MMA Pound-for-Pound Rankings: Kayla Harrison hits new heights, Julianna Peña returns

Welcome to the latest update to the MMA Fighting pound-for-pound rankings, where every month our esteemed panel sort through the noise to answer one question: Who are the best overall male and female MMA fighters in the world?

Let’s take a look at how things stand following a pair of title fights at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, and a performance from one contender that has her on the cusp of a top 5 spot.

Throwing four of the best bantamweights in the world on the same card was bound to shake up the women’s pound-for-pound charts and Saturday’s results didn’t disappoint.

Kayla Harrison led off the UFC 307 main card with a convincing win over perennial contender Ketlen Vieira. It wasn’t a first-round demolition, but rather a gutsy 15-minute performance that showed how much Harrison has matured in her sixth year as an MMA fighter. It’s no stretch to say Harrison’s first two UFC opponents, Vieira and Holly Holm are a considerable step up from what she faced in the PFL (with the exception of Larissa Pacheco, who Harrison still holds two wins over) and she’s impressed against both, in different ways.

The win over Vieira bumped Harrison up four spots to No. 8 in our rankings, one spot higher than her previous best. The Harrison hype train headed for champion station appears to be right on track.

Don’t tell that to Julianna Peña though.

With a split nod over Raquel Pennington, Peña is the UFC bantamweight champion once again, which puts her back in the rankings at No. 13 and in the driver’s seat if she has anything to say about it. Her ideal opponent is retired rival Amanda Nunes, the woman Peña beat at UFC 269 to score one of the most shocking championship upsets ever, only to immediately return the title at UFC 277 when Nunes pummeled her for five rounds.

It’s doubtful “The Lioness” awakens from her slumber to deal with Peña, so a title defense against Harrison feels inevitable. The winner could find themselves cracking the top 5 of the pound-for-pound rankings, something no women’s bantamweight has done since Nunes’ retirement in June 2023.

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Julianna Peña def. No. 9 Raquel Pennington, No. 12 Kayla Harrison def. Ketlen Vieira, No. 13 Seika Izawa def. Kanna Asakura

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 5 Tatiana Suarez vs. No. 17 Virna Jandiroba (UFC 310, Dec. 7), No. 6 Larissa Pacheco vs. No. 7 Cris Cyborg (PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants, Oct. 19), No. 9 Erin Blanchfield vs. No. 10 Rose Namajunas (UFC Edmonton, Nov. 2), No. 11 Yan Xiaonan vs. Tabatha Ricci (UFC Macau, Nov. 23)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Maycee Barber (2), Irene Aldana (1), Macy Chiasson (1), Dakota Ditcheva (1), Norma Dumont (1), Amanda Lemos (1), Marina Rodriguez (1), Mayra Bueno Silva (1), Ketlen Vieira (1)

Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 20 Macy Chiasson

Alex Pereira shut down a spirited effort from Khalil Rountree Jr., so there’s not a lot to report when it comes to the men’s side of the list, though Pereira’s dominance and popularity continue to push the question of just how close he is to usurping Islam Makhachev in the No. 1 spot.

Few would dispute Makhachev’s status as the best fighter in the world, but activity matters and Pereira has a strong case to top the charts with his fourth title fight victory in less than a year. To add further context, Makhachev has fought five times since the start of 2022, smoking Charles Oliveira to claim the lightweight title and then going 2-0 against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. His most recent outing saw him finish Dustin Poirier, one of the best lightweights ever.

In that same stretch, Pereira has gone 8-1, beating Rountree, Jiri Prochazka (twice), Jamahal Hill, Jan Blachowicz, Israel Adesanya, and Sean Strickland.

Given that lightweight is widely considered to be a stronger division than light heavyweight or middleweight, it’s fair to keep Makhachev at No. 1. But if he doesn’t book a title fight soon, and Pereira keeps up this pace, Makhachev might not be able to hold “Poatan” for long.

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 2 Alex Pereira def. Khalil Rountree Jr.

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Ilia Topuria vs. No. 9 (tied) Max Holloway (UFC 308, Nov. 16), No. 16 Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler (UFC, 309, Nov. 16), No. 18 Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev (UFC 310, Dec. 7)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Anatoly Malykhin (4), Robert Whittaker (2), Khamzat Chimaev (1), Johnny Eblen (1), Movsar Evloev (1), Justin Gaethje (1), Kyoji Horiguchi (1), A.J. McKee (1), Usman Nurmagomedov (1), Kamaru Usman (1)

Lastly, a refresher on some ground rules:

• The six-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Damon Martin and Jed Meshew.
• Updates to the rankings will be completed following every UFC pay-per-view. Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout.
• Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice (let’s put it this way: we’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did).

As a reminder, the notion of pound-for-pound supremacy is always going to inherently be subjective. When you’re debating whether someone like Sean Strickland should be ranked above someone like Charles Oliveira, there is no true right answer. In other words: It’s not serious business, folks.

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.