Rankings
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.
Upcoming Fight: vs Jared “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier | Jul 02, 2022 – UFC 276
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 Max “Blessed” Holloway | Jul 02, 2022 – UFC 276
Volkanovski soundly defeated Chan Sung Jung via TKO, and now has three defenses of his undisputed featherweight title.
2
Oliveira, despite missing weight, put on a championship-level performance to defeat Justin Gaethje at UFC 274.
1
Johnson competed in a hybrid muay thai/MMA match vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon and submitted him in the second round.
1
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.
1
Bader dominated Cheick Kongo from start to finish utilizing his strengths, wrestling and ground and pound.
1
Upcoming Fight: vs Kai “Don’t Blink” Kara-France | Jul 30, 2022 – UFC 277
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.
Upcoming Fight: vs Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski | Jul 02, 2022 – UFC 276
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 Jiri “Denisa” Prochazka | 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.
Sterling unified his undisputed bantamweight title when he defeated interim champion, Petr Yan.
Honorable Mentions
Robert Whittaker
Win
23
Loss
6
Draw
0
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, May 10: Carla Esparza, Charles Oliveira, Ryan Bader move up P4P list
The USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie men’s and women’s pound-for-pound rankings saw major movement coming out of a weekend of UFC, Bellator and PFL action.
At UFC 274, Charles Oliveira – after losing his championship belt over a half-pound miss at weigh-ins – solidified his status as the best lightweight on the planet with a first-round submission of Justin Gaethje in the night’s main event. In the co-headliner, Carla Esparza became a two-time UFC strawweight champion after earning a split decision from Rose Namajunas in a lackluster fight – but it was a win no less for “Cookie Monster.”
One day earlier at Bellator 280, heavyweight champion Ryan Bader grinded out a clean-sweep unanimous decision win over Cheick Kongo. And at 2022 PFL 3, Kayla Harrison made her season debut with a ho-hum performance (“utter dog crap” in her own words) that led to a unanimous decision over Marina Mokhnatkina.
What do those results mean for this week’s pound-for-pound rankings?
On the men’s side, Oliveira jumped up two spots from No. 7 to 5, while Bader advanced one spot from 11 to 10. As for the women, Esparza, who is now on a six-fight winning streak, catapults herself from honorable mention to No. 5, dropping Namajunas a spot to No. 6, as well as Harrison from No. 9 to No. 10.
The pound-for-pound categories weren’t the only ones to be shaken up. Take a look at the full rankings in the dropdowns coming out of UFC 274, Bellator 280, and 2022 PFL 3.
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.