Heavyweight hurter Tai Tuivasa has now dropped four straight — getting finished in all four losses — which includes his submission defeat to Polish powerhouse Marcin Tybura in the UFC Vegas 88 main event last weekend at APEX. Despite the loss, “Bam Bam” has managed to cling to a spot in the division Top 10 after this week’s official rankings update.
But not by much.
Tybura (25-8) jumped two places to pull himself into a tie with fellow heavyweight hopeful Serghei Spivac. Elsewhere on the chart, bantamweight bruiser Macy Chiasson (9-3) jumped four spots to No. 6 by strangling Swedish gunslinger Paddie Kianzad on the UFC Vegas 88 main card.
Here’s how UFC compiles its official rankings:
Rankings were generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.
Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Islam Makhachev
2. Jon Jones
3. Leon Edwards
4. Alex Pereira
5. Ilia Topuria
6. Sean O’Malley
7. Charles Oliveira
8. Alexander Volkanovski
9. Dricus Du Plessis
10. Alexandre Pantoja
11. Israel Adesanya
12. Tom Aspinall
13. Sean Strickland
14. Max Holloway
15. Aljamain Sterling
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Matheus Nicolau
6. Manel Kape
7. Muhammad Mokaev
8. Alex Perez
9. Tim Elliott
10. Steve Erceg
11. Matt Schnell
12. Tagir Ulanbekov
13. Tatsuro Taira
14. Su Mudaerji
15. David Dvorak
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Sean O’Malley
1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. Aljamain Sterling
3. Cory Sandhagen
4. Petr Yan
5. Marlon Vera
6. Henry Cejudo
7. Song Yadong
8. Deiveson Figueiredo
9. Rob Font
10. Umar Nurmagomedov
11. Kyler Phillips +1
12. Dominick Cruz -1
13. Mario Bautista
14. Jonathan Martinez
15. Pedro Munhoz
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Ilia Topuria
1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Brian Ortega
4. Yair Rodriguez
5. Movsar Evloev
6. Arnold Allen
7. Josh Emmett
8. Calvin Kattar
9. Giga Chikadze
10. Bryce Mitchell
11. Edson Barboza
12. Dan Ige
13. Sodiq Yusuff
14. Lerone Murphy
15. Alex Caceres
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Charles Oliveira
2. Justin Gaethje
3. Dustin Poirier
4. Arman Tsarukyan
5. Mateusz Gamrot
6. Michael Chandler
7. Beneil Dariush
8. Rafael Fiziev
9. Dan Hooker
10. Jalin Turner
11. Benoit Saint-Denis
12. Rafael dos Anjos
13. Renato Moicano
14. Bobby Green
15. Drew Dober
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Leon Edwards
1. Kamaru Usman
2. Belal Muhammed
3. Shavkat Rakhmonov
4. Colby Covington
5. Jack Della Maddalena
6. Gilbert Burns
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Sean Brady
9. Stephen Thompson
10. Geoff Neal
11. Vicente Luque
12. Neil Magny
13. Michael Page
14. Kevin Holland
15. Michael Chiesa
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Dricus Du Plessis
1. Sean Strickland
2. Israel Adesanya
3. Robert Whittaker
4. Jared Cannonier
5. Marvin Vettori
6. Paulo Costa
7. Brendan Allen
8. Nassourdine Imavov
9. (T) Roman Dolidze
9. (T) Jack Hermansson
11. Khamzat Chimaev
12. Anthony Hernandez
13. Paul Craig
14. Chris Curtis
15. Caio Borralho
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Jamahal Hill
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Magomed Ankalaev
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. Nikita Krylov
7. Johnny Walker
8. Khalil Rountree
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Anthony Smith
11. Ryan Spann
12. Alonzo Menifield
13. Azamat Murzakanov
14. Dominick Reyes
15. Dustin Jacoby
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jon Jones
1. Tom Aspinall
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Sergei Pavlovich
4. Stipe Miocic
5. Curtis Blaydes
6. Alexander Volkov
7. Jailton Almeida
8. (T) Serghei Spivac
8. (T) Marcin Tybura +2
10. Tai Tuivasa -1
11. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
12. Derrick Lewis
13. Alexandr Romanov
14. Marcos Rogerio De Lima
15. Rodrigo Nascimento
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Alexa Grasso
2. Zhang Weili
3. Valentina Shevchenko
4. Erin Blanchfield
5. Julianna Pena
6. Manon Fiorot
7. Raquel Pennington
8. Rose Namajunas
9. Tatiana Suarez
10. Yan Xiaonan
11. Jessica Andrade
12. Amanda Lemos
13. Ketlen Vieira
14. Irene Aldana
15. Maycee Barber
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Zhang Weili
1. Yan Xiaonan
2. Tatiana Suarez
3. Amanda Lemos
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Virna Jandiroba
6. Marina Rodriguez
7. Mackenzie Dern
8. Amanda Ribas
9. Luana Pinheiro
10. Loopy Godinez
11. Tabatha Ricci
12. Angela Hill
13. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
14. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
15. Gillian Robertson
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexa Grasso
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Erin Blanchfield
3. Manon Fiorot
4. Maycee Barber
5. Jessica Andrade
6. Katlyn Cerminara
7. Natalia Silva
8. Amanda Ribas
9. Viviane Araújo
10. Tracy Cortez
11. Ariane Lipski
12. Karine Silva
13. Casey O’Neill
14. Miranda Maverick
15. Jasmine Jasudavicius
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Raquel Pennington
1. Julianna Pena
2. (T) Mayra Bueno Silva
2. (T) Ketlen Vieira +1
4. Irene Aldana
5. Holly Holm
6. Macy Chiasson +4
7. Miesha Tate +1
8. Karol Rosa +1
9. Pannie Kianzad -3
10. Yana Santos -3
11. Norma Dumont
12. Julia Avila
13. Chelsea Chandler +1
14. Josiane Nunes -1
15. Melissa Dixon
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the women’s flyweight division, following the UFC Vegas 89: “Ribas vs. Namajunas” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN and ESPN+, scheduled for this Sat. night (March 23, 2024) at APEX in Las Vegas.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.