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 male and female athletes.
Note: the numbers in parentheses represent the fighter’s ranking from the previous month.
- Francis Ngannou (1)
- Ciryl Gane (2)
- Tom Aspinall (3)
- Alexander Volkov (4)
- Josh Hokit (5)
- Curtis Blaydes (6)
- Sergei Pavlovich (7)
- Rizvan Kuniev (8)
- Jailton Almeida (9)
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta (10)
No top-10 fighters were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Alex Pereira (1)
- Carlos Ulberg (2)
- Magomed Ankalaev (3)
- Jiří Procházka (4)
- Khalil Rountree Jr. (5)
- Paulo Costa (6)
- Azamat Murzakanov (7)
- Jamahal Hill (8)
- Corey Anderson (9)
- Jan Błachowicz (10)
No top-10 fighters were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Sean Strickland (1)
- Khamzat Chimaev (2)
- Dricus du Plessis (3)
- Nassourdine Imavov (4)
- Joe Pyfer (5)
- Brendan Allen (6)
- Israel Adesanya (7)
- Gregory Rodrigues (-)
- Caio Borralho (9)
- Anthony Hernandez (8)
Dropped from the rankings: Reinier de Ridder (10)
No. 8 Anthony Hernandez’s eight-fight winning streak ended in Sacramento. Unranked Gregory Rodrigues repeatedly damaged Hernandez’s lead leg and prevailed after five rounds. Rodrigues enters at No. 8, Hernandez falls to No. 10, and Reinier de Ridder exits the rankings.
- Islam Makhachev (1)
- Carlos Prates (2)
- Jack Della Maddalena (3)
- Shavkat Rakhmonov (4)
- Michael Morales (5)
- Ian Machado Garry (6)
- Sean Brady (7)
- Gabriel Bonfim (8)
- Joaquin Buckley (9)
- Belal Muhammad (10)
Islam Makhachev successfully defended the UFC welterweight championship, edging Ian Machado Garry in a competitive five-round fight on Aug. 15 for the UFC 330 headliner. Makhachev also extended his UFC winning streak to a promotional-record 17 fights. The rankings remain unchanged.
- Justin Gaethje (1)
- Ilia Topuria (2)
- Arman Tsarukyan (3)
- Charles Oliveira (4)
- Paddy Pimblett (5)
- Max Holloway (6)
- Benoît Saint Denis (7)
- Quillan Salkilld (-)
- Dan Hooker (9)
- Mauricio Ruffy (10)
Dropped from the rankings: Mateusz Gamrot (8)
No. 8 Mateusz Gamrot suffered a damaging upset in the UFC Vegas 120 main event. Unranked Quillan Salkilld hurt him standing, won the ensuing grappling exchange and secured a rear-naked choke late in the opening round. Salkilld replaces Gamrot in the rankings.
- Alex Volkanovski (1)
- Diego Lopes (2)
- Yair Rodriguez (3)
- Aljamain Sterling (4)
- Movsar Evloev (5)
- Brian Ortega (6)
- Lerone Murphy (7)
- Jean Silva (8)
- Aaron Pico (9)
- David Onama (10)
No top-10 fighters were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Petr Yan (1)
- Merab Dvalishvili (2)
- Sean O’Malley (3)
- Song Yadong (7)
- Umar Nurmagomedov (4)
- Mario Bautista (5)
- Cory Sandhagen (6)
- Deiveson Figueiredo (8)
- Aiemann Zahabi (9)
- David Martinez (10)
Bantamweight supplied August’s largest rankings upset. No. 7 Song Yadong stopped No. 4 Umar Nurmagomedov with a second-round uppercut, becoming the first fighter to finish Nurmagomedov. Song jumps to the fourth spot, and the three previously ahead of him all move down one notch.
- Joshua Van (1)
- Alexandre Pantoja (2)
- Tatsuro Taira (3)
- Manel Kape (4)
- Kyoji Horiguchi (5)
- Brandon Royval (6)
- Muhammad Mokaev (7)
- Lone’er Kavanagh (8)
- Amir Albazi (9)
- Brandon Moreno (10)
No top-10 fighters were in action this month, so the rankings remain unchanged.
- Islam Makhachev (1)
- Justin Gaethje (2)
- Ilia Topuria (3)
- Alexander Volkanovksi (4)
- Charles Oliveira (5)
- Max Holloway (6)
- Valentina Shevchenko (7)
- Joshua Van (8)
- Sean Strickland (9)
- Ciryl Gane (10)
Islam Makhachev was the only August pound-for-pound top-10 fighter to compete. His successful title defense against Ian Machado Garry solidifies his top spot. 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.