In deciding where to rank fighters, I look at head-to-head matchups first, then 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
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dB rankings 1. Kamaru Usman (C) 2. Israel Adesanya (C) 3. Alexander Volkanovski (C) +1 4. Francis Ngannou (C) -1 5. Max Holloway 6. Charles Oliveira (C) 7. Aljamain Sterling (C) +1 8. Deiveson Figueiredo +1 9. Petr Yan -2 10. Brandon Moreno (C) 11. Glover Teixeira (C) 12. Robert Whittaker 13. Stipe Miocic 14. Colby Covington +1 15. Ciryl Gane -1 |
UFC rankings 1. Kamaru Usman (C) 2. Alexander Volkanovski (C) +1 3. Israel Adesanya (C) -1 4. Francis Ngannou (C) 5. Charles Oliveira (C) 6. Max Holloway 7. Jon Jones 8. Dustin Poirier 9. Glover Teixeira (C) +1 10. Deiveson Figueiredo (C) +2 11. Stipe Miocic 12. Aljamain Sterling (C) * 13. Petr Yan (IC) -4 14. Brandon Moreno -1 15. Robert Whittaker -1 |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: None
Out of UFC rankings: Jan Blachowicz
X: I have agreed for some time with UFC President Dana White that Covington should be ranked as one of the P4P best, and I moved him a notch after his methodical beatdown of arch-rival Masvidal. Meanwhile, other rankers still have Jones in the top 15, even though he hasn’t fought in 23 months – and counting – and his last two fights at LW were close decisions many onlookers thought should have went the other way. Adesanya moved up past Ngannou following his second win over tough out Whitaker, then Volkanovski did likewise after running roughshod over The Korean Zombie last weekend.
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dB rankings C: Deiveson Figueiredo 1. Brandon Moreno 2. Kai Kara France +3 3. Askar Askarov -1 4. Alexandre Pantoja -1 5. Brandon Royval -1 6. Alex Perez 7. Matheus Nicolau +2 8. David Dvorak -1 9. Rogerio Bontorin -1 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 +4 3. Askar Askarov -1 4. Alexandre Pantoja -1 5. Alex Perez -1 6. Brandon Royval -1 7. Matheus Nicolau +1 8. Rogerio Bontorin -1 9. Matt Schnell 10. David Dvorak 11. Amir Albazi 12. Sumudaerji 13. Tim Elliott -1 14. Manel Kape 15. Tagir Ulanbekov |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: In just three fights, France has gone from an upset loss to Royval that nearly derailed him as a contender to the cusp of a title shot – after the inevitable Figueiredo-Moreno 4: This Time It’s Personal, of course. That’s what finishing fights in style and beating an undefeated Russian will do for your career. Nicolau continues to look good in his return to the UFC; he deserves a member of the top 5 next.
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. Rob Font 6. Merab Dvalishvili 7. Marlon Vera 8. Dominick Cruz 9. Yadong Song +6 10. Frankie Edgar 11. Pedro Munhoz 12. Ricky Simon 13. Sean O’Malley 14. Jack Shore 15. Umar Nurmagomedov * |
UFC rankings C: Aljamain Sterling IC: Petr Yan 2. T.J. Dillashaw 3. Jose Aldo 4. Cory Sandhagen 5. Rob Font 6. Merab Dvalishvili 7. Dominick Cruz 8. Marlon Vera 9. Yadong Song +5 9. Pedro Munhoz 11. Frankie Edgar 12. Ricky Simon +1 13. Sean O’Malley -1 14. Marlon Moraes -4 15. Raphael Assuncao |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Marlon Moraes
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: Some might be surprised that I have neither Moraes nor Assuncao among the top 15, but look at the facts. Moraes has lost 5 of 6, with his one win being so controversial that the UFC gave the loser, Aldo, a title shot over him. His last undisputed victory was more than three years ago – over Assuncao, who has gone on to fall three more times, including a knockout loss to the fading Cody Garbrandt. At the same time, Shore is 15-0 and just beat the formerly ranked Timur Vallev, while Nurmagomedov is 14-0 after overrunning Brian Kelleher. Seems only natural that Moraes and Assuncao, both legends of the game in their own ways, should be matched up next in a battle of, “Who’s got anything left in the tank?”
