‘Lucky’ Removed From UFC Rankings

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently updated its official rankings in the wake of the UFC Vegas 84 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, the first fight card from the promotion in several weeks. Event headliners Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker retained their spots on the 205-pound ladder, despite the victory for Ankalaev, since Walker was already ranked four spots below the Russian bruiser at No. 7.

The only significant change in today’s rankings update is the removal of former flyweight title challenger Lauren Murphy, who was previously ranked at No. 6. The opening — reportedly due to “inactivity” — allowed longtime fan favorite, Joanne Wood, to sneak back into the Top 15 at No. 15. In addition, the bottom half of the flyweight rankings all enjoyed a bump up in their current placement.

Murphy, 40, is currently unbooked.

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

FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexandre Pantoja

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

BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Sean O’Malley

1. Aljamain Sterling
2. Merab Dvalishvili
3. Henry Cejudo
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Petr Yan
6. Marlon Vera
7. Song Yadong
8. Deiveson Figueiredo
9. Rob Font
10. Dominick Cruz
11. Pedro Munhoz
12. Jonathan Martinez
13. Umar Nurmagomedov +1
14. Mario Bautista *NR
15. Ricky Simon -2

FEATHERWEIGHT

Champion: Alexander Volkanovski

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

LIGHTWEIGHT

Champion: Islam Makhachev

1. Charles Oliveira
2. Justin Gaethje
3. Dustin Poirier
4. Arman Tsarukyan
5. Michael Chandler
6. Mateusz Gamrot
7. Beneil Dariush
8. Rafael Fiziev
9. Jalin Turner +1
10. Dan Hooker -1
11. (T) Rafael dos Anjos
11. (T) Benoit Saint-Denis +1
13. Renato Moicano
14. Bobby Green
15. Drew Dober

WELTERWEIGHT

Champion: Leon Edwards

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

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Champion: Sean Strickland

1. Israel Adesanya
2. Dricus Du Plessis
3. Robert Whittaker
4. Jared Cannonier
5. Marvin Vettori
6. Paulo Costa
7. Brendan Allen +1
8. Roman Dolidze -1
9. Khamzat Chimaev
10. Jack Hermansson
11. Nassourdine Imavov
12. Paul Craig
13. Anthony Hernandez +1
14. Chris Curtis -1
15. Caio Borralho

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Alex Pereira

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

HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Jon Jones

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

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Alexa Grasso
2. Zhang Weili
3. Valentina Shevchenko
4. Julianna Pena
5. Erin Blanchfield
6. Manon Fiorot
7. Carla Esparza
8. Rose Namajunas
9. Yan Xiaonan
10. Tatiana Suarez
11. Jessica Andrade
12. Raquel Pennington
13. Amanda Lemos
14. Ketlen Vieira
15. Irena Aldana

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT

Champion: Zhang Weili

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

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexa Grasso

1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Erin Blanchfield
3. Manon Fiorot
4. Katlyn Chookagian
5. Jessica Andrade
6. Maycee Barber +1
7. Viviane Araújo +1
8. Amanda Ribas +1
9. Natalia Silva +1
10. Tracy Cortez +1
11. Ariane Lipski +1
12. Karine Silva +1
13. Casey O’Neill +1
14. Andrea Lee +1
15. Joanne Wood *NR

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: VACANT

1. Julianna Pena
2. Raquel Pennington
3. Mayra Bueno Silva
4. Ketlen Vieira
5. Irene Aldana
6. Holly Holm
7. Pannie Kianzad
8. Yana Santos
9. (T) Karol Rosa
9. (T) Macy Chiasson +1
11. Miesha Tate
12. Norma Dumont
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 297: “Strickland vs. Du Plessis” pay-per-view (PPV) event on ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., Jan. 20, 2024 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.