Also making major moves were Arman Tsarukyan, Aljamain Sterling, Renato Moicano, Diego Lopes, Deiveson Figueiredo, and more!
UFC 300 featured some of the biggest stars in MMA all assembled onto one fight card in Las Vegas; so naturally, the outcome of last weekend’s event had a major impact on the promotion’s official rankings. Former featherweight champion Max Holloway, who scored one of the greatest knockouts in history by face-planting Justin Gaethje in their “BMF” battle, debuted at No. 9 in the lightweight division, while also rocketing up the pound-for-pound chart to land at No. 8.
Former PFL champion Kayla Harrison made her Octagon debut by strangling former 135-pound titleholder Holly Holm, giving her real estate at bantamweight (No. 4) and women’s pound-for-pound (No. 13). In addition, surging lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan took over the No. 1 spot at 155 pounds by turning away ex-division champion Charles Oliveira. As for Aljamain Sterling, he was pulled from the bantamweight chart and reinserted at No. 8 in the 145-pound class, thanks to his decision victory over Calvin Kattar.
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. Alexander Volkanovski +1
8. Max Holloway +6
9. Dricus Du Plessis
10. Alexandre Pantoja
11. Charles Oliveira -4
12. Israel Adesanya -1
13. Tom Aspinall -1
14. Sean Strickland -1
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. David Dvorak
15. Su Mudaerji
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Sean O’Malley
1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. Cory Sandhagen +1
3. Petr Yan +1
4. Marlon Vera +1
5. Henry Cejudo +1
6. Deiveson Figueiredo +2
7. Song Yadong
8. Rob Font +1
9. Umar Nurmagomedov +1
10. Kyler Phillips +1
11. Dominick Cruz +1
12. Mario Bautista +1
13. Jonathan Martinez +1
14. Pedro Munhoz +1
15. Ricky Simon *NR
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. Aljamain Sterling *NR
9. Calvin Kattar -1
10. Giga Chikadze -1
11. Bryce Mitchell -1
12. Edson Barboza -1
13. Dan Ige -1
14. Diego Lopes *NR
15. Sodiq Yusuff -2
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Arman Tsarukyan +3
2. Charles Oliveira -1
3. Justin Gaethje -1
4. Dustin Poirier -1
5. Mateusz Gamrot
6. Beneil Dariush +1
7. Michael Chandler -1
8. Rafael Fiziev
9. Max Holloway *NR
10. Renato Moicano +3
11. Dan Hooker -2
12. Jalin Turner -2
13. Benoit Saint-Denis -2
14. Rafael dos Anjos -2
15. Bobby Green -1
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. Joaquin Buckley
12. Neil Magny
13. Michael Page
14. Vicente Luque
15. Kevin Holland
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. Roman Dolidze
10. Jack Hermansson
11. Khamzat Chimaev
12. Anthony Hernandez
13. Paul Craig
14. Caio Borralho +1
15. Chris Curtis -1
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Jiri Prochazka +1
2. Magomed Ankalaev +1
3. Jamahal Hill -2
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. Marcin Tybura
9. Serghei Spivac
10. Tai Tuivasa
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. Manon Fiorot
5. Julianna Pena
6. Raquel Pennington
7. Rose Namajunas
8. Erin Blanchfield
9. Tatiana Suarez
10. Yan Xiaonan
11. Jessica Andrade
12. Amanda Lemos
13. Kayla Harrison *NR
14. Ketlen Vieira -1
15. Irene Aldana
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Zhang Weili
1. Tatiana Suarez +1
2. Yan Xiaonan -1
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. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Jessica Andrade
6. Rose Namajunas
7. Katlyn Cerminara
8. Natalia Silva
9. Amanda Ribas
10. Viviane Araújo
11. Tracy Cortez
12. Ariane Lipski
13. Karine Silva
14. Casey O’Neill
15. Miranda Maverick
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Raquel Pennington
1. Julianna Pena
2. Ketlen Vieira
3. Mayra Bueno Silva
4. Kayla Harrison *NR
5. Irene Aldana -1
6. Holly Holm -1
7. Macy Chiasson -1
8. Miesha Tate -1
9. Karol Rosa -1
10. Norma Dumont -1
11. Pannie Kianzad -1
12. Yana Santos -1
13. Julia Avila -1
14. Chelsea Chandler -1
15. Germaine De Randamie -1
You can expect these rankings to change in roughly two weeks, particularly in the flyweight division, following the UFC Vegas 91: “Nicolau vs. Perez” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN and ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., April 26, 2024 at APEX in Las Vegas.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.