Reigning UFC featherweight kingpin Alex Volkanovski unified the 145-pound titles by stopping interim champion Yair Rodriguez in the UFC 290 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last weekend in Las Vegas. The victory was enough to send “The Great” into a tie with current heavyweight champion Jon Jones atop the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings.
In addition, middleweight contender Dricus Du Plessis took over the No. 1 spot at 185 pounds following his destruction of former division champion Robert Whittaker. Elsewhere on the charts, newly-crowned 125-pound champion Alexandre Pantoja cracked the pound-for-pound Top 10 with his decision victory over ex-flyweight titleholder Brandon Moreno.
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. (T) Jon Jones
1. (T) Alexander Volkanovski
3. Islam Makhachev
4. Leon Edwards
5. Israel Adesanya
6. Aljamain Sterling
7. Charles Oliveira
8. Kamaru Usman
9. Alexandre Pantoja *NR
10. Jiri Prochazka +1
11. Alex Pereira -1
12. Max Holloway
13. Dustin Poirier
14. Jamahal Hill
15. Brandon Moreno -8
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
1. Brandon Moreno -1
2. Deiveson Figueiredo -1
3. Amir Albazi
4. Brandon Royval
5. Kai Kara France
6. Matheus Nicolau
7. Alex Perez
8. Matt Schnell
9. Manel Kape
10. Tim Elliott
11. Muhammad Mokaev
12. Su Mudaerji +1
13. Tagir Ulanbekov -1
14. Steve Erceg
15. David Dvorak
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
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
1. Max Holloway +1
2. Yair Rodriguez -1
3. Brian Ortega
4. Arnold Allen
5. Ilia Topuria
6. Josh Emmett
7. Calvin Kattar
8. Chan Sung Jung
9. Giga Chikadze
10. Movsar Evloev
11. Sodiq Yusuff
12. Bryce Mitchell
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. Dan Hooker +2
11. Grant Dawson -1
12. Jalin Turner -1
13. Renato Moicano
14. Damir Ismagulov
15. Matt Frevola
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. (T) Geoff Neal
8. (T) Sean Brady
10. Vicente Luque
11. Neil Magny
12. Michael Chiesa
13. Ian Machado Garry
14. Jack Della Maddalena
15. Michel Pereira
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Israel Adesanya
1. Dricus Du Plessis +4
2. Alex Pereira -1
3. Robert Whittaker -1
4. Jared Cannonier -1
5. Marvin Vettori -1
6. Sean Strickland +1
7. Paulo Costa -1
8. Derek Brunson
9. Roman Dolidze
10. Jack Hermansson
11. Brendan Allen
12. Kelvin Gastelum
13. Nassourdine Imavov
14. Andre Muniz
15. Chris Curtis
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
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jon Jones
1. Sergei Pavlovich
2. Ciryl Gane
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. Alexandr Romanov
14. Chris Daukaus
15. Blagoy Ivanov
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Alexa Grasso
2. Valentina Shevchenko
3. Weili Zhang
4. Rose Namajunas
5. Julianna Pena
6. Carla Esparza
7. Erin Blanchfield
8. Jessica Andrade
9. Yan Xiaonan
10. Taila Santos
11. Manon Fiorot
12. Amanda Lemos
13. Raquel Pennington
14. Holly Holm
15. Tatiana Suarez
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. Luana Pinheiro
13. Michelle Waterson
14. Tabatha Ricci
15. Angela Hill
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexa Grasso
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Manon Fiorot
3. (T) Talia Santos
3. (T) Erin Blanchfield
5. Jessica Andrade
6. Katlyn Chookagian
7. Lauren Murphy
8. Maycee Barber
9. Jennifer Maia
10. Viviane Araújo
11. Amanda Ribas
12. Casey O’Neill
13. Andrea Lee
14. Tracy Cortez
15. Jasmine Jasudavicius
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: VACANT
1. Julianna Pena
2. Raquel Pennington
3. Holly Holm
4. Ketlen Vieira
5. Irene Aldana
6. Pannie Kianzad
7. Yana Santos
8. Karol Rosa +1
9. Macy Chiasson -1
10. Mayra Bueno Silva
11. Miesha Tate
12. Julia Avila
13. Norma Dumont
14. Josiane Nunes
15. Chelsea Chandler
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the women’s bantamweight division, following the UFC Vegas 77: “Holm vs. Bueno Silva” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN and ESPN+, which takes place this Sat. night (July 15, 2023) at APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.