APRIL 2023
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 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 monthly in the spirit of openness and transparency.
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
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dB rankings 1. Islam Makhachev (C) 2. Alexander Volkanovski (C) 3. Jon Jones (C) 4. Leon Edwards (C) 5. Israel Adesanya (C) +1 6. Kamaru Usman +1 7. Charles Oliveira +1 8. Aljamain Sterling (C) +1 9. Brandon Moreno (C) +1 10. Jamahal Hill (C) +1 11. Jiri Prochazka +1 12. Alex Pereira -7 13. Sergei Pavlovich * 14. Robert Whittaker -1 15. Deiveson Figueiredo -1 |
UFC rankings 1. Jon Jones (C) 2. Alexander Volkanovski (C) 3. Islam Makhachev (C) 4. Leon Edwards (C) 5. Israel Adesanya (C) 6. Aljamain Sterling (C) +1 7. Kamaru Usman +1 8. Charles Oliveira +1 9. Alex Pereira -3 9. Brandon Moreno (C) +1 11. Jiri Prochazka 12. Dustin Poirier 13. Max Holloway +2 14. Jamahal Hill (C) -1 15. Robert Whittaker -1 |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Dustin Poirier
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: You’ll never catch me seriously debating a P4P list, and I’m not about to start now when there are more worthy debates elsewhere this month. That said, Pavlovich’s six-fight, first-round knockout streak is a lot more impressive than Poirier’s back-to-back wins over a fading Conor McGregor before being submitted in a title fight for the second time.
FLYWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Brandon Moreno 1. Deiveson Figueiredo 2. Alexandre Pantoja 3. Brandon Royval +3 4. Kai Kara France -1 5. Matheus Nicolau -1 6. Manel Kape -1 7. Alex Perez 8. Amir Albazi 9. Matt Schnell 10. David Dvorak 11. Tim Elliott 12. Muhammad Mokaev 13. Sumudaerji 14. Tagir Ulanbekov 15. Cody Durden * |
UFC rankings C: Brandon Moreno 1. Deiveson Figueiredo 2. Alexandre Pantoja 3. Kai Kara France 4. Brandon Royal 5. Matheus Nicolau 6. Alex Perez 7. Amir Albazi 8. Matt Schnell 9. Manel Kape 10. David Dvorak 11. Tim Elliott 12. Muhammad Mokaev 13. Sumudaerji 14. Tagir Ulanbekov 15. Bruno Silva |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Bruno Silva
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: Silva has won three fights in a row, but before that he was winless for three in a row to start his UFC tenure on a low note. Meanwhile, Durden has also won three in a row and four out of five against tough guys, losing only to the beast that is Mokaev. Such a bummer to see Kape’s fights continually being canceled, as I’d like to see him in a title fight one day.
BANTAMWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Aljamain Sterling 1. Merab Dvalishvili 2. Sean O’Malley 3. Petr Yan 4. Cory Sandhagen 5. Marlon Vera 6. Rob Font 7. Yadong Song 8. Ricky Simon 9. Dominick Cruz 10. Umar Nurmagomedov 11. Adrian Yanez 12. Pedro Munhoz +3 13. Chris Gutierrez -1 14. Davey Grant -1 15. Jonathan Martinez -1 |
UFC rankings C: Aljamain Sterling 1. Merab Dvalishvili 2. Sean O’Malley 3. Cory Sandhagen 4. Petr Yan 5. Marlon Vera 6. Rob Font 7. Yadong Song +1 8. Dominick Cruz -1 9. Pedro Munhoz 10. Ricky Simon 11. Umar Nurmagomedov 12. Adrian Yanez 13. Jonathan Martinez +1 14. Chris Gutierrez -1 15. Said Nurmagomedov |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: If Sterling can take Cejudo to the woodshed this weekend for a clear victory, for the first time he’ll start getting proper respect for his championship run. Why UFC voters put Sandhagen ahead of Yan, who beat him in October 2021, is a riddle I can’t solve. You could almost justify moving Song ahead of Vera, considering his win over him in May 2020, but that was a controversially close fight, and I can’t forget Song lost to Kyler Phillips along the way. And since Grant topped Assuncao, KO’d Martinez in March 2021 and has only lost to ranked BW fighters, he’s not a stretch for the top 15.
