Rankings
Pound For Pound Rankings
Upcoming Fight: vs Leon “Rocky” Edwards | Aug 20, 2022 – UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2
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: Adesanya vs. Cannonier
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: Adesanya vs. Cannonier
Volkanovski soundly defeated Chan Sung Jung via TKO, and now has three defenses of his undisputed featherweight title.
Oliveira, despite missing the official championship weight limit, put on a championship to defeat Justin Gaethje at UFC 274.
Upcoming Fight: vs Adriano “Black Diamond” Moraes | Aug 26, 2022 – ONE Championship 161: Moraes vs. Johnson 2
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.
Bader dominated his opponent from start to finish utilizing his main strengths, wrestling and ground and pound.
Upcoming Fight: vs Kai “Don’t Blink” Kara-France | Jul 30, 2022 – UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 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.
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: Adesanya vs. Cannonier
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.
Prochazka wins a thriller in the fifth round at UFC 275 to claim the first UFC title for the Czech Republic.
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.
Glover Teixeira
Win
33
Loss
8
Draw
0
Teixeira loses his light heavyweight title in the last 30 seconds of his first title defense at UFC 275.
Colby Covington
Win
17
Loss
3
Draw
0
Covington soundly defeats his former friend and roommate to stay a title contender in the welterweight division.
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 21: New names knocking on the door of top 15
UFC on ESPN 37 was an exciting event where a number of fighters looking to crack into the top 15 made emphatic statements.
The main event saw two top 10 featherweights hope to punch their ticket to be next in line for a shot at the title. Josh Emmett emerged victorious in a razor-thin fight against Calvin Kattar. The split decision result sparked a ton of MMA judging debates, but no matter who fans may have felt won the fight, it was Emmett who walks away with the win on his record. Emmett entered the week at No. 6 and Kattar at No. 7 among featherweights, and both remain in the same slots after this bout.
A number of fighters made a strong case for consideration to enter the top 15 of their division. Adrian Yanez had the arena in Austin, Texas rocking as he put the finishing touches on Tony Kelley in their bantamweight matchup. Phil Hawes turned in a very impressive and utterly dominant performance against Deron Winn in their middleweight bout. Both fighters have entered the honorable mentions in their respective divisions.
Check out all of the other moves in this week’s rankings update following UFC on ESPN 37 and before UFC on ESPN 38 in Las Vegas.
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.