MAY 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) 6. Aljamain Sterling (C) +2 7. Kamaru Usman -1 8. Charles Oliveira -1 9. Brandon Moreno (C) 10. Jamahal Hill (C) 11. Jiri Prochazka 12. Alex Pereira 13. Sergei Pavlovich 14. Robert Whittaker 15. Deiveson Figueiredo |
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) 7. Kamaru Usman 8. Charles Oliveira 9. Brandon Moreno (C) 10. Alex Pereira -1 11. Jiri Prochazka 12. Max Holloway +1 13. Dustin Poirier -1 14. Jamahal Hill (C) 15. Robert Whittaker |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Other than Sterling barely getting the better of the “King of Cringe” in Cejudo, but still deserving his props for setting a new UFC BW record for title defenses, there wasn’t much to move around in P4P this month. I do get amused at other rankers doing random things, like having Holloway and Poirier switch spots despite neither being in action.
FLYWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Brandon Moreno 1. Deiveson Figueiredo 2. Alexandre Pantoja 3. Brandon Royval 4. Kai Kara France 5. Matheus Nicolau 6. Manel Kape 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 |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: The FLW-ranked-fighters-fighting drought ends Saturday night with Kara-France vs. Albazi, with Elliott also on the card holding onto divorce anger to set free. Looking forward to seeing Moreno face Pantoja for the championship in July.
BANTAMWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Aljamain Sterling 1. Merab Dvalishvili 2. Sean O’Malley 3. Henry Cejudo * 4. Petr Yan -1 5. Cory Sandhagen -1 6. Marlon Vera -1 7. Rob Font -1 8. Song Yadong -1 9. Ricky Simon -1 10. Dominick Cruz -1 11. Umar Nurmagomedov -1 12. Adrian Yanez -1 13. Pedro Munhoz -1 14. Chris Gutierrez -1 15. Davey Grant -1 |
UFC rankings C: Aljamain Sterling 1. Merab Dvalishvili 2. Sean O’Malley 3. Henry Cejudo * 4. Cory Sandhagen -1 5. Petr Yan -1 6. Marlon Vera -1 7. Rob Font -1 8. Song Yadong -1 9. Dominick Cruz -1 10. Pedro Munhoz -1 11. Umar Nurmagomedov 12. Ricky Simon -2 13. Adrian Yanez -1 14. Chris Gutierrez 15. Jonathan Martinez -2 |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Jonathan Martinez
Out of UFC rankings: Said Nurmagomedov
X: Cejudo’s re-entry after a three-year absence takes everyone else down a notch, although that won’t affect Sterling vs. O’Malley in August. This is the UFC division that usually has ranking changes every month, making it the one to watch.
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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. Calvin Kattar +1 7. Chan Sung Jung -1 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: Another month with absolutely zero movement, although Evloev did pick up a win over a late replacement and still wants a shot at Mitchell. Caceres could change my mind on being ranked with a finish over Pineda come Saturday night. With a dominating win over Emmett later the month, Topuria would join the short list of top FW contenders.
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. Joel Alvarez +1 15. Matt Frevola * |
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. Matt Frevola * 15. Grant Dawson |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB/UFC rankings: Drew Dober
X: Dober seems like one of those fighters destined to go in and out of the rankings, as he fights too recklessly to build a long winning streak – but, man, is he fun to watch, as is Frevola. While Chandler and Connor McGregor are clashing on The Ultimate Fighter, since the Irishmen is not yet under USADA’s watch no fight is yet in sight. Oliveira vs. Dariush should be a great scrap that leaves the UFC with a clear-cut No. 1 contender at LW – especially if Dariush wins big.
WELTERWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Leon Edwards 1. Belal Muhammad +1 2. Kamaru Usman -1 3. Khamzat Chimaev 4. Colby Covington +1 5. Gilbert Burns -1 6. Shavkat Rakmonov 7. Stephen Thompson 8. Sean Brady 9. Geoff Neal 10. Vicente Luque 11. Neil Magny +1 12. Jack Della Maddalena +1 13. Ian Garry * 14. Michel Pereira 15. Michael Chiesa -4 |
UFC rankings C: Leon Edwards 1. Kamaru Usman 2. Colby Covington 3. Belal Muhammad +1 4. Khamzat Chimaev -1 5. Gilbert Burns 6. Shavkat Rakmonov 7. Stephen Thompson 8. Geoff Neal 9. Sean Brady 10. Vicente Luque 11. Neil Magny 12. Michael Chiesa 13. Ian Garry * 14. Jack Della Maddalena -1 15. Michel Pereira -1 |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Kevin Holland
Out of UFC rankings: Daniel Rodriquez
X: Love me some Garry, who has a vibe of the real deal and will be fun to watch grow against ranked opposition. I have Muhammad as the No. 1 contender because he fights, something Covington and Chimaev haven’t been doing much of.
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dB rankings C: Israel Adesanya 1. Alex Pereira 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 13. Chris Curtis 14. Brendan Allen 15. Caio Borralho |
UFC rankings C: Israel Adesanya 1. Alex Pereira 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 12. Nassourdine Imavov 13. Brendan Allen 14. Chris Curtis 15. Andre Muniz |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Nothing to report in May, but half of the ranked fighters in this weight class will be in action in June and July, so expect some movement next month. Here’s hoping Vettori and Cannonier come to the Octagon with violence on their minds.
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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. Johnny Walker +2 7. Anthony Smith -1 8. Volkan Oezdemir -1 9. Ryan Spann 10. Paul Craig 11. Azamat Murakanov 12. Khalil Rountree Jr. 13. Dustin Jacoby 14. Kennedy Nzechukwu * 15. Carlos Ulberg * |
UFC rankings C: Jamahal Hill 1. Jiri Prochazka 2. Magomed Ankalaev 3. Jan Blachowicz 4. Aleksandar Rakic 5. Johnny Walker +2 5. Nikita Krylov +1 7. Anthony Smith -2 8. Volkan Oezdemir 9. Paul Craig 10. Ryan Spann 11. Azamat Murakanov 12. Dominick Reyes 13. Khalil Rountree Jr. +1 14. Jimmy Crute -1 15. Dustin Jacoby |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Jimmy Crute, Dominick Reyes
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: Finally, some fun. Reyes has lost four in a row, three by devastating finish; Crute hasn’t won three in a row and last time out fought to a draw against an unranked fighter. Meanwhile, Nzechukwu has three straight finishes against solid competition, while Ulberg has four straight wins and three finishes since losing to Nzechukwu. We need to reward new blood on the rise instead of keeping fighters ranked based upon their potential or what they accomplished years ago.
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dB rankings C: Jon Jones 1. Sergei Pavlovich 2. Curtis Blaydes 3. Ciryl Gane 4. Stipe Miocic 5. Tai Tuivasa 6. Tom Aspinall 7. Alexander Volkov 8. Marcin Tybura 9. Serghei Spivac 10. Jailton Almeida +2 11. Derrick Lewis 12. Jairzinho Rozenstruik -2 13. Blagoy Ivanov 14. Alexandr Romanov 15. Marcos Rogerio de Lima |
UFC rankings C: Jon Jones 1. Ciryl Gane 2. Sergei Pavlovich 3. Stipe Miocic 4. Curtis Blaydes 5. Tom Aspinall 6. Tai Tuivasa 7. Alexander Volkov 8. Serghei Spivac 9. Jailton Almeida +3 10. Marcin Tybura 11. Derrick Lewis 12. Jairzinho Rozenstruik -3 13. Chris Daukaus 14. Alexandr Romanov +1 15. Blagoy Ivanov -1 |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: I know I’m not alone in being glad Almeida moved up to HW instead of plying his trade at LHW, as the biggest boys in the cage desperately need new life. I’ll say it again: Gane does not deserve to be ranked above Pavlovich, and Daukaus does not deserve to be ranked at all. However, if Daukaus beats Rountree he will likely be in the top 15 at 205 pounds.
