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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) updated its official rankings in the wake of the UFC Vegas 95 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which took place last weekend at the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. Heavyweight bruiser Serghei Spivac was the big winner of the night, capturing a submission win over longtime rival Marcin Tybura. The victory not only avenged a previous loss to “Tybur” but also sent “The Polar Bear” into a tie with former champion Stipe Miocic on the 265-pound ladder.

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 UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).

MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Islam Makhachev
2. Alex Pereira
3. Jon Jones
4. Ilia Topuria
5. Belal Muhammad
6. Sean O’Malley
7. Leon Edwards
8. Alexander Volkanovski
9. Tom Aspinall
10. Max Holloway
11. Dricus Du Plessis
12. Alexandre Pantoja
13. Israel Adesanya
14. Charles Oliveira +1
15. Sean Strickland -1

FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexandre Pantoja

1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Tatsuro Taira
6. Alex Perez
7. Steve Erceg
8. Matheus Nicolau
9. Manel Kape
10. Tim Elliott
11. Matt Schnell
12. Tagir Ulanbekov
13. Bruno Silva
14. Asu Almabayev
15. Cody Durden

BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Sean O’Malley

1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. Umar Nurmagomedov
3. Petr Yan
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Deiveson Figueiredo
6. Henry Cejudo
7. Marlon Vera
8. Song Yadong
9. Jose Aldo
10. Rob Font
11. Kyler Phillips
12. Mario Bautista -1
13. Dominick Cruz
14. Jonathan Martinez
15. Montel Jackson

FEATHERWEIGHT

Champion: Ilia Topuria

1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Brian Ortega
4. Yair Rodriguez
5. Arnold Allen
6. Movsar Evloev
7. Josh Emmett
8. Aljamain Sterling
9. Calvin Kattar
10. Giga Chikadze
11. Lerone Murphy
12. (T) Diego Lopes
12. (T) Bryce Mitchell
14. Dan Ige
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. Rafael dos Anjos
14. Jalin Turner
15. Paddy Pimblett

WELTERWEIGHT

Champion: Belal Muhammed

1. Leon Edwards
2. Kamaru Usman
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 -1
8. Khalil Rountree
9. Johnny Walker
10. Carlos Ulberg
11. Azamat Murzakanov
12. Anthony Smith
13. Dominick Reyes +1
14. Bogdan Guskov -1
15. Roman Dolidze

HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Jon Jones

1. Tom Aspinall
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Alexander Volkov
4. Sergei Pavlovich
5. Curtis Blaydes
6. Jailton Almeida +1
7. (T) Stipe Miocic -1
7. (T) Serghei Spivac +2
9. Marcin Tybura -1
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. (T) Julianna Pena
5. (T) Raquel Pennington
7. Rose Namajunas
8. Erin Blanchfield
9. Tatiana Suarez
10. Yan Xiaonan
11. Jessica Andrade
12. Kayla Harrison
13. Virna Jandiroba
14. Ketlen Vieira
15. Amanda Lemos

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT

Champion: Zhang Weili

1. Tatiana Suarez
2. Yan Xiaonan
3. Virna Jandiroba
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Amanda Lemos
6. Marina Rodriguez
7. Amanda Ribas
8. Mackenzie Dern
9. Angela Hill
10. Loopy Godinez
11. Tabatha Ricci
12. Luana Pinheiro
13. Gillian Robertson
14. Iasmin Lucindo
15. Karolina Kowalkiewicz

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexa Grasso

1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Rose Namajunas
6. Jessica Andrade
7. Katlyn Cerminara
8. Natalia Silva
9. Viviane Araújo
10. Amanda Ribas
11. Karine Silva
12. Tracy Cortez
13. Ariane Da Silva
14. Jasmine Jasudavicius
15. Casey O’Neill

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Raquel Pennington

1. Julianna Pena
2. Ketlen Vieira
3. Kayla Harrison
4. Macy Chiasson +1
5. Irene Aldana -1
6. Mayra Bueno Silva
7. Holly Holm
8. (T) Karol Rosa
8. (T) Norma Dumont
10. Yana Santos +2
11. Miesha Tate -3
12. Pannie Kianzad -1
13. Julia Avila
14. Germaine De Randamie +1
15. Chelsea Chandler -1

You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the middleweight division, following the UFC 305: “Du Plessis vs. Adesanya” pay-per-view (PPV) event on ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., Aug. 17, 2024 at RAC Center in Perth, Western Australia.

For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

It’s been almost a year since Israel Adesanya last competed in the UFC, and he has plenty to prove in his comeback.

