In addition, Shara Magomedov was tossed from the Top 15 after losing to Michael Page (and replaced by Bo Nickal).
UFC Saudi Arabia headliner Israel Adesanya is no longer ranked on the promotion’s pound-for-pound chart and is now in danger of dropping out of the Top 5 at middleweight, unless the former 185-pound champion can turn his career around and get back into the win column.
The 35 year-old “Last Stylebender” has dropped three straight and four of his last five, including last weekend’s technical knockout loss to fast-rising French phenom Nassourdine Imavov. “The Sniper” is riding a four-fight win streak and jumped to No. 2 with his victory over Adesanya.
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. Jon Jones
3. Alex Pereira
4. Ilia Topuria
5. Merab Dvalishvili
6. Belal Muhammad
7. Dricus Du Plessis
8. Tom Aspinall
9. Alexandre Pantoja
10. Leon Edwards
11. Alexander Volkanovski
12. Max Holloway
13. Sean O’Malley
14. Sean Strickland
15. Charles Oliveira
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Tatsuro Taira
6. Manel Kape
7. Alex Perez
8. Asu Almabayev
9. Steve Erceg
10. Tim Elliott
11. Tagir Ulanbekov
12. Charles Johnson
13. Bruno Silva
14. Kai Asakura
15. Joshua Van
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Merab Dvalishvili
1. Sean O’Malley
2. Petr Yan
3. Umar Nurmagomedov
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Deiveson Figueiredo
6. Marlon Vera
7. Henry Cejudo
8. Song Yadong
9. Rob Font
10. Mario Bautista
11. Jose Aldo
12. Kyler Phillips
13. Aiemann Zahabi
14. Marcus McGhee
15. Montel Jackson
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Ilia Topuria
1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Diego Lopes
4. Movsar Evloev
5. Yair Rodriguez
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. Mateusz Gamrot
9. Beneil Dariush
10. Renato Moicano
11. Rafael Fiziev
12. Paddy Pimblett
13. Jalin Turner
14. Benoit Saint Denis
15. Grant Dawson
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Belal Muhammed
1. Leon Edwards
2. Shavkat Rakhmonov
3. Kamaru Usman
4. Jack Della Maddalena
6. Sean Brady
6. Joaquin Buckley
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Gilbert Burns
9. Colby Covington
10. Geoff Neal
11. Stephen Thompson
12. Michael Morales
13. Carlos Prates
14. Vicente Luque
15. Michael Page
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Dricus Du Plessis
1. Sean Strickland
2. Nassourdine Imavov +3
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Israel Adesanya -2
5. Robert Whittaker -1
6. Caio Borralho
7. Jared Cannonier +1
8. Marvin Vettori -1
9. Brendan Allen
10. Roman Dolidze
11. Paulo Costa
12. Anthony Hernandez
13. Michel Pereira +2
14. Roman Kopylov *NR
15. Bo Nickal *NR
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Magomed Ankalaev
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Jan Blachowicz
4. Jamahal Hill
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. Carlos Ulberg
7. Khalil Rountree
8. Nikita Krylov
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Johnny Walker
11. Dominick Reyes
12. Azamat Murzakanov
13. Bogdan Guskov
14. Anthony Smith
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. Marcin Tybura
9. Derrick Lewis +1
10. Tai Tuivasa +1
11. Shamil Gaziev +3
12. Waldo Cortes Acosta +1
13. Mick Parkin +2
14. Don’Tale Mayes *NR
15. Jhonata Diniz *NR
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Zhang Weili
3. Alexa Grasso
4. Julianna Pena
5. Manon Fiorot
6. Erin Blanchfield
7. Kayla Harrison
8. Rose Namajunas
9. Raquel Pennington
10. Tatiana Suarez
11. Yan Xiaonan
12. Virna Jandiroba
13. Jessica Andrade
14. Natalia Silva
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. Gillian Robertson
13. Angela Hill
14. Luana Pinheiro
15. Tecia Pennington
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Alexa Grasso
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Natalia Silva
6. Rose Namajunas
7. Jessica Andrade
8. Viviane Araújo +1
9. Jasmine Jasudavicius +3
10. Tracy Cortez +1
11. Karine Silva +2
12. Ariane Da Silva +2
13. Miranda Maverick +2
14. Casey O’Neill *NR
15. Mayra Bueno Silva *NR
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Julianna Pena
1. Raquel Pennington
2. Kayla Harrison
3. Ketlen Vieira
4. Norma Dumont
5. Macy Chiasson
6. Irene Aldana
7. Ailin Perez +4
8. Mayra Bueno Silva -1
9. Karol Rosa -1
10. Yana Santos -1
11. Miesha Tate -1
12. Julia Avila
13. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
14. Chelsea Chandler
15. Nora Cornolle
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the middleweight division, following the UFC 312: “Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2” pay-per-view (PPV) event on ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., Feb. 8, 2025 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.