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. Alexander Volkanovski (C) +1 2. Israel Adesanya (C) +1 3. Charles Oliveira +1 4. Leon Edwards (C) * 5. Kamaru Usman -5 6. Francis Ngannou (C) -1 7. Aljamain Sterling (C) -1 8. Deiveson Figueiredo (C) -1 9. Brandon Moreno (IC) +1 10. Petr Yan -1 11. Jiri Prochazka (C) -1 12. Max Holloway -1 13. Glover Teixeira -1 14. Robert Whittaker -1 15. Colby Covington -1 |
UFC rankings 1. Alexander Volkanovski (C) +2 2. Israel Adesanya (C) 3. Charles Oliveira +1 4. Kamaru Usman -4 5. Francis Ngannou (C) 6. Leon Edwards (C) * 7. Aljamain Sterling (C) -1 8. Dustin Poirier -1 9. Deiveson Figueiredo (C) -1 10. Jiri Prochazka (C) -1 11. Max Holloway -1 12. Jon Jones -1 13. Stipe Miocic -1 14. Petr Yan -1 15. Brandon Moreno (IC) -1 |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Stipe Miocic
Out of UFC rankings: Robert Whittaker
X: On Saturday morning, Usman was the P4P king, WW champion, about to tie the UFC’s longest winning streak and talking about moving up to take on the LHW champ. On Sunday morning, he had a serious hangover after Edwards’ “hail Mary” left high kick left him unconscious. This is why we love the sport of mixed martial arts; anything can, and often will, happen in the Octagon, and at anytime.
I removed Miococ largely due to inactivity, as he has only fought once a year since 2017 and is not scheduled to appear at all in 2022. Meanwhile, Covington has destroyed everyone not named Usman. And Whitaker is still more deserving of being on here than Jones, who hasn’t fought in 2 1/2 years. Once more with feeling: Rankings are supposed to be about merit today, not a career achievement award.
FLYWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Deiveson Figueiredo IC: Brandon Moreno 2. Alexandre Pantoja 3. Kai Kara France 4. Askar Askarov 5. Brandon Royval 6. Alex Perez 7. Matt Schnell 8. Matheus Nicolau 9. David Dvorak 10. Manel Kape 11. Tim Elliott 12. Amir Albazi 13. Sumudaerji 14. Jeff Molina 15. Muhammad Mokaev |
UFC rankings C: Deiveson Figueiredo IC: Brandon Moreno 2. Alexandre Pantoja 3. Kai Kara France 4. Askar Askarov 5. Brandon Royal 6. Alex Perez 7. Matheus Nicolau 8. Matt Schnell 9. David Dvorak 10. Tim Elliott 10. Amir Albazi +1 11. Tim Elliott -1 12. Manel Kape +1 13. Sumudaerji -1 14. Jeff Molina 15. Tagir Ulanbekov |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Figueiredo and Moreno will meet for a fourth time – a first in UFC history – come January, this one in Brazil, with Pantoja likely up next for the winner. The upcoming Nicolau vs. Schnell fight should provide a brand-new contender at FLW, and Albazi looked great in his return from a long injury layoff.
BANTAMWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Aljamain Sterling 1. Petr Yan 2. T.J. Dillashaw 3. Merab Dvalishvili +4 4. Jose Aldo 5. Marlon Vera 6. Cory Sandhagen -3 7. Rob Font -1 8. Yadong Song +1 9. Ricky Simon +1 10. Dominick Cruz -2 11. Frankie Edgar 12. Pedro Munhoz 13. Sean O’Malley 14. Adrian Yanez 15. Umar Nurmagomedov |
UFC rankings C: Aljamain Sterling 1. Petr Yan 2. T.J. Dillashaw 3. Merab Dvalishvili +3 4. Cory Sandhagen 5. Marlon Vera 6. Jose Aldo -3 7. Rob Font 8. Dominick Cruz 9. Pedro Munhoz 10. Yadong Song 11. Ricky Simon 12. Frankie Edgar 13. Sean O’Malley 14. Umar Nurmagomedov 15. Jack Shore |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Aldo’s sentimental run to the top at 135 seemingly came to an end against Dvalishvili, as “The Machine” continues to grind opponents into defeat. Still, he deserves to be ranked over Vera, who he just beat last year. The short memories of some voters can be detrimental to fighters who deserve better. If this was Aldo’s last fight, we may never see the likes of someone like him again. And with Cruz and Edgar seemingly right behind him en route to retirement, the changing of the guard at BW has arrived.
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dB rankings C: Alexander Volkanovski 1. Max Holloway 2. Josh Emmett 3. Yair Rodriguez 4. Brian Ortega 5. Arnold Allen 6. Calvin Kattar 7. Chan Sung Jung 8. Gigi Chikadze 9. Bryce Mitchell 10. Movsar Evloev 11. Dan Ige 12. Edson Barboza 13. Sodiq Yusuff 14. Ilia Topuria * 15. Hakeem Dowodu * |
UFC rankings C: Alexander Volkanovski 1. Max Holloway 2. Yair Rodriguez 3. Brian Ortega 4. Josh Emmett 5. Calvin Kattar 6. Arnold Allen 7. Chan Sung Jung 8. Giga Chikadze 9. Bryce Mitchell 10. Movsar Evloev 11. Dan Ige 12. Sodiq Yusuff 13. Edson Barboza 14. Ilia Topuria +1 15. Alex Caceres * |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Pat Sabatini
Out of dB/UFC rankings: Shane Burgos (signed with PFL)
X: Burgos was a fun fighter to watch every time out, so it’s sad to see him go. Since Topuria is coming back to FW, I returned him to my rankings. Why the other voters love Bruce Leeroy is beyond me; Dowodu has won seven of his last eight, only losing to the rising Evloev, while Caceres is placed a lowly 27th at rankingmma.com. Rodriguez wants to wait around for a Volkanovski title shot, but he’s only 2-1-0-1 since 2018 and doesn’t deserve to be rewarded after having long periods of inactivity.
LIGHTWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Vacant 1. Charles Oliveira 2. Islam Makhachev 3. Dustin Poirier 4. Justin Gaethje 5. Michael Chandler 6. Beneil Dariush 7. Rafael Fiziev 8. Mateusz Gamrot 9. Arman Tsarukyan 10. Damir Ismagulov 11. Rafael dos Anjos 12. Tony Ferguson 13. Conor McGregor 14. Mark Madsen 15. Jalin Turner |
UFC rankings C: Vacant 1. Charles Oliveira 2. Dustin Poirier 3. Justin Gaethje 4. Islam Makhachev 5. Michael Chandler 6. Beneil Dariush 7. Rafael Fiziev 8. Rafael dos Anjos 9. Mateusz Gamrot 10. Arman Tsarukyan 11. Tony Ferguson 12. Conor McGregor 13. Dan Hooker 14. Jalin Turner 15. Damir Ismagulov |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Oliveira vs. Makhachev is only two months away and, man, it should be a barnburner. Fiziev, who knocked out dos Anjos to win the battle of the Rafael’s, is a rising star who may only be another win away from being the No. 1 contender. The winner of Dariush vs. Gamrot will have a good case for the next shot at the belt. But why is it taking so long to get nonstop action kings Poirier and Gaethje their next fights?
WELTERWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Leon Edwards +2 1. Kamaru Usman -1 2. Colby Covington -1 3. Belal Muhammad 4. Khamzat Chimaev 5. Gilbert Burns 6. Sean Brady +2 7. Shavkat Rakmonov +3 8. Stephen Thompson -2 9. Geoff Neal +5 10. Vicente Luque -3 11. Michael Chiesa -1 12. Jorge Masvidal -1 13. Neil Magny -1 14. Li Jingliang -1 15. Michel Pereira |
UFC rankings C: Leon Edwards +2 1. Kamaru Usman -1 2. Colby Covington -1 3. Khamzat Chimaev 4. Gilbert Burns 5. Belal Muhammad 6. Geoff Neal +7 7. Stephen Thompson 8. Sean Brady +1 9. Jorge Masvidal -1 10. Vicente Luque -4 11. Shavkat Rakmonov 12. Michael Chiesa 13. Neil Magny 14. Li Jingliang 15. Michel Pereira |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Edwards was well on his way to a 49-46 decision loss against Usman last weekend when all those years of kickboxing paid off in the form of a vicious knockout. Naturally, a rematch is next, likely in England, which just might give the UFC’s second British champion the inspiration to defend. The winners of Muhammad vs. Brady and Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz will be able to make a solid case as to why they should jump the line. And please let Rakmonov match fists with Thompson in a scintillating stand-up war.
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dB rankings C: Israel Adesanya 1. Robert Whittaker 2. Jared Cannonier 3. Marvin Vettori 4. Paulo Costa 5. Alex Pereira 6. Derek Brunson 7. Sean Strickland 8. Jack Hermansson 9. Andre Muniz 10. Darren Till +1 11. Kelvin Gastelum +1 12. Nassourdine Imavov +1 13. Dricus Du Plessis +1 14. Brad Tavares +1 15. Krzysztof Jotko * |
UFC rankings C: Israel Adesanya 1. Robert Whittaker 2. Jared Cannonier 2. Marvin Vettori +1 4. Derek Brunson 5. Alex Pereira 6. Paulo Costa 7. Sean Strickland 8. Jack Hermansson 9. Darren Till 10. Andre Muniz 11. Kelvin Gastelum 12. Nassourdine Imavov +1 13. Dricus Du Plessis +1 14. Brad Taveras +1 15. Chris Curtis * |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB/UFC rankings: Uriah Hall (retired)
X: Not much new at 185 this month with the exception of Hall adding his name to the 2022 retirement list, which so far also includes Donald Cerrone, Jessica Eye, Felice Herrig, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Roxanne Modafferi, Marlon Moraes, Rory McDonald, Nina Nunes, Luke Rockhold and Eddie Wineland. Uriah Faber and Joe Lauzon are almost there, with Aldo, Cruz and Edgar waiting in the wings for just the right time. That group has a ton of great moments to look back on with pride.