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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 +1 6. Calvin Kattar -1 7. Gigi Chikadze 8. Josh Emmett 9. Bryce Mitchell +3 10. Dan Ige -1 11. Edson Barboza -1 12. Sodiq Yusuff -1 13. Movsar Evloev 14. Shane Burgos 15. Lerone Murphy * |
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 +1 7. Josh Emmett -1 8. Giga Chikadze 9. Bryce Mitchell +2 10. Dan Ige -1 11. Sodiq Yusuff +1 12. Edson Barboza -2 13. Movsar Evloev 14. Shane Burgos 15. Ilia Topuria * |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Ilia Topuria (moved to LW)
Out of UFC rankings: Alex Caceres
X: It’s tempting to say Volkanovski caught a break with Holloway’s injury, but he was still mighty impressive in dispatching the iron-chinned Korean Zombie. While Topuria has said he may move back to FW, since he missed weight once, then fought at LW last time out, I went with Murphy, who’s 11-0-1 after knocking out Makwan Amirkhani, and his draw was against the highly regarded Zubaira Tukhugov. And is there anyone ranked above him who can stop the unbeaten Mitchell’s offbeat but effective grappling?
LIGHTWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Charles Oliveira 1. Dustin Poirier 2. Justin Gaethje 3. Islam Makhachev 4. Beneil Dariush 5. Michael Chandler 6. Tony Ferguson 7. Rafael dos Anjos 8. Conor McGregor +1 9. Arman Tsarukyan +1 10. Gregor Gillespie +1 11. Rafael Fiziev +1 12. Mateusz Gamrot +1 13. Damir Ismagulov +1 14. Brad Riddell +1 15. Mark Madsen * |
UFC rankings C: Charles Oliveira 1. Dustin Poirier +1 2. Justin Gaethje -1 3. Islam Makhachev 4. Beneil Dariush 5. Michael Chandler 6. Rafael dos Anjos 7. Tony Ferguson 8. Gregor Gillespie +2 9. Conor McGregor 10. Rafael Fiziev +1 11. Arman Tsarukyan +1 12. Mateusz Gamrot +1 13. Dan Hooker -5 14. Brad Riddell 15. Diego Ferreira |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Dan Hooker (moved to FW)
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: With Hooker’s move to 145 pounds – while he made it at the weigh-ins, that obviously didn’t work out nearly as well as he was hoping it would – everyone moves up a spot until we get to see Oliveira vs. Gaethje, plus Chandler vs. Ferguson, in two months. I’m still holding out hope that Makhachev vs. Dariush happens. Madsen joins the top-15 fun after defeating the criminally underrated Vinc Pichel. And I’ll get excited about Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett when he fights an opponent who is actually goody.
WELTERWEIGHT
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dB rankings C: Kamaru Usman 1. Colby Covington 2. Leon Edwards 3. Khamzat Chimaev +9 4. Gilbert Burns -1 5. Vicente Luque -1 6. Belal Muhammad -1 7. Stephen Thompson -1 8. Sean Brady 9. Jorge Masvidal -2 10. Michael Chiesa -1 11. Neil Magny -1 12. Geoff Neal -1 13. Li Jingliang 14. Santiago Ponzinibbio 15. Shavkat Rakmonov |
UFC rankings C: Kamaru Usman 1. Colby Covington 2. Leon Edwards +1 3. Khamzat Chimaev +8 4. Gilbert Burns -2 5. Vicente Luque -1 6. Belal Muhammad -1 7. Stephen Thompson 8. Jorge Masvidal -2 9. Sean Brady 10. Neil Magny -2 11. Michael Chiesa -1 12. Geoff Neal 13. Li Jingliang 14. Santiago Ponzinibbio 15. Shavkat Rakmonov |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Chimaev and Burns just put on a show for the ages, the rare kind of matchup where both fighters walk away more beloved. Chimaev has a chance to fight for gold if a proposed matchup with Covington occurs. The Covington vs. Masvidal rivalry has moved from the Octagon to the courthouse after the pair mixed it up in Miami restaurant, which is not a good look for anybody, though it did save the dinner audience the cost of a pay per view before their more lucrative rematch. The winner of Luque vs. Muhammad will have a great chance to call dibs on a title shot after Usman and Edwards finally get it on this summer. And please give McGregor his wish to get stomped by Usman at 170 pounds later this year; maybe Usman demanding to box Canelo Alverez is his way of angling to get the Irishman’s PPV points.
