In deciding where to rank fighters, the 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 bouts. The level of competition is always considered, activity is important and MMA math only plays a small part in the process.
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
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dB rankings 1. Kamaru Usman (C) 2. Israel Adesanya (C) 3. Alexander Volkanovski (C) +1 4. Charles Oliveira (C) +2 5. Francis Ngannou (C) -2 6. Max Holloway -1 7. Aljamain Sterling (C) +1 8. Deiveson Figueiredo (C) +1 9. Petr Yan -2 10. Brandon Moreno 11. Glover Teixeira (C) 12. Robert Whittaker 13. Stipe Miocic 14. Colby Covington 15. Ciryl Gane |
UFC rankings 1. Kamaru Usman (C) 2. Alexander Volkanovski (C) +1 3. Israel Adesanya (C) -1 4. Charles Oliveira (C) +1 5. Francis Ngannou (C) -1 6. Max Holloway 7. Dustin Poirier +1 8. Glover Teixeira (C) +2 9. Aljamain Sterling (C) * 10. Jon Jones -3 11. Deiveson Figueiredo (C) 12. Stipe Miocic 13. Petr Yan (IC) -4 14. Robert Whittaker 15. Brandon Moreno -2 |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: None
Out of UFC rankings: Jan Blachowicz
X: Volkanovski and Oliveira continue their climbs up the charts, with dominating victories that revealed just how far above the rest of the pack the champs (I’m not buying the LW title being vacant, we all know who The Man is) really are. Sterling’s win over Yan gives him the respect he has been craving since he won the belt via disqualification last year. Next week, we’ll find out if Teixeira can continue being king of the LHW hill at age 42, while Covington goes to court with Masvidal over an alleged sucker punch.
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dB rankings C: Deiveson Figueiredo 1. Brandon Moreno 2. Kai Kara France 3. Askar Askarov 4. Alexandre Pantoja 5. Brandon Royval 6. Alex Perez 7. Matheus Nicolau 8. David Dvorak 9. Rogerio Bontorin 10. Manel Kape 11. Tim Elliott 12. Matt Schnell 13. Amir Albazi 14. Sumudaerji 15. Tagir Ulanbekov |
UFC rankings C: Deiveson Figueiredo 1. Brandon Moreno 2. Kai Kara France 3. Askar Askarov 3. Alexandre Pantoja +1 5. Brandon Royval +1 6. Alex Perez -1 7. Matheus Nicolau 8. Rogerio Bontorin 9. Matt Schnell 10. David Dvorak 11. Tim Elliott +2 12. Sumudaerji 13. Amir Albazi -2 14. Manel Kape 15. Tagir Ulanbekov |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: In just three fights, France went from an upset loss to Royval that nearly derailed him as a contender to getting an interim title fight against Moreno in July, as Figueiredo is coming off of an injury. Meanwhile, Pantoja continues to run in place as the best FLW fighter few people seem to remember.
BANTAMWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Aljamain Sterling 1. Petr Yan -1 2. T.J. Dillashaw 3. Cory Sandhagen 4. Jose Aldo 5. Marlon Vera +2 6. Rob Font -1 7. Merab Dvalishvili -1 8. Dominick Cruz 9. Yadong Song 10. Frankie Edgar 11. Pedro Munhoz 12. Ricky Simon 13. Sean O’Malley 14. Jack Shore 15. Umar Nurmagomedov |
UFC rankings C: Aljamain Sterling 1. Petr Yan -1 2. T.J. Dillashaw 3. Jose Aldo 4. Cory Sandhagen 5. Marlon Vera +3 6. Merab Dvalishvili 7. Rob Font -2 8. Dominick Cruz -1 9. Yadong Song 10. Pedro Munhoz -1 11. Frankie Edgar 12. Ricky Simon 13. Sean O’Malley 14. Jack Shore * 15. Raphael Assuncao * |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: None
Out of UFC rankings: Marlon Moraes
X: Since dropping a controversial split-decision to Song at FW, Vera has rolled off four wins – each more impressive than the last – along with a close loss to the legendary Aldo. While Moraes is gone, Assuncao seems likely to join him soon and Cruz is making his last run, those veterans are being steadily replaced by a roster of young killers at 135 pounds. This is easily the deepest, and most fun, division in the UFC.
