The UFC is in an odd place proper now because the ESPN period involves an finish.
This previous rankings cycle noticed the established order largely maintained with Merab Dvalishvili delivering one other 25-minute masterclass to defend his bantamweight title towards Cory Sandhagen, and Alex Pereira restoring the established order at 205 kilos by taking again his title from Magomed Ankalaev. Exterior of that, we had a handful of championship fights confirmed to shut out the 12 months, with Dvalishvili getting his want for a fourth title protection in 2025 when he rematches Petr Yan at UFC 323 on Dec. 6 and Alexandre Pantoja defending his flyweight belt towards Joshua Van on that very same card.
With the UFC set to start its subsequent broadcast cope with Paramount in January, we’ve got a couple of concepts of what to anticipate, so let’s ponder some lingering questions as we head into the ultimate two months of this marketing campaign:
- Khamzat Chimaev. Ilia Topuria. Alexander Volkanovski. Kayla Harrison. What have they got in frequent? All of them have title defenses assured to occur within the close to future with some clear choices on the desk, however we’re nonetheless ready for the official phrase to return down. Chimaev presumably faces the final contender standing at middleweight, Nassourdine Imavov, Volkanovski ought to be on a collision course with the undefeated Lerone Murphy, and Harrison’s conflict with returning legend Amanda Nunes has been set in stone for ages. Solely Topuria doesn’t have a transparent No. 1 contender, however you’ll be able to slot in Justin Gaethje, Paddy Pimblett, or Arman Tsarukyan if he will get previous Dan Hooker, and every would fulfill no less than some segments of the fan base (whereas irking others, after all). Don’t anticipate these bulletins to be made till late November/early December although.
- Is Alex Pereira staying at gentle heavyweight? Ankalaev will certainly marketing campaign for a rematch he has no likelihood of getting, and Carlos Ulberg is greater than deserving of his shot, however that doesn’t imply Pereira has to stay round to provide it to him. All indicators level to Pereira shifting to heavyweight sooner or later in 2026 and also you get the sense he may both leapfrog Ciryl Gane for a shot at Tom Aspinall, or just wait till June if his dream struggle with Jon Jones materializes.
- Talking of leaping up in weight, let’s not overlook Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev and Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili are simply across the nook at UFC 322. Is Makhachev staying at 170, win or lose? Would a win over Makhachev set Della Maddalena on the trail to turning into the following nice welterweight legend? Does Shevchenko proceed her record-setting reign at flyweight if she beats Zhang, or is it her flip to chase champ-champ glory once more? And is Zhang completely performed with strawweight it doesn’t matter what occurs on Nov. 15?
- As a result of with Zhang gone, who is definitely the No. 1 strawweight on the earth now? Mackenzie Dern has a UFC belt, which already has us confused as to the place to rank her on the Pound-for-Pound listing, then you definately keep in mind she has losses not that way back to Amanda Lemos, Jessica Andrade, and Yan Xiaonan, and having her on the prime of even the 115-pound listing appears to be like foolish. However for now, with the Zhang vs. Shevchenko superfight taking place quickly, we’ve eliminated Zhang from the division rankings (we did the identical with Makhachev after he booked his welterweight title struggle), and we will solely hope that the outcomes of UFC 322 brings stability and readability to the charts…
- …oh, who am I kidding? That is MMA and the one factor assured is chaos.
One essential editorial observe, our voting panel has been diminished from six to 5 members, so in case you see some random trying motion beneath, that’s why. As I stated: chaos.
With out additional ado, listed here are the newest MMA Preventing Divisional Rankings.
Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 1 Tom Aspinall vs. No. 4 Ciryl Gane ends in a no-contest, No. 3 Alexander Volkov def. No. 7 Jailton Almeida, No. 5 Sergei Pavlovich def. No. 8 Waldo Cortes-Acosta, No. 9 Phil De Fries def. Stefan Vojcak, Ante Delija def. No. 12 Marcin Tybura
Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 8 Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. No. 11 Ante Delija (UFC Vegas 110, Nov. 1), No. 12 Vadim Nemkov vs. Renan Ferreira (PFL Europe, Dec. 13), No. 15 Reug Reug vs. Anatoly Malykhin (ONE 173, Nov. 15)
Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Jairzinho Rozenstruik (3), Valter Walker (2), Anatoly Malykhin (1)
Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 2 Alex Pereira def. No. 1 Magomed Ankalaev vs. No. 2 Alex Pereira, No. 3 Jiri Prochazka def. No. 5 (tied) Khalil Rountree, No. 4 Carlos Ulberg def. No. 9 (tied) Dominick Reyes, No. 5 (tied) Corey Anderson def. Dovlet Yagshimuradov, No. 11 Azamat Murzakanov def. No. 8 Aleksandar Rakic, No. 15 Johnny Walker def. Zhang Mingyang
Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 6 (tied) Jan Blachowicz vs. No. 11 Bogdan Guskov (UFC 323, Dec. 6), No. 12 Volkano Oezdemir vs. Alonzo Menifield (UFC Qatar, Nov. 22)
Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Modestas Bukauskas (2), Anatoly Malykhin (1)
Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 3 Nassourdine Imavov def. No. 7 Caio Borralho, No. 12 Brendan Allen def. No. 6 Reinier de Ridder
Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: N/A
Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Ikram Aliskerov (1), Roman Dolidze (1), Fabian Edwards (1), Abus Magomedov (1)
Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): N/A
Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 1 Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev (UFC 322, Nov. 15), No. 2 Belal Muhammad vs. No. 6 Ian Machado Garry (UFC Qatar, Nov. 22), No. 4 Sean Brady vs. No. 8 (tied) Michael Morales (UFC 322, Nov. 15), No. 5 Leon Edwards vs. No. 10 Carlos Prates (UFC 322, Nov. 15)
Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Gilbert Burns (2), Gabriel Bonfim (1), Rinat Fakhretdinov (1), Shamil Musaev (1)
Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 4 Charles Oliveira def. No. 9 Mateusz Gamrot, No. 6 Usman Nurmagomedov def. No. 11 (tied) Paul Hughes
Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 2 Arman Tsarukyan vs. No. 7 Dan Hooker (UFC Qatar, Nov. 22), No. 8 Beneil Dariush vs. No. 14 Benoit Saint Denis (UFC 322, Nov. 15)
Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Ignacio Bahamondes (1), Grant Dawson (1), Gadzhi Rabadanov (1), Fares Ziam (1)
Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 3 Diego Lopes def. No. 8 Jean Silva, No. 9 Aljamain Sterling def. No. 4 Brian Ortega (catchweight bout), No. 13 Youssef Zalal def. No. 10 Josh Emmett
Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 14 Steve Garcia vs. David Onama (UFC Vegas 110, Nov. 1)
Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): David Onama (2), A.J. McKee (1), Razhabali Shaydullaev (1), Dan Ige (1), Calvin Kattar (1),
Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 1 Merab Dvalishvili def. No. 3 Cory Sandhagen, No. 14 Aiemann Zahabi def. N0. 10 Marlon Vera, No. 11 Sergio Pettis def. No. 15 Magomed Magomedov, Jakub Wiklacz def. No. 12 Patchy Combine
Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 1 Merab Dvalishvili vs. No. 5 Petr Yan (UFC 323, Dec. 6), No. 10 Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Tagir Ulanbekov (UFC Qatar, Nov. 22)
Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Montel Jackson (1), Magomed Magomedov (1), Marcus McGhee (1), Raufeon Stots (1)
Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): N/A
Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 1 Alexandre Pantoja vs. No. 2 Joshua Van (UFC 323, Dec. 6), No. 3 Brandon Royval vs. No. 6 Manel Kape (UFC Vegas 112, Dec. 13), No. 5 Brandon Moreno vs. No. 9 Tatsuro Taira (UFC 323, Dec. 6), No. 10 Muhammad Mokaev vs. Gerard Burns (BRAVE CF 100, Nov. 7), No. 11 Asu Almabayev vs. Alex Perez (UFC Qatar, Nov. 22), No. 15 Yuya Wakamatsu vs. Joshua Pacio (ONE 173, Nov. 15)
Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Tim Elliott (2), Charles Johnson (1), Matheus Nicolau (1), Tagir Ulanbekov (1)
Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 12 Yana Santos def. No. 5 (tied) Macy Chiasson
Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 4 Ketlen Vieira vs. No. 5 Norma Dumont (UFC Vegas 110, Nov. 1), No. 10 Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Mayra Bueno Silva (UFC Vegas 111, Nov. 8)
Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Talita Bernardo (3), Luana Santos (1), Mayra Bueno Silva (1)
Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 3 Manon Fiorot def. No. 11 Jasmine Jasudavicius (UFC Vancouver, Oct. 18),
Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 1 Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili (UFC 322, Nov. 15), No. 4 Erin Blanchfield vs. No. 12 Tracy Cortez (UFC 322, Nov. 15), No. 8 Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva (UFC 323, Dec. 6)
Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Jessica Andrade (1), Jena Bishop (1), Gabriella Fernandes (1), Carli Judice (1), Karine Silva (1)
Current outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 6 Mackenzie Dern def. No. 2 Virna Jandiroba, No. 3 Tatiana Suarez def. No. 5 Amanda Lemos, Alexia Thainara def. No. 14 Loma Lookboonmee
Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 7 Iasmin Lucindo vs. No. 10 Gillian Robertson (UFC Vegas 112, Dec. 13), No. 12 (tied) Angela Hill vs. Fatima Kline (UFC 322, Nov. 15), No. 14 (tied) Tecia Pennington vs. Denise Gomes (UFC Vegas 111, Nov. 8)
Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Denise Gomes (4)
A refresher on the bottom guidelines:
- The five-person voting panel consists of MMA Preventing staffers Alexander Okay. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew.
- Fighters will probably be faraway from the rankings if they don’t compete inside 18 months of their most up-to-date bout in a given weight class. Updates to the rankings are sometimes accomplished following every month’s UFC pay-per-view.
- 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 keep their place till additional discover. (Let’s put it this fashion: We’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings loads faster than the UFC did.)
- Holding a promotion’s title doesn’t assure that fighter will probably be seen as the most effective of their promotion. Moreover, fighters who frequently compete or maintain titles in a number of weight courses are eligible to be ranked in a number of lists.
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