UFC pound for pound rankings: Merab Dvalishvili jumps into the top 10 after UFC 306 dominance (original) (raw)
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The men’s UFC pound for pound rankings is the cream of the crop when it comes to MMA top-10 lists. It is a rundown of the very best fighters on planet Earth today and it features the competitors who best mix power, speed, athleticism, and fight IQ into an absolutely destructive cage fighting force.
It’s also a list that is heavily debated and as subjective a topic as there is in the MMA community. With that said, here are the latest Sportsnaut men’s UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
10. Dricus Du Plessis (22-2)
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It hasn’t always been pretty but Dricus Du Plessis’ eight-fight win streak inside the Octagon is undeniable. He is a well-rounded fighter who has scored wins in different ways. And a trio of wins over former middleweight kings Robert Whittaker, Sean Strickland, and Israel Adesnaya — including two finishes — is worth landing in the UFC pound for pound rankings.
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9. Max Holloway (26-7)
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Max Holloway will go down as one of the great UFC featherweights of all time. His victories over fighters like Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar solidified that fact. However, he elevated himself to a new level when he stepped out of the division at UFC 300 and took the BMF title off Justin Gaethje in a destructive fashion. A 145-pound title fight is likely in “Blessed’s” future.
8. Leon Edwards (22-4)
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Leon Edwards forever stamped his place in UFC and UK MMA history when he was able to topple division legend Kamaru Usman in 2022. His victories in the rematch and then against Colby Covington placed him among the greatest UK fighters of all time. However, all good things come to an end.
At UFC 304 his long win streak was ended to rival Belal Muhammad, and the new champ does not seem keen on giving Edwards a rematch any time soon.
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7. Alexandre Pantoja (21-5)
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Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja has had a long hard road to becoming the new UFC flyweight king. He has toiled away inside the division for five years before he was finally able to earn a title fight at UFC 290. In his first chance at being champion, he made good by scoring a second (third unofficial) win over division king Brandon Moreno. In his first defense of his thrown, he took part in another rematch — this time against Brandon Royval — and again proved he was the better man and still the best 125-pound fighter on the planet.
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6. Alexander Volkanovski (26-4)
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Featherweight great Alexander Volkanovski is one of the most complete fighters in the sport. There is little he can’t do in the cage, and he has the fight IQ to back it up. However, being a champion at lightweight is not a goal he will achieve during his career after falling to lightweight king Islam Makhachev in two opportunities.
He is also no longer the king at featherweight and is no longer among the three best fighters in the world. Nevertheless, he is still a must-have on any UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
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5. Belal Muhammad (24-3)
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You can no longer doubt the talents of Belal Muhammad. He has beaten high-level fighters like Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, and Gilbert Burns, and now can call himself world champion after defeating Leon Edwards at UFC 304.
His rise to the top is one of the best stories in the UFC. Now, he must solidify his place among the best welterweights ever and get a few defenses under his golden belt.
4. Merab Dvalishvili (18-4)
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After losing back-to-back fights, Merab Dvalishvili really has been a “Machine.” He has won 11 straight, including over bantamweight greats Henry Cejudo, Jose Aldo, and Petr Yan. However, his UFC 306 win over Sean O’Malley made him a bonafide MMA star. It also landed him in our latest UFC pound-for-pound rankings top 10.
3. Ilia Topuria (15-0)
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After five straight wins to start his UFC career, Ilia Topuria became one of the new rising stars at 145 pounds. Then big wins over Bryce Mitchell and former interim championship challenger Josh Emmett cemented his place as not just an impressive talent but a true world title contender. Now he can be called champion after toppling featherweight legend Alexander Volkanovski to kick off his 2024 schedule.
2. Alex Pereira (11-2)
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Alex Pereira’s UFC story is becoming legendary. After just nine fights he has become a two-division champion and has scored destructive wins over some of the best fighters of this era at middleweight and light heavyweight. While he is 36 years old, he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down and could eventually make the jump to heavyweight after another dominant title defense at UFC 303 in June.
1. Islam Makhachev (26-1)
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Many doubted how good Islam Makhachev truly was, and there were some doubters of whether he deserved a lightweight title opportunity against Charles Oliveira. However, he proved he truly is the heir apparent to lightweight GOAT Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 280 when he submitted Oliveira. The man with the most submissions in UFC history.
Since then he has only grown his legend and place among the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world. In his first three title defenses, he took on the challenge of featherweight great Alexander Volkanovski, and most recently Dustin Poirier, and has shown the complete and near-unbeatable fighter he currently is.