Former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo survived the pound-for-pound cut but “Blessed” did not.
Jamahal Hill just turned the UFC rankings on its head.
“Sweet Dreams” captured the vacant light heavyweight title by retiring Glover Teixeira in the UFC 283 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last weekend in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, taking over the No. 1 spot at 205 pounds. “Sweet Dreams” also debuted in the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings at No. 13 at the expense of former featherweight champion Max Holloway, which is sure to be the cause for some debate.
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. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Islam Makhachev
3. Leon Edwards
4. Kamaru Usman
5. Israel Adesanya
6. Alex Pereira
7. Charles Oliveira
8. Aljamain Sterling
9. Brandon Moreno +6
10. Jiri Prochazka -1
11. Jon Jones +1
12. Dustin Poirier -1
13. Jamahal Hill *NR
14. Robert Whittaker -1
15. Deiveson Figueiredo -5
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Brandon Moreno
1. Deiveson Figueiredo -1
2. Alexandre Pantoja
3. Kai Kara France
4. Brandon Royval
5. Matheus Nicolau
6. Alex Perez
7. Amir Albazi
8. Matt Schnell
9. Manel Kape
10. David Dvorak
11. Tim Elliott
12. Muhammad Mokaev +1
13. Su Mudaerji -1
14. Tagir Ulanbekov +1
14. Tyson Nam *NR
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Aljamain Sterling
1. Sean O’Malley
2. Petr Yan
3. Merab Dvalishvili
4. Marlon Vera
5. Cory Sandhagen
6. Rob Font
7. Dominick Cruz
8. Song Yadong
9. Pedro Munhoz
10. Ricky Simon
11. Umar Nurmagomedov
12. Chris Gutierrez
13. Adrian Yanez
14. Said Nurmagomedov
15. Jack Shore
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
1. Max Holloway
2. Yair Rodriguez
3. Brian Ortega
4. Arnold Allen
5. Josh Emmett
6. Chan Sung Jung
7. Calvin Kattar
8. Giga Chikadze
9. Ilia Topuria
10. Movsar Evloev
11. Bryce Mitchell
12. Sodiq Yusuff
13. Dan Ige
14. Edson Barboza
15. Alex Caceres
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Charles Oliveira
2. Dustin Poirier
3. Justin Gaethje
4. Beneil Dariush
5. Michael Chandler
6. Rafael Fiziev
7. Mateusz Gamrot
8. Arman Tsarukyan
9. Rafael dos Anjos
10. Jalin Turner
11. Dan Hooker
12. Damir Ismagulov
13. Renato Moicano
14. Drew Dober
15. Grant Dawson
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Leon Edwards
1. Kamaru Usman
2. Colby Covington
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Belal Muhammed
5. Gilbert Burns
6. Stephen Thompson
7. Geoff Neal
8. Sean Brady
9. Vicente Luque
10. Shavkat Rakhmonov
11. Jorge Masvidal
12. Michael Chiesa +1
13. Neil Magny -1
14. Michel Pereira
15. Jingliang Li
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Israel Adesanya
2. Robert Whittaker
3. Jared Cannonier
4. Marvin Vettori
5. Derek Brunson
6. Paulo Costa
7. Sean Strickland
8. Roman Dolidze
9. Jack Hermansson
10. Dricus Du Plessis
11. Andre Muniz
12. Nassourdine Imavov
13. Kelvin Gastelum
14. Chris Curtis
15. Darren Till
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jamahal Hill
1. Jiri Prochazka
2. Magomed Ankalaev +1
3. Jan Blachowicz +1
4. Aleksandar Rakic +1
5. Glover Teixeira -3
6. Anthony Smith
7. Nikita Krylov +1
8. Johnny Walker +4
9. Volkan Oezdemir +1
10. Ryan Spann +1
11. Paul Craig -2
12. Dominick Reyes +1
13. Jim Crute +1
14. Khalil Rountree +1
15. Dustin Jacoby *NR
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Vacant
1. Ciryl Gane
2. Stipe Miocic
3. Sergei Pavlovich
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Tai Tuivasa
6. Tom Aspinall
7. Derrick Lewis
8. Alexander Volkov
9. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
10. Marcin Tybura
11. Chris Daukaus
12. Serghei Spivac
13. Alexandr Romanov
14. Jailton Almeida *NR
15. Blagoy Ivanov -1
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Amanda Nunes
2. Valentina Shevchenko
3. Weili Zhang
4. Julianna Pena
5. Rose Namajunas
6. Carla Esparza
7. Jessica Andrade
8. Marina Rodriguez
9. (T) Amanda Lemos
9. (T) Taila Santos +1
11. Manon Fiorot +1
12. Holly Holm -2
13. Raquel Pennington
14. Katlyn Chookagian
15. Ketlen Vieira
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Zhang Weili
1. Carla Esparza
2. Rose Namajunas
3. Amanda Lemos
4. Marina Rodriguez +1
5. Yan Xiaonan +1
6. Jessica Andrade -2
7. Mackenzie Dern
8. Tecia Torres
9. Amanda Ribas
10. Virna Jandiroba
11. Michelle Waterson
12. Angela Hill
13. Luana Pinheiro
14. Emily Ducote
15. Polyana Viana
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Manon Fiorot
2. Talia Santos
3. Jessica Andrade +3
4. Katlyn Chookagian -1
5. Alexa Grasso +1
6. Lauren Murphy -2
7. Viviane Araujo
8. Jennifer Maia
9. Andrea Lee
10. Erin Blanchfield
11. Casey O’Neill
12. Maycee Barber
13. Tracy Cortez
14. Cynthia Calvillo
15. Amanda Ribas
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Amanda Nunes
1. Julianna Pena
2. Raquel Pennington
3. Holly Holm
4. Ketlen Vieira
5. Irene Aldana
6. Yana Kunitskaya
7. Pannie Kianzad
8. Macy Chiasson
9. Karol Rosa
10. Miesha Tate
11. Julia Avila
12. Lina Lansberg
13. Norma Dumont
14. Mayra Bueno Silva
15. Josiane Nunes
There you have it.
You can expect these rankings to change in roughly two weeks following the UFC Vegas 68: “Lewis vs. Spivac” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on Sat., Feb. 4, 2023 on ESPN+ from inside the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For much more on that upcoming lineup click here.