With UFC OKC and UFC Abu Dhabi in the rearview mirror, it’s time to update my UFC rankings. A lot of these fights included new fighters and fighters outside of my top 25’s, so there aren’t a lot of changes, but there are definitely some worth talking about.
Heavyweight (C: Tom Aspinall)
- Ciryl Gane (Interim)
- Sergei Pavlovich
- Alexander Volkov
- Alex Pereira
- Josh Hokit
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta
- Rizvan Kuniev (+1)
- Curtis Blaydes (-1)
- Valter Walker (+1)
- Serghei Spivac (-1)
- Brando Peričić
- Ante Delija
- Vitor Petrino (+1)
- Tyrell Fortune (-1)
- Derrick Lewis
- Marcin Tybura
- Mick Parkin
- Mário Pinto
- Shamil Gaziev
- Gable Steveson
- Ryan Spann
- Tallison Teixeira
- Kennedy Nzechukwu
- Jhonata Diniz
- Steven Asplund (NEW)
At heavyweight, RJ Harris had a nice debut against Alvin Hines outside of my top 25. In Abu Dhabi, Rizvan Kuniev beat Tyrell Fortune. It takes a lot for me to ignore head to head, but Kuniev’s looked great since his UFC debut loss to Curtis Blaydes via split decision. The Blaydes fight was close enough for this fight to push Kuniev over the edge and let him make the jump. Valter Walker didn’t find his 5th straight heel hook, but he did find a calf slicer against Thomas Petersen to extend his winning streak. This loss, while expected, pushed Petersen out of my top 25 and allowed Steven Asplund to take the 25th spot.
Light Heavyweight (C: Carlos Ulberg)
- Magomed Ankalaev (+1)
- Alex Pereira (-1)
- Jiří Procházka
- Khalil Rountree Jr.
- Paulo Costa
- Jamahal Hill
- Jan Błachowicz
- Dominick Reyes
- Azamat Murzakanov
- Robert Whittaker (+1)
- Bogdan Guskov (-1)
- Johnny Walker
- Alonzo Menifield
- Navajo Stirling (+1)
- AbdulRakhman Yakhyaev (-1)
- Aleksandar Rakić (+2)
- Nikita Krylov (-1)
- Iwo Baraniewski (+1)
- Zhang Mingyang (+1)
- Muhammad Saidov (NEW)
- Jimmy Crute
- Dustin Jacoby (-5)
- Modestas Bukauskas (-1)
- Billy Elekana (-1)
- Ion Cutelaba (-1)
In non-fight news, Volkan Oezdemir has been pulled from the UFC rankings due to a lengthy suspension. Felipe Franco pulled off a surprise win over Levi Rodrigues Jr., but both fighters are well outside my top 25. Magomed Tuchalov defeated Brendson Ribeiro after a rough round 1. Had he been more dominant, Tuchalov might’ve snuck into my top 25, but he remains just outside after his UFC debut. Muhammad Saidov pulled off a big victory in his debut over Dustin Jacoby to skyrocket himself into the Top 25. Until it’s clear Alex Pereira is staying at Heavyweight (and he’s removed from the UFC LHW rankings), he’s going to stay in my rankings, but his position isn’t safe. With Ankalaev’s dominant win over Guskov, he jumps back up to #1, and Guskov falls 1 spot.
Middleweight (C: Sean Strickland)
- Khamzat Chimaev
- Dricus Du Plessis
- Nassourdine Imavov
- Caio Borralho
- Brendan Allen
- Anthony Hernandez
- Joe Pyfer
- Israel Adesanya
- Reinier De Ridder
- Gregory Rodrigues
- Christian Leroy Duncan (+2)
- Ikram Aliskerov (-1)
- Bo Nickal (+1)
- Kamaru Usman (NEW)
- Nursulton Ruziboev (+1)
- Sharabutdin Magomedov (+1)
- Jared Cannonier (-4)
- Roman Dolidze
- Roman Kopylov
- Abus Magomedov
- Ateba Gautier
- Brunno Ferreira
- Marvin Vettori
- Vicente Luque
- Edmen Shahbazyan
Dricus Du Plessis welcomed Kamaru Usman to the division to keep his place in the rankings. Usman debuts at #14. Christian Leroy Duncan defeated Jared Cannonier, knocking him out of the top 15. The Usman addition unfortunately knocked Cezary Oleksiejczuk out of the top 25, but he’s 1 win away from jumping well into the rankings.
