Max Holloway took a slight dip in the pound-for-pound rankings after getting popped and dropped by featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. In addition, Lerone Murphy gained some ground at 145 pounds by outworking veteran banger Dan Ige.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently updated its “official” rankings in the wake of the UFC 308 pay-per-view (PPV) event, which took place last Sat. night (Oct. 26, 2024) at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Among the big winners during last weekend’s combat sports extravaganza were Khamzat Chimaev and Shara Magomedov, who both made considerable progress in the 185-pound division.
Chimaev broke Robert Whittaker not long after Magomedov fisted Armen Petrosyan.
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. Alex Pereira
3. Jon Jones
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 +1
12. Max Holloway -1
13. Sean O’Malley
14. Sean Strickland
15. Israel Adesanya *NR
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. Manel Kape
9. Steve Erceg
10. Matheus Nicolau
11. Tim Elliott
12. Tagir Ulanbekov
13. Bruno Silva
14. Cody Durden
15. Charles Johnson
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. (T) Mario Bautista
9. (T) Rob Font
11. Jose Aldo
12. Kyler Phillips
13. Jonathan Martinez
14. Dominick Cruz
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 +1
12. Giga Chikadze -1
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. Beneil Dariush
9. Mateusz Gamrot
10. (T) Rafael Fiziev
10. (T) Renato Moicano +1
12. Benoit Saint Denis
13. Jalin Turner
14. Paddy Pimblett
15. Rafael dos Anjos
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Belal Muhammed
1. Leon Edwards
2. Kamaru Usman
3. Shavkat Rakhmonov
4. Jack Della Maddalena
5. Sean Brady
6. Colby Covington
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Gilbert Burns
9. Joaquin Buckley
10. Geoff Neal
11. Stephen Thompson
12. Michael Morales
13. Michael Page
14. Vicente Luque
15. Neil Magny
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Dricus Du Plessis
1. Sean Strickland
2. Israel Adesanya
3. Khamzat Chimaev +10
4. Robert Whittaker -1
5. Nassourdine Imavov -1
6. Caio Borralho -1
7. Marvin Vettori -1
8. Jared Cannonier -1
9. Brendan Allen -1
10. Roman Dolidze -1
11. Paulo Costa -1
12. Jack Hermansson -1
13. Anthony Hernandez -1
14. Shara Magomedov *NR
15. Michel Pereira -1
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Magomed Ankalaev
2. Jiri Prochazka -1
3. Jamahal Hill
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. (T) Nikita Krylov
6. (T) Khalil Rountree +1
8. Volkan Oezdemir
9. Johnny Walker
10. Carlos Ulberg
11. Azamat Murzakanov
12. (T) Anthony Smith
12. (T) Dominick Reyes +1
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. Stipe Miocic
9. (T) Marcin Tybura
9. (T) Jairzinho Rozenstruik
11. Derrick Lewis
12. Tai Tuivasa
13. Alexandr Romanov
14. Marcos Rogerio De Lima
15. Rodrigo Nascimento
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Zhang Weili
3. Alexa Grasso
4. Julianna Pena
5. Manon Fiorot
6. Rose Namajunas
7. Erin Blanchfield
8. Kayla Harrison
9. Raquel Pennington
10. Tatiana Suarez
11. Yan Xiaonan
12. Virna Jandiroba
13. Natalia Silva
14. Jessica Andrade
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. Angela Hill
13. Luana Pinheiro
14. Gillian Robertson
15. Tecia Pennington
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Alexa Grasso
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Rose Namajunas
6. Natalia Silva
7. Katlyn Cerminara
8. Jessica Andrade
9. Viviane Araújo
10. Amanda Ribas
11. Karine Silva
12. Tracy Cortez
13. Ariane Da Silva
14. Jasmine Jasudavicius
15. Casey O’Neill
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Julianna Pena
1. Raquel Pennington
2. Kayla Harrison
3. Ketlen Vieira
4. Macy Chiasson
5. 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. Germaine De Randamie
14. Ailin Perez
15. Chelsea Chandler
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the flyweight division, following the UFC Edmonton: “Moreno vs. Albazi” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., Nov. 2, 2024 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.