Every month, Combat Press will provide MMA rankings for 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 month.
- Francis Ngannou (1)
- Jon Jones (2)
- Ciryl Gane (3)
- Tom Aspinall (6)
- Sergei Pavlovich (4)
- Curtis Blaydes (5)
- Alexander Volkov (7)
- Jailton Almeida (8)
- Ryan Bader (9)
- Tai Tuivasa (10)
At UFC 295 on Nov. 11, the UFC interim heavyweight title was on the line, after champion Jon Jones had to pull out of his first title defense against Stipe Miocic with an injury. In the co-main event, previously sixth-ranked Tom Aspinall was able to knockout previously fourth-ranked Sergei Pavlovich in just 69 seconds to earn the interim belt. This moves Aspinall into the No. 4 position, shifting Pavlovich and Curtis Blaydes down one spot.
Also in action in November were No. 8 heavyweight Jailton Almeida and longtime veteran Derrick Lewis. Almeida was able to outwork Lewis through the duration of their five-round main event to keep his spot in the rankings.
- Alex Pereira (4)
- Jiří Procházka (1)
- Jamahal Hill (2)
- Glover Teixeira (3)
- Vadim Nemkov (5)
- Magomed Ankalaev (6)
- Jan Błachowicz (7)
- Aleksandar Rakić (8)
- Corey Anderson (9)
- Phil Davis (10)
The headliner of UFC 295 showcased the return of former light heavyweight champion and top-ranked Jiří Procházka, as he looked to reclaim his throne after vacating it a year prior, due to a bad shoulder injury. He faced former middleweight champion and No. 4 light heavyweight Alex Pereira, and, as Round 2 was winding down, Pereira cracked Procházka on the feet, eventually finishing him by TKO on the ground. While some thought it might have been an early stoppage, a new light heavyweight champion was crowned. Pereira subsequently jumps to the top spot, moving former champions Procházka, Jamahal Hill and Glover Teixeira down one notch.
- Sean Strickland (1)
- Israel Adesanya (2)
- Dricus du Plessis (3)
- Robert Whittaker (4)
- Jared Cannonier (5)
- Marvin Vettori (6)
- Khamzat Chimaev (7)
- Paulo Costa (8)
- Johnny Eblen (8)
- Derek Brunson (10)
No top-10 fighters were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Leon Edwards (1)
- Kamaru Usman (2)
- Colby Covington (3)
- Belal Muhammad (4)
- Gilbert Burns (5)
- Stephen Thompson (7)
- Shavkat Rakhmonov (8)
- Geoff Neal (9)
- Jason Jackson (-)
- Sean Brady (10)
Dropped from the rankings: Yaroslav Amosov (6)
November saw a big shake-up in the bottom half of the welterweight rankings, after sixth-ranked Yaroslav Amosov attempted his second Bellator title defense, when he faced Jason Jackson at Bellator 301. Jackson shocked the world when he scored a third-round knockout of the previously undefeated champ, taking the title. After this outcome, Amosov falls out of the rankings, making way for Jackson to enter at No. 9. This also shifts up a few UFC welterweights one spot each.
- Islam Makhachev (1)
- Charles Oliveira (2)
- Justin Gaethje (3)
- Dustin Poirier (4)
- Beneil Dariush (5)
- Michael Chandler (6)
- Mateusz Gamrot (7)
- Rafael Fiziev (8)
- Usman Nurmagomedov (9)
- Arman Tsarukyan (10)
No top-10 fighters were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Alex Volkanovski (1)
- Yair Rodriguez (2)
- Max Holloway (3)
- Brian Ortega (4)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (5)
- Ilia Topuria (6)
- A.J. McKee (7)
- Arnold Allen (8)
- Chan Sung Jung (9)
- Josh Emmett (10)
No top-10 fighters were in featherweight action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Sean O’Malley (1)
- Demetrious Johnson (2)
- Aljamain Sterling (3)
- Merab Dvalishvili (4)
- Cory Sandhagen (5)
- T.J. Dillashaw (6)
- Petr Yan (7)
- Marlon Vera (8)
- Patchy Mix (10)
- Adriano Moraes (9)
In the Bellator 301 co-main event, Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis attempted to unify the title against interim titleholder Patchy Mix. In the second round, Mix scored a rear-naked choke submission to unify the title and become the undisputed champion. No. 10 Mix moves up one spot to No. 9 in the rankings, trading places with Adriano Moraes.
- Alexandre Pantoja (1)
- Brandon Moreno (2)
- Deiveson Figueiredo (3)
- Amir Albazi (4)
- Askar Askarov (5)
- Kai Kara-France (6)
- Brandon Royval (7)
- Alex Perez (8)
- Matheus Nicolau (9)
- Rogério Bontorin (10)
No top-10 fighters were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Islam Makhachev (1)
- Alexander Volkanovski (2)
- Jon Jones (3)
- Francis Ngannou (4)
- Charles Oliveira (5)
- Demetrious Johnson (6)
- Justin Gaethje (7)
- Leon Edwards (8)
- Dustin Poirier (9)
- Amanda Nunes (10)
No top-10 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.