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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 +3 11. Darren Till 12. Chris Weidman -2 13. Kelvin Gastelum -1 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 +1 12. Brad Taveras -1 13. Andre Muniz 14. Chris Weidman +1 15. Edmen Shahbazyan * |
Out of dB rankings: Bruno Silva
Out of UFC rankings: Kevin Holland (moved to WW)
X: The straight-ahead Strickland’s upcoming fight with the counter-punching Pereira is matchmaking at its finest, as there’s virtually no way either of these standup artists attempt a takedown. Nothing’s booked yet, but Adesanya’s next title shot will likely be against Cannonier, who also will oblige him on the feet. The winners of those two scraps could be fighting in a Las Vegas main event by the end of December, which means we have a lot to look forward to at 185 pounds, including Weidman’s return from injury.
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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 +2 5. Anthony Smith -1 6. Thiago Santos -1 7. Dominick Reyes 8. Paul Craig +3 9. Volkan Oezdemir -1 10. Jamahal Hill 11. Nikita Krylov -1 12. Johnny Walker 13. Ryan Spann 14. Jimmy Crute 15. Dustin Jacoby * |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: None
Out of UFC rankings: Ion Cutelaba
X: Teixeira vs. Prochazka happens in June, with either Ankalaev or the winner of the rescheduled Blachowicz vs. Rakic fight on deck. How can you not love Craig, who is putting off retirement in order to make everyone in front of him say “uncle”? And it’s nice to see other voters give Jacoby some shine.
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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 +2 7. Alexander Volkov -1 8. Jairzinho Rozenstruik -1 9. Alexandr Romanov 10. Sergei Pavlovich * 11. Chris Daukaus -1 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 +5 7. Alexander Volkov -1 8. Jairzinho Rozenstruik -1 9. Chris Daukaus -1 10. Marcin Tybura -1 11. Sergei Pavlovich +4 12. Shamil Abdurakhimov -2 13. Augusto Sakai -1 14. Walt Harris 15. Blagoy Ivanov -2 |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Shamil Abdurakhimov
Out of UFC rankings: None
X: Tuivasa and Aspinall are leading the new wave of contenders, with Romanov and Pavlovich (who recently returned from a long injury layoff in style) not far behind – and that Blaydes fellow is pretty damn good, too. So can we go ahead and sign the Miocic vs. Jones interim HW title fight so everyone else will be able to get lined 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. Rose Namajunas 5. Zhang Weili 6. Jessica Andrade 7. Carla Esparza 8. Marina Rodriquez 9. Holly Holm 10. Katlyn Chookagian 11. Lauren Murphy 12. Raquel Pennington +1 13. Irene Aldana +1 14. Yan Xiaonan * 15. Norma Dumont |
UFC rankings 1. Valentina Shevchenko 2. Amanda Nunes 3. Rose Namajunas 4. Julianna Pena 5. Weili Zhang 6. Jessica Andrade 7. Holly Holm 8. Carla Esparza 9. Marina Rodriquez 10. Katlyn Chookagian 11. Xiaonan Yan 12. Mackenzie Dern +1 13. Irene Aldana -1 14. Lauren Murphy -1 15. Raquel Pennington * |
* New entrant into rankings
Out of dB rankings: Jennifer Maia
Out of UFC rankings: Aspen Ladd
X: Pena’s high-stakes rematch with Nunes will be the hottest women’s bout of 2022 after they coach The Ultimate Fighter and build their rivalry. There are few non-rematches available at the top of each division, so some younger fighters need to climb the contention ladder like Fiorot to make things more interesting. But why is Dern in the P4P rankings while Ribas, who beat her not that long ago, is not?
