Islam Makhachev is the top pound-for-pound fighter in UFC.
The newly-crowned welterweight champion, who previously held gold at 155 pounds, reclaimed the No. 1 spot from current lightweight kingpin, Ilia
Topuria, by dominating Jack Della Maddalena in the UFC 322 pay-per-view (PPV) headliner last weekend in New York.
In addition, Makhachev’s victory — along with big wins from Carlos Prates and Michael Morales — shook up the 170-pound weight class. Weili Zhang’s lopsided loss to Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC 322 PPV co-main event also made waves in a pair of women’s categories.
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 +1
2. Ilia Topuria -1
3. Merab Dvalishvili
4. Khamzat Chimaev
5. Alexandre Pantoja
6. Alex Pereira
7. Alexander Volkanovski
8. Tom Aspinall +1
9. Jack Della Maddalena -1
10. Dricus Du Plessis
11. Max Holloway
12. Magomed Ankalaev
13. Belal Muhammad
14. Arman Tsarukyan
15. Charles Oliveira
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
1. Joshua Van
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Brandon Royval
4. Amir Albazi
5. Tatsuro Taira
6. Manel Kape +1
7. Alex Perez +1
8. Asu Almabayev +1
9. Tim Elliott +1
10. Steve Erceg +1
11. Tagir Ulanbekov +1
12. Charles Johnson +1
13. Bruno Silva +1
14. Joseph Morales +1
15. Rafael Estevam *NR
Note: Kai Kara-France removed from flyweight rankings
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Merab Dvalishvili
1. Umar Nurmagomedov
2. Sean O’Malley
3. Petr Yan
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Song Yadong
6. Deiveson Figueiredo
7. Aiemann Zahabi
8. Marlon Vera
9. Mario Bautista
10. Henry Cejudo
11. David Martinez
12. Rob Font
13. Vinicius Oliveira
14. Kyler Phillips
15. Marcus McGhee
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
1. Movsar Evloev
2. Diego Lopes
3. Yair Rodriguez
4. Lerone Murphy
5. Aljamain Sterling
6. Arnold Allen
7. Youssef Zalal
8. Steve Garcia
9. Brian Ortega
10. Josh Emmett
11. Jean Silva
12. Patricio Pitbull
13. Dan Ige
14. David Onama
15. Giga Chikadze
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Ilia Topuria
1. Arman Tsarukyan +1
2. Charles Oliveira +1
3. Max Holloway +1
4. Justin Gaethje +1
5. Paddy Pimblett +1
6. Dan Hooker +1
7. Mateusz Gamrot +1
8. Benoit Saint Denis +5
9. Rafael Fiziev +1
10. Renato Moicano +1
11. Michael Chandler +1
12. Beneil Dariush -3
13. Grant Dawson +1
14. Mauricio Ruffy +1
15. Ignacio Bahamondes *NR
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Jack Della Maddalena -1
2. Belal Muhammed -1
3. Michael Morales +3
4. Shavkat Rakhmonov -1
5. Carlos Prates +4
6. Ian Machado Garry
7. Sean Brady -5
8. Kamaru Usman -3
9. Leon Edwards -5
10. Joaquin Buckley -3
11. Gabriel Bonfim -1
12. Gilbert Burns
13. Colby Covington -2
14. Geoff Neal -1
15. Daniel Rodriguez -1
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Khamzat Chimaev
1. Dricus Du Plessis
2. Nassourdine Imavov
3. Sean Strickland
4. Anthony Hernandez
5. Brendan Allen
6. Israel Adesanya
7. Caio Borralho
8. Reinier De Ridder
9. Robert Whittaker
10. (T) Michael Page
10. (T) Jared Cannonier
12. Roman Dolidze
13. Paulo Costa
14. Marvin Vettori
15. Gregory Rodrigues *NR
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. (T) Magomed Ankalaev
1. (T) Jiri Prochazka
3. Carlos Ulberg
4. Khalil Rountree
5. Jan Blachowicz
6. Jamahal Hill
7. Azamat Murzakanov
8. Dominick Reyes
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Aleksandar Rakic
11. Bogdan Guskov
12. Johnny Walker
13. Nikita Krylov
14. Alonzo Menifield
15. Zhang Mingyang
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Tom Aspinall
1. Ciryl Gane
2. Alexander Volkov
3. Sergei Pavlovich
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Jailton Almeida
6. Waldo Cortes Acosta
7. Serghei Spivac
8. Derrick Lewis
9. Marcin Tybura
10. Ante Delija
11. Shamil Gaziev
12. Tai Tuivasa
13. Mick Parkin
14. Valter Walker
15. Tallison Teixeira
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Kayla Harrison +1
3. Zhang Weili -1
4. Natalia Silva
5. Mackenzie Dern +1
6. Manon Fiorot -1
7. Erin Blanchfield +2
8. Alexa Grasso -1
9. Julianna Pena -1
10. Virna Jandiroba +1
11. Raquel Pennington -1
12. Tatiana Suarez
13. Rose Namajunas
14. Yan Xiaonan
15. Norma Dumont
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Mackenzie Dern
1. Tatiana Suarez
2. Zhang Weili -1
3. Virna Jandiroba
4. Yan Xiaonan
5. Amanda Lemos
6. Loopy Godinez
7. Iasmin Lucindo
8. Tabatha Ricci
9. Jessica Andrade
10. Gillian Robertson
11. Amanda Ribas
12. Fatima Klein *NR
13. Denise Gomes
14. Angela Hill -2
15. Alexia Thainara -1
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Manon Fiorot
2. Natalia Silva
3. Alexa Grasso
4. Erin Blanchfield
5. Maycee Barber
6. Rose Namajunas
7. Jasmine Jasudavicius
8. Tracy Cortez
9. Karine Silva
10. Miranda Maverick
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. Norma Dumont
4. Ketlen Vieira
5. Yana Santos
6. Irene Aldana
7. Macy Chiasson
8. Ailin Perez
9. Karol Rosa
10. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
11. Mayra Bueno Silva
12. Nora Cornolle
13. Miesha Tate
14. Joselyne Edwards
15. Luana Santos
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the lightweight division, following the UFC Qatar: “Tsarukyan vs. Hooker” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., Nov. 22, 2025 at ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.
