In unrelated news, the UFC rankings panel smelled like alcohol and cigarettes.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who once outranked Jon Jones on the promotion’s pound-for-pound chart, has been abruptly pulled from the latest rankings in this week’s official update. Probably because the 39 year-old “Dominator” (24-4) has not competed in over two years and has yet to book a return fight.
That’s not all.
Rose Namajunas is now 2-2 since jumping to flyweight.
Her most recent loss, a five-round unanimous decision at the hands of 125-pound contender Erin Blanchfield atop the UFC Edmonton fight card last weekend in Canada, cost her some valuable real estate in this week’s official update.
In two categories.
“Thug” (13-7) dropped two places to No. 8 on the pound-for-pound ladder, and one spot to No. 6 in the flyweight division. As for Blanchfield (13-2), she jumped to No. 6 on the pound-for-pound leaderboard but held her position at No. 3 at 125 pounds.
Here’s how the rankings are compiled, at least until AI takes over:
Rankings are 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. Alex Pereira
3. Jon Jones
4. Ilia Topuria
5. Belal Muhammad
6. Dricus Du Plessis
7. Merab Dvalishvili
8. Tom Aspinall
9. Leon Edwards
10. Alexander Volkanovski
11. Alexandre Pantoja
12. Max Holloway
13. Sean O’Malley
14. Sean Strickland
15. Israel Adesanya
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Tatsuro Taira
6. Alex Perez
7. Asu Almabayev
8. Steve Erceg +1
9. Manel Kape -1
10. Tim Elliott +1
11. Tagir Ulanbekov +1
12. Bruno Silva +1
13. Charles Johnson +2
14. Cody Durden
15. Matt Schnell *NR
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Merab Dvalishvili
1. Sean O’Malley
2. Umar Nurmagomedov
3. Petr Yan
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Deiveson Figueiredo
6. Marlon Vera
7. Henry Cejudo
8. Song Yadong
9. Rob Font
10. Mario Bautista -1
11. Jose Aldo
12. Kyler Phillips
13. Jonathan Martinez
14. Aiemann Zahabi *NR
15. Montel Jackson
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Ilia Topuria
1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Diego Lopes
4. Yair Rodriguez
5. Movsar Evloev
6. Brian Ortega
7. Arnold Allen
8. Josh Emmett
9. Aljamain Sterling
10. Calvin Kattar
11. Lerone Murphy
12. Giga Chikadze
13. Bryce Mitchell
14. Dan Ige
15. Edson Barboza
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Arman Tsarukyan
2. Charles Oliveira
3. Justin Gaethje
4. Dustin Poirier
5. Max Holloway
6. Dan Hooker
7. Michael Chandler
8. Beneil Dariush
9. Mateusz Gamrot
10. (T) Rafael Fiziev
10. (T) Renato Moicano
12. Benoit Saint Denis
13. Jalin Turner
14. Paddy Pimblett
15. Rafael dos Anjos
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Belal Muhammed
1. Leon Edwards
2. Kamaru Usman
3. Shavkat Rakhmonov
4. (T) Jack Della Maddalena
4. (T) Sean Brady +1
6. Colby Covington
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Gilbert Burns
9. Joaquin Buckley
10. Geoff Neal
11. Stephen Thompson
12. Michael Morales
13. Michael Page
14. Vicente Luque
15. Neil Magny
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Dricus Du Plessis
1. Sean Strickland
2. Israel Adesanya
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Robert Whittaker
5. Nassourdine Imavov
6. Caio Borralho
7. Marvin Vettori
8. Jared Cannonier
9. Brendan Allen
10. Roman Dolidze
11. Paulo Costa
12. Jack Hermansson
13. Anthony Hernandez
14. Shara Magomedov
15. Michel Pereira
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Magomed Ankalaev
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Jamahal Hill
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. (T) Nikita Krylov
6. (T) Khalil Rountree
8. Volkan Oezdemir
9. Johnny Walker
10. Carlos Ulberg
11. Azamat Murzakanov
12. (T) Anthony Smith
12. (T) Dominick Reyes
14. Bogdan Guskov
15. Alonzo Menifield
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jon Jones
1. Tom Aspinall
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Alexander Volkov
4. Sergei Pavlovich
5. Curtis Blaydes
6. Jailton Almeida
7. Serghei Spivac
8. Stipe Miocic
9. Marcin Tybura
10. Jairzinho Rozenstruik -1
11. Derrick Lewis
12. Tai Tuivasa
13. Marcos Rogerio De Lima +1
14. Waldo Cortes Acosta *NR
15. Mick Parkin *NR
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Zhang Weili
3. Alexa Grasso
4. Julianna Pena
5. Manon Fiorot
6. Erin Blanchfield +1
7. Kayla Harrison +1
8. (T) Raquel Pennington +1
8. (T) Rose Namajunas -2
10. Tatiana Suarez
11. Yan Xiaonan
12. Virna Jandiroba
13. Jessica Andrade +1
14. Natalia Silva -1
15. Maycee Barber
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Zhang Weili
1. Tatiana Suarez
2. Yan Xiaonan
3. Virna Jandiroba
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Amanda Lemos
6. Mackenzie Dern
7. Iasmin Lucindo
8. Amanda Ribas
9. Marina Rodriguez
10. Tabatha Ricci
11. Loopy Godinez
12. Angela Hill
13. Luana Pinheiro
14. Gillian Robertson
15. Tecia Pennington
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Alexa Grasso
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Natalia Silva +1
6. Rose Namajunas -1
7. Katlyn Cerminara
8. Jessica Andrade
9. Viviane Araújo
10. Amanda Ribas
11. Karine Silva
12. Tracy Cortez
13. Jasmine Jasudavicius +1
14. Ariane Da Silva -1
15. Casey O’Neill
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Julianna Pena
1. Raquel Pennington
2. Kayla Harrison
3. Ketlen Vieira
4. (T) Macy Chiasson
4. (T) Norma Dumont +1
6. (T) Irene Aldana
6. (T) Mayra Bueno Silva
8. Holly Holm
9. Karol Rosa
10. Yana Santos
11. Miesha Tate
12. Julia Avila
13. Ailin Perez +1
14. Chelsea Chandler +1
15. Jacqueline Cavalcanti *NR
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the welterweight division, following the UFC Vegas 100: “Magny vs. Prates” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., Nov. 9, 2024 at APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.