Alex Pereira is now a Top 5 light heavyweight contender.
The former middleweight champion made his 205-pound debut with a split decision victory over ex-division titleholder Jan Blachowicz in the UFC 291 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event last weekend in Salt Lake City. As a result, “Poatan” landed at No. 3, sending the Polish powerhouse — and a bunch of others — down one spot in the official rankings.
That’s not all.
Justin Gaethje switched places with Dustin Poirier on the 155-pound ladder after stopping “The Diamond” by way of second-round knockout. Elsewhere on the charts, Kevin Holland made his rankings debut at welterweight following a submission victory over Michael Chiesa, also sending the weight-challenged Michel Pereira into the unranked void.
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
10. (T) Jiri Prochazka
10. (T) Alex Pereira +1
12. Max Holloway
13. Justin Gaethje *NR
14. Jamahal Hill
15. Brandon Moreno
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. Manel Kape
10. Tim Elliott
11. Muhammad Mokaev
12. Su Mudaerji
13. Tagir Ulanbekov
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. 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. Sodiq Yusuff
12. Bryce Mitchell
13. Dan Ige
14. Edson Barboza
15. Alex Caceres
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Charles Oliveira
2. Justin Gaethje +1
3. Dustin Poirier -1
4. Beneil Dariush
5. Michael Chandler
6. Rafael Fiziev
7. Mateusz Gamrot
8. Arman Tsarukyan
9. Rafael dos Anjos
10. Dan Hooker
11. Grant Dawson
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 -1
10. Vicente Luque
11. Neil Magny
12. Kevin Holland *NR
13. Ian Machado Garry +1
14. Jack Della Maddalena -1
15. Michael Chiesa -3
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Israel Adesanya
1. Dricus Du Plessis
2. Robert Whittaker +1
3. Jared Cannonier +1
4. Marvin Vettori +1
5. Sean Strickland +1
6. Paulo Costa +1
7. Derek Brunson +1
8. Roman Dolidze +1
9. Jack Hermansson +1
10. Brendan Allen +1
11. Kelvin Gastelum +1
12. Nassourdine Imavov +1
13. Paul Craig +1
14. Chris Curtis +1
15. Andre Muniz *NR
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jamahal Hill
1. Jiri Prochazka
2. Magomed Ankalaev
3. Alex Pereira *NR
4. Jan Blachowicz -1
5. Aleksandar Rakic -1
6. Nikita Krylov -1
7. Johnny Walker -1
8. Anthony Smith -1
9. Volkan Oezdemir -1
10. Ryan Spann -1
11. Azamat Murzakanov -1
12. Dominick Reyes
13. Khalil Rountree -2
14. Alonzo Menifield -1
15. Dustin Jacoby -1
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 +1
8. Alexander Volkov -1
9. Jailton Almeida
10. Derrick Lewis
11. Marcin Tybura
12. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
13. Alexandr Romanov
14. Chris Daukaus
15. Marcos Rogerio De Lima
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. Manon Fiorot
11. Taila Santos
12. Amanda Lemos
13. Raquel Pennington
14. Mayra Bueno Silva
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. Erin Blanchfield
4. Talia Santos
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. Mayra Bueno Silva
4. Ketlen Vieira
5. Irene Aldana
6. Holly Holm
7. Pannie Kianzad
8. Yana Santos
9. Karol Rosa
10. Macy Chiasson
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 bantamweight division, following the UFC Nashville: “Sandhagen vs. Font” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN and ESPN+ this Sat. night (Aug. 5, 2023) at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.