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dB rankings C: Rose Namajunas 1. Weili Zhang 2. Carla Esparza 3. Marina Rodriguez 4. Xiaonan Yan +2 5. Amanda Ribas -1 6. Mackenzie Dern -1 7. Tecia Torres +1 8. Amanda Lemos +2 9. Nina Nunes -2 10. Michelle Waterson -1 11. Virna Jandiroba 12. Angela Hill 13. Ariane Carnelossi 14. Luana Pinheiro 15. Brianna Van Buren |
UFC rankings C: Rose Namajunas 1. Zhang Weili 2. Carla Esparza 3. Marina Rodriguez 4. Mackenzie Dern +1 5. Yan Xiaonan -1 6. Nina Nunes 7. Tecia Torres 8. Amanda Ribas +1 9. Michelle Waterson -1 10. Amanda Lemos 11. Virna Jandiroba 12. Angela Hill 13. Jessica Penne 14. Brianna Van Buren 15. Luana Pinheiro |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Namajunas-Esparza 2 is deservedly the next title fight, with Rodriguez the best candidate to take on the winner (unless something weird forces a round 3). Someone from among Yan, Ribas and Dern needs to rise up and claim the No. 1 contender spot afterward, with the winner of Andrade vs. Lemos also in great position. Still looking forward to seeing Joanna Jedrzejczyk fight again, likely a rematch with Weili.
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dB rankings C: Valentina Shevchenko 1. Jessica Andrade 2. Katlyn Chookagian 3. Talia Santos +1 4. Lauren Murphy -1 5. Alexa Grasso +4 6. Manon Fiorot +9 7. Jennifer Maia -3 8. Joanne Wood -2 9. Jessica Eye -2 10. Viviane Araujo -2 11. Casey O’Neill -1 12. Andrea Lee -1 13. Cynthia Calvillo -1 14. Tracy Cortez -1 15. Erin Blanchfield -1 |
UFC rankings C: Valentina Shevchenko 1. Jessica Andrade 2. Katlyn Chookagian 3. Lauren Murphy 4. Talia Santos +1 5. Alexa Grasso +6 6. Manon Fiorot +7 7. Jennifer Maia -3 8. Viviane Araujo -2 9. Andrea Lee -1 10. Joanne Wood -3 11. Cynthia Calvillo -1 12. Jessica Eye -3 13. Casey O’Neill -1 14. Maycee Barber 15. Erin Blanchfield |
Out of dB/UFC rankings: None
X: Fiorot took advantage of her opportunity against a recent title contender in Maia, jumping nine spots in my rankings. That matchmaking gives her the first crack among the division’s young blood to get a spot across the Octagon against Shevchenko, who instead likely is hoping Hall of Famer Tate’s upcoming drop to WFW will give the champ the name opponent she needs to put a stamp on her resume. Maia, Wood and Eye’s best days may be gone, but with Andrade going back to SW there is room to move up.
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dB rankings C: Julianna Pena 1. Amanda Nunes 2. Holly Holm 3. Raquel Pennington 4. Irene Aldana 5. Aspen Ladd 6. Yana Kunitskaya 7. Ketlen Vieira 8. Miesha Tate 9. Sara McMann 10. Lina Lansberg 11. Macy Chiasson 12. Julia Avila 13. Pannie Kianzad 14. Karol Rosa 15. Josiane Nunes |
UFC rankings C: Julianna Pena 1. Amanda Nunes 2. Holly Holm 3. Irene Aldana 4. Raquel Pennington +3 5. Ketlen Vieira 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: Pennington continues to show why she might be the toughest out at WBW with a short-notice win over Ladd. While the UFC’s 135-pound men’s division has a dozen fighters who could win the belt on any given night – and a roster full of up and comers ready to take over soon – there are precious few new options on the women’s side of the roster, especially if Pena wins again. That means ageless Holm could be in another title fight – or at least rematch Pennington for No. 1 contender – if she wins her next bout.
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C: Amanda Nunes No divisional rankings. |
IMPORTANT UPCOMING FIGHTS FOR RANKINGS
April 16 – UFC on ESPN 34
Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad
Lina Lansberg vs. Pannie Kianzad
Andre Muniz vs TBA
April 23 – UFC Fight Night 205
Jessica Andrade vs. Amanda Lemos
Alexandr Romanov vs. Tanner Boser
Manel Kape vs. Sumudaerji
April 30 – UFC on ESPN 35
Rob Font vs. Marlon Vera
Jessica Penne vs. Luana Pinheiro
Grant Dawson vs. Jared Gordon
May 7 – UFC 274
Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje for LW title
Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza for SW title
Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson
The updated rankings for May will be posted after Oliveira and Gaethje unleash hell in the Octagon. Until then, enjoy the fights.
For comments, questions and suggestions, email dbrown@cherokeescout.com or hit me up on Twitter @daviddbstroh.