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dB rankings C: Alexander Volkanovski IC. Yair Rodriguez 2. Max Holloway 3. Arnold Allen 4. Brian Ortega 5. Josh Emmett 6. Calvin Kattar 7. Chan Sung Jung 8. Gigi Chikadze 9. Ilia Topuria 10. Movsar Evloev 11. Bryce Mitchell 12. Sodiq Yusuff 13. Dan Ige 14. Edson Barboza 15. Jonathan Pearce |
UFC rankings C: Alexander Volkanovski IC: Yair Rodriguez 2. Max Holloway 3. Brian Ortega 4. Arnold Allen 5. Josh Emmett 6. Chan Sung Jung 7. Calvin Kattar 8. Giga Chikadze 9. Ilia Topuria 10. Movsar Evloev 11. Bryce Mitchell 12. Sodiq Yusuff 13. Dan Ige 14. Edson Barboza 15. Alex Caceres |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Absolutely zero movement this month, as Holloway and Allen kept their respective slots following their main event standoff. Sorry to see Mitchell vs. Evloev canceled, as that fight would have determined the next top-10 contender, along with the upcoming Emmett vs. Topuria scrap. (And you don’t have to remind me not to take a liver shot from the latter.)
LIGHTWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Islam Makhachev 1. Charles Oliveira 2. Beneil Dariush 3. Dustin Poirier 4. Justin Gaethje 5. Rafael Fiziev 6. Michael Chandler 7. Mateusz Gamrot 8. Arman Tsarukyan 9. Damir Ismagulov 10. Jalin Turner 11. Dan Hooker 12. Grant Dawson 13. Renato Moicano 14. Drew Dober 15. Joel Alvarez |
UFC rankings C: Islam Makhachev 1. Charles Oliveira 2. Dustin Poirier 3. Justin Gaethje 4. Beneil Dariush 5. Michael Chandler 6. Rafael Fiziev 7. Mateusz Gamrot 8. Arman Tsarukyan 9. Rafael dos Anjos 10. Jalin Turner 11. Dan Hooker 12. Damir Ismagulov 13. Renato Moicano 14. Drew Dober 15. Grant Dawson |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Not much to report at LW, either. Still waiting for UFC voters to realize dos Anjos is now a WW. Also still waiting for McGregor to get back in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency testing pool so his fight with Chandler can be set up after The Ultimate Fighter airs and we get to see those two pretend they’re mortal enemies. Cross your fingers that Oliveira vs. Dariush finally happens in June so Makhachev will have a deserving contender to beat up in Abu Dhabi come October.
WELTERWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Leon Edwards 1. Kamaru Usman 2. Belal Muhammad 3. Khamzat Chimaev +1 4. Gilbert Burns +1 5. Colby Covington -2 6. Shavkat Rakmonov 7. Stephen Thompson 8. Sean Brady 9. Geoff Neal 10. Vicente Luque 11. Michael Chiesa 12. Neil Magny 13. Jack Della Maddalena 14. Michel Pereira 15. Kevin Holland * |
UFC rankings C: Leon Edwards 1. Kamaru Usman 2. Colby Covington 3. Khamzat Chimaev 4. Belal Muhammad 5. Gilbert Burns 6. Shavkat Rakmonov 7. Stephen Thompson 8. Geoff Neal 9. Sean Brady 10. Vicente Luque 11. Neil Magny +1 12. Michael Chiesa +1 13. Jack Della Maddalena +1 14. Michel Pereira +1 15. Daniel Rodriquez * |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB/UFC rankings: Jorge Masvidal (retired)
X: We’ll miss “Gamebread” Masvidal for his BMF spirit, but his fast hands seemed to leave him a few fights ago. Kudos to both Muhammad and Burns for stepping up to make this month’s PPV a much better buy; the winner will undoubtedly have the right to call themselves the real No. 1 contender, as Covington hasn’t defeated a top-five fighter since 2019. You can’t go wrong in the top 15 with either Holland or Rodriquez, who will make my list with a win over the tough Ian Garry.
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dB rankings C: Israel Adesanya +1 1. Alex Pereira -1 2. Robert Whittaker 3. Jared Cannonier 4. Marvin Vettori 5. Paulo Costa 6. Sean Strickland 7. Dricus Du Plessis 8. Roman Dolidze 9. Jack Hermansson 10. Derek Brunson 11. Nassourdine Imavov 12. Kelvin Gastelum +3 13. Chris Curtis -1 14. Brenda Allen -1 14. Andre Muniz 15. Caio Borralho * |
UFC rankings C: Alex Pereira 1. Israel Adesanya 2. Robert Whittaker 3. Marvin Vettori 4. Jared Cannonier 5. Paulo Costa 6. Dricus Du Plessis 7. Sean Strickland 8. Derek Brunson 9. Roman Dolidze 10. Jack Hermansson 11. Kelvin Gastelum +4 12. Nassourdine Imavov -1 13. Brenda Allen -1 14. Chris Curtis 15. Andre Muniz -2 |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Andre Muniz
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: Adesanya is back on top at MW, and the world seems to be spinning on its axis as usual. While Pereira could wreak a little havoc at LHW, I do hope we get to see an MMA trilogy with him and the champ one day. Gastelum looked better in his win over Curtis, but he could be an even stronger contender at WW, especially if Chimaev moves up to 185 pounds as expected later this year. While Muniz is 5-1 in the UFC, he was submitted by the then-unranked Allen, which is one reason why I have Borralho in the top 15 instead; the other is his stellar 14-1 record and being 4-0 in the UFC.
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dB rankings C: Jamahal Hill 1. Jiri Prochazka 2. Magomed Ankalaev 3. Jan Blachowicz 4. Aleksandar Rakic 5. Nikita Krylov 6. Anthony Smith 7. Volkan Oezdemir 8. Johnny Walker 9. Ryan Spann 10. Paul Craig 11. Azamat Murakanov 12. Khalil Rountree Jr. 13. Dustin Jacoby 14. Jimmy Crute 15. Dominick Reyes |
UFC rankings C: Jamahal Hill 1. Jiri Prochazka 2. Magomed Ankalaev 3. Jan Blachowicz 4. Aleksandar Rakic 5. Anthony Smith 6. Nikita Krylov 7. Johnny Walker 8. Volkan Oezdemir 9. Paul Craig 10. Ryan Spann 11. Azamat Murakanov +4 12. Dominick Reyes -1 13. Jimmy Crute -1 14. Khalil Rountree Jr. -1 15. Dustin Jacoby -1 |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Murakanov’s move toward the top 10 is the only LHW news to report this month. The top five fighters at 205 pounds remain unbooked five months into the new year, which is a trend I’d really like to see change. Once upon a time, the best of the best fought three times a year on average; today, we’re lucky to see them twice, with long absences in between.
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dB rankings C: Jon Jones 1. Sergei Pavlovich +1 2. Curtis Blaydes -1 3. Ciryl Gane 4. Stipe Miocic 5. Tai Tuivasa 6. Tom Aspinall 7. Alexander Volkov 8. Marcin Tybura 9. Serghei Spivac 10. Jairzinho Rozenstruik 11. Derrick Lewis 12. Jailton Almeida 13. Blagoy Ivanov 14. Alexandr Romanov 15. Marcos Rogerio de Lima |
UFC rankings C: Jon Jones 1. Ciryl Gane 2. Sergei Pavlovich +1 3. Stipe Miocic -1 4. Curtis Blaydes 5. Tom Aspinall 6. Tai Tuivasa 7. Alexander Volkov 8. Serghei Spivac 9. Jairzinho Rozenstruik 10. Marcin Tybura 11. Derrick Lewis 12. Jailton Almeida 13. Chris Daukaus 14. Blagoy Ivanov 15. Alexandr Romanov |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: How in the name of all that which is holy is Gane still the UFC’s No. 1 contender? His best victories are over one-dimensional KO artists Tuivasa and Lewis; when he has been faced with any grappling test, he has failed. Meanwhile, Pavlovich is 18-1 and has crushed six in a row, while Blades still has a better resume considering his level of opposition. Then there is Daukaus, who has been sparked thrice in a row and signed for his next fight at LHW, yet he’s still ranked but not de Lima, who has won four out of five, only falling to the ranked Ivanov. This should have been an easy call.
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dB rankings 1. Amanda Nunes (C) 2. Weili Zhang (C) 3. Alexa Grasso (C) 4. Valentina Shevchenko 5. Rose Namajunas 6. Julianna Pena 7. Erin Blanchfield 8. Jessica Andrade 9. Amanda Lemos 10. Taila Santos 11. Manon Fiorot 12. Carla Esparza 13. Marina Rodriquez 14. Raquel Pennington 15. Katlyn Chookagian |
UFC rankings 1. Amanda Nunes (C) 2. Alexa Grasso (C) 3. Valentina Shevchenko 4. Weili Zhang (C) 5. Rose Namajunas 6. Julianna Pena 7. Carla Esparza 8. Jessica Andrade 9. Erin Blanchfield 10. Amanda Lemos 11. Manon Fiorot 12. Taila Santos 13. Raquel Pennington 14. Marina Rodriquez 15. Holly Holm |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Four of the top seven female fighters in the P4P rankings are still not booked yet in 2023. Hopefully, that means we’ll have a stronger and action-packed second half of the year, although injuries can ruin even the best-laid plans.
