Longtime UFC veteran Derrick Lewis continues to blast his way into the upper echelon of the 265-pound division, thanks to last weekend’s blistering knockout victory over fellow heavyweight bruiser Curtis Blaydes. “Black Beast” now trails only Francis Ngannou in his quest for the division crown.
For complete UFC Vegas 19 results and fallout click here.
Also making moves in this week’s rankings update is women’s bantamweight bruiser Yana Kunitskaya. “Foxy” was able to squeak past the venerable Ketlen Vieira with a close unanimous victory, improving her record to 14-5 (1 NC) and securing her place among the 135-pound elite.
Here’s how the rankings are compiled:
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. Khabib Nurmagomedov
2. Jon Jones
3. Israel Adesanya
4. Kamaru Usman
5. Stipe Miocic
6. Alexander Volkanovski
7. Dustin Poirier
8. Max Holloway
9. Deiveson Figueiredo
10. Petr Yan
11. Justin Gaethje
12. Robert Whittaker
13. Francis Ngannou
14. Jan Blachowicz
15. Conor McGregor
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Deiveson Figueiredo
1. Brandon Moreno
2. Joseph Benavidez
3. Askar Askarov
4. Alex Perez
5. Alexandre Pantoja
6. Brandon Royval
7. Matt Schnell
8. Rogerio Bontorin
9. Kai Kara France
10. David Dvorak
11. Raulian Paiva
12. Tim Elliott
13. Amir Albazi
14. Su Mudaerji
15. Tyson Nam
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Petr Yan
1. Aljamain Sterling
2. Cory Sandhagen
3. Rob Font
4. Cody Garbrandt
5. Jose Aldo
6. Marlon Moraes
7. Frankie Edgar
8. Pedro Munhoz
9. Jimmie Rivera
10. Raphael Assuncao
11. Dominick Cruz
12. Merab Dvalishvili
13. Cody Stamann
14. Song Yadong
15. Marlon Vera
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI
1. Max Holloway
2. Brian Ortega
3. Zabit Magomedsharipov
4. Yair Rodriguez
5. Chan Sung Jung
6. Calvin Kattar
7. Josh Emmett
8. Jeremy Stephens
9. Dan Ige
10. Sodiq Yusuff
11. Arnold Allen
12. Shane Burgos
13. Bryce Mitchell
14. Edson Barboza
15. Movsar Evloev
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV
1. Dustin Poirier
2. Justin Gaethje
3. Charles Oliveira
4. Michael Chandler
5. Tony Ferguson
6. Conor McGregor
7. Rafael dos Anjos
8. Dan Hooker
9. Beneil Dariush
10. Paul Felder
11. Diego Ferreira
12. Kevin Lee
13. Al Iaquinta
14. Islam Makhachev
15. Gregor Gillespie
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: KAMARU USMAN
1. Colby Covington
2. Gilbert Burns
3. Leon Edwards
4. Jorge Masvidal
5. Stephen Thompson
6. Michael Chiesa
7. Tyron Woodley
8. Demian Maia
9. Neil Magny
10. Vicente Luque
11. Geoff Neal
12. Li Jingliang
13. Belal Muhammed
14. Khamzat Chimaev
15. Robbie Lawler
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: ISRAEL ADESANYA
1. Robert Whittaker
2. Paulo Costa
3. Jared Cannonier
4. Darren Till
5. Marvin Vettori
6. Jack Hermansson
7. Derek Brunson
8. Kelvin Gastelum
9. Uriah Hall
10. Kevin Holland
11. Chris Weidman
12. Edmen Shahbazyan
13. Omari Akhmedov
14. Brad Tavares
15. Sean Strickland
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jan Blachowicz
1. Glover Teixeira
2. Thiago Santos
3. Dominick Reyes
4. Aleksandar Rakic
5. Jiri Prochazka
6. Anthony Smith
7. Volkan Oezdemir
8. Nikita Krylov
9. Johnny Walker
10. Misha Cirkunov
11. Magomed Ankalaev
12. Jim Crute
13. Ryan Spann
14. Paul Craig
15. Jamall Hill
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: STIPE MIOCIC
1. Francis Ngannou
2. Derrick Lewis +2
3. Curtis Blaydes -1
4. Jairzinho Rozenstruik -1
5. Alexander Volkov
6. Alistair Overeem
7. Ciryl Gane
8. Shamil Abdurakhimov
9. Augusto Sakai
10. Chris Daukaus *NR
11. Walt Harris
12. Junior dos Santos
13. Sergei Pavlovich +1
14. Blagoy Ivanov -1
15. Marcin Tybura
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Amanda Nunes
2. Valentina Shevchenko
3. Weili Zhang
4. Rose Namajunas
5. Jessica Andrade
6. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
7. Germaine De Randamie
8. Holly Holm
9. Aspen Ladd
10. Katlyn Chookagian
11. Nina Ansaroff
12. Yan Xiaonan
13. Carla Esparza
14. Cynthia Calvillo
15. Claudia Gadelha
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: WEILI ZHANG
1. Rose Namajunas
2. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
3. Yan Xiaonan
4. Carla Esparza
5. Nina Ansaroff
6. Marina Rodriguez
7. Claudia Gadelha
8. Michelle Waterson
9. Tecia Torres
10. Amanda Ribas
11. Mackenzie Dern
12. Angela Hill
13. Virna Jandiroba
14. Felice Herrig
15. Livinha Souza
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: VALENTINA SHEVCHENKO
1. Jessica Andrade
2. Katlyn Chookagian
3. Lauren Murphy
4. Jennifer Maia
5. Cynthia Calvillo
6. Joanne Calderwood
7. Viviane Araujo
8. Jessica Eye
9. Roxanne Modafferi
10. Alexa Grasso
11. Alexis Davis
12. Andrea Lee
13. Talia Santos
14. Antonina Shevchenko
15. Maycee Barber
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: AMANDA NUNES
1. Germaine de Randamie
2. Holly Holm
3. Aspen Ladd
4. Irene Aldana
5. Yana Kunitskaya +2
6. Julianna Pena -1
7. Ketlen Vieira -1
8. Sara McMann
9. Marion Reneau
10. Macy Chiasson
11. Lina Lansberg
12. Pannie Kianzad
13. Sijara Eubanks
14. Karol Rosa
15. Julia Avila
There you have it.
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the heavyweight division, following the UFC Vegas 20: “Rozenstruik vs. Gane” event on Sat. night (Feb. 27) from inside APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.