Alex Pereira made a strong return to the pound-for-pound picture thanks to his explosive performance at UFC 320. After losing his title earlier in the year to Magomed Ankalaev, many wondered if “Poatan” could make his way back into the conversation. His rematch left no doubts.
The two met again in Las Vegas, and Pereira needed just over a minute to finish the job. He pushed forward early, mixing heavy punches with low kicks before landing a clean right hand that ended Ankalaev’s night in just 80 seconds. The win lifted him back to No. 6 on the men’s list for October.
Meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili stayed solid at No. 3 after controlling Cory Sandhagen in a dominant showing on the same card. The bantamweight champion didn’t bring anything brand new to his style, but his pressure and pace proved too much over five rounds. The gap between Merab and Islam Makhachev at No. 2 may be closing, but his place in the top three remains firm.
Before we dive further, here’s the updated look at the rankings this month:
Men’s Pound-for-Pound Rankings (October 2025)
- Ilia Topuria
- Islam Makhachev
- Merab Dvalishvili
- Khamzat Chimaev
- Alexandre Pantoja
- Alex Pereira +4
- Alexander Volkanovski −1
- Jack Della Maddalena
- Tom Aspinall
- Dricus Du Plessis +1
- Magomed Ankalaev −4
- Max Holloway
- Belal Muhammad
- Arman Tsarukyan
- Shavkat Rakhmonov
Ilia Topuria kept his place at the very top, but his team and fans are already looking ahead. A possible clash with Justin Gaethje is being floated, and talk of boxing Terence Crawford still lingers. Islam Makhachev is preparing to move up to welterweight, set to face Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in November. If he wins convincingly, debates about his all-time standing will grow louder.
For Merab, critics still point to his lack of finishes despite a 14-fight win streak. Still, his ability to dominate elite competition for 25 minutes at a time is a key reason why he’s among the pound-for-pound elite.
Pantoja remains the clear king of the flyweights, and Pereira’s comeback now makes the light heavyweight division more interesting again. Chimaev, sitting at No. 4, continues to tease big cross-division matchups, including a possible showdown with Pereira himself.
Other divisions also saw movement following UFC 320:
- Jiri Prochazka took over the top light heavyweight spot from Ankalaev
- Youssef Zalal climbed the featherweight ladder
- Joe Pyfer broke into the middleweight rankings at No. 15
- Yana Santos jumped up to No. 5 at women’s bantamweight