Welterweight (C: Islam Makhachev)
- Ian Machado Garry
- Carlos Prates
- Michael Morales
- Sean Brady
- Jack Della Maddalena
- Gabriel Bonfim
- Belal Muhammad (+1)
- Leon Edwards (+1)
- Michael Page (+1)
- Kamaru Usman (-3)
- Mike Malott
- Joaquin Buckley
- Yaroslav Amosov
- Uroš Medić
- Daniel Rodriguez
- Geoff Neal
- Stephen Thompson
- Joel Álvarez
- Neil Magny
- Kevin Holland
- Myktybek Orolbai
- Gunnar Nelson
- Chris Curtis
- Jake Matthews
- Randy Brown (NEW)
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani beat Seok Hyeon Ko to jump him in the rankings but both remain outside the top 25. Abubakar Vagaev debuted well, for 2 rounds at least, against Saygid Izagakhmaev but both fighters are way down the rankings. Santiago Ponzinibbio falls quite a few spots as someone I still believed in, I picked the upset over Sam Patterson, but it’s clear Ponzinibbio’s best days are behind him. Sam Patterson jumps close to the Top 25, but didn’t quite make it in. That means the only change in the rankings comes from Kamaru Usman’s loss to DDP at Middleweight dropping him a few spots, as well as Randy Brown filling in at #25 for an injured Rafael Dos Anjos.
Lightweight (C: Justin Gaethje)
- Ilia Topuria
- Arman Tsarukyan
- Charles Oliveira
- Max Holloway
- Paddy Pimblett
- Mateusz Gamrot
- Benoît Saint Denis
- Maurício Ruffy
- Dan Hooker
- Quillan Salkilld
- Rafael Fiziev
- Renato Moicano
- Manuel Torres
- Tom Nolan
- Grant Dawson
- Beneil Dariush
- King Green
- Ľudovít Klein
- Rafa García
- Farès Ziam
- Drakkar Klose
- Chris Duncan
- Drew Dober (+1)
- Ignacio Bahamondes (+1)
- Nurullo Aliev (NEW)
Chase Hooper got back on track with a win over Mitch Ramirez, but that doesn’t do much to boost the ranking. Nurullo Aliev makes a big jump as an undefeated prospect after beating Mike Davis and takes his spot in the top 25. Axel Sola beat Ismael Bonfim to make a nice jump but still falls short of the Top 25. Magomed Zaynukov had a big win over fellow newcomer Damian Rzepecki, but fell just short of my Top 25. Another win and he’ll likely find his way into the top 25.
Featherweight (C: Alexander Volkanovski)
- Movsar Evloev
- Diego Lopes
- Lerone Murphy
- Jean Silva
- Aljamain Sterling
- Arnold Allen
- Youssef Zalal
- Kevin Vallejos
- Steve Garcia
- Vinicius Oliveira
- Yair Rodriguez
- Aaron Pico
- Melquizael Costa
- Brian Ortega
- Pat Sabatini
- David Onama
- Nathaniel Wood
- Josh Emmett
- Giga Chikadze
- Jose Delgado (+1)
- Patrício Pitbull (-1)
- Dan Ige
- Doo Ho Choi
- Joanderson Brito (+1)
- Calvin Kattar (-1)
Delgado jumps a spot following his win over Austin Bashi, but there are plenty of fans that thought Bashi won that fight. Ezra Elliott took down Damien Anderson in a battle of newcomers way down the rankings. Tommy McMillen also had a big statement win over Alberto Montes, but is a few wins away from the Rankings.
Bantamweight (C: Petr Yan)
- Merab Dvalishvili
- Sean O’Malley
- Umar Nurmagomedov
- Mario Bautista
- Cory Sandhagen
- Song Yadong
- David Martinez
- Aiemann Zahabi
- Payton Talbott
- Deiveson Figueiredo
- Marcus McGhee
- Raul Rosas Jr.
