In deciding where to rank fighters, I look at head-to-head matchups first, then primarily results over the last three years, giving more credence to recent bouts. The level of competition is always considered, even outside the UFC, activity is important and MMA math plays a small part in the process.
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
dB rankings:
1. Jon Jones
2. Kamaru Usman (C)
3. Francis Ngannou (C)
4. Jan Blachowicz (C) +1
5. Israel Adesanya (C) +1
6. Dustin Poirier +2
7. Stipe Miocic -3
8. Alexander Volkanovski (C) -1
9. Max Holloway
10. Robert Whittaker
11. Charles Oliveira (C)
12. Brandon Moreno (C)
13. Aljamain Sterling (C)
14. Petr Yan
15. Justin Gaethje
UFC rankings:
1. Jon Jones
2. Kamaru Usman (C)
3. Israel Adesanya (C)
4. Alexander Volkanovski (C)
5. Francis Ngannou (C)
6. Dustin Poirier
7. Jan Blachowicz (C)
8. Stipe Miocic
9. Max Holloway
10. Charles Oliveira (C)
11. Robert Whittaker
11. Brandon Moreno (C) +1
13. Petr Yan
14. Justin Gaethje
15. Aljamain Sterling (C)
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Little movement among the top spots this month. I don’t have Volkanovski ranked as high as the UFC due to his inactivity over the last year and two controversial decision wins over Holloway.
FLYWEIGHT
dB rankings:
C: Brandon Moreno
1. Askar Askarov
2. Deiveson Figueiredo
3. Alex Perez
4. Alexandre Pantoja
5. Joseph Benavidez
6. Brandon Royval
7. Kai Kara France
8. David Dvorak
9. Rogerio Bontorin
10. Matt Schnell
11. Tim Elliott
12. Raulian Paiva
13. Amir Albazi
14. Su Mudaerji
15. Matheus Nicolau
UFC rankings:
C: Brandon Moreno
1. Deiveson Figueiredo
2. Askar Askarov
3. Alexandre Pantoja
4. Alex Perez
5. Joseph Benavidez
6. Brandon Royval
7. Kai Kara France
8. Rogerio Bontorin
9. Matt Schnell
10. Tim Elliott
11. David Dvorak
12. Raulian Paiva
13. Matheus Nicolau +1
14. Su Mudaerji -1
15. Amir Albazi
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Not much action at 125 pounds over the last month. Askarov’s injury cost him an upcoming bout with Perez, but it might actually benefit him by putting him right into a title shot against Moreno. Askarov is undefeated and already fought to a draw with the new champ, making him a natural first defense.
BANTAMWEIGHT
dB rankings:
C: Aljamain Sterling
1. Petr Yan
2. Cory Sandhagen
3. Rob Font
4. Marlon Moraes
5. Jose Aldo
6. Frankie Edgar
7. Pedro Munhoz
8. Cody Garbrandt
9. Dominick Cruz
10. Merab Dvalishvili
11. Jimmie Rivera
12. Raphael Assuncao
13. Kyler Phillips +1
14. Marlon Vera *
15. Timur Valiev *
UFC rankings:
C: Aljamain Sterling
1. Petr Yan
2. Cory Sandhagen
3. Rob Font
4. Jose Aldo
5. Cody Garbrandt
6. Marlon Moraes
7. Frankie Edgar
8. Pedro Munhoz
9. Dominick Cruz
10. Merab Dvalishvili
11. Raphael Assuncao
12. Jimmie Rivera
13. Marlon Vera +2
14. Kyler Phillips
15. Cody Stamann -2
Out of dB rankings: Raoni Barcelos, Ricky Simon
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: The 135-pound division has become my favorite, as there are nearly 25 fighters who deserve rankings consideration, with the bottom few changing nearly every month. Valiev is a beast, but one good win by another fighter on the way up could put them in the top 15 instead.
FEATHERWEIGHT
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. Josh Emmett
8. Dan Inge
9. Edson Barboza
10. Gigi Chikadze
11. Sodiq Yusuff
12. Bryce Mitchell
13. Movsar Evloev
14. Shane Burgos
15. Ilia Topuria *
UFC rankings:
C: Alexander Volkanovski
1. Max Holloway
2. Brian Ortega
3. Yair Rodriguez
4. Chan Sung Jung
5. Calvin Kattar
6. Arnold Allen +1
7. Josh Emmett -1
8. Dan Ige
9. Edson Barboza
10. Giga Chikadze
11. Bryce Mitchell +1
12. Sodiq Yusuff -1
13. Movsar Evloev
14. Shane Burgos
15. Ilia Topuria *
Out of dB rankings: Hakeem Dawodu
Out of UFC rankings: Alex Caceres
X: “Bruce Leeroy,” we hardly knew ye, as the undefeated Topuria earned his spot in the rankings after becoming the first fighter to (violently) solve the Ryan Hall riddle in the UFC.
LIGHTWEIGHT
dB rankings:
C: Charles Oliveira
1. Dustin Poirier
2. Justin Gaethje
3. Beneil Dariush
4. Michael Chandler
5. Tony Ferguson +1
6. Rafael dos Anjos +1
7. Islam Makhachev +1
8. Conor McGregor -3
9. Dan Hooker
10. Kevin Lee
11. Gregor Gillespie
12. Brad Riddell
13. Grant Dawson
14. Diego Ferreira
15. Damir Ismagulov
UFC rankings:
C: Charles Oliveira
1. Dustin Poirier
2. Justin Gaethje
3. Beneil Dariush
4. Michael Chandler
5. Tony Ferguson +1
6. Rafael dos Anjos +1
7. Conor McGregor -2
8. Dan Hooker
9. Islam Makhachev
10. Gregor Gillespie
11. Kevin Lee
12. Diego Ferreira
13. Brad Riddell
14. Thiago Moises
15. Arman Tsarukyan
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: McGregor may still be the king of pay-per-view draws, but his inactivity plus a 1-3 recent record means he no longer is a top five fighter in any division. Meanwhile, an impressive Makhachev win this weekend could push him all the way into the top five, where former P4P champ Khabid Nurmagomedov’s prodigy could no longer be evaded by other fighters.
WELTERWEIGHT
dB rankings:
C: Kamaru Usman
1. Colby Covington
2. Gilbert Burns
3. Leon Edwards
4. Stephen Thompson
5. Vicente Luque
6. Michael Chiesa
7. Neil Magny
8. Jorge Masvidal
9. Geoff Neal
10. Belal Muhammad
11. Li Jingliang
12. Sean Brady
13. Demian Maia
14. Santiago Ponzinibbio
15. Muslim Saikhov
UFC rankings:
C: Kamaru Usman
1. Colby Covington
2. Gilbert Burns
3. Leon Edwards
4. Stephen Thompson
5. Michael Chiesa +1
6. Vicente Luque -1
7. Jorge Masvidal
8. Neil Magny
9. Belal Muhammad
10. Geoff Neal
11. Demian Maia
12. Li Jingliang
13. Santiago Ponzinibbio
14. Sean Brady
15. Muslim Saikhov
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Little movement this month, other than UFC rankers inexplicably having Chiesa and Luque switch places before their upcoming fight. While Thompson didn’t drop a number after his loss to Burns, the karate master’s time as a perennial contender seems like it has passed.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
dB rankings:
C: Israel Adesanya
1. Robert Whittaker
2. Paulo Costa
3. Jared Cannonier
4. Derek Brunson
5. Marvin Vettori
6. Jack Hermansson
7. Darren Till
8. Kelvin Gastelum
9. Uriah Hall
10. Sean Strickland +2
11. Brad Tavares +4
12. Chris Weidman -2
13. Omari Akhmedov -2
14. Edmen Shahbazyan -1
15. Andre Muniz -1
UFC rankings:
C: Israel Adesanya
1. Robert Whittaker
2. Paulo Costa
3. Jared Cannonier
4. Marvin Vettori
5. Derek Brunson
6. Jack Hermansson
