New Rankings! Albazi Replaces Kara-France At No. 3

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Amir Albazi picked up his sixth straight victory after winning a split decision over Kai Kara-France last Saturday (June 3, 2023) at UFC Vegas 74 inside UFC Apex in Las Veg…


UFC Fight Night: Kara-France v Albazi
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Amir Albazi picked up his sixth straight victory after winning a split decision over Kai Kara-France last Saturday (June 3, 2023) at UFC Vegas 74 inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, which had several people calling robbery in more ways than one. With the win, Albazi took France’s No. 3 ranking in the men’s Flyweight division.

As for France, he was bumped down to No. 5 and kicked in the groin, too.

There wasn’t any other movement, including Alex Caceres, who didn’t get a bump and remains at No. 15 at Featherweight despite winning his seventh fight in his last eight tries after beating Daniel Pineda.

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. Jon Jones
2. Alexander Volkanovski
3. Islam Makhachev
4. Leon Edwards
5. Israel Adesanya
6. Aljamain Sterling
7. Kamaru Usman
8. Charles Oliveira
9. Brandon Moreno
10. Alex Pereira
11. Jiri Prochazka
12. Max Holloway
13. Dustin Poirier
14. Jamahal Hill
15. Robert Whittaker

UFC 263: Figueiredo v Moreno 2
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Brandon Moreno

1. Deiveson Figueiredo
2. Alexandre Pantoja
3. Amir Albazi + 4
4. Brandon Royval
5. Kai Kara-France -2
6. Matheus Nicolau -1
7. Alex Perez -1
8. Matt Schnell
9. Manel Kape
10. David Dvorak
11. Tim Elliott
12. Muhammad Mokaev
13. Su Mudaerji
14. Tagir Ulanbekov
14. Bruno Silva

UFC 273: Sterling v Yan 2
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Aljamain Sterling

1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. Sean O’Malley
3. Henry Cejudo
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Petr Yan
6. Marlon Vera
7. Rob Font
8. Song Yadong
9. Dominick Cruz
10. Pedro Munhoz
11. Umar Nurmagomedov
12. Ricky Simon
13. Adrian Yanez
14. Chris Gutierrez
15. Jonathan Martinez

UFC 276: Volkanovski v Holloway 3
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

FEATHERWEIGHT

Champion: Alexander Volkanovski

1. Interim Champion Yair Rodriguez
2. Max Holloway
3. Brian Ortega
4. Arnold Allen
5. Josh Emmett
6. Calvin Kattar
7. Chan Sung Jung
8. Giga Chikadze
9. Ilia Topuria
10. Movsar Evloev
11. Bryce Mitchell
12. Sodiq Yusuff
13. Dan Ige
14. Edson Barboza
15. Alex Caceres

UFC 280: Oliveira v Makhachev
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

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. Matt Frevola
15. Grant Dawson

UFC 286: Edwards v Usman 3
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

WELTERWEIGHT

Champion: Leon Edwards

1. Kamaru Usman
2. Colby Covington
3. Belal Muhammed
4. Khamzat Chimaev
5. Gilbert Burns
6. Shavkat Rakhmonov
7. Stephen Thompson
8. Geoff Neal
9. Sean Brady
10. Vicente Luque
11. Neil Magny
12. Michael Chiesa
13. Ian Machado Garry
14. Jack Della Maddalena
15. Michel Pereira

UFC 276: Adesanya v Cannonier
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Champion: Israel Adesanya

1. Alex Pereira
2. Robert Whittaker
3. Marvin Vettori
4. Jared Cannonier
5. Paulo Costa
6. Dricus Du Plessis
7. Sean Strickland
8. Derek Brunson
9. Roman Dolidze
10. Jack Hermansson
11. Kelvin Gastelum
12. Nassourdine Imavov
13. Brendan Allen
14. Chris Curtis
15. Andre Muniz

MMA-UFC-BRA-TEIXERA-HILL
Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Jamahal Hill

1. Jiri Prochazka
2. Magomed Ankalaev
3. Jan Blachowicz
4. Aleksandar Rakic
5. (T) Nikita Krylov
5. (T) Johnny Walker
7. Anthony Smith
8. Volkan Oezdemir
9. Paul Craig
10. Ryan Spann
11. Azamat Murzakanov
12. Dominick Reyes
13. Khalil Rountree
14. Jim Crute
15. Dustin Jacoby

UFC 285: Jones v Gane
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Jon Jones

1. Ciryl Gane
2. Sergei Pavlovich
3. Stipe Miocic
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Tom Aspinall
6. Tai Tuivasa
7. Alexander Volkov
8. Serghei Spivac
9. Jailton Almeida
10. Marcin Tybura
11. Derrick Lewis
12. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
13. Chris Daukaus
14. Alexandr Romanov
15. Blagoy Ivanov

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Amanda Nunes
2. Alexa Grasso
3. Valentina Shevchenko
4. Weili Zhang
5. Rose Namajunas
6. Julianna Pena
7. Carla Esparza
8. Erin Blanchfield
9. Jessica Andrade
10. Yan Xiaonan
11. Manon Fiorot
12. Amanda Lemos
13. Taila Santos
14. Holly Holm
15. Raquel Pennington

UFC 281: Esparza v Zhang
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT

Champion: Zhang Weili

1. Carla Esparza
2. Rose Namajunas
3. Yan Xiaonan
4. Amanda Lemos
5. Jessica Andrade
6. Virna Jandiroba
7. Mackenzie Dern
8. Marina Rodriguez
9. Tecia Torres
10. Tatiana Suarez
11. Amanda Ribas
12. Michelle Waterson
13. Luana Pinheiro
14. Angela Hill
15. Tabatha Ricci

UFC 285: Shevchenko v Grasso
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexa Grasso

1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Talia Santos
4. Erin Blanchfield
5. Jessica Andrade
6. Katlyn Chookagian
7. Lauren Murphy
8. Jennifer Maia
9. Amanda Ribas
10. Viviane Araújo
11. Maycee Barber
12. Casey O’Neill
13. Andrea Lee
14. Tracy Cortez
15. Miranda Maverick

UFC 277: Pena v Nunes 2
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

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. Mayra Bueno Silva
11. Miesha Tate
12. Julia Avila
13. Norma Dumont
14. (T) Josiane Nunes
14. (T) Chelsea Chandler

There you have it.

You can expect these rankings to change next week, particularly in the women’s Bantamweight division, following the UFC 289 mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) going down Sat. night (June 10, 2023) featuring Amanda Nunes defending her belt against Irene Aldana.


For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.