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JANUARY 2026
I’m one of those media members on the UFC rankings panel that nobody knows, which has made the last dozen-plus years an interesting experience. Before the UFC goes full Meta and AI takes over these rankings, I thought I’d start the year by letting the rest of y’all know how at least this member of the panel ranks fighters – hopefully saving me from the wrath of those who think the rankings are a joke. To be fair, some dumb collective calls have been made over the years, though I’ve strived mightily not to be a part of them, as you can hopefully see below. Overall, it’s been a fun ride – and, in case you’re wondering, no one from the UFC, MMA Registry nor any other entity has ever tried to influence my votes.
In deciding where to rank fighters, actual results are most important, not how I personally feel about the fighters or who I think would win hypothetical matchups. I examine head-to-head bouts first, then primarily results over the last three years, giving more credence to recent ones. The level of competition is always considered, activity is important and MMA math only plays a small part in the process. I make my votes public in the spirit of openness and transparency.
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
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dB rankings 1. Islam Makhachev (C) 2. Ilia Topuria (C) 3. Khamzat Chimaev (C) 4. Alex Pereira (C) 5. Tom Aspinall (C) 6. Peter Yan (C) 7. Merab Dvalishvili 8. Alexander Volkanovski (C) 9. Joshua Van (C) 10. Alexandre Pantoja 11. Arman Tsarukyan 12. Magomed Ankalaev 13. Max Holloway (BMF) 14. Nassourdine Imavov 15. Dricus Du Plessis |
UFC rankings 1. Islam Makhachev (C) 2. Ilia Topuria (C) 3. Khamzat Chimaev (C) 4. Alex Pereira (C) 5. Alexander Volkanovski (C) 6. Peter Yan (C) 7. Merab Dvalishvili 8. Tom Aspinall (C) 9. Alexandre Pantoja 10. Max Holloway (BMF) 11. Dricus Du Plessis 12. Joshua Van (C) 13. Magomed Ankalaev 14. Jack Della Maddalena 15. Arman Tsarukyan |
X: This is the most subjective category so I don’t debate it much, even though it seems to be very important to some folks inside the UFC. I typically go by how much a fighter has separated themself from others in their own weight class in determining how to rank them P4P. My only argument would be that Della Maddalena’s performance against Makhachev showed he’s not worthy of being in the top 15 – unlike Imavov, winner of five straight progressively tougher matchups.
FLYWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Joshua Van 1. Alexandre Pantoja 2. Manel Kape 3. Brandon Royval 4. Tatsuro Taira 5. Brandon Moreno 6. Kyoto Horiguchi 7. Asu Almabayev 8. Amir Albazi 9. Tim Elliott 10. Steve Erceg 11. Tagir Ulanbekov 12. Alex Perez 13. Rafael Estevam 14. Charles Johnson 15. Joseph Morales |
UFC rankings C: Joshua Van 1. Alexandre Pantoja 2. Manel Kape 3. Tatsuro Taira 4. Brandon Royval 5. Brandon Moreno 6. Amir Albazi 7. Asu Almabayev 8. Kyoto Horiguchi 9. Tim Elliott 10. Steve Erceg 11. Alex Perez 12. Tagir Ulanbekov 13. Charles Johnson 14. Bruno Silva 15. Lone’er Kavanaugh |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Royval smoked Taira in late 2024 and has only lost to Van and Kape since then, so he clearly does not deserve to be ranked behind the Japanese fighter, hype be damned. And I’m not sure how it happened, but I meant to vote for Ramazonbek Temirov at No. 13 instead of Estevam, though he also has a victory over perennial tough out Johnson – unlike Kavanaugh. Happily, Silva and Kavanaugh are scheduled to settle the ranking dispute in the Octagon on March 14.
BANTAMWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Petr Yan 1. Merab Dvalishvili 2. Umar Nurmagomedov 3. Sean O’Malley 4. Cory Sandhagen 5. Mario Bautista 6. Song Yadong 7. Deiveson Figueiredo 8. Aiemann Zahabi 9. Marlon Vera 10. Vinicius Oliveira 11. David Martinez 12. Rob Font 13. Kyler Phillips 14. Raoni Barcelos 15. Payton Talbot |
UFC rankings C: Petr Yan 1. Merab Dvalishvili 2. Umar Nurmagomedov 3. Sean O’Malley 4. Cory Sandhagen 5. Song Yadong 6. Deiveson Figueiredo 7. Aiemann Zahabi 8. Marlon Vera 9. Mario Bautista 10. David Martinez 11. Payton Talbot 12. Rob Font 13. Vinicius Oliveira 14. Kyler Phillips 15. Monte Jackson |
X: In what might be the most unjustifiable ranking this week, the UFC has Talbot at No. 11 after his win over the now-retired Henry Cejudo, yet Barcelos is unranked – even though Barcelos taught Talbot a lesson exactly one year ago this month and has picked up two quality wins since then. I fear some rankers care too much about name recognition and not enough about the fighter’s actual resume. Also, will the announcers please quit guaranteeing ranking spots after wins?
FEATHERWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Alexander Volkanovski 1. Lerone Murphy 2. Movsar Evloev 3. Diego Lopes 4. Arnold Allen 5. Aljamain Sterling 6. Youssef Zalal 7. Brian Ortega 8. Yair Rodriguez 9. Jean Silva 10. Steve Garcia 11. Josh Emmett 12. Patricio Freire 13. David Onama 14. Melquizael Costa 15. Kevin Vallejos |
UFC rankings C: Alexander Volkanovski 1. Movsar Evloev 2. Diego Lopes 3. Yair Rodriguez 4. Lerone Murphy 5. Aljamain Sterling 6. Arnold Allen 7. Youssef Zalal 8. Steve Garcia 9. Brian Ortega 10. Jean Silva 11. Josh Emmett 12. Patricio Freire 13. Kevin Vallejos 14. Dan Ige 15. David Onama |
X: Why is the often-out-of-action Rodriguez ranked higher than Ortega, who beat him soundly in 2024, when Rodriguez’ best win is the fading Emmett? And while Ige is a tough dude with a big heart, he’s 2-4 in his last six, while Costa has rolled off five wins since losing to the red-hot Garcia in 2023. I also have Pat Sabatini ranked higher than “50K.”
LIGHTWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Ilia Topuria 1. Arman Tsarukyan 2. Charles Oliveira 3. Max Holloway 4. Justin Gaethje 5. Paddy Pimblett 6. Dan Hooker 7. Mateusz Gamrot 8. Renato Moicano 9. Benoit Saint Denis 10. Beneil Dariush 11. Rafael Fiziev 12. Michael Chandler 13. Mauricio Ruffy 14. Ignacio Bahamondes 15. Manuel Torres |
UFC rankings C: Ilia Topuria 1. Arman Tsarukyan 2. Charles Oliveira 3. Max Holloway 4. Justin Gaethje 5. Paddy Pimblett 6. Dan Hooker 7. Mateusz Gamrot 8. Benoit Saint Denis 9. Rafael Fiziev 10. Renato Moicano 11. Beneil Dariush 12. Michael Chandler 13. Manuel Torres 14. Mauricio Ruffy 15. Fares Ziam |
X: Can’t wait to see Gaethje do what he does Saturday night, only made better by having Pimblett as a willing adversary. Other rankers seem to have forgotten that Saint Denis lost to Moicano in 2024, but I remember the Money line, though Saint Denis’ recent win over Dariush does give him more momentum. Meanwhile, Chandler probably should not be ranked due to being winless since 2022 and sitting out in hopes of scoring a red panty night against Connor McGregor. (Taking the last month off has given me ample time to obsess over where I have the fighters slotted and rethink it.)
WELTERWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Islam Makhachev 1. Michael Morales 2. Shavkat Rakmonov 3. Ian Machado Garry 4. Carlos Prates 5. Jack Della Maddalena 6. Belal Muhammad 7. Sean Brady 8. Leon Edwards 9. Kamaru Usman 10. Joaquin Buckley 11. Yaroslav Amosov 12. Gabriel Bonfim 13. Gilbert Burns 14. Colby Covington 15. Stephen Thompson |
UFC rankings C: Islam Makhachev 1. Jack Della Maddalena 2. Shavkat Rakmonov 3. Ian Machado Garry 4. Michael Morales 5. Belal Muhammad 6. Carlos Prates 7. Sean Brady 8. Kamaru Usman 9. Leon Edwards 10. Joaquin Buckley 11. Gabriel Bonfim 12. Gilbert Burns 13. Geoff Neal 14. Colby Covington 15. Daniel Rodriquez |
X: When someone like Della Maddalena loses a title fight, they do not automatically deserve to become the No. 1 contender. Morales and Rakmonov have undefeated credentials, with Machado Garry and Prates are coming on strong in what’s once again a premier weight class in the UFC. Then there’s ranking Usman above Edwards, whom he has lost to twice, which is simply indefensible. I still have Thompson ranked thanks to his win over Neal, though Covington is another fighter who should probably not be top 15 due to being winless since 2022 and sitting out 2025. I like Amosov a lot and have him ranked higher due to his championship reign in Bellator and win over Neil Magny, who has beaten Rodriquez.