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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. Yan Xiaonan * 9. Jessica Andrade -1 10. Amanda Lemos -1 11. Taila Santos -1 12. Manon Fiorot -1 13. Carla Esparza -1 14. Marina Rodriquez -1 15. Raquel Pennington -1 |
UFC rankings 1. Amanda Nunes (C) 2. Alexa Grasso (C) 3. Valentina Shevchenko 4. Zhang Weili (C) 5. Rose Namajunas 6. Julianna Pena 7. Carla Esparza 8. Erin Blanchfield +1 9. Jessica Andrade -1 10. Yan Xiaonan * 11. Manon Fiorot 12. Amanda Lemos -2 13. Taila Santos -1 14. Holly Holm +1 15. Raquel Pennington -2 |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Katlyn Chookagian
Out of UFC rankings: Marina Rodriquez
Still waiting to hear word about when Grasso, Shevchenko, Namajunas, Esparza, Fiorot and Santos will finally fight in 2023, with Pena and Pennington still on the bench as well. Long top-fighter absences won’t grow WMMA
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dB rankings C: Zhang Weili 1. Yan Xiaonan +5 2. Jessica Andrade -1 3. Amanda Lemos -1 4. Rose Namajunas -1 5. Carla Esparza -1 6. Marina Rodriguez -1 7. Mackenzie Dern 8. Virna Jandiroba 9. Tatiana Suarez 10. Tecia Torres 11. Luana Pinheiro 12. Michelle Waterson-Gomez 13. Angela Hill 14. Tabatha Ricci 15. Loopy Godinez |
UFC rankings C: Zhang Weili 1. Carla Esparza 2. Rose Namajunas 3. Yan Xiaonan +3 4. Amanda Lemos -1 5. Jessica Andrade -1 6. Virna Jandiroba +3 7. Mackenzie Dern 8. Marina Rodriguez -3 9. Tecia Torres -1 10. Tatiana Suarez +1 11. Amanda Ribas -1 12. Michelle Waterson-Gomez 13. Luana Pinheiro 14. Angela Hill 15. Tabatha Ricci |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
Xiaonan surprisingly slugged her way into being a top contender by taking out the always tough Andrade, although it didn’t cost Lemos a crack at the belt, as her fight with Weili is scheduled for August. Note: Ribas has fought twice in a row at FLW, with a third scheduled; she’s not a SW.
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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 Fiorot 3. Talia Santos 4. Erin Blanchfield 5. Jessica Andrade 6. Katlyn Chookagian 7. Lauren Murphy 8. Jennifer Maia 9. Amanda Ribas 10. Viviane Araujo 11. Maycee Barber 12. Casey O’Neill 13. Andrea Lee 14. Tracy Cortez 15. Miranda Maverick |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: As I pointed out last month, 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. Barber vs. Ribas is a nicely matched battle of rising stars.
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 7. Karol Rosa 8. Yana Santos 9. Macy Chiasson 10. Mayra Bueno Silva 11. Julia Avila 12. Josiane Nunes 13. Chelsea Chandler 14. Tamires Vidal 15. Tainara Lisboa * |
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 14. Josiane Nunes |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Irina Alekseeva
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: It’s nice to see fresh contenders coming to WBW, the division that gave women their start in the UFC. If Nunes defeats Aldana, she’ll likely face Pena again in a trilogy not that many fans are clamoring for, but who else deserves a shot here?
WOMEN’S FEATHERWEIGHT
C: Amanda Nunes
No divisional rankings.
UPCOMING FIGHTS TO WATCH
June 3 – UFC of ESPN 45
Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi
Alex Caceres vs. Daniel Pineda
Jim Miller vs. Jared Gordon
June 10 – UFC 289
Amanda Nunes vs. Irene Aldana for WBW title
Beneil Dariush vs. Charles Oliveira
Khalil Rountree Jr. vs. Chris Daukaus
June 17 – UFC Fight Night 225
Jared Cannonier vs. Marvin Vettori
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Joaquim Silva
Muslim Salikhov vs. Nicolas Dalby
June 24 – UFC on ABC 5
Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria
Maycee Barber vs. Amanda Ribas
Brendan Allen vs. Bruno Silva
Updated rankings for June will be posted before UFC Fight Night 226 on July 1. Until then, enjoy the 5-ounce glove fights.
For comments, questions and suggestions, email dbrown@cherokeescout.com or hit me up on Twitter @daviddbstroh.