Rankings
Pound For Pound Rankings
Already considered one of the greatest fighters of all time, Jones says he wants to turn his attention to heavyweight and has no intention of returning to 205 pounds.
Usman has five consecutive defenses of the UFC’s 170-pound title and is now in the discussion as the greatest welterweight of all time.
While he wasn’t completely satisfied with his latest win over Robert Whittaker, Adesanya did notch another title defense and wants to turn around quickly to face Jared Cannonier.
Despite a multitude of distractions and some serious injuries, Ngannou was able to unify the UFC’s heavyweight titles and will now look to work through a contentious contract dispute.
Upcoming Fight: vs Chan Sung “The Korean Zombie” Jung | Apr 09, 2022 – UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. ‘Korean Zombie’
After suffering the first knockout loss of his career, Johnson openly contemplated the idea of potentially competing in kickboxing next and ultimately booked himself an intriguing mixed rules matchup.
Volkanovski has certainly been tested in his time as UFC champion, but he continues to gut out impressive performances and now owns an incomprehensible 20-fight win streak.
Upcoming Fight: vs Patricio “Pitbull” Freire | Apr 15, 2022 – Bellator 277: McKee vs. Pitbull 2
Miocic apologized for deviating from the gameplan against the dangerous Francis Ngannou, a mistake that cost him the UFC heavyweight title.
Upcoming Fight: vs Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje | May 07, 2022 – UFC 274
The undefeated Bellator champion looked absolutely incredible in his run through the promotion’s featherweight grand prix and is willing to take on anyone in defense of his new title.
Oliveira’s rise to UFC champion may have been unexpected, but he now looks like perhaps the most dangerous matchup in the lightweight division and boasts a 10-fight winning streak.
Figueiredo is once again the UFC flyweight champion after a narrow win over Brandon Moreno, and the two may very well be heading towards a fourth consecutive matchup.
Upcoming Fight: vs Cheick Kongo | May 06, 2022 – Bellator 280: Bader vs. Kongo 2
Moreno was frustrated in the result of this third fight with Deiveson Figueiredo and is hoping they can rebook the matchup immediately, and he’s willing to make a quick turnaround to do it.
At 38, Bader may not have what it takes to bounce between divisions any longer, but he’s the reigning Bellator heavyweight champion after unifying the belts against Cheick Kongo.
Poirier was incredibly disappointed after failing to win the UFC lightweight title but would still seem to have big fights ahead, should he choose.
Upcoming Fight: vs Jiri “Denisa” Prochazka | Jun 11, 2022 – UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Prochazka
Holloway has hinted at some big things on the horizon that don’t necessarily revolve around getting another crack at Alexander Volkanovski.
Upcoming Fight: vs Marvin “The Italian Dream” Vettori | Jun 11, 2022 – UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Prochazka
Teixeira’s final career chapter has been amazing to watch unfold, claiming the UFC light heavyweight title at 42 and adding to the legend of a storied run.
Honorable Mentions
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, March 29: A shake-up in the flyweight divisions
The men’s and women’s flyweight divisions created a few major moves following UFC on ESPN 33 in this week’s rankings update.
Entering the week at No. 9, Kai Kara-France made a huge leap towards the top of the flyweight division, settling in at No. 4 following his victory over Askar Askarov. The New Zealand native won a hard-fought unanimous decision battle, extending his win streak to three, which includes a first-round finish of former champion Cody Garbrandt.
The women of the same weight class made a few moves as well. Manon Fiorot defeated former title challenger Jennifer Maia, jumping five spots from No. 15 to No. 10 in this week’s update. The bigger move, however, came from Alexa Grasso, who made quick work of Joanne Wood in the co-main event in Columbus, winning by first-round submission. Grasso emerged from the unranked to claim the No. 12 spot among women’s flyweights.
Take a look at the full rankings below following UFC on ESPN 33 in Columbus.
Ranking Criteria
The rankings take into account a fighter’s wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.
Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they’ve been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.
Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they’re not inactive for more than 24 months.
To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter’s primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, non-titleholders can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won’t be ranked in a new weight class until they’ve had their first fight at that weight.