Former UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, defended his heavyweight title by smashing former 265-pound kingpin, Stipe Miocic, atop the UFC 309 pay-per-view (PPV) event last weekend in New York City, pushing “Bones” to 28-1 (1 NC) with his lone loss coming by way of controversial disqualification.
Unfortunately, the UFC rankings panel still ranks Jones behind current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (26-1), who is coming off a submission win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 back in June. Not surprisingly, UFC CEO Dana White went ballistic (again) in his Instagram stories and creamed the “clowns” responsible for voting.
“I have to get rid of these CLOWNS!!” White wrote. “Zuck, let’s get this AI deal done ASAP!!!!!”
Here’s how the rankings are compiled, at least until AI takes over:
Rankings are 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. Islam Makhachev
2. Jon Jones +1
3. Alex Pereira -1
4. Ilia Topuria
5. Belal Muhammad
6. Dricus Du Plessis
7. Merab Dvalishvili
8. Tom Aspinall
9. Leon Edwards
10. Alexander Volkanovski
11. Alexandre Pantoja
12. Max Holloway
13. Sean O’Malley
14. Sean Strickland
15. Charles Oliveira *NR
Note: Oliveira replaces former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Tatsuro Taira
6. Alex Perez
7. Asu Almabayev
8. Steve Erceg
9. Manel Kape
10. Tim Elliott
11. Tagir Ulanbekov
12. Bruno Silva
13. Charles Johnson
14. Cody Durden
15. Matt Schnell
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Merab Dvalishvili
1. Sean O’Malley
2. Umar Nurmagomedov
3. Petr Yan
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Deiveson Figueiredo
6. Marlon Vera
7. Henry Cejudo
8. Song Yadong
9. Rob Font
10. Mario Bautista
11. Jose Aldo
12. Kyler Phillips
13. Aiemann Zahabi +1
14. Marcus McGhee *NR
15. Montel Jackson
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Ilia Topuria
1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Diego Lopes
4. Yair Rodriguez
5. Movsar Evloev
6. Brian Ortega
7. Arnold Allen
8. Josh Emmett
9. Aljamain Sterling
10. Calvin Kattar
11. Lerone Murphy
12. Giga Chikadze
13. Bryce Mitchell
14. Dan Ige
15. Edson Barboza
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Arman Tsarukyan
2. Charles Oliveira
3. Justin Gaethje
4. Dustin Poirier
5. Max Holloway
6. Dan Hooker
7. Michael Chandler
8. Mateusz Gamrot +1
9. Beneil Dariush -1
10. Renato Moicano
11. Rafael Fiziev -1
12. Benoit Saint Denis
13. Paddy Pimblett +1
14. Jalin Turner -1
15. Rafael dos Anjos
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Belal Muhammed
1. Leon Edwards
2. Kamaru Usman
3. Shavkat Rakhmonov
4. (T) Jack Della Maddalena
4. (T) Sean Brady
6. Colby Covington
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Gilbert Burns
9. Joaquin Buckley
10. Stephen Thompson
11. Geoff Neal
12. Michael Morales
13. Carlos Prates
14. Vicente Luque
15. Michael Page
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Dricus Du Plessis
1. Sean Strickland
2. Israel Adesanya
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Robert Whittaker
5. Nassourdine Imavov
6. Caio Borralho
7. Marvin Vettori
8. Jared Cannonier
9. Brendan Allen
10. Roman Dolidze
11. Paulo Costa
12. Jack Hermansson
13. Anthony Hernandez
14. Shara Magomedov
15. Michel Pereira
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Magomed Ankalaev
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Jamahal Hill
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. (T) Nikita Krylov
6. (T) Khalil Rountree
8. Volkan Oezdemir
9. Johnny Walker
10. Carlos Ulberg
11. Azamat Murzakanov
12. (T) Anthony Smith
12. (T) Dominick Reyes
14. Bogdan Guskov
15. Alonzo Menifield
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jon Jones
1. Tom Aspinall
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Alexander Volkov
4. Sergei Pavlovich
5. Curtis Blaydes
6. Jailton Almeida
7. Serghei Spivac
8. Marcin Tybura +1
9. Jairzinho Rozenstruik +1
10. Derrick Lewis +1
11. Tai Tuivasa +1
12. Marcos Rogerio De Lima +1
13. Waldo Cortes Acosta +1
14. Mick Parkin +1
15. Shamil Gaziev *NR
Note: Stipe Miocic removed after retiring from competition.
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Zhang Weili
3. Alexa Grasso
4. Julianna Pena
5. Manon Fiorot
6. Erin Blanchfield
7. Kayla Harrison
8. (T) Raquel Pennington
8. (T) Rose Namajunas
10. Tatiana Suarez
11. Yan Xiaonan
12. Virna Jandiroba
13. Jessica Andrade
14. Natalia Silva
15. Maycee Barber
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Zhang Weili
1. Tatiana Suarez
2. Yan Xiaonan
3. Virna Jandiroba
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Amanda Lemos
6. Mackenzie Dern
7. Iasmin Lucindo
8. Amanda Ribas
9. Marina Rodriguez
10. Tabatha Ricci
11. Loopy Godinez
12. Gillian Robertson
13. Angela Hill
14. Luana Pinheiro
15. Tecia Pennington
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Alexa Grasso
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Natalia Silva
6. Rose Namajunas
7. Katlyn Cerminara
8. Jessica Andrade
9. Viviane Araújo
10. Amanda Ribas
11. Tracy Cortez +1
12. Karine Silva -1
13. Jasmine Jasudavicius
14. Ariane Da Silva
15. Casey O’Neill
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Julianna Pena
1. Raquel Pennington
2. Kayla Harrison
3. Ketlen Vieira
4. (T) Macy Chiasson
4. (T) Norma Dumont
6. (T) Irene Aldana
6. (T) Mayra Bueno Silva
8. Holly Holm
9. Karol Rosa
10. Yana Santos
11. Miesha Tate
12. Julia Avila
13. Ailin Perez
14. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
15. Chelsea Chandler
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the bantamweight and strawweight divisions, following the UFC Macau: “Yan vs. Figueiredo” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., Nov. 23, 2024 at Galaxy Arena in Macau, China.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.