Adesanya would likely rather forget his September 2023 bout that served as a shocking upset loss to Sean Strickland and cost him the UFC middleweight title. That setback came after a pair of intense showdowns against longtime rival Alex Pereira, which ended with Adesanya scoring a vicious knockout over the Brazilian to reclaim the belt.

But Adesanya’s reign ended just a few months later with the Strickland loss, which was then followed by an extended break from action. As Adesanya prepares to make his return on Saturday at UFC 305, Daniel Cormier, who is set to call the fights as part of the broadcast team, believes Adesanya actually made the right move to sit out rather than rushing back.

“I honestly don’t hate that he took some time off,” Cormier said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “They were riding this dude so hard. He was riding so hot, for so long.

“I remember right after he lost to Sean Strickland, I posted a picture of the amount of fights he had headlined. I thought to myself, this dude needs a break. It’s not bad that he took some time off. He was fighting a lot. Like, a lot. He was fighting a lot. I don’t know if anyone’s been as active.”

Adesanya was definitely one of the more active champions on the UFC roster, racking up five fights between 2022 and 2023 culminating with his loss to Strickland.

After Adesanya lost the belt, UFC CEO Dana White declared the former champ would compete for a title when he returned, which now comes to fruition with his fight against new UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in the UFC 305 main event.

Adesanya was actually supposed to defend his title against du Plessis this past September instead of Strickland, but the South African contender wasn’t able to make a quick turnaround following a win over ex-UFC champion Robert Whittaker in July.

The UFC 305 showdown finally brings Adesanya and du Plessis together after the middleweights exchanged plenty of nasty words over the past couple of years. Whatever professional rivalry existed between them eventually turned personal ahead of the title fight in Perth.

Because Adesanya is coming back from a loss and a year off, Cormier knows there’s a lot riding on the former champ’s performance, but that pressure only gets amplified facing a heated rival like du Plessis.

“He don’t want to lose to that dude,” Cormier said of Adesanya. “He don’t want to lose to Dricus. I love how intense it gets between these guys.

“I like bad blood fights. That’s my thing. I’m not going to lie to you, I love when it’s a bad blood fight, and this one has all the shit that I love. Those guys hate each other.”

Despite coming into the fight as the challenger rather than the champion, Adesanya certainly has a lot riding on the results.

At 35, Adesanya is moving towards the latter stage of his career and it’s impossible not to wonder where he would go next if he suffers a second straight loss in a title fight.

Cormier knows du Plessis is actually counting on that after hearing the UFC middleweight champion address the matchup in the days leading up to the fight.

“I think Dricus is almost betting on him not being [the same guy he was before],” Cormier said. “He said it on Countdown. He said, ‘He’s a tremendous fighter but his light is dimming … his light is dimming if it isn’t completely out [already].’ F*cking Dricus du Plessis said that about Izzy.”

“It’s on Izzy to show that’s not the case. It’s [up to him to say], ‘I’m still here and I’m still the man.”

Listen to new episodes of The Fighter vs. The Writer every Tuesday with audio only versions of the podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Undisputed lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev has laid into a slew of contenders at the lightweight limit – including former foe, Dustin Poirier, and ex-interim champion, Tony Ferguson – questioning their statuses as black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Makhachev, the current undisputed 155lbs gold holder and pound-for-pound number one, has been sidelined since he submitted the above-mentioned, Poirier at UFC 302, defending his crown with a fifth round D’Arce choke submission win in Newark.

And expected to headline UFC 308 at the end of October, Islam Makhachev was ruled from a targeted return in Abu Dhabi, with an unspecified arm injury ruling him from a rematch fight with surging number one contender, Arman Tsarukyan.

Islam Makhachev rips Tony Ferguson’s status as a BJJ black belt

Seeing a title fight at the featherweight limit between the unbeaten, Ilia Topuria and the symbolic BMF champion, Max Holloway take place at UFC 308 in his place, Makhachev has hit out at supposed black belt grapplers in his division – including the previously mentioned, Ferguson – as well as promotional star, Paddy Pimblett. 

“No, he (Tony Ferguson) don’t have [a] black belt,” Islam Makhachev said during an interview with Hosheh MMA. “He has a couple of things on the ground that he did with many fighters. But he is not a real black belt. I work with real black belts; it’s so tough. For the fighters, they get a gift. Some don’t deserve it.”

Setting an unwanted record in his most recent Octagon appearance at UFC Abu Dhabi this month, Ferguson suffered his eighth straight loss in the form of a first round rear-naked choke defeat to Michael Chiesa in the pair’s rescheduled pairing in the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier this month to boot, Makhachev was also linked with a potential move to the middleweight limit in pursuit of a second title – with his coach backing him to be competitive as high as 185lbs. 

