UFC rankings: The Independent’s pound-for-pound fighters list

The UFC is home to some of the best mixed martial artists on the planet, so it is no surprise that fans often debate how the elite fighters compare to one another.

Alongside its weekly-updated rankings for each weight class, the UFC has its own pound-for-pound rankings, containing 15 names – as with each list for every division.

Here, The Independent has constructed its own top 10, pound-for-pound rankings for men’s UFC fighters, to be updated after each pay-per-view-event.

While there is no exact science to putting together lists such as this, a number of factors have been considered in making the rankings, including each fighter’s overall record, recent record, level of activity and calibre of opposition.

Without further ado... Here are our rankings after UFC 313 in March:

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It seemed as though the Russian was being kept away from light-heavyweight star Alex Pereira in a bid to preserve the latter’s title reign, until Ankalaev finally got his shot at the champion in March. And Ankalaev, 32, made the most of that opportunity with a professional, mature performance, dethroning Pereira on points. Some scored that fight in favour of Pereira, while many had it for Ankalaev by a close margin. Indy Sport saw Ankalaev as a comfortable winner, however; although his wrestling was neutralised with surprising ease, he out struck the kickboxing icon across five rounds. A new era at 205lb?

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Muhammad has his critics –?a lot of them. Much of the criticism aimed at the Palestinian-American is due to his relative lack of finishes, but there is no doubting his progress or momentum; the 36-year-old’s improved grappling has secured him 10 straight victories in five years, including his welterweight title win in July. There was actually one blemish between those wins, that No Contest against Leon Edwards in 2021, but that was not Muhammad’s fault, and he controlled his rival in their rematch last summer to claim the 170lb belt.

Add that impressive win to victories over Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady, Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia – all in consecutive fights. A first title defence was due in December, against the ominous Shavkat Rakhmonov, but Muhammad withdrew due to injury. Now Rakhmonov is injured, and Muhammad will defend the title against Jack Della Maddalena.

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When Jones returned to the UFC in 2023 after a three-year absence, winning the heavyweight title by submitting Ciryl Gane in the first round, many believed that the American confirmed himself as the greatest of all time. A lot of fans also felt he should go straight to the top of any pound-for-pound list. And Jones’s victory was certainly impressive, particularly due to its manner and the factors around the 37-year-old’s heavyweight debut.

It was enough for the former two-time light-heavyweight champion to shoot straight into our rankings at No 2. However, his lack of activity saw him drop by several spots following his injury in late 2023, which derailed his planned clash with heavyweight ‘GOAT’ Stipe Miocic. That fight was rebooked for November, with Jones stopping Miocic in round three.

The spinning-back-kick finish was impressive, but Jones’s performance wasn’t enough to elevate him here, given Miocic was 42 and hadn’t fought in four years. In fact, he continues to drop as other fighters deliver. What fans really want is Jones versus Tom Aspinall – the interim champ whom “Bones” seems keen to avoid. Speak of the Devil...

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The kickboxing extraordinaire enjoyed a rapid rise through the middleweight rankings after transitioning to MMA, culminating in a KO of his old rival Israel Adesanya to take the belt. Although Pereira was stopped by Adesanya in a rematch in 2023, he bounced back with a swift move up to light-heavyweight, where he outpointed former champion Jan Blachowicz.

In his next fight, the Brazilian fought for the vacant title, beating another ex-champ in Jiri Prochazka to secure two-weight-champion status in record time. Pereira sealed that feat with a second-round TKO, before knocking out yet another former title holder; in the main event of UFC 300, the 37-year-old stopped Jamahal Hill early and emphatically.

Then, at UFC 303, Pereira stepped up on two weeks’ notice to defend the title again, knocking out Prochazka in the second round for the second time in seven months. Finally for his 2024 endeavours, he overcame a tricky start against Khalil Rountree Jr to bludgeon the American in October.

Earlier in his career, by the way, Pereira recorded a knockout of Sean Strickland, who would go on to become middleweight champion. As some have said, “Poatan” is speed-running a Hall of Fame career, and he was pushing for No 1 here – until he dropped by several spots when he lost his belt to Magomed Ankalaev in a dull decision at UFC 313.

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Aspinall almost entered our rankings in late 2023, when he demolished Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim heavyweight title, but he finally got the nod last January. Then, in July, he rose up the list (well, down, as you’re reading it, but you understand).

The Briton, 31, was the future of heavyweight MMA, now he is the present: a remarkable athlete who moves like a lightweight while hitting like his predecessors. He holds the record for the shortest average fight time for an athlete with five or more UFC bouts – and barring his early injury in a fight with Curtis Blaydes in 2022, he has won them all.

In fact, Aspinall avenged that loss with a first-minute KO of Blaydes this July, retaining the interim title – while waiting for regular champion Jones to defend his belt against ex-champ Miocic. Jones won that fight via TKO, and now must face Aspinall.

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Okay, some making up for lost ground here, on our part. After submitting Kai Asakura in December, to retain the men’s flyweight title, Pantoja entered our top 10. Not only was he included (in an overdue move), but he came into the top four. The Brazilian, 34, has wiped out the division, with three wins over ex-champ Brandon Moreno and two over No 1-ranked Brandon Royval. In fact, Pantoja is 9-0 against the top 10, with Amir Albazi the only man on that list whom the champion hasn’t faced (and Albazi recently lost to Moreno, so). With the UFC needing fresh challengers for Pantoja, they signed Asakura, a former two-time Rizin bantamweight champion. But Pantoja saw him off like all the others. Finally, we’ve put the appropriate respect on Pantoja’s name – although other results have seen him drop slightly here.

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For a long time, the South African was derided, with many fans saying his bulldozing, ungainly style would eventually be his undoing. Yet that style led Du Plessis to victories over some of the best middleweights ever, and to the middleweight title.

By narrowly winning a battle with Sean Strickland in 2024, the 31-year-old became South Africa’s first UFC champion, and that win was sandwiched between stoppages of former title holders Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker – two of the best fighters the division has ever seen. After submitting Adesanya, Du Plessis further consolidated his reign by outpointing Strickland again – and more clearly this time.

“Stillknocks” also holds wins over Darren Till, Derek Brunson and Brad Tavares, is unbeaten in the UFC, and has secured 20 of his 23 wins via stoppage – with a near-even split of KOs and submissions. He has steadily increased his standing in our rankings over the last year.

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The Georgian entered our rankings after winning the bantamweight strap from Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in September. That result marked an 11th straight win for Dvalishvili, who cruised to a decision victory over “Sugar Sean” with relentless pressure and superior grappling. Dvalishvili then made it 12 in a row with his first title defence: a five-round thriller in which he outpointed Umar Nurmagomedov, handing Khabib’s cousin his first pro loss. In that bout, the champion was down on the scorecards against a versatile challenger, yet he employed his famous cardio to score a comeback win.

The 34-year-old’s detractors will point to his lack of finishes, and that point is a fair one (the “Machine” has just one stoppage in his current win streak), but his accomplishments are more important: like winning four straight fights against former champions: O’Malley, Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan and Jose Aldo – none of whom came close to beating him.

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Spoke ‘arrogantly’ of his chances against featherweight great Alexander Volkanovski in February 2024, only for his words to prove prophetic. Topuria, 28, brutally knocked out the Australian in the second round, taking the 145lb title and becoming the first UFC champion to represent Spain or Georgia. That win also kept Topuria unbeaten, moving him to 15-0, and he improved that record with his first title defence: a third-round knockout of Max Holloway in October. That victory showed off Topuria’s unforgiving power, as he became the first man to knock out the former champion, but “El Matador” is more than just a heavy-handed, tidy boxer.

In fact, while six of his wins have come via knockout, eight have come via submission, thanks to Topuria’s fine wrestling and under-rated jiu-jitsu. He displayed those skills in a dominant points win over Josh Emmett and a submission of grappling specialist Bryce Mitchell, prior to fighting for the title. Topuria is a great example of the modern mixed martial artist, and he may be carrying the UFC into a new era.

In February, Topuria vacated the featherweight belt in a shock move, eyeing a lightweight title fight next...

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Some used to question the Russian’s credentials, given a lack of top-tier opponents on his record, though that was arguably due to fighters’ tentativeness to risk their rankings against a dangerous up-and-comer. Others accused Makhachev of benefiting from his connection to Khabib – his childhood friend and now one of Makhachev’s coaches.

Regardless, the 33-year-old banished any doubt in 2022 when he submitted Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight title, suggesting he would have done the same to most contenders. Next, Makhachev made it to 13 straight wins by beating then-featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski twice in eight months, retaining his title in both fights. In February 2023, Makhachev outpointed the Aussie in Perth, then in October, he knocked him out with a head kick in round one.

Those victories saw Makhachev rise to No 1 in our rankings, a position he solidified with his submission of lightweight great Dustin Poirier in June. And he only cemented that status in January, beating Renato Moicano with a D’Arce choke – the same technique that saw off Poirier.

That first-round win over Moicano did not mark the first time that Makhachev had accepted a short-notice challenger, either; Moicano replaced the injured Arman Tsarukyan on one day’s notice, while Makhachev’s second win over Volkanovski also came with little preparation. The pound-for-pound king will fight any man at any time, and now he holds the record for the most successive lightweight title defences (4).