In addition, strawweight champion Zhang Weili booted former flyweight titleholder Valentina Shevchenko from the No. 2 slot on the women’s pound-for-pound list.
Newly-crowned bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley completed his hostile takeover of the 135-pound division with a thrilling, second-round knockout victory over Aljamain Sterling in the UFC 292 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last weekend in Boston. Not only does “Suga” rule the bantamweight roost, but he’s also ranked among the 15 best pound-for-pound fighters in UFC, whatever that means, clocking in at No. 8.
Sterling drops in both categories in defeat.
Undefeated welterweight sensation Ian Machado Garry continued his winning ways at UFC 292 in “Beantown” by knocking around veteran welterweight Neil Magny. The performance was good enough to bring “The Future” up two spots to No. 11 at 170 pounds while also sending “The Haitian Sensation” down to No. 12. In addition, Natalia Silva and Karine Silva debuted in the flyweight rankings after picking up wins in Boston.
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. Charles Oliveira +1
7. Kamaru Usman +1
8. Sean O’Malley *NR
9. Aljamain Sterling -3
10. Alexandre Pantoja -1
11. Alex Pereira -1
12. Jiri Prochazka -2
13. Max Holloway -1
14. Justin Gaethje -1
15. Jamahal Hill -1
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
1. Brandon Moreno
2. Deiveson Figueiredo
3. Amir Albazi
4. Brandon Royval
5. Kai Kara France
6. Matheus Nicolau
7. Alex Perez
8. Matt Schnell
9. Tim Elliott +1
10. Manel Kape -1
11. Muhammad Mokaev
12. Su Mudaerji
13. Tagir Ulanbekov
14. Steve Erceg
15. Cody Durden
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Sean O’Malley
1. Aljamain Sterling -1
2. Merab Dvalishvili -1
3. Henry Cejudo
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Petr Yan
6. Marlon Vera
7. (T) Rob Font
7. (T) Song Yadong
9. Dominick Cruz
10. Pedro Munhoz
11. Umar Nurmagomedov
12. Ricky Simon
13. Jonathan Martinez
14. Adrian Yanez
15. Chris Gutierrez
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
1. Max Holloway
2. Yair Rodriguez
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. Bryce Mitchell
12. Sodiq Yusuff
13. Dan Ige
14. Edson Barboza
15. Alex Caceres
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Charles Oliveira
2. Justin Gaethje
3. Dustin Poirier
4. Beneil Dariush
5. Michael Chandler
6. Rafael Fiziev
7. Mateusz Gamrot
8. Arman Tsarukyan
9. Dan Hooker
10. Grant Dawson +1
11. Rafael dos Anjos -1
12. Jalin Turner
13. Renato Moicano
14. Matt Frevola
15. Diego Ferreira
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. Ian Machado Garry +2
12. Neil Magny -1
13. Kevin Holland -1
14. Jack Della Maddalena
15. Michael Chiesa
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Israel Adesanya
1. Dricus Du Plessis
2. Robert Whittaker
3. Jared Cannonier
4. Marvin Vettori
5. Sean Strickland
6. Paulo Costa
7. (T) Derek Brunson
7. (T) Roman Dolidze +1
9. Jack Hermansson
10. Brendan Allen
11. Kelvin Gastelum
12. Nassourdine Imavov
13. Paul Craig
14. Chris Curtis
15. Andre Muniz
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jamahal Hill
1. Jiri Prochazka
2. Magomed Ankalaev
3. Alex Pereira
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. (T) Nikita Krylov
6. (T) Johnny Walker
8. Anthony Smith
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Ryan Spann
11. Khalil Rountree
12. Azamat Murzakanov
13. Dominick Reyes
14. Alonzo Menifield
15. Dustin Jacoby
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jon Jones
1. Sergei Pavlovich
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Stipe Miocic
4. Tom Aspinall
5. Curtis Blaydes
6. Tai Tuivasa
7. Serghei Spivac
8. Alexander Volkov
9. Jailton Almeida
10. Derrick Lewis
11. Marcin Tybura
12. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
13. Alexandr Romanov
14. Marcos Rogerio De Lima +1
15. Rodrigo Nascimento -1
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Alexa Grasso
2. Zhang Weili +1
3. Valentina Shevchenko -1
4. Rose Namajunas
5. Julianna Pena
6. Carla Esparza
7. Erin Blanchfield -1
8. Tatiana Suarez
9. Yan Xiaonan
10. Manon Fiorot
11. Taila Santos
12. Jessica Andrade
13. Raquel Pennington
14. Amanda Lemos
15. Mayra Bueno Silva
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Zhang Weili
1. Carla Esparza
2. Rose Namajunas
3. Yan Xiaonan
4. Tatiana Suarez
5. Amanda Lemos
6. Jessica Andrade
7. Virna Jandiroba
8. Mackenzie Dern
9. Marina Rodriguez
10. Tecia Torres
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. Erin Blanchfield
4. Talia Santos
5. Katlyn Chookagian +1
6. Jessica Andrade -1
7. Lauren Murphy
8. Maycee Barber
9. Jennifer Maia
10. Viviane Araújo
11. Amanda Ribas
12. Casey O’Neill
13. Natalia Silva *NR
14. Tracy Cortez
15. Karine Silva *NR
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: VACANT
1. Julianna Pena
2. Raquel Pennington
3. Mayra Bueno Silva
4. Ketlen Vieira
5. (T) Irene Aldana
5. (T) Holly Holm
7. Pannie Kianzad
8. Yana Santos
9. (T) Macy Chiasson
9. (T) Karol Rosa
11. Norma Dumont
12. Miesha Tate
13. Julia Avila
14. Josiane Nunes
15. Chelsea Chandler
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the featherweight division, following the UFC Singapore: “Holloway vs. Korean Zombie” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN+ this Sat. (Aug. 26, 2023) at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.