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dB rankings C: Alexander Volkanovski 1. Max Holloway 2. Brian Ortega 3. Yair Rodriguez 4. Chan Sung Jung 5. Arnold Allen 6. Calvin Kattar 7. Gigi Chikadze 8. Josh Emmett 9. Bryce Mitchell 10. Dan Ige 11. Edson Barboza 12. Sodiq Yusuff 13. Movsar Evloev 14. Shane Burgos 15. Pat Sabatini * |
UFC rankings C: Alexander Volkanovski 1. Max Holloway 2. Brian Ortega 3. Yair Rodriguez 4. Calvin Kattar +1 5. Chan Sung Jung -1 6. Arnold Allen 7. Josh Emmett 8. Giga Chikadze 9. Bryce Mitchell 10. Dan Ige 11. Sodiq Yusuff 12. Edson Barboza 13. Movsar Evloev 14. Shane Burgos 15. Ilia Topuria |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Lerone Murphy
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: Sabatini’s sixth straight win – four in the UFC – was enough to earn him a top-15 spot for me. (Again, Topuria missed weight once, then fought at LW last time out.) Planned fights featuring Kattar vs. Emmett and Ortega vs. Rodriguez will go a long way toward determining who gets the winner of Volkanovski-Holloway 3: This Time It’s Even More Personal after the stacked International Fight Week card in July.
LIGHTWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Vacant 1. Charles Oliveira -1 2. Islam Makhachev +2 3. Dustin Poirier -2 4. Justin Gaethje -2 5. Michael Chandler 6. Beneil Dariush -2 7. Tony Ferguson -1 8. Rafael dos Anjos -1 9. Arman Tsarukyan 10. Rafael Fiziev +1 11. Conor McGregor -2 12. Mateusz Gamrot 13. Damir Ismagulov 14. Brad Riddell 15. Mark Madsen * |
UFC rankings C: Vacant 1. Charles Oliveira -1 2. Dustin Poirier 3. Justin Gaethje -2 4. Islam Makhachev 5. Michael Chandler 6. Beneil Dariush -2 7. Rafael dos Anjos +1 8. Conor McGregor +1 9. Tony Ferguson -2 10. Rafael Fiziev 11. Arman Tsarukyan 12. Mateusz Gamrot 13. Dan Hooker 14. Brad Riddell 15. Diego Ferreira |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Gregor Gillespie (inactivity), Diego Ferreira
Out of UFC rankings: Gregor Gillespie (inactivity)
X: Hail to the king, baby, as few fighters can boast the resume Oliveira has over his last three fights – all incredible finishes – over Poirier, Chandler and Gaethje. The seemingly indestructible Russian Makhachev might be up next, but I’ll never count Oliveira out again. McGregor still gets more ink than his resume deserves, while the upcoming dos Anjos vs. Fiziev “Battle of the Rafaels” should be a great scrap. Meanwhile, Gillespie foolishly got kicked out of the rankings for refusing to fight anyone ranked below him; if all fighters only took on people ranked above them, there would literally be zero fights.
WELTERWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Kamaru Usman 1. Colby Covington 2. Leon Edwards 3. Belal Muhammad +2 4. Khamzat Chimaev +8 5. Gilbert Burns -2 6. Stephen Thompson 7. Vicente Luque -3 8. Sean Brady -1 9. Jorge Masvidal -1 10. Michael Chiesa -1 11. Neil Magny -1 12. Geoff Neal -1 13. Li Jingliang 14. Shavkat Rakmonov +1 15. Michel Pereira * |
UFC rankings C: Kamaru Usman 1. Colby Covington 2. Leon Edwards +1 3. Khamzat Chimaev +8 4. Gilbert Burns -2 5. Belal Muhammad 6. Vicente Luque -2 7. Stephen Thompson -1 8. Jorge Masvidal -1 9. Sean Brady -1 10. Neil Magny -1 11. Michael Chiesa 12. Geoff Neal 13. Li Jingliang 14. Michel Pereira * 15. Shavkat Rakmonov |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB/UFC rankings: Santiago Ponzinibbio
X: While I miss Pereira’s backflip-into-Superman-punch combo, you can’t argue with the results since he started using his actual technical mixed martial arts skills. While I miss seeing his striking, you also can’t argue with Muhammad wrestling his way into the top five. A No. 1 contender’s fight between him and the rapidly rising Chimaev, who showed much heart in his win over Burns to go along with his “smash” skillset, would make a lot of sense while we wait for Usman and Edwards to duke it out for the WW belt.
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dB rankings C: Israel Adesanya 1. Robert Whittaker 2. Jared Cannonier 3. Marvin Vettori 4. Paulo Costa 5. Sean Strickland 6. Derek Brunson 7. Jack Hermansson 8. Uriah Hall 9. Brad Tavares 10. Andre Muniz 11. Darren Till 12. Chris Weidman 13. Kelvin Gastelum 14. Nassourdine Imavov 15. Alex Pereira |
UFC rankings C: Israel Adesanya 1. Robert Whittaker 2. Jared Cannonier 3. Marvin Vettori 4. Derek Brunson 4. Paulo Costa 4. Sean Strickland 7. Jack Hermansson 8. Darren Till 9. Uriah Hall 10. Kelvin Gastelum 11. Nassourdine Imavov 12. Brad Taveras 13. Andre Muniz 14. Chris Weidman 15. Edmen Shahbazyan |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: The straight-ahead Strickland’s upcoming fight with the counter-punching Pereira is great matchmaking, setting up the winner for a shot at the belt. Adesanya title shot against Cannonier will also be a feast for as long as it stays on the feet. The winners of those two scraps could be fighting in a Las Vegas main event by the end of December. Meanwhile, we have Costa vs. the returning Luke Rockhold to either look forward to – or plan to avoid, depending on which Paulo and Luke show up in the cage.
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dB rankings C: Glover Teixeira 1. Jan Blachowicz 2. Jiri Prochazka 3. Magomed Ankalaev 4. Aleksandar Rakic 5. Thiago Santos 6. Anthony Smith 7. Dominick Reyes 8. Volkan Oezdemir 9. Paul Craig 10. Jamahal Hill 11. Nikita Krylov 12. Johnny Walker 13. Ryan Spann 14. Jimmy Crute 15. Dustin Jacoby |
UFC rankings C: Glover Teixeira 1. Jan Blachowicz 2. Jiri Prochazka 3. Aleksandar Rakic 4. Magomed Ankalaev 5. Anthony Smith 6. Thiago Santos 7. Dominick Reyes 8. Paul Craig 9. Volkan Oezdemir 10. Jamahal Hill 11. Nikita Krylov 12. Ryan Spann +1 13. Johnny Walker -1 14. Jimmy Crute 15. Dustin Jacoby * |
Out of dB rankings: None
Out of UFC rankings: Ion Cutelaba
X: Teixeira vs. Prochazka happens in two weeks, with either Blachowicz or the winner of Ankalaev vs. Smith likely on deck. Rakic’s injury puts a new contender on the shelf for several months, giving fighters like Santos and Reyes another chance to move back up the charts. I wish the rest of the UFC rankers would remember fights beyond just the immediate – Spann’s KO of Cutelaba was something to see, but he still does not deserve to be ranked ahead of Walker, who crushed Spann less than two years ago.
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dB rankings C: Francis Ngannou 1. Stipe Miocic 2. Ciryl Gane 3. Tai Tuivasa 4. Derrick Lewis 5. Curtis Blaydes 6. Tom Aspinall 7. Alexander Volkov 8. Jairzinho Rozenstruik 9. Alexandr Romanov 10. Sergei Pavlovich 11. Chris Daukaus 12. Marcin Tybura 13. Walt Harris 14. Serghei Spivac 15. Augusto Sakai |
UFC rankings C: Francis Ngannou 1. Ciryl Gane 2. Stipe Miocic 3. Tai Tuivasa 4. Curtis Blaydes 5. Derrick Lewis 6. Tom Aspinall 7. Alexander Volkov 8. Jairzinho Rozenstruik 9. Chris Daukaus 10. Marcin Tybura 11. Sergei Pavlovich 12. Shamil Abdurakhimov 13. Alexandr Romanov * 14. Augusto Sakai -1 15. Blagoy Ivanov |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: None
Out of UFC rankings: Walt Harris
X: Nice to see the undefeated Romanov finally get some love from the other rankers. Blaydes vs. surging Aspinall is a high-quality fight. And let’s go ahead and sign the Miocic vs. Jones interim HW title bout so everyone else can get matched up in light of Ngannou’s knee surgery and uncertain contract status.
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dB rankings 1. Valentina Shevchenko 2. Julianna Pena 3. Amanda Nunes 4. Carla Esparza +3 5. Rose Namajunas -1 6. Zhang Weili -1 7. Jessica Andrade -1 8. Marina Rodriquez 9. Katlyn Chookagian +1 10. Lauren Murphy +1 11. Ketlen Viera * 12. Holly Holm -3 13. Raquel Pennington -1 14. Irene Aldana -1 15. Yan Xiaonan -1 |
UFC rankings 1. Valentina Shevchenko 2. Amanda Nunes 3. Julianna Pena +1 4. Rose Namajunas -1 5. Weili Zhang 6. Carla Esparza +2 7. Jessica Andrade -1 8. Marina Rodriquez +1 9. Holly Holm -2 10. Katlyn Chookagian 11. Ketlen Viera * 12. Xiaonan Yan -1 13. Mackenzie Dern -1 14. Irene Aldana -1 15. Raquel Pennington |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Amanda Ribas
Out of UFC rankings: Lauren Murphy
X: Amazing that Viera came in at No. 11 on both sides, yet she’s still ranked behind the person she just beat (albeit controversially) by the UFC. The less said about Namajunas vs. Esparza, the better, as I never want to see that matchup (you can’t really call it a fight) again. After coaching The Ultimate Fighter, let’s hope Nunes does more to prepare for her high-stakes rematch with Pena to go differently this time.
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dB rankings C: Carla Esparza +2 1. Rose Namajunas -1 2. Weili Zhang -1 3. Jessica Andrade * 4. Marina Rodriguez -1 5. Xiaonan Yan -1 6. Amanda Ribas -1 7. Mackenzie Dern -1 8. Virna Jandiroba +3 9. Tecia Torres-1 10. Amanda Lemos -1 11. Nina Nunes -4 12. Michelle Waterson -2 13. Luana Pinheiro +1 14. Jessica Penne * 15. Angela Hill -3 |
UFC rankings C: Carla Esparza +2 1. Rose Namajunas -1 2. Zhang Weili -1 3. Marina Rodriguez 4. Mackenzie Dern +1 5. Yan Xiaonan -1 6. Jessica Andrade * 7. Nina Nunes -1 8. Tecia Torres -1 9. Amanda Ribas 10. Michelle Waterson -2 11. Amanda Lemos -1 12. Virna Jandiroba -1 13. Angela Hill -1 14. Jessica Penne -1 15. Luana Pinheiro |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Ariane Carnelossi, Brianna Van Buren
Out of UFC rankings: Brianna Van Buren
X: The fighters happiest about Esparza regaining the belt are Weili and Jedrzejczyk, both who would likely be favored to wear gold again if they got that chance. Rodriguez needs a big win to show she should get the next crack at it, while Dern waits in the wings. Ribas showed she has heart and strength for days in nearly upending Chookagian at WFLW, but poor Hill can’t win a decision to save her life.
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dB rankings C: Valentina Shevchenko 1. Katlyn Chookagian +1 2. Talia Santos +2 3. Lauren Murphy 4. Alexa Grasso +1 5. Manon Fiorot +1 6. Jennifer Maia +1 7. Joanne Wood +1 8. Jessica Eye +1 9. Viviane Araujo +1 10. Casey O’Neill +1 11. Andrea Lee +1 12. Tracy Cortez +2 13. Cynthia Calvillo -1 14. Erin Blanchfield +1 15. Maycee Barber * |
UFC rankings C: Valentina Shevchenko 1. Katlyn Chookagian +1 2. Lauren Murphy +1 3. Jessica Andrade -2 4. Talia Santos 5. Alexa Grasso 6. Manon Fiorot +1 7. Viviane Araujo +1 8. Jennifer Maia -2 9. Andrea Lee 10. Joanne Wood 11. Jessica Eye +1 12. Cynthia Calvillo -1 13. Casey O’Neill 14. Maycee Barber 15. Tracy Cortez * |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Jessica Andrade (moved to WSW)
Out of UFC rankings: Erin Blanchfield
X: If Santos somehow beats Shevchenko, it may rank as the biggest championship upset in UFC history. More likely is that Shevchenko wins big at 125 pounds, then gets a second crack at the 135-pound title later this year. Beyond that, the stable of contenders consists of the already beaten (like Murphy), not ready for prime time fighters (Wood) and hopeful comeback stories (Tate, who is dropping from WBM).
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dB rankings C: Julianna Pena 1. Amanda Nunes 2. Ketlen Vieira +5 3. Holly Holm -1 4. Raquel Pennington -1 5. Irene Aldana -1 6. Aspen Ladd -1 7. Yana Kunitskaya -1 8. Miesha Tate 9. Sara McMann 10. Pannie Kianzad +3 11. Lina Lansberg -1 12. Macy Chiasson -1 13. Julia Avila -1 14. Karol Rosa 15. Josiane Nunes |
UFC rankings C: Julianna Pena 1. Amanda Nunes 2. Ketlen Vieira +3 3. Holly Holm -1 4. Irene Aldana -1 5. Raquel Pennington +2 6. Yana Kunitskaya 7. Aspen Ladd -3 8. Sara McMann +1 9. Miesha Tate -1 10. Macy Chiasson 11. Lina Lansberg 12. Pannie Kianzad +1 13. Karol Rosa -1 14. Julia Avila 15. Norma Dumont |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Let’s get this out of the way first – Holm was not robbed. She lost a contentious split-decision to Vieira, yes, but it’s her own fault for not ever really trying to finish the fight. Frankly, I’m tired of watching Holm – a member of the Boxing Hall of Fame, for crying out loud – push into a clinch against the side of the Octagon and stall from there. Happily, Pennington keeps looking better, and Aldana is also on the rise.
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C: Amanda Nunes No divisional rankings. |
IMPORTANT UPCOMING FIGHTS FOR RANKINGS
June 4 – UFC Fight Night 207
Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Dan Ige vs. Movsar Evloev
Erin Blanchfield vs. J.J. Aldrich
June 11 – UFC 275
Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka for LHW title
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Talia Santos for WFLW title
Weili Zhang vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk 2
June 18 – UFC on ESPN 37
Calvin Kattar vs. Josh Emmett
Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon
Kevin Holland vs. Tim Means
June 25 – UFC Fight Night 208
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mateusz Gamrot
Neil Magny vs. Shavkat Rakmonov
Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Nate Maness
The updated rankings for June will be posted before UFC 276 on July 2. Until then, enjoy the fights.
For comments, questions and suggestions, email dbrown@cherokeescout.com or hit me up on Twitter @daviddbstroh.