- Raoni Barcelos
- Farid Basharat
- Bryce Mitchell
- Marlon Vera
- Montel Jackson
- Charles Jourdain
- Rob Font
- Kai Asakura
- Kyler Phillips
- Ricky Simón
- Aleksandre Topuria
- Elijah Smith
- Adrian Yañez
Abdul Hussein, who first appeared on TUF but was not selected to a team, won his UFC debut against Cody Gibson despite losing the first round. He’s still way outside the Top 25, but was the only Bantamweight fight in this cycle.
Flyweight (C: Joshua Van)
- Alexandre Pantoja
- Manel Kape
- Brandon Royval
- Tatsuro Taira
- Kyoji Horiguchi
- Asu Almabayev
- Lone’er Kavanagh
- Amir Albazi
- Ramazan Temirov (+6)
- Brandon Moreno (-1)
- Alex Perez
- Steve Erceg (-2)
- Tagir Ulanbekov (-1)
- Tim Elliott (-1)
- Charles Johnson (-1)
- Rei Tsuruya
- Édgar Cháirez
- Sumudaerji
- Bruno Silva
- Jose Ochoa
- Joseph Morales
- Alden Coria (+1)
- Mitch Raposo (-1)
- André Lima
- Alessandro Costa
Alden Coria jumped 1 spot following his dominant win over Stewart Nicoll. Ramazan Temirov jumped 6 spots after a big KO of Steve Erceg, which catapults him into the Top 10, while Erceg falls a couple spots.
Women’s Bantamweight (C: Kayla Harrison)
- Julianna Peña
- Joselyne Edwards
- Norma Dumont
- Ailín Pérez
- Luana Santos
- Yana Santos (+1)
- Jacqueline Cavalcanti (+1)
- Raquel Pennington (-2)
- Bia Mesquita
- Macy Chiasson
- Karol Rosa
- Michelle Montague
- Nora Cornolle
- Melissa Croden
- Dariya Zheleznyakova
- Klaudia Syguła (+2)
- Chelsea Chandler (-1)
- Miesha Tate (-1)
- Josiane Nunes
- Melissa Mullins
- Priscila Cachoeira
- Montserrat Rendon
- Alice Pereira
- Nina Milošević (NEW)
- Tainara Lisboa (NEW)
No new fights, but we do have some ranking fluctuations to talk about. For one, I dropped Pennington a few more spots. Irene Aldana retired, opening up a spot for Nina Milošević, I also removed Amanda Nunes for the time being, opening up another spot for Tainara Lisboa. Finally, the UFC’s addition of Sygula to the rankings following Aldana’s retirement gave me the conviction I needed to jump her a few spots as well.
Women’s Flyweight (C: Valentina Shevchenko)
- Natália Silva
- Manon Fiorot
- Alexa Grasso
- Erin Blanchfield
- Rose Namajunas
- Wang Cong
- Maycee Barber
- Jasmine Jasudavicius
- Tracy Cortez
- Miranda Maverick
- Casey O’Neill
- Karine Silva
- Eduarda Moura
- JJ Aldrich
- Carli Judice
- Gabriella Fernandes
- Dione Barbosa (+3)
- Veronica Hardy (-1)
- Jamey-Lyn Horth
- Katlyn Cerminara (-2)
- Tereza Bledá
- Regina Tarin
- Vanessa Demopoulos
- Jeisla Chaves
- Juliana Miller
Dione Barbosa makes a jump after beating Anna Melisano. She should get a top 15 opponent in her next fight, unless they rebook her with Veronica Hardy who pulled out of this fight.
Women’s Strawweight (C: Mackenzie Dern)
- Zhang Weili
- Tatiana Suarez
- Virna Jandiroba
- Gillian Robertson
- Yan Xiaonan
- Loopy Godinez
- Amanda Lemos (+1)
- Fatima Kline (+5)
- Denise Gomes
- Tabatha Ricci (-3)
- Jéssica Andrade (-1)
- Alexia Thainara (-1)
- Amanda Ribas (-1)
- Mizuki
- Piera Rodriguez
- Iasmin Lucindo
- Talita Alencar
- Jaqueline Amorim
- Ketlen Souza
- Angela Hill
- Loma Lookboonmee
- Luana Pinheiro
- Julia Polastri
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz
- Yazmin Jauregui
Fatima Kline’s dominant decision win over Tabatha Ricci slingshots her up the rankings to #8, while Ricci falls a few spots.