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dB rankings C: Khamzat Chimaev 1. Nassourdine Imavov 2. Dricus Du Plessis 3. Sean Strickland 4. Israel Adesanya 5. Anthony Hernandez 6. Brendan Allen 7. Caio Borralho 8. Reinier de Ridder 9. Robert Whittaker 10. Michael Page 11. Roman Dolidze 12. Jared Cannonier 13. Joe Pyfer 14. Brunno Ferreira 15. Gregory Rodriquez |
UFC rankings C: Khamzat Chimaev 1. Dricus Du Plessis 2. Nassourdine Imavov 3. Sean Strickland 4. Anthony Hernandez 5. Brendan Allen 6. Israel Adesanya 7. Caio Borralho 8. Reinier de Ridder 9. Robert Whittaker 10. Jared Cannonier 10. Michael Page 12. Roman Dolidze 13. Paulo Costa 14. Gregory Rodriquez 15. Joe Pyfer |
X: Little difference in the two columns until you get to Costa, who is 2-4 in the 2020s with infrequent fights and his best win being over unranked Roman Kopylov. Meanwhile, Ferreira is 12-2 over the same time span, with a solid victory over former title challenger Marvin Vettori last time out. The best ability is availability, and fighters who are active deserve additional consideration versus those who play the waiting game. And will a top-15 welterweight please challenge Page, who shouldn’t have to fight up a weight class in the biggest organization in the world because everyone else is saying no.
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dB rankings C: Alex Pereira 1. Carlos Ulberg 2. Magomed Ankalaev 3. Jiri Prochazka 4. Khalil Rountree Jr. 5. Azamat Murakanov 6. Jan Blachowicz 7. Volkan Oezdemir 8. Bogdan Guskov 9. Jamahal Hill 10. Dominick Reyes 11. Nikita Krylov 12. Johnny Walker 13. Modestas Bukauskas 14. Aleksandar Rakic 15. Alonzo Menifield |
UFC rankings C: Alex Pereira 1. Jiri Prochazka 2. Magomed Ankalaev 3. Carlos Ulberg 4. Khalil Rountree Jr. 5. Jan Blachowicz 6. Azamat Murakanov 7. Jamahal Hill 8. Volkan Oezdemir 9. Dominick Reyes 10. Bogdan Guskov 11. Aleksandar Rakic 12. Johnny Walker 13. Nikita Krylov 14. Zhang Mingyang 15. Alonzo Menifield |
X: I wish Pereira would stay at 205 pounds and dominate instead of chasing three-title glory at heavyweight, but I also #wouldwatch if he actually gets to face the GOAT, Jon Jones. Ulberg deserves a shot at the crown if Pereira does move up, but I’d prefer it to be against the exciting Prochazka and not the plodding Ankalaev. I have the streaking 8-1 “Fighting Nerd” Bukauskas over Mingyang, who fell to Walker last time out after retiring Anthony Smith in the fight before.
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dB rankings C: Tom Aspinall 1. Ciryl Gane 2. Alexander Volkov 3. Sergei Pavlovich 4. Waldo Cortes Acosta 5. Curtis Blaydes 6. Jailton Almeida 7. Serghei Spivac 8. Derrick Lewis 9. Ante Delija 10. Marcin Tybura 11. Valter Walker 12. Shamil Gaziev 13. Mick Parkin 14. Mario Pinto 15. Vitor Petrino |
UFC rankings C: Tom Aspinall 1. Ciryl Gane 2. Alexander Volkov 3. Sergei Pavlovich 4. Curtis Blaydes 5. Waldo Cortes Acosta 6. Jailton Almeida 7. Serghei Spivac 8. Derrick Lewis 9. Ante Delija 10. Marcin Tybura 11. Shamil Gaziev 12. Tai Tuivasa 13. Mick Parkin 14. Valter Walker 15. Tallison Teixeira |
X: While we wait for Aspinall-Gane 2: This Time No Fingers Will Be Extended, Lewis just might earn a second crack at gold if he can get past Cortes Acosta this weekend. Shocked that other voters still have Tuivasa ranked, as the fun-loving shoey connoisseur is 0-5 and hasn’t fought in 17 months since upsetting Lewis in 2022. Petrino looks sharper at HW.
