All that arguing we did over Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev after UFC 284 last month in Perth was all for nothing since former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones — who is now the heavyweight titleholder after disposing of Ciryl Gane — trumped them both and claimed the top pound-for-pound spot in the latest UFC rankings update. “Bones” submitted “Bon Gamin” at UFC 285 to become the eighth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two separate divisions and is expected to make his first title defense against Stipe Miocic at UFC 290 in July.
Elsewhere on the charts, former women’s 125-pound champion Valentina Shevchenko coughed up her ranking to Alexa Grasso at both pound-for-pound and flyweight after a shocking upset loss in the UFC 285 co-main event last weekend in Las Vegas. In addition, welterweight phenom Shavkat Rakhmonov and streaking middleweight prospect Dricus Du Plessis both climbed to No. 6 in their respective divisions following big wins at UFC 285.
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 +8
2. Alexander Volkanovski -1
3. Islam Makhachev -1
4. Leon Edwards -1
5. Kamaru Usman -1
6. Israel Adesanya -1
7. Alex Pereira -1
8. Aljamain Sterling -1
9. Charles Oliveira -1
10. Brandon Moreno -1
11. Jiri Prochazka
12. Dustin Poirier
13. Jamahal Hill
14. Robert Whittaker
15. Max Holloway
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Brandon Moreno
1. Deiveson Figueiredo
2. Alexandre Pantoja
3. Kai Kara France
4. Brandon Royval
5. Matheus Nicolau
6. Alex Perez
7. Amir Albazi
8. Matt Schnell
9. Manel Kape
10. David Dvorak
11. Tim Elliott
12. Muhammad Mokaev
13. Su Mudaerji
14. Tagir Ulanbekov
14. Tyson Nam
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Aljamain Sterling
1. Sean O’Malley
2. Petr Yan
3. Merab Dvalishvili
4. Marlon Vera
5. Cory Sandhagen
6. Rob Font
7. Dominick Cruz
8. Song Yadong
9. Pedro Munhoz
10. Ricky Simon
11. Umar Nurmagomedov
12. Adrian Yanez +1
13. Chris Gutierrez -1
14. Said Nurmagomedov
15. Jack Shore
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
1. Interim Champion Yair Rodriguez
2. Max Holloway
3. Brian Ortega
4. Arnold Allen
5. Josh Emmett
6. Chan Sung Jung
7. Calvin Kattar
8. Giga Chikadze
9. Ilia Topuria
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. 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. Jalin Turner
11. Dan Hooker
12. Damir Ismagulov
13. Renato Moicano
14. Drew Dober
15. Grant Dawson
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Leon Edwards
1. Kamaru Usman
2. Colby Covington
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Belal Muhammed
5. Gilbert Burns
6. Shavkat Rakhmonov +3
7. Stephen Thompson -1
8. Geoff Neal -1
9. Sean Brady -1
10. Vicente Luque -1
11. Jorge Masvidal
12. Neil Magny
13. Michael Chiesa -1
14. Jack Della Maddalena
15. Michel Pereira
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Israel Adesanya
2. Robert Whittaker
3. Jared Cannonier
4. Marvin Vettori
5. Paulo Costa +1
6. Dricus Du Plessis +4
7. Sean Strickland
8. Derek Brunson -3
9. Roman Dolidze -1
10. Jack Hermansson -1
11. Nassourdine Imavov
12. Brendan Allen
13. Andre Muniz
14. Chris Curtis
15. Kelvin Gastelum
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jamahal Hill
1. Jiri Prochazka
2. Magomed Ankalaev
3. Jan Blachowicz
4. Aleksandar Rakic
5. Anthony Smith
6. Nikita Krylov
7. Johnny Walker
8. Ryan Spann
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Paul Craig
11. Dominick Reyes
12. Jim Crute
13. (T) Khalil Rountree
13. (T) Dustin Jacoby
15. Azamat Murzakanov
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jon Jones
1. (T) Ciryl Gane
1. (T) Stipe Miocic +1
3. Sergei Pavlovich
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Tai Tuivasa
6. Tom Aspinall
7. Serghei Spivac
8. Alexander Volkov
9. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
10. Marcin Tybura
11. Derrick Lewis
12. Chris Daukaus
13. Jailton Almeida +1
14. Alexandr Romanov -1
15. Blagoy Ivanov
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Amanda Nunes
2. Alexa Grasso *NR
3. Valentina Shevchenko -1
4. Weili Zhang -1
5. Rose Namajunas -1
6. Julianna Pena -1
7. Carla Esparza -1
8. Jessica Andrade -1
9. Erin Blanchfield -1
10. Amanda Lemos -1
11. Manon Fiorot
12. Taila Santos -2
13. Raquel Pennington
14. Marina Rodriguez -2
15. Holly Holm -1
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Zhang Weili
1. Carla Esparza
2. Rose Namajunas
3. Amanda Lemos
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Marina Rodriguez
6. Yan Xiaonan
7. Mackenzie Dern
8. Tecia Torres
9. Virna Jandiroba +1
10. Michelle Waterson +1
11. Amanda Ribas -2
12. Tatiana Suarez +1
13. Angela Hill -1
14. Luana Pinheiro
15. Tabatha Ricci *NR
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexa Grasso
1. Valentina Shevchenko -1
2. Manon Fiorot -1
3. Talia Santos -1
4. Erin Blanchfield -1
5. Jessica Andrade -1
6. Katlyn Chookagian -1
7. Lauren Murphy
8. Jennifer Maia +1
9. Amanda Ribas *NR
10. Viviane Araújo -2
11. Andrea Lee -1
12. Casey O’Neill -1
13. Maycee Barber -1
14. Tracy Cortez -1
15. Cynthia Calvillo -1
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Amanda Nunes
1. Julianna Pena
2. Raquel Pennington
3. (T) Holly Holm
3. (T) Ketlen Vieira
5. Irene Aldana
6. Yana Kunitskaya
7. Pannie Kianzad
8. Macy Chiasson
9. Karol Rosa
10. Mayra Bueno Silva +2
11. Miesha Tate -1
12. Julia Avila -1
13. Norma Dumont
14. Josiane Nunes
15. Chelsea Chandler
There you have it.
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the bantamweight division, following the UFC Las Vegas: “Yan vs. Dvalishvili” mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which takes place this Sat. night (March 11, 2023) from inside The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.