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis puts his title eon the line for the first time on Saturday in the UFC 305 main event against former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya.  One fighter that will be watching the middleweight championship clash closely is former champion Robert Whittaker.  

Whittaker broke down the matchup and gave his prediction for the outcome on the MMArcade podcast.  Whittaker has fought both men and is on the cusp on earning another title shot.      

“It’s very hard to put a hard pick on either one of them,” Whittaker said.  “All we can look at is historically, like their previous fights.  Dricus, his last fight against Sean Strickland, he moved forward.  He put pressure on Strickland, didn’t let Strickland do that to him, shut his game down, was very aggressive, crowded that space, didn’t Strickland really find the rhythm he likes to fight in and came away with the decision win.  

“Strickland, prior to that fight (with du Plessis), fought Adesanya.  (He) did exactly that to Israel.  He pushed into his space, didn’t allow Adesanya to utilize that dangerous space that he likes fighting in,” Whittaker continued.  “He crowed him to a point where he didn’t let him have any free distancing from the fence so he could move away and be evasive because he loves fighting like that.  He’s very tall.  He fights very tall.  He likes countering with that.  He slips back.  He leans back, a lot of weight on that rear leg to get away from the punches and strikes.  He moves out, circles out.  Strickland closed that gap, crowded that space, kept Adesanya’s back to the fence for 90 percent of the fight and beat Adesanya by a decision win.”

Related: Jon Jones doxxes himself or plays epic prank

In his analysis of the matchup, Whittaker seemed to be leaning toward that champion retaining his title against “The Last Stylebender.”  The unknown is what has Adesanya done to prevent du Plessis from doing what Strickland accomplished.    

“This fight, Dricus versus Israel, we have to look at it and think Dricus was able to, obviously styles fight fights, but Dricus was to push that plan against Strickland that Strickland was able to push against Adesanya.  So, you’d have to think that Dricus is going to push that same plan, the same motive on Adesanya.  The million-dollar question is, what has Izzy done in his layoff since the Strickland fight to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” Whittaker said.  

“If I had to make a pick, I’d say that there’s a 50 percent chance, this is my confidence here.  I’m sitting on the fence, but I mean it.  There’s a 50-50 odds.  That’s how much I think either one could sway,” Whittaker continued.  “I think there’s a 50 percent chance that Izzy kind of keeps him at the end of his jab, utilizes that spacing, doesn’t get his back put against the fence.  Defends some takedowns but ultimately wins buy decision.  

“I also think there’s a 50 percent chance Dricus does what he did to Strickland, pushes into that space, takes him down, wears him out, turns it into a dog fight.  Doesn’t get a finish, but drags it out to the point where he’s still going to remain the champion.”  

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Redemption
| BJPenn.com

Contender Series is back!

Season 8 kicks off later TONIGHT (Tues., Aug. 13, 2024) from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, and it is loaded with top mixed martial arts (MMA) talent. Freak athlete, Mansur Abdul-Malik, takes on fellow finisher, Wesley Schultz, in the main event. Meanwhile, in the first fight of the night, viral knockout artist, An Ho, fights top Flyweight prospect, Lone’er Kavanagh.

Before the next crop of Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) fighters get their contracts, MMAmania.com will highlight the best fighter from each of the previous seven seasons.

Annnnnd here we go!

Sean O’Malley

Season One (Jul. 11 – Aug. 29, 2017)

This season is an absolute no-brainer: Sean O’Malley. There is an argument that he is the biggest and best fighter to come off the show, and it feels like UFC CEO, Dana White, has been looking for his next O’Malley ever since.

O’Malley knocked out Alfred Khashakyan in the first round and yelled, “Welcome To The Sugar Show,” which had everyone turning their heads. Oh, and Snoop Dog lost his mind over the knockout.

O’Malley eventually captured UFC’s Bantamweight crown with a knockout over Aljamain Sterling (watch highlights) and has defended it once against his rival, Marlon Vera. O’Malley boasts 8.4 million followers across all social media — eighth most of all fighters on UFC’s roster.

Honorable mentions: Alex Perez, Dan Ige (Ige wasn’t awarded a contract on the show, but fought on short notice at UFC 220).

Photo by Jeff Bottari/DWTNCS LLC

Kevin Holland

Season Two (Jun. 12 – Aug. 7, 2018)

Season two of Contender Series had a ton of great options. From Maycee Barber to Anthony Hernandez to Sodiq Yusuff to Jalin Turner. However, I think Kevin Holland — who wasn’t even awarded a contract on the show because he pissed off White (shocker) — is the best fighter to come out of season two. Holland eventually made his Octagon debut against Thiago Santos on short notice up a weight class … and lost. He rattled off three wins shortly thereafter before losing a second time to Brendan Allen.