7. Darren Till
8. Uriah Hall
9. Kelvin Gastelum
10. Edmen Shahbazyan
11. Sean Strickland
12. Brad Taveras +3
13. Chris Weidman -1
14. Kevin Holland
15. Omari Akhmedov -2
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Taveras showed he’s still not an easy out for anyone in the top 15. Weidman’s injury also opens the door for other fighters to make an upward move, but Shahbazyan is still ranked too high by UFC.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
dB rankings:
C: Jan Blachowicz
1. Glover Teixeira
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Aleksandar Rakic
4. Magomed Ankalaev
5. Anthony Smith
6. Dominick Reyes
7. Thiago Santos
8. Volkan Oezdemir
9. Nikita Krylov
10. Johnny Walker
11. Ryan Spann
12. Misha Cirkunov
13. Jim Crute
14. Paul Craig
15. Jamahal Hill
UFC rankings:
C: Jan Blachowicz
1. Glover Teixeira
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Aleksandar Rakic
4. Thiago Santos
5. Dominick Reyes
6. Anthony Smith
7. Magomed Ankalaev
8. Volkan Oezdemir
9. Nikita Krylov
10. Johnny Walker
11. Ryan Spann
12. Paul Craig
13. Misha Cirkunov
14. Jim Crute
15. Jamahal Hill
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: No movement this month at 205 pounds.
HEAVYWEIGHT
dB rankings:
C: Francis Ngannou
1. Stipe Miocic
2. Derrick Lewis
3. Ciryl Gane +2
4. Curtis Blaydes -1
5. Alexander Volkov -1
6. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
7. Augusto Sakai
8. Marcin Tybura
9. Alexandr Romanov
10. Chris Daukaus
11. Tom Aspinall
12. Shamil Abdurakhimov
13. Sergei Pavlovich
14. Walt Harris +1
15. Serghei Spivac *
UFC rankings:
C: Francis Ngannou
1. Stipe Miocic
2. Derrick Lewis
3. Ciryl Gane
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Alexander Volkov
6. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
7. Shamil Abdurakhimov
8. Marcin Tybura
9. Augusto Sakai
10. Chris Daukaus
11. Blagoy Ivanov +1
12. Walt Harris -1
13. Tom Aspinall
14. Serghei Spivac *
15. Sergei Pavlovich -1
Out of dB rankings: Blagoy Ivanov
Out of UFC rankings: Aleksei Oleinik
X: Still not sure how I feel about the Lewis-Gane interim title fight, as I was looking forward to seeing Lewis and Ngannou wash away the stink from their first bout. Also looking forward to seeing how the youth movement at HW deals with veterans during upcoming fights.
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
dB rankings:
1. Amanda Nunes
2. Valentina Shevchenko
3. Rose Namajunas
4. Weili Zhang
5. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
6. Germaine De Randamie
7. Holly Holm
8. Aspen Ladd
9. Jessica Andrade
10. Carla Esparza
11. Katlyn Chookagian
12. Lauren Murphy
13. Jennifer Maia
14. Cynthia Calvillo
15. Irene Aldana *
UFC rankings:
1. Amanda Nunes
2. Valentina Shevchenko
3. Rose Namajunas
4. Weili Zhang
5. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
6. Jessica Andrade
7. Germaine De Randamie
8. Holly Holm
9. Carla Esparza
10. Aspen Ladd
11. Katlyn Chookagian
12. Mackenzie Dern
13. Lauren Murphy
14. Xiaonan Yan
15. Julianna Pena
Out of dB rankings: Yana Kunitskaya
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: Esparza, Murphy and Pena still look like they’re up next for women’s title fights, but all of them should be sizable underdogs to the champs.
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
dB rankings:
C: Rose Namajunas
1. Weili Zhang
2. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
3. Carla Esparza
4. Marina Rodriguez
5. Amanda Ribas
6. Mackenzie Dern
7. Xiaonan Yan
8. Claudia Gadelha
9. Nina Nunes
10. Michelle Waterson
11. Tecia Torres
12. Angela Hill
13. Virna Jandiroba
14. Amanda Lemos
15. Brianna Van Buren
UFC rankings:
C: Rose Namajunas
1. Weili Zhang
2. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
3. Carla Esparza
4. Xiaonan Yan
5. Mackenzie Dern +1
6. Marina Rodriguez -+1
7. Nina Nunes
8. Claudia Gadelha
9. Michelle Waterson
10. Tecia Torres
11. Amanda Ribas
12. Angela Hill
13. Virna Jandiroba
14. Amanda Lemos
15. Felice Herrig
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Little movement this month, which means another reminder that Herrig has not won a fight since 2017. Rankings are supposed to be based on present results, not past recognition.
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
dB rankings:
C: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Jessica Andrade
2. Katlyn Chookagian
3. Lauren Murphy
4. Jennifer Maia
5. Cynthia Calvillo
6. Joanne Calderwood
7. Jessica Eye
8. Viviane Araujo
9. Roxanne Modafferi
10. Alexa Grasso
11. Andrea Lee
12. Talia Santos
13. Antonina Shevchenko
14. Miranda Maverick
15. Tracy Cortez
UFC rankings:
C: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Jessica Andrade
2. Katlyn Chookagian
3. Lauren Murphy
4. Jennifer Maia
5. Cynthia Calvillo
6. Joanne Calderwood
7. Viviane Araujo +1
8. Jessica Eye -1
9. Roxanne Modafferi
10. Alexa Grasso
11. Andrea Lee
12. Talia Santos
13. Miranda Maverick +1
14. Maycee Barber -1
15. Montana De La Rosa
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Not much to report this month. While Eye lost her third in a row, she still deserves to be ranked above Araujo, who she defeated only four fights ago.
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
dB rankings:
C: Amanda Nunes
1. Germaine de Randamie
2. Holly Holm
3. Aspen Ladd
4. Irene Aldana
5. Yana Kunitskaya
6. Ketlen Vieira
7. Julianna Pena
8. Sara McMann
9. Lina Lansberg
10. Macy Chiasso
11. Julia Avila +4
12. Pannie Kianzad -1
13. Karol Rosa -1
14. Marion Reneau -1
15. Sijara Eubanks -1
UFC rankings:
C: Amanda Nunes
1. Germaine de Randamie
2. Holly Holm
3. Aspen Ladd
4. Irene Aldana
5. Julianna Pena +1
6. Yana Kunitskaya -1
7. Ketlen Vieira
8. Sara McMann
9. Macy Chiasson
10. Lina Lansberg +1
11. Pannie Kianzad -1
12. Marion Reneau
13. Sijara Eubanks
14. Julia Avila +1
15. Karol Rosa -1
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Avila, who also has a win over Kianzad, bounced back in a big way. Kunitskaya looked good early against Aldana, but ultimately fell hard to her opponent’s superior striking. Plus, Miesha Tate is fighting Saturday night for the first time in four years and looks great in training.
WOMEN’S FEATHERWEIGHT
C: Amanda Nunes
No divisional rankings.
IMPORTANT UPCOMING FIGHTS
July 17 – UFC on ESPN 26
Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises
Marion Reneau vs. Miesha Tate
July 24 – UFC on ESPN 27
Cory Sandhagen vs. T.J. Dillashaw
Miranda Maverick vs. Maycee Barber
Aspen Ladd vs. Macy Chiasson
Kyler Phillips vs. Raulian Paiva
July 31 – UFC on ESPN 28
Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland
Dooho Choi vs. Danny Chavez
Aug. 7 – UFC 265
Derrick Lewis vs. Ciryl Gane for interim HW title
Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Perna for WBW title
Jose Aldo vs. Pedro Munhoz
Michael Chiesa vs. Vincente Luque
Tecia Torres vs. Angela Hill
The updated August rankings will be posted after UFC 265. Until then, enjoy the fights.
For comments, questions and suggestions, email dbrown@cherokeescout.com or hit me up on Twitter @daviddbstroh.