Pound For Pound Rankings
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.
Volkanovski soundly defeated Chan Sung Jung via TKO, and now has three defenses of his undisputed featherweight title.
Johnson competed in a hybrid muay thai/MMA match vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon and submitted him in the second round.
Miocic apologized for deviating from the gameplan against the dangerous Francis Ngannou, a mistake that cost him the UFC heavyweight title.
Freire recaptures the Bellator featherweight title for the third time, as he defeats the previously undefeated McKee, now evening their rivalry to 1-1.
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.
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.
Poirier was incredibly disappointed after failing to win the UFC lightweight title but would still seem to have big fights ahead, should he choose.
Holloway has hinted at some big things on the horizon that don’t necessarily revolve around getting another crack at Alexander Volkanovski.
Sterling unified his undisputed bantamweight title when he defeated interim champion, Petr Yan.
Honorable Mentions
The 31-year-old former middleweight champion has solidified himself as the clear No. 2 in the division, as he and Adesanya are simply above the competition.
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, April 26: New champ Liz Carmouche climbs
A number of divisional rankings were shaken up following UFC Fight Night 205 and dual events in Honolulu with Bellator 278 and Bellator 279.
In the first of back-to-back events for the promotion, a new women’s flyweight champ was crowned as Liz Carmouche defeated Juliana Velasquez at Bellator 278. Although the fourth-round TKO stoppage was considered early by some, including Velasquez, Carmouche walked out of Neil S. Blaisdell Center with some new hardware and a new spot in this week’s rankings, climbing from No. 4 to No. 2. Not only does the new champ take Velasquez’s title, she takes her previous slot in the rankings.
At UFC Fight Night 205, former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade returned to the division she once ruled to take on Amanda Lemos in the main event. Not only did Andrade record a win, but she also did so in historic fashion, by recording the first standing arm triangle submission in UFC history. The former champ has seen success throughout her career at bantamweight, flyweight, and strawweight. Now that she has returned to 115 pounds, she also re-enters the rankings in the division, claiming the No. 7 spot.
Take a look at the full rankings below ahead of UFC on ESPN 35.
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.