Alistair Overeem and Frankie Edgar, two longtime veterans hoping to stay competitive in the hunt for a UFC title, have been bounced from the Top 5 of their respective divisions after getting finished at the UFC Vegas 18 mixed martial arts (MMA) event last weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Combat sports can be a “cruel bitch.”
Overeem (47-19, 1 NC) was pounded out by fellow heavyweight veteran Alexander Volkov (highlights here). Edgar (24-9, 1 NC), meanwhile, was flattened in less than 30 seconds by surging bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen in the co-main event (video here).
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. Stipe Miocic
5. Kamaru Usman
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 +1
8. Rogerio Bontorin
9. Kai Kara France -1
10. David Dvorak +2
11. Raulian Paiva -1
12. Tim Elliott -1
13. Amir Albazi
14. Su Mudaerji
15. Tyson Nam
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Petr Yan
1. Aljamain Sterling
2. Cory Sandhagen
3. Rob Font +2
4. Cody Garbrandt -1
5. Jose Aldo +1
6. Marlon Moraes +1
7. Frankie Edgar -3
8. Pedro Munhoz
9. Jimmie Rivera
10. Raphael Assuncao
11. Dominick Cruz
12. Merab Dvalishvili
13. Cody Stamann
14. Song Yadong
15. Casey Kenney
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. Arnold Allen
10. Sodiq Yusuff
11. Dan Ige
12. Shane Burgos
13. Bryce Mitchell
14. Ryan Hall
15. Edson Barboza
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 +4
10. Paul Felder -1
11. Diego Ferreira -1
12. Kevin Lee
13. Al Iaquinta -2
14. Islam Makhachev
15. Gregor Gillespie
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: KAMARU USMAN
1. Gilbert Burns +1
2. Colby Covington -1
3. Leon Edwards
4. Jorge Masvidal
5. Stephen Thompson
6. Michael Chiesa
7. Tyron Woodley
8. Demian Maia
9. Neil Magny
10. Vicente Luque -1
11. Geoff Neal
12. Li Jingliang
13. Belal Muhammed
14. Robbie Lawler
15. Khamzat Chimaev
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. Uriah Hall
9. Kelvin Gastelum
10. Kevin Holland
11. Chris Weidman
12. Edmen Shahbazyan
13. Brad Tavares
14. Omari Akhmedov
15. Ian Heinisch
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. Curtis Blaydes
3. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
4. Derrick Lewis
5. Alexander Volkov +1
6. Alistair Overeem -1
7. Ciryl Gane
8. Shamil Abdurakhimov
9. Augusto Sakai
10. Aleksei Oleinik
11. Walt Harris
12. Junior dos Santos -1
13. Blagoy Ivanov
14. Sergei Pavlovich
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. Maycee Barber
11. Andrea Lee
12. Alexis Davis
13. Talia Santos
14. Antonina Shevchenko
15. Alexa Grasso
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT*
Champion: AMANDA NUNES
1. Germaine de Randamie
2. Holly Holm
3. Aspen Ladd
4. Irene Aldana +1
5. Julianna Pena +1
6. Ketlen Vieira +1
7. Yana Kunitskaya +1
8. Sara McMann +1
9. Marion Reneau +1
10. Macy Chiasson +2
11. Lina Lansberg
12. Pannie Kianzad +1
13. Sijara Eubanks +1
14. Karol Rosa *NR
15. Julia Avila
*Raquel Pennington removed following USADA suspension.
There you have it.
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the welterweight division, following the UFC 258: “Usman vs. Burns” pay-per-view (PPV) event on Feb. 13 from inside APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.