Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently updated its official rankings following the historic UFC Freedom 250 mixed martial arts (MMA) event last weekend on Paramount+. Brand new undisputed Lightweight champion Justin Gaethje is now in the pound-for-pound rankings at No. 4, while Ilia Topuria tumbles three spots.
In addition, former Lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler has been evicted from the rankings for the first time in his UFC and Bo Nickal is back in the Middleweight rankings.
Here’s how the rankings are compiled, at least until AI takes over:
Rankings are 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. Alexander Volkanovski +1
3. Petr Yan +2
4. Justin Gaethje *NR
5. Ilia Topuria -3
6. Tom Aspinall
7. Sean Strickland +1
8. Alex Pereira -4
9. Merab Dvalishvili -2
10. Joshua Van -1
11. Khamzat Chimaev -1
12. Ciryl Gane *NR
13. Alexandre Pantoja -2
14. Charles Oliveira -2
15. Arman Tsarukyan
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Joshua Van
1. Alexandre Pantoja
2. Manel Kape
3. Tatsuro Taira
4. Brandon Royval
5. Kyoji Horiguchi
6. Lone’er Kavanagh
7. Amir Albazi
8. Asu Almabayev
9. Brandon Moreno
10. Steve Erceg
11. Alex Perez +1
12. Tim Elliott -1
13. Tagir Ulanbekov
14. Charles Johnson
15. Edgar Chairez *NR
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Petr Yan
1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. Sean O’Malley +1
3. Umar Nurmagomedov -1
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Song Yadong
6. Aiemann Zahabi
7. Mario Bautista
8. David Martinez
9. Deiveson Figueiredo
10. Marlon Vera
11. Payton Talbott
12. Vinicius Oliveira
13. Raul Rosas Jr.
14. Raoni Barcelos
15. Marcus McGhee *NR
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
1. Movsar Evloev
2. Diego Lopes
3. Lerone Murphy
4. Aljamain Sterling
5. Yair Rodriguez
6. Jean Silva
7. Arnold Allen
8. Youssef Zalal
9. Kevin Vallejos +1
10. Steve Garcia -1
11. Brian Ortega
12. Aaron Pico
13. Melquizael Costa
14. David Onama
15. Josh Emmett
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Justin Gaethje
1. Ilia Topuria -1
2. Arman Tsarukyan
3. Charles Oliveira
4. Max Holloway
5. Benoit Saint Denis
6. Paddy Pimblett
7. Mauricio Ruffy +3
8. Mateusz Gamrot -1
9. Dan Hooker -1
10. Renato Moicano -1
11. Rafael Fiziev
12. Quillan Salkilld
13. Beneil Dariush +1
14. Tom Nolan +1
15. Manuel Torres *NR
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Ian Machado Garry
2. Carlos Prates
3. Michael Morales
4. Jack Della Maddalena
5. Gabriel Bonfim
6. Sean Brady
7. Belal Muhammad
8. Leon Edwards
9. Kamaru Usman
10. Joaquin Buckley
11. Yaroslav Amosov
12. Mike Malott
13. Michael Page
14. Uros Medic
15. Daniel Rodriguez
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Sean Strickland
1. Khamzat Chimaev
2. Dricus Du Plessis
3. Nassourdine Imavov
4. Brendan Allen
5. Caio Borralho
6. Anthony Hernandez
7. Joe Pyfer
8. Reinier De Ridder
9. Israel Adesanya
10. Robert Whittaker
11. Jared Cannonier
12. Gregory Rodrigues
13. Christian Leroy Duncan
14. Roman Dolidze
15. Bo Nickal *NR
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Carlos Ulberg
1. Magomed Ankalaev
2. Alex Pereira
3. Jiri Prochazka
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Khalil Rountree
6. Jamahal Hill
7. Paulo Costa
8. Azamat Murzakanov
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Bogdan Guskov
11. Dominick Reyes
12. Nikita Krylov
13. Johnny Walker
14. Aleksandar Rakic
15. Alonzo Menifield
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Tom Aspinall
1. Ciryl Gane (interim champion)
2. Alexander Volkov
3. Sergei Pavlovich
4. Josh Hokit +1
5. Waldo Cortes Acosta -1
6. Serghei Spivac
7. Curtis Blaydes
8. Rizvan Kuniev
9. Tyrell Fortune +1
10. Ante Delija +1
11. Derrick Lewis -2
12. Marcin Tybura
13. Valter Walker
14. Brando Pericic
15. Mick Parkin
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Kayla Harrison
3. Zhang Weili
4. Natalia Silva
5. Manon Fiorot
6. Mackenzie Dern
7. Alexa Grasso
8. Erin Blanchfield
9. Julianna Pena
10. Tatiana Suarez
11. Virna Jandiroba
12. Raquel Pennington
13. Yan Xiaonan
14. Rose Namajunas
15. Maycee Barber
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Mackenzie Dern
1. Zhang Weili
2. Tatiana Suarez
3. Virna Jandiroba
4. Yan Xiaonan
5. Gillian Robertson
6. (T) Loopy Godinez
6. (T) Amanda Lemos
8. Tabatha Ricci
9. Jessica Andrade
10. Amanda Ribas
11. Fatima Klein
12. Angela Hill
13. Denise Gomes
14. Alexia Thainara
15. Mizuki Inoue
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Natalia Silva
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Alexa Grasso
4. Erin Blanchfield
5. Rose Namajunas
6. (T) Maycee Barber
6. (T) Jasmine Jasudavicius
8. Tracy Cortez
9. Miranda Maverick
10. Karine Silva
11. Casey O’Neill
12. Wang Cong
13. Eduarda Moura
14. JJ Aldrich
15. Gabriella Fernandes
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Kayla Harrison
1. Julianna Pena
2. Raquel Pennington
3. Joselyne Edwards
4. Norma Dumont
5. Ailin Perez
6. Irene Aldana
7. Yana Santos
8. Karol Rosa
9. Macy Chiasson
10. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
11. Luana Santos
12. Nora Cornolle
13. Bia Mesquita
14. Michelle Montague
15. Miesha Tate
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, following the UFC Vegas 119: Kape vs. Horiguchi MMA event on Paramount+, scheduled for Sun., June 20, 2026 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.