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dB rankings C: Weili Zhang 1. Jessica Andrade 2. Amanda Lemos 3. Rose Namajunas 4. Carla Esparza 5. Marina Rodriguez 6. Yan Xiaonan 7. Mackenzie Dern 8. Virna Jandiroba 9. Tatiana Suarez 10. Tecia Torres 11. Luana Pinheiro +1 12. Michelle Waterson-Gomez -1 13. Angela Hill 14. Tabatha Ricci 15. Loopy Godinez * |
UFC rankings C: Zhang Weili 1. Carla Esparza 2. Rose Namajunas 3. Amanda Lemos 4. Jessica Andrade 5. Marina Rodriguez 6. Yan Xiaonan 7. Mackenzie Dern 8. Tecia Torres 9. Virna Jandiroba 10. Amanda Ribas +1 11. Tatiana Suarez +1 12. Michelle Waterson-Gomez -2 13. Luana Pinheiro -2 14. Angela Hill -1 15. Tabatha Ricci -1 |
* New entrant into rankings
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Kanaoko Murata
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: Pinheiro just defeated Waterson-Gomez last month, yet she’s still ranked behind her. I know the split-decision was controversial, but rankers need to give actual results a higher priority than what they personally think. And Ribas is still ranked at SW even though she has fought twice in a row at WFW and doesn’t seem intent on taking a weight step back.
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dB rankings C: Alexa Grasso 1. Valentina Shevchenko 2. Talia Santos 3. Erin Blanchfield 4. Manon Fiorot 5. Jessica Andrade 6. Katlyn Chookagian 7. Lauren Murphy 8. Jennifer Maia 9. Maycee Barber 10. Amanda Ribas 11. Viviane Araujo 12. Casey O’Neill 13. Andrea Lee 14. Tracy Cortez 15. Miranda Maverick |
UFC rankings C: Alexa Grasso 1. Valentina Shevchenko 2. Manon Fiord 3. Talia Santos 4. Erin Blanch-field 5. Jessica Andrade 6. Katlyn Chookagian 7. Lauren Murphy 8. Jennifer Maia 9. Amanda Ribas 10. Viviane Araujo +1 11. Maycee Barber -1 12. Casey O’Neill +1 13. Andrea Lee -1 14. Tracy Cortez 15. Miranda Maverick * |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: None
Out of UFC rankings: Cynthia Calvillo (moved to WSW)
X: This is an exciting division considering the number of young stars in the making, but they won’t get there as long as they’re sitting on the sidelines. Shevchenko was once considered indestructible, yet besides Grasso there are at least seven other fighters in this division who could also give her fits one day in the Octagon. The best is yet to come here.
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Amanda Nunes 1. Julianna Pena 2. Raquel Pennington 3. Ketlen Vieira 4. Holly Holm 5. Irene Aldana 6. Pannie Kianzad +1 7. Karol Rosa -1 8. Yana Santos 9. Macy Chiasson 10. Mayra Bueno Silva 11. Julia Avila 12. Josiane Nunes 13. Chelsea Chandler +1 14. Tamires Vidal +1 15. Irina Alekseeva * |
UFC rankings C. Amanda Nunes 1. Julianna Pena 2. Raquel Pennington 3. Holly Holm 4. Ketlen Vieira 5. Irene Aldana 6. Yana Santos 7. Pannie Kianzad 8. Macy Chiasson 9. Karol Rosa 10. Mayra Bueno Silva 11. Miesha Tate 12. Julia Avila 13. Norma Dumont 14. Chelsea Chandler +1 14. Josiane Nunes |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Stephanie Egger
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: I’m sorry to see Pennington lose her main event with Aldana, but happy to see Nunes get a new face to fight, as I tire of the constant rematches anytime a championship belt changes hands. If Alekseeva can make the weight at FBW, the “Russian Rousey” showed in submitting grappler Egger that she may only be a handful of wins away from a title shot.
WOMEN’S FEATHERWEIGHT
C: Amanda Nunes
No divisional rankings.
UPCOMING FIGHTS TO WATCH
May 6 – UFC 287
Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo for BW title
Bela Muhammad vs. Gilbert Burns
Jessica Andrade vs. Yan Xiaonan
May 13 – UFC on ABC 4
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Jailton Almeida
Anthony Smith vs. Johnny Walker
Mackenzie Dern vs. Angela Hill
May 20 – UFC Fight Night 224
Raquel Pennington vs. TBA
Anthony Hernandez vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
Diego Ferreira vs. Michael Johnson
Updated rankings for May will be posted before UFC Fight Night 225 on June 3, which like the May 20 show is still in need of a new main event after injuries forced changes. Until then, enjoy the 5-ounce glove fights.
For comments, questions and suggestions, email dbrown@cherokeescout.com or hit me up on Twitter @daviddbstroh.