Jotko has won five of his last six, with the only loss coming to Strickland, and has a stronger strength of schedule in the UFC, making him a slightly better candidate to replace Hall in the rankings than Curtis,
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dB rankings C: Jiri Prochazka 1. Glover Teixeira 2. Magomed Ankalaev 3. Jan Blachowicz 4. Aleksandar Rakic 5. Anthony Smith +1 6. Dominick Reyes +1 7. Volkan Oezdemir +1 8. Paul Craig +1 9. Jamahal Hill +1 10. Thiago Santos -5 11. Nikita Krylov 12. Johnny Walker 13. Ryan Spann 14. Dustin Jacoby 15. Azamat Murakanov * |
UFC rankings C: Jiri Prochazka 1. Glover Teixeira 2. Jan Blachowicz 3. Magomed Ankalaev 4. Aleksandar Rakic 5. Anthony Smith 6. Jamahal Hill +4 7. Dominick Reyes 8. Volkan Oezdemir 9. Thiago Santos -3 10. Paul Craig -1 11. Nikita Krylov 12. Ryan Spann 13. Johnny Walker 14. Dustin Jacoby 15. Jimmy Crute |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Jimmy Crute
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: While Hill’s win over Santos was a nice step forward for sure, it was not enough for him to leapfrog over Craig, who almost took Hill’s arm home with him in a crushing submission loss last year. The rising star Murakanov is 12-0 after stopping Clark, while Crute has dropped three of his last five.
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dB rankings C: Francis Ngannou 1. Stipe Miocic 2. Ciryl Gane 3. Tai Tuivasa 4. Curtis Blaydes 5. Tom Aspinall 6. Sergei Pavlovich 7. Derrick Lewis 8. Alexander Volkov 9. Marcin Tybura +3 10. Alexandr Romanov -1 11. Jairzinho Rozenstruik -1 12. Chris Daukaus -1 13. Walt Harris 14. Serghei Spivac 15. Jailton Almeida * |
UFC rankings C: Francis Ngannou 1. Ciryl Gane 2. Stipe Miocic 3. Tai Tuivasa 4. Curtis Blaydes 5. Sergei Pavlovich 6. Tom Aspinall 7. Derrick Lewis 8. Alexander Volkov 9. Jairzinho Rozenstruik 10. Marcin Tybura +1 11. Chris Daukaus -1 12. Serghei Spivac * 13. Alexandr Romanov -1 14. Shamil Abdurakhimov -1 15. Blagoy Ivanov |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB/UFC rankings: Augusto Sakai
X: HW is in a stagnant state, with Ngannou still recovering from knee surgery, and the long-awaited interim title fight between Miocic and Jon Jones still not booked. The winner of Gane vs. Tuivasa next month will have momentum, but a new contender needs to rise from Blaydes, Pavlovich and Aspinall.
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dB rankings 1. Amanda Nunes (C) 2. Valentina Shevchenko (C) 3. Carla Esparza (C) 4. Rose Namajunas 5. Julianna Pena 6. Weili Zhang 7. Jessica Andrade 8. Taila Santos 9. Marina Rodriquez 10. Katlyn Chookagian 11. Lauren Murphy 12. Ketlen Viera 13. Holly Holm 14. Raquel Pennington 15. Irene Aldana |
UFC rankings 1. Amanda Nunes (C) 2. Valentina Shevchenko (C) 3. Julianna Pena 4. Carla Esparza (C) +2 5. Rose Namajunas -1 6. Weili Zhang -1 7. Jessica Andrade 8. Marina Rodriquez 9. Holly Holm 10. Katlyn Chookagian 11. Ketlen Viera 12. Taila Santos +2 13. Mackenzie Dern 14. Xiaonan Yan -2 15. Lauren Murphy |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: With no other title fights booked yet among women fighters for the rest of 2022 at 125 and 135 pounds, Nunes vs. Shevchenko 3 is a more viable option than ever. Why not?
