Rankings
Pound For Pound Rankings
"Mighty Mouse" might actually be the greatest fighter of all-time. He now holds the UFC record with 11 consecutive defenses of his title, and he accomplished the feat with a "Submission of the Year" candidate.
After an incredible win over Daniel Cormier at UFC 214, it was revealed that Jones failed a drug test in association with the event. "Bones" and his team insist he is innocent, and an investigation is ongoing.
Sure, he came up short against Floyd Mayweather, but McGregor is absolutely changing the face of the sport, accomplishing everything he ever promised he would.
Upcoming Fight: vs Volkan "No Time" Oezdemir | Jan 20, 2018 - UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou
Cormier is undefeated against fighters not named Jon Jones. His emotions following his latest loss – now recorded as a no contest – were painful to watch, but Cormier remains one of the best fighters in the world.
Upcoming Fight: vs Francis "The Predator" Ngannou | Jan 20, 2018 - UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou
Miocic continues to improve every time out and will now look to make UFC history in his next outing, hoping to become the first man with three consecutive defenses of the UFC heavyweight title.
Holloway looked fantastic in defending his UFC featherweight title, and in a break from the current practice of some other champs, looks forward to defending it again as frequently as possible.
Woodley was heavily criticized for his win over Demian Maia but remains the UFC champion and plans to prove himself as the greatest welterweight of all time.
Ferguson is now a UFC interim champ following his impressive win over Kevin Lee and made it clear that he expects Conor McGregor to either defend or vacate his share of the title.
St-Pierre's magnificent UFC 217 return proved he is one of the sport's all-time greats – if not the best ever. After quickly ceding the belt he won, St-Pierre's next move is unclear.
Dillashaw is once again a UFC champ but wants to join a select group of two-division world champs by moving down to flyweight and challenging Demetrious Johnson.
Upcoming Fight: vs Stipe Miocic | Jan 20, 2018 - UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou
Ngannou's power is downright scary, and he'll soon get a chance at the UFC heavyweight title, despite just beginning his career four years ago.
Garbrandt suffered his first professional loss in ceding his title to rival T.J. Dillashaw but remains young, hungry, and looks to have a bright future ahead.
After losing his title at UFC 207, Cruz had hoped to earn another shot at the UFC belt, but a broken arm has delayed that pursuit.
"Wonderboy" may struggle to claim a title shot as long as Tyron Woodley remains champ, but a win over Jorge Masvidal certainly kept his name in the discussion.
Upcoming Fight: vs Luke Rockhold | Feb 10, 2018 - UFC 221: Whittaker vs. Rockhold
At just 26 years old, Whittaker is now a UFC champion – and with Georges St-Pierre vacating his title, it's an disputed belt. Luke Rockhold is next.
Honorable Mentions
USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA rankings, Dec. 19: Covington holds off dos Anjos
Rafael dos Anjos (28-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) and Colby Covington (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) both want a crack at Tyron Woodley (18-3-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC), but who has the better case at a title shot?
It was dos Anjos in action at this past weekend’s UFC on FOX 26 event, where he picked up an impressive five-round whitewash of former welterweight champ Robbie Lawler. With the win, the Brazilian is now 3-0 since making the move to 170 pounds.
But in the latest edition of the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, Covington actually sits one spot above dos Anjos, due in great part to an 8-1 career mark in the UFC’s 170-pound division.
Of course, rankings alone don’t book title shots, so who would you rather see next for Woodley? Or should Covington and dos Anjos square off to create a clear No. 1 contender. Let us know in the poll below, and check out the rest of the updated rankings above.
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.
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