In a recent UFC event held in Las Vegas, there were some noteworthy changes in the rankings. After much-heated debate and speculation over the performances of Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev at the previous UFC 284 held in Perth, it appears that their efforts may have been for naught. The reason is, