MMA Pound-for-Pound Rankings: Islam Makhachev finishes the year on top – but for how long?

Islam Makhachev reigns supreme because the New 12 months approaches, however his standing as No. 1 on the Pound-for-Pound record has been tenuous, to say the least.

The seemingly indomitable UFC light-weight champion entered 2024 with all of our panelists having him on the high and in his lone look of the previous 12 months, he did sufficient to maintain his spot with a superb end of Dustin Poirier to stifle a spirited effort from “The Diamond.” Once you’ve rattled off 14 straight victories and gone with out a loss since 2015, somewhat inactivity isn’t sufficient to tug you from the highest of the mountain. But.

Thankfully for Makhachev, a chance to remind everybody why he’s the person to beat is simply across the nook. He defends his title towards Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311 on Jan. 18.

A number of different notable names made sturdy instances to be thought of No. 1 and relying who you ask (and what month you requested) you may credibly argue for Alex Pereira, Ilia Topuria, Alexandre Pantoja, and—as one significantly passionate, influential, and bald member of the MMA business will let you know—all-time nice Jon Jones, amongst others.

So let’s have a look at a couple of of those instances with UFC having wrapped it’s calendar yr, whereas additionally checking in on the ladies’s facet the place the enduring Valentina Shevchenko discovered a manner again to her No. 1 spot.

Ilia Topuria: 4 months after Makhachev’s sensational head kick knockout of Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria dusted off what was left of the longtime featherweight champion with a vicious second-round knockout to assert the 145-pound title at UFC 298. That was sufficient to propel Topuria from exterior of our males’s Pound-for-Pound rankings all the best way to No. 5 (Volkanovski was No. 2 when Topuria beat him) and that felt like the appropriate placement on the time.

Then in his first title protection at UFC 308, Topuria knocked out Max Holloway, changing into the primary fighter ever to place “Blessed” down with strikes. Jose Aldo, Justin Gaethje, Volkanovski, Poirier, Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, Charles Oliveira, Jeremy Stephens, Cub Swanson, The Korean Zombie, all of those males examined Holloway’s chin and had been left wanting. It was Topuria who lastly discovered the mark, leaving us all gasping for air on the sight of Holloway being put down and truly out.

Topuria has teased going from one shark tank of a division to a different with a attainable transfer to light-weight and whereas he nonetheless has work to do at featherweight (*cough* Movsar Evloev *cough*), nobody must be shocked if he finds the appropriate matchups to leap previous Makhachev by the top of 2025.

Alex Pereira: Effectively, until this man has one thing to say about it.

In case your definition of Pound-for-Pound greatness requires a fighter to place their cash the place their mouth is and truly compete in multiple division, few fighters in MMA historical past have achieved it with extra fashion and panache than Pereira. The one-touch KO god was prepared for any opponent at any time in 2024, notching three title defenses from April to October and saving the UFC’s bacon on little discover on multiple event.

Even making an allowance for the expertise drop-off from 185 and above, Pereira’s finishes are simply so gorgeous and so memorable, it’s simple to imagine you’re watching the true baddest man on the planet each time he exits the octagon with one other physique in his wake.

Jon Jones desires a bit of him, so does deserving gentle heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev. A knockout of both man wouldn’t solely seemingly propel Pereira as much as No. 1, it will power “Poatan” into any GOAT dialog going ahead.

Jon Jones: Dana White, this one’s for you.

Calling Jones’ return in 2024 “polarizing” amongst our voters can be an understatement. Jones was briefly faraway from our record altogether as a consequence of 18 months of inactivity and when he lastly defended his “undisputed” title towards Stipe Miocic, it wasn’t precisely a “y’all should have forgot” (numerous air quotes wanted when speaking about ol’ Jonny lately) second.

Presently, he’s solely as excessive as No. 4 on our ballots with one panelist (Jed Meshew, we’re all trying in your route) leaving him off the record solely. Based mostly on that math, Jones isn’t even in our high 5, a lot much less the no-doubt No. 1 as White would have us all imagine.

His work at gentle heavyweight remains to be contemporary within the thoughts for many. His two wins at heavyweight are nothing to sneeze at even when it was over a legend with one foot and 4 toes out the door. And skill-for-skill no matter weight class, one can nonetheless see why Jones is taken into account among the many greatest to ever do it.

Now all he has to do is struggle Tom Aspinall and possibly we are able to all agree to present “Bones” his due.

Alexandre Pantoja: It’s me. Hello. I’m the Pound-for-Pound downside, it’s me.

Even earlier than profitable UFC gold, Pantoja was making a case to be thought of among the many MMA elite as he racked up wins over one ranked contender after one other. His presence loomed over Brandon Moreno’s title run, having defeated the Mexican star on The Final Fighter after which once more in a correct octagon matchup in 2018. When he beat Moreno a 3rd time at UFC 290 for the belt, all of us needed to think about whether or not one of the best fighter on the planet was a flyweight (once more).

Pantoja’s case is damage by the truth that he type of cleared out the division earlier than changing into champion, leaving him to defend his title in a forgettable rematch with Brandon Royval after which towards two sudden challengers in Kai Asakura and Steve Erceg. The one massive identify he hasn’t overwhelmed at 125 kilos is Deiveson Figueiredo, who holds a earlier win over Pantoja however is at present competing at bantamweight.

Nobody is saying Pantoja is near surpassing Demetrious Johnson’s accolades anytime quickly, however simply being talked about in the identical breath as “Mighty Mouse” is achievement sufficient. Simply by nature of being within the smallest males’s division within the UFC, Pantoja has the tallest hill to climb to be thought of No. 1. Fortunately for him, all he does is preserve profitable and sometimes in spectacular vogue.

Belal Muhammad, Dricus du Plessis, Tom Aspinall, and the remainder: Why not considered one of these guys, proper?

Muhammad is on an 11-fight unbeaten streak, he received the UFC welterweight title with a dominant win over Leon Edwards, and he’s on high of a division that, whereas not as scorching because it as soon as was, has been residence to earlier Pound-for-Pound No. 1s Georges St-Pierre and Kamaru Usman.

Sadly for Muhammad, his fame as a decisionator (didn’t cease GSP!) and his quirky character have at all times made him a troublesome promote to the broader fan base and when a foot an infection knocked him out of a title protection towards Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310, there was no likelihood he was topping the record this yr.

Du Plessis has an intriguing case, with an 8-0 UFC document that features three consecutive victories over one of the best that middleweight has to supply, Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland, and Robert Whittaker. What’s hurting the bruising South African is that he competes in a weight class that isn’t thought of as deep as those beneath it, although it’s arguably in one of the best form it’s ever been from a possible contender standpoint.

It’s uncertain one other win over Strickland at UFC 312 strikes him up the charts a lot, however there’s a respectable argument to be made that he’s already deserving of top-4 consideration.

As for Aspinall, see Jones part above.

Aspinall is our No. 1 heavyweight, not Jones, and he’s been as scorching as any fighter within the UFC since 2020. The one factor actually stopping him from rising larger is Jones refusing to struggle him, however even when that matchup doesn’t occur (please let this matchup occur!) there’s potential for Aspinall to climb if he retains notching first-round finishes. It’s not honest for his legacy to be tied to Jones, a fighter clearly bored with granting the identical type of alternatives given to him in his illustrious profession.

Dishonorable point out to Merab Dvalishvili for his shameful antics since profitable the bantamweight title. Ought to have simply offered the Umar Nurmagomedov struggle from Day 1. However hey, a minimum of he has the prospect to close everybody up when he defends towards Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.

Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 4 Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Asakura, No. 18 Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Ian Machado Garry, No. 17 Charles Oliveira def. Michael Chandler, Movsar Evloev def. No. 19 (tied) Aljamain Sterling

Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 1 Islam Makhachev vs. No. 13 Arman Tsarukyan (UFC 311, Jan. 18), No. 6 Dricus du Plessis vs. No. 17 Sean Strickland (UFC 312, Feb. 8), No. 9 Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov (UFC 311, Jan. 18)

Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Israel Adesanya (3), Aljamain Sterling (3), Patricio Pitbull (2), Magomed Ankalaev (1), Usman Nurmagomedov (1), Kamaru Usman (1)

Falling out of the rankings (earlier rating proven): No. 20 Aljamain Sterling

Picture by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

There wasn’t as a lot drama within the girls’s Pound-for-Pound rankings record this yr, particularly with Valentina Shevchenko charging again to the No. 1 spot.

Shevchenko’s loss to Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 and the screwy scoring of their September 2023 rematch left loads of followers questioning if one of the best days of “Bullet” had been behind her, however she received a lopsided choice over Grasso at UFC 306 to reclaim the flyweight title and re-establish herself as one of the best within the enterprise. She’s in a digital tie with strawweight champion Zhang Weili in the intervening time, with solely a third-place vote for Zhang creating separation between them.

Outdoors of that, there was some disappointment, with Tatiana Suarez’s accidents costing the undefeated fighter one other yr of her profession, Erin Blanchfield exhibiting she nonetheless has some methods to go to succeed in championship standing, and the bantamweight division persevering with to slog alongside (although welcome again to the charts, Julianna Peña!).

There have been brilliant spots, too. Cris Cyborg added to her legendary résumé with a formidable win over the streaking Larissa Pacheco, Kayla Harrison’s UFC transfer has been a hit, and strawweight veteran Virna Jandiroba is lastly getting her flowers.

Maybe most intriguing of all is the rise of PFL star Dakota Ditcheva, who has achieved a spectacular job of studying on the fly with a ton of stress placed on her shoulders. The 26-year-old Englishwoman was an apparent standout from the league’s European enlargement, but it surely was honest to query how she’d carry out towards higher competitors. She cruised by her first three PFL fights to finish up within the event finals towards Taila Santos, by far the stiffest take a look at of her younger profession, after which annihilated the one-time UFC title challenger in a manner nobody had achieved earlier than.

Ditcheva could should observe Harrison to the UFC sometime if she’s to maneuver larger up the rankings, however for now PFL has a particular expertise on its palms and hopefully it will possibly capitalize in a manner that’s helpful for each the league and their prized prospect.

Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 8 Erin Blanchfield def. No. 10 Rose Namajunas, No. 11 Yan Xiaonan def. Tabatha Ricci, Dakota Ditcheva def. No. 15 (tied) Taila Santos

Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 2 Zhang Weili vs. No. 6 Tatiana Suarez (UFC 311, Jan. 18), No. 12 Seika Izawa vs. Lucia Apdelgarin (RIZIN DECADE, Dec. 31)

Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Maycee Barber (2), Stamp Fairtex (2), Macy Chiasson (1), Norma Dumont (1), Amanda Lemos (1), Marina Rodriguez (1), Mayra Bueno Silva (1), Ketlen Vieira (1)

Falling out of the rankings (earlier rating proven): No. 20 Stamp Fairtex

Lastly, a refresher on some floor guidelines:

• The six-person voting panel consists of MMA Combating staffers Alexander Okay. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Damon Martin and Jed Meshew.
• Updates to the rankings will likely be accomplished following each UFC pay-per-view. Fighters will likely be faraway from the rankings if they don’t compete inside 18 months of their most up-to-date bout.
• Ought to a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will resolve whether or not that fighter ought to instantly be faraway from the rankings or preserve their place till additional discover (let’s put it this manner: we’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings quite a bit faster than the UFC did).

As a reminder, the notion of pound-for-pound supremacy is at all times going to inherently be subjective. Once you’re debating whether or not somebody like Sean Strickland must be ranked above somebody like Charles Oliveira, there isn’t a true proper reply. In different phrases: It’s not critical enterprise, people.

Ideas? Questions? Considerations? Make your voice heard within the feedback beneath.