Yan (6)
- T.J. Dillashaw (7)
- Marlon Vera (8)
- Adriano Moraes (9)
- José Aldo (10)
Dropped from the rankings: José Aldo (10)
At Bellator 295 on Apr. 22, it took top contender Patchy Mix only 80 seconds to knock out Raufeon Stots with a crushing knee. Not only did he win the Bellator bantamweight grand prix, but he also picked up the interim bantamweight title. This win puts him next in line for a title shot after current bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis attempts to defend his title against current featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire in June. Mix enters the rankings, taking Jose Aldo’s spot at No. 10.
- Deiveson Figueiredo (1)
- Brandon Moreno (2)
- Kai Kara-France (3)
- Alexandre Pantoja (4)
- Askar Askarov (5)
- Alex Perez (6)
- Brandon Royval (7)
- Matheus Nicolau (8)
- Rogério Bontorin (9)
- Jarred Brooks (10)
At UFC Kansas City on Apr. 15, Brandon Royval extended his winning streak to three with a first-round knockout of Matheus Nicolau. Both men keep their respective rankings at No. 7 and No. 8, and Royval could be getting his title shot sooner rather than later.
- Islam Makhachev (1)
- Alexander Volkanovski (2)
- Jon Jones (3)
- Francis Ngannou (4)
- Leon Edwards (5)
- Charles Oliveira (6)
- Amanda Nunes (7)
- Dustin Poirier (8)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (9)
- Aljamain Sterling (10)
No fighters were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
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.