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dB rankings C: Carla Esparza 1. Rose Namajunas 2. Weili Zhang 3. Jessica Andrade 4. Marina Rodriguez 5. Xiaonan Yan 6. Amanda Ribas 7. Mackenzie Dern 8. Virna Jandiroba 9. Amanda Lemos 10. Tecia Torres 11. Michelle Waterson-Gomez 12. Luana Pinheiro +1 13. Kanaoko Murata * 14. Emily Ducote 15. Angela Hill |
UFC rankings C: Carla Esparza 1. Rose Namajunas 2. Zhang Weili 3. Marina Rodriguez 4. Jessica Andrade +2 5. Mackenzie Dern -1 6. Yan Xiaonan -1 7. Tecia Torres 8. Amanda Lemos 9. Amanda Ribas +1 10. Virna Jandiroba +2 11. Michelle Waterson-Gomez 12. Angela Hill 13. Emily Ducote +1 14. Luana Pinheiro +1 15. Jessica Penne * |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB/UFC rankings: Nina Nunes (retired)
X: Murata’s overlooked win in the Invicta cage over Ducote shows she deserves a spot in the top 15 more than Penne. Waterson-Gomez’s loss to Lemos likely ends the “Karate Hottie’s” days of being a contender, with Lemos getting Rodriguez next as a reward. The winner of that fight could become the No. 1 contender after Esparza matches up with Weili in her first defense, set for New York City in November.
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dB rankings C: Valentina Shevchenko 1. Talia Santos 2. Jessica Andrade 3. Katlyn Chookagian 4. Lauren Murphy 5. Alexa Grasso 6. Manon Fiorot 7. Jennifer Maia 8. Viviane Araujo 9. Casey O’Neill 10. Andrea Lee 11. Maycee Barber 12. Tracy Cortez 13. Erin Blanchfield 14. Maryna Moroz * 15. Miranda Maverick |
UFC rankings C: Valentina Shevchenko 1. Katlyn Chookagian 2. Talia Santos 3. Lauren Murphy 4. Jessica Andrade 5. Alexa Grasso 6. Viviane Araujo 7. Manon Fiorot 8. Jennifer Maia 9. Andrea Lee 10. Casey O’Neill +1 11. Maycee Barber -1 12. Erin Blanchfield +1 13. Tracy Cortez +1 14. Cynthia Calvillo -2 15. Molly McCann |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Cynthia Calvillo
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: Calvillo has lost four fights in a row, yet she’s still ranked instead of Moroz, who has won three straight since moving back up to WFLW. Despite her positive energy and people’s elbow, I can’t rank McCann yet since she lost to the unranked Procopio just last year. Chookagian vs. Fiorot should be interesting.
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dB rankings C: Amanda Nunes 1. Julianna Pena 2. Ketlen Vieira 3. Holly Holm 4. Raquel Pennington 5. Irene Aldana 6. Aspen Ladd 7. Yana Kunitskaya 8. Sara McMann 9. Pannie Kianzad 10. Lina Lansberg 11. Macy Chiasson 12. Julia Avila 13. Karol Rosa 14. Mayra Bueno Silva +1 15. Josiane Nunes -1 |
UFC rankings C. Amanda Nunes 1. Julianna Pena 2. Ketlen Vieira 3. Holly Holm 4. Irene Aldana 5. Raquel Pennington 6. Yana Kunitskaya 7. Aspen Ladd 8. Sara McMann 9. Pannie Kianzad 10. Macy Chiasson 11. Miesha Tate 12. Karol Rosa 13. Lina Lansberg 14. Julia Avila 15. Norma Dumont |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: I’d like to see Pena beat someone else, like Andrade, rather than get an immediate trilogy with Nunes, who showed her mettle by changing her style and whitewashing Pena to regain her belt. Vieira may be next for Nunes if the UFC doesn’t pull the Shevchenko lever, but that hardly gets the pulse racing. Not sure why Tate and Dumont are both ranked here, since Tate just lost at 125 and Dumont fights at 145.
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C: Amanda Nunes No divisional rankings. |
UPCOMING FIGHTS THAT AFFECT RANKINGS
Sept. 3 – UFC Fight Night 209
Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa
Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori
Nassourdine Imavov vs. Joaquin Buckley
Sept. 10 – UFC 279
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz
Tony Ferguson vs. Li Jingliang
Johnny Walker vs. Ion Cutelaba
Sept. 17 – UFC Fight Night 210
Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong
Giga Chickadze vs. Sodiq Yuseff
Aspen Ladd vs. Sara McMann
Sept. 24 – No fights this weekend.
Updated rankings for September will be posted before UFC Fight Night 211 on Oct. 1. Until then, enjoy the fights.
For comments, questions and suggestions, email dbrown@cherokeescout.com or hit me up on Twitter @daviddbstroh.