Back On Top

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently updated its official rankings following the UFC Paris mixed martial arts (MMA) event last weekend in France, with former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane reclaiming the top spot (alongside fellow 265-pound contender Sergei Pavlovich). “Bon Gamin” returned to form by planishing Serghei Spivac in front of his hometown fans in the UFC Paris headliner at Accor Arena on ESPN+.

Also making big moves this week is flyweight contender Manon Fiorot. The flyweight “Beast” holds steady at No. 3 in her division but jumped four places to No. 6 on the women’s pound-for-pound (P4P) chart. In addition, her unanimous decision victory over Rose Namajunas sent “Thug” tumbling down the P4P ladder to No. 8. That said, Namajunas remains ranked No. 2 at 115 pounds though it’s unclear if she’ll return to strawweight.

Here’s how UFC compiles its official rankings:

Rankings were generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.

Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).

MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Jon Jones
2. Alexander Volkanovski
3. Islam Makhachev
4. Leon Edwards
5. Israel Adesanya
6. Charles Oliveira
7. Kamaru Usman
8. Sean O’Malley
9. Alexandre Pantoja
10. Aljamain Sterling
11. Max Holloway
12. Alex Pereira
13. Jiri Prochazka
14. Justin Gaethje
15. Jamahal Hill

FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexandre Pantoja

1. Brandon Moreno
2. Deiveson Figueiredo
3. Amir Albazi
4. Brandon Royval
5. Kai Kara France
6. Matheus Nicolau
7. Alex Perez
8. Matt Schnell
9. Tim Elliott
10. Manel Kape
11. Muhammad Mokaev
12. Su Mudaerji
13. Tagir Ulanbekov
14. Steve Erceg
15. Cody Durden

BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Sean O’Malley

1. Aljamain Sterling
2. Merab Dvalishvili
3. Henry Cejudo
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Petr Yan
6. Marlon Vera
7. (T) Rob Font
7. (T) Song Yadong
9. Dominick Cruz
10. Pedro Munhoz
11. Umar Nurmagomedov
12. Ricky Simon
13. Jonathan Martinez
14. Adrian Yanez
15. Chris Gutierrez

FEATHERWEIGHT

Champion: Alexander Volkanovski

1. Max Holloway
2. Yair Rodriguez
3. Brian Ortega
4. Arnold Allen
5. Ilia Topuria
6. Josh Emmett
7. Calvin Kattar
8. Giga Chikadze
9. Movsar Evloev
10. Bryce Mitchell +1
11. Sodiq Yusuff +1
12. Dan Ige +1
13. Edson Barboza +1
14. Alex Caceres +1
15. Lerone Murphy *NR

Note: “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung retired and removed from rankings

LIGHTWEIGHT

Champion: Islam Makhachev

1. Charles Oliveira
2. Justin Gaethje
3. Dustin Poirier
4. Beneil Dariush
5. Michael Chandler
6. Rafael Fiziev
7. Mateusz Gamrot
8. Arman Tsarukyan
9. Dan Hooker
10. Grant Dawson
11. Rafael dos Anjos
12. Jalin Turner
13. Renato Moicano
14. Matt Frevola
15. Diego Ferreira

WELTERWEIGHT

Champion: Leon Edwards

1. Kamaru Usman
2. Colby Covington
3. Belal Muhammed
4. Khamzat Chimaev
5. Gilbert Burns
6. Shavkat Rakhmonov
7. Stephen Thompson
8. Geoff Neal
9. Sean Brady
10. Vicente Luque
11. Ian Machado Garry
12. Neil Magny
13. Kevin Holland
14. Jack Della Maddalena
15. Michael Chiesa

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Champion: Israel Adesanya

1. Dricus Du Plessis
2. Robert Whittaker
3. Jared Cannonier
4. Marvin Vettori
5. Sean Strickland
6. Paulo Costa
7. (T) Derek Brunson
7. (T) Roman Dolidze
9. Jack Hermansson
10. Brendan Allen
11. Kelvin Gastelum
12. Nassourdine Imavov
13. Paul Craig
14. Chris Curtis
15. Andre Muniz

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Jamahal Hill

1. Jiri Prochazka
2. Magomed Ankalaev
3. Alex Pereira
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. (T) Nikita Krylov
6. (T) Johnny Walker
8. Anthony Smith
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Ryan Spann
11. Khalil Rountree
12. Azamat Murzakanov
13. Dominick Reyes
14. Alonzo Menifield
15. Dustin Jacoby

HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Jon Jones

1. (T) Sergei Pavlovich
1. (T) Ciryl Gane
3. Stipe Miocic
4. Tom Aspinall
5. Curtis Blaydes
6. Tai Tuivasa
7. Alexander Volkov +1
8. Serghei Spivac -1
9. Jailton Almeida
10. Derrick Lewis
11. Marcin Tybura
12. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
13. Alexandr Romanov
14. Marcos Rogerio De Lima
15. Rodrigo Nascimento

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Alexa Grasso
2. Zhang Weili -1
3. Valentina Shevchenko
4. Julianna Pena +1
5. Erin Blanchfield +1
6. Manon Fiorot +4
7. Carla Esparza
8. Rose Namajunas -4
9. Yan Xiaonan
10. Tatiana Suarez -2
11. Taila Santos
12. Jessica Andrade
13. Raquel Pennington
14. Amanda Lemos
15. Mayra Bueno Silva

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT

Champion: Zhang Weili

1. Carla Esparza
2. Rose Namajunas
3. Yan Xiaonan
4. Tatiana Suarez
5. Amanda Lemos
6. Jessica Andrade
7. Virna Jandiroba
8. Mackenzie Dern
9. Marina Rodriguez
10. Tecia Torres
11. Amanda Ribas
12. Luana Pinheiro
13. Michelle Waterson
14. Tabatha Ricci
15. Angela Hill

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexa Grasso

1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Erin Blanchfield
3. Manon Fiorot
4. Talia Santos
5. Katlyn Chookagian
6. Jessica Andrade
7. Lauren Murphy
8. Maycee Barber
9. Jennifer Maia
10. Viviane Araújo
11. Amanda Ribas
12. Casey O’Neill
13. Natalia Silva
14. Tracy Cortez
15. Karine Silva

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: VACANT

1. Julianna Pena
2. Raquel Pennington
3. Mayra Bueno Silva
4. Ketlen Vieira
5. (T) Irene Aldana
5. (T) Holly Holm
7. Pannie Kianzad
8. Yana Santos
9. (T) Macy Chiasson
9. (T) Karol Rosa
11. Norma Dumont
12. Miesha Tate
13. Julia Avila
14. Josiane Nunes
15. Chelsea Chandler

You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the middleweight division, following the UFC 293: “Adesanya vs. Strickland” pay-per-view (PPV) event on ESPN+ this Sat. (Sept. 9, 2023) at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.