But, it was in 2020 that he really made an impact.

During UFC’s COVID-19 pandemic lockdown era — where every single fight was held inside UFC Apex (or Fight Island), Holland competed five times and won all of them, capping off a tremendous year by knocking out Jacare Souza (see it).

His big 2020 would get him two back-to-back main events in 2021, both of which he lost, but he became a fan favorite because of his attitude of fighting anyone, anywhere, in any weight class.

Honorable mentions: Barber, Chris Curtis

Photo by Chris Unger/DWCS LLC

Jamahal Hill

Season Three (Jun. 18 – Aug. 20, 2019)

The first Contender Series fighter to hold UFC gold came in season three, week five: Jamahal Hill. Hill’s first three UFC fights were pretty forgettable, that was, until Paul Craig dislocated “Sweat Dreams” elbow, handing Hill his first professional loss (see it). After that, Hill knocked out highly touted prospect, Jimmy Crute, which scored him his first UFC main event against Johnny Walker (Hill scored a meme knockout).

Hill got another main event against former Light Heavyweight title challenger, Thiago Santos, and then had the best timing ever because he stepped right into a vacant title shot against Glover Teixeira.

“Sweat Dreams” won a dominant unanimous decision to accomplish his goal. He was never be able to defend his title, though, tearing his Achilles and vacating the belt.

Hill will be a staple of the Light Heavyweight division for as long as he fights.

Honorable mentions: Brendan Loughnane, Brendan Allen

Photo by Jeff Bottari/DWCS LLC/Zuffa LLC

Impa Kasanganay

Season Four (Aug. 4. – Sept. 1, 2020)

Season four of Contender Series took place during the global pandemic, which devastated the regional mixed martial arts (MMA) scene.

The best fighter to come off of season four is Impa Kasanganay … and I’ll explain the reason(s). Kasanganay did not have the best UFC run, going 2-2 and got virally knocked out by Joaquin Buckley (it was so good). However, Kasangnay had a fantastic career outside UFC with Professional Fighters League (PFL).

Indeed, in 2023 “Tshilobo” fought his way into PFL by competing on its Challengers show. He went on to win the Light Heavyweight championship and a $ 1 million payday and is on his way to repeat as defending champion.

Oh, and a fun fact: Kasaganay competed in season three, but didn’t nab a contract.

Honorable mentions: Adrian Yanez, Carlos Ulberg

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Jack Della Maddalena

Season Five (Aug. 31. – Nov. 2, 2020)

Season five of Contenders Series was by far the hardest 10 weeks to pick a clear winner; in fact, I’ve changed my mind several times. At the end of the day, Jack Della Maddalena is the best fighter from the fifth season.

“JDM” is undefeated inside the Octagon, holding a perfect (7-0) record with the promotion. He has raked in five “Performance of the Night” bonuses and has the best win of anyone from season five: he stopped former Welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns (with a broken arm).

Della Maddalena is currently ranked No. 5 in UFC’s Welterweight Top 15 and has placed himself in a position where he is one or two fights away from a title shot.

Honorable mentions: Diego Lopes, Caio Borralho

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Bo Nickal

Season Six (Jul. 26. – Sept. 27, 2021)

Bo Nickal has only three UFC fights and is perfect (6-0) as a professional; however, his potential has him as the best fight to some off the sixth season of Contender Series.

Nickal is a three-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion, making him one of the best college wrestlers to compete in MMA. The scary thing is he hasn’t really used his wrestling at all thus far in his career.

He is knocking people out.

We have yet to see him fight a Top 15-seeded Middleweight, but it isn’t like he is turning them down, either. Indeed, Nickal is getting Dana White and Co.’s slow build.

Honorable mentions: Raul Rosas Jr., Joe Pyfer

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Jean Silva

Season Seven (Aug. 8. – Oct. 10, 2023)

One year is definitely challenging to gauge someone; however, Jean Silva has made a big impact already and has had great wins. “Lord” made a statement in his UFC debut, stopping Westin Wilson in the first round (watch it); however, his next two fights put him on everyone’s radar.

He knocked out Charles Jourdain at UFC 303 during “International Fight Week” and then turned around and finished the always-durable, Drew Dober, at UFC Denver while he was up a weight class.

Time will tell how good Silva really is, but as of now, he is the best fight from season seven.

Honorable mentions: Payton Talbott, Hyder Amil

For complete Contender Series news and notes checkout our comprehensive archive here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts