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.
Upcoming Fight: vs Stipe Miocic | Jul 07, 2018 - UFC 226: Miocic vs. Cormier
Cormier will forever be linked to Jon Jones, but if he decides to return to heavyweight and challenge for the UFC title there, "DC" may be able to shake "Bones" from his legacy.
Upcoming Fight: vs Daniel "DC" Cormier | Jul 07, 2018 - UFC 226: Miocic vs. Cormier
Miocic's latest win put him in the history books, and he believes he is now unquestionably "The Baddest Man on the Planet."
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.
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.
Upcoming Fight: vs Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov | Apr 07, 2018 - UFC 223: Ferguson vs. Khabib
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 Tony "El Cucuy" Ferguson | Apr 07, 2018 - UFC 223: Ferguson vs. Khabib
After absolutely mauling Edson Barboza, Nurmagomedov may very well be the scariest fighter in the lightweight division. If he can stay heatlhy, "The Eagle" seems certain to be a future champion.
Ngannou suffered the first loss of his UFC career in a failed championship bid but insists he learned valuable lessons in going five rounds with Stipe Miocic.
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.
Honorable Mentions
USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA rankings, Feb. 6: 'Marreta' ready to drop hammers
With four straight knockout wins, UFC middleweight Thiago “Marreta” Santos says he’s ready to take on the division’s elite. We’re not about to disagree.
Santos scored a thrilling second-round TKO win over Anthony Smith (28-13 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in the “Fight of the Night” at this past weekend’s Bellator 125 event in Brazil. After a pair of disappointing setbacks to Eric Spicely and Gegard Mousasi in 2016, Santos has since come roaring back with four consecutive knockouts, bringing his UFC record to 8-2 in his previous 10 appearances, and now sits as an honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings.
Also in the middleweight division, former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (23-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) kept his No. 13 position with a hard-fought win over the formerly undefeated Eryk Anders (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC).
The middleweight division could be in for a bigger shakeup this weekend, with Yoel Romero (12-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) and Luke Rockhold (16-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) clashing in the main event of UFC 221 in Australia. Ahead of that event, take a look at the latest rankings across every division.
For more on UFC 221, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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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