Jon Jones is the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA.
Any educated adult knows that, according to UFC CEO Dana White, which means every single media member assigned to the official rankings panel should quit their jobs in combat sports and pursue an education commensurate with White’s expectations.
Or maybe … just maybe … White is simply doing his job as a promoter.
After all, Jones has a fight coming up against Stipe Miocic (eventually) and every bit of marketing helps. That said, this week’s rankings will reflect light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in the No. 2 slot, just above “Bones” at No. 3.
Here’s the official UFC rankings update in the wake of UFC 303, where Pereira defended his 205-pound strap by finishing former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka. But first, the usual preamble about the rankings process and how the lists are generated:
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 the UFC app. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Islam Makhachev
2. Alex Pereira +2
3. Jon Jones -1
4. Leon Edwards -1
5. Ilia Topuria
6. Sean O’Malley
7. Alexander Volkanovski
8. Max Holloway
9. Dricus Du Plessis
10. Alexandre Pantoja
11. Tom Aspinall +2
12. Israel Adesanya -1
13. Charles Oliveira -1
14. Sean Strickland
15. Aljamain Sterling
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Tatsuro Taira
6. Muhammad Mokaev
7. Alex Perez
8. Manel Kape
9. Steve Erceg
10. Matheus Nicolau
11. Tim Elliott
12. Matt Schnell
13. Tagir Ulanbekov
14. (T) David Dvorak
14. (T) Cody Durden +1
15. Sumudaerji *NR
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Sean O’Malley
1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. Cory Sandhagen
3. Petr Yan
4. Marlon Vera
5. Henry Cejudo
6. Deiveson Figueiredo
7. Song Yadong
8. Jose Aldo
9. Rob Font
10. Umar Nurmagomedov
11. Kyler Phillips
12. Mario Bautista
13. Dominick Cruz
14. Jonathan Martinez
15. Pedro Munhoz
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Ilia Topuria
1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Brian Ortega
4. Yair Rodriguez
5. Movsar Evloev
6. Arnold Allen
7. Josh Emmett
8. Aljamain Sterling
9. Calvin Kattar
10. Giga Chikadze -1
11. Lerone Murphy
12. Diego Lopes +2
13. Bryce Mitchell -1
14. Dan Ige -1
15. Edson Barboza
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Arman Tsarukyan
2. Charles Oliveira
3. Justin Gaethje
4. Dustin Poirier
5. Mateusz Gamrot
6. Michael Chandler
7. Beneil Dariush
8. Rafael Fiziev
9. Max Holloway
10. Renato Moicano
11. Dan Hooker
12. Benoit Saint-Denis
13. Jalin Turner
14. Rafael dos Anjos
15. Bobby Green
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Leon Edwards
1. Kamaru Usman
2. Belal Muhammed
3. Shavkat Rakhmonov
4. Colby Covington
5. Jack Della Maddalena
6. Gilbert Burns
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Sean Brady
9. Stephen Thompson
10. Geoff Neal
11. Joaquin Buckley
12. Neil Magny
13. Vicente Luque
14. Michael Page
15. Kevin Holland
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Dricus Du Plessis
1. Sean Strickland
2. Israel Adesanya
3. Robert Whittaker
4. Nassourdine Imavov
5. Jared Cannonier
6. Marvin Vettori
7. Brendan Allen
8. Paulo Costa
9. Jack Hermansson
10. Roman Dolidze
11. Khamzat Chimaev
12. Caio Borralho
13. Michel Pereira
14. Anthony Hernandez
15. Chris Curtis
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Jiri Prochazka
2. Magomed Ankalaev
3. Jamahal Hill
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. Nikita Krylov
7. Volkan Oezdemir +2
8. Khalil Rountree
9. Johnny Walker -2
10. Carlos Ulberg +1
11. Anthony Smith -1
12. Bogdan Guskov
13. Dominick Reyes
14. Azamat Murzakanov +1
15. Alonzo Menifield -1
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jon Jones
1. Tom Aspinall
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Alexander Volkov +2
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Sergei Pavlovich -2
6. Stipe Miocic
7. Jailton Almeida
8. Marcin Tybura
9. Serghei Spivac
10. Tai Tuivasa
11. Derrick Lewis
12. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
13. Alexandr Romanov
14. Marcos Rogerio De Lima
15. Rodrigo Nascimento
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Alexa Grasso
2. Zhang Weili
3. Valentina Shevchenko
4. Manon Fiorot
5. Julianna Pena
6. Raquel Pennington -1
7. Rose Namajunas
8. Erin Blanchfield
9. Tatiana Suarez
10. Yan Xiaonan
11. Jessica Andrade
12. Amanda Lemos
13. Kayla Harrison +1
14. Ketlen Vieira -1
15. Maycee Barber
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Zhang Weili
1. Tatiana Suarez
2. Yan Xiaonan
3. Amanda Lemos
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Virna Jandiroba
6. Marina Rodriguez
7. Mackenzie Dern
8. Amanda Ribas
9. Angela Hill
10. Loopy Godinez
11. Tabatha Ricci
12. Luana Pinheiro
13. Gillian Robertson +2
14. Iasmin Lucindo -1
15. Michelle Waterson-Gomez -1
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexa Grasso
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Jessica Andrade
6. Rose Namajunas
7. Katlyn Cerminara
8. Natalia Silva
9. Amanda Ribas
10. Viviane Araújo
11. Tracy Cortez
12. Karine Silva
13. Ariane Da Silva
14. Casey O’Neill
15. Jasmine Jasudavicius
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Raquel Pennington
1. Julianna Pena
2. Ketlen Vieira
3. Kayla Harrison +1
4. Irene Aldana +1
5. Macy Chiasson +2
6. Mayra Bueno Silva -3
7. Holly Holm -1
8. Karol Rosa +1
9. Miesha Tate -1
10. Norma Dumont
11. Pannie Kianzad
12. Yana Santos
13. Julia Avila
14. Chelsea Chandler
15. Germaine De Randamie
You can expect these rankings to change in roughly two weeks, particularly in the women’s flyweight division, following the UFC Denver: “Namajunas vs. Cortez” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN and ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., July 13, 2024 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.
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