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dB rankings 1. Valentina Shevchenko (C) 2. Kayla Harrison (C) 3. Zhang Weili 4. Manon Fiorot 5. Erin Blanchfield 6. Julianna Pena 7. Raquel Pennington 8. Natalie Silva 9. Alexa Grasso 10. Mackenzie Dern (C) 11. Virna Jandiroba 12. Rose Namajunas 13. Tatiana Suarez 14. Maybe Barber 15. Yan Xiaonan |
UFC rankings 1. Valentina Shevchenko (C) 2. Kayla Harrison (C) 3. Zhang Weili 4. Natalie Silva 5. Mackenzie Dern (C) 6. Manon Fiorot 7. Erin Blanchfield 8. Julianna Pena 9. Alexa Grasso 10. Virna Jandiroba 11. Raquel Pennington 12. Tatiana Suarez 13. Rose Namajunas 14. Yan Xiaonan 15. Maybe Barber |
X: Losing Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes this weekend is a gut shot, but I’m glad the UFC is rescheduling it instead of throwing Nunes in there with a short-notice opponent who could screw up the greatest WMMA fight ever. I fully expect Weili to win back her strawweight belt without too much trouble, as Dern’s only hope is to catch her in a flash submission.
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dB rankings C: Mackenzie Dern 1. Zhang Weili 2. Virna Jandiroba 3. Tatiana Suarez 4. Yan Xiaonan 5. Amanda Lemos 6. Tabatha Ricci 7. Iasmin Lucindo 8. Loopy Godinez 9. Jessica Andrade 10. Amanda Ribas 11. Gillian Robertson 12. Fatima Kline 13. Angela Hill 14. Denise Gomes 15. Vacant |
UFC rankings C: Mackenzie Dern 1. Zhang Weili 2. Tatiana Suarez 3. Virna Jandiroba 4. Yan Xiaonan 5. Amanda Lemos 6. Loopy Godinez 7. Iasmin Lucindo 8. Tabatha Ricci 9. Jessica Andrade 10. Gillian Robertson 11. Amanda Ribas 12. Fatima Kline 13. Denise Gomes 14. Angela Hill 15. Alexia Thainara |
X: I had Tecia (formerly Torres) Pennington ranked No. 15 before she wasn’t re-signed, which accounts for the vacancy. Differences are mild in this weight class, which Weili has dominated before and likely will again until someone steps up.
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dB rankings C: Valentina Shevchenko 1. Natalia Silva 2. Manon Fiorot 3. Erin Blanchfield 4. Alexa Grasso 5. Rose Namajunas 6. Maycee Barber 7. Tracy Cortez 8. Jasmine Jasudavicius 9. MIranda Maverick 10. Karine Silva 11. Eduarda Moura 12. Casey O’Neill 13. Gabriella Fernandes 14. Wang Cong 15. Veronica Hardy |
UFC rankings C: Valentina Shevchenko 1. Manon Fiorot 2. Natalia Silva 3. Erin Blanchfield 3. Alexa Grasso 5. Maycee Barber 6. Rose Namajunas 7. Jasmine Jasudavicius 8. Tracy Cortez 9. Karine Silva 9. Miranda Maverick 11. Casey O’Neill 12. Wang Cong 13. Eduarda Moura 14. JJ Aldrich 15. Gabriella Fernandes |
X: Shevchenko is like a fine wine that only gets better with age, which she again demonstrated in her beatdown of Weili. Her next opponent will likely come from this weekend’s scrap featuring Silva and former 115-pound queenpin Namajunas. And I don’t get that other voters have Cong ranked three spots above Fernandes, who finished her a couple of fights ago.
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Kayla Harrison 1. Julianna Pena 2. Raquel Pennington 3. Norma Dumont 4. Ketlen Vieira 5. Irene Aldana 6. Yana Santos 7. Ailin Perez 8. Jacqueline Cavalcanti 9. Karol Rosa 10. Macy Chiasson 11. Nora Cornolle 12. Joselyne Edwards 13. Luana Santos 14. Miesha Tate 15. Mayra Bueno Silva |
UFC rankings C: Kayla Harrison 1. Julianna Pena 2. Raquel Pennington 3. Norma Dumont 4. Ketlen Vieira 5. Yana Santos 6. Irene Aldana 7. Macy Chiasson 8. Ailin Perez 9. Karol Rosa 10. Jacqueline Cavalcanti 11. Mayra Bueno Silva 12. Nora Cornolle 13. Miesha Tate 14. Joselyne Edwards 15. Luana Santos |
X: While Nunes waits for Harrison’s surgically repaired neck to heal, the rest of women’s 135 doesn’t have a whole lot of forward momentum, with Dumont the only fighter really in line to vie for the belt. Tate remains in the top 15 largely because there isn’t another fighter demanding to be in there, despite the fact that she is only 2-3 since coming back.
UPCOMING FIGHTS TO WATCH
Jan. 24 – UFC 324 (all events now streaming on Paramount-Plus)
Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett for interim lightweight title
Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong
Waldo Cortes Acosta vs. Derrick Lewis
Jan. 31 – UFC 325
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes 2 for featherweight title
Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis
Rafael Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy
For comments, questions and suggestions, email dbrown@cherokeescout.com or hit me up on Threads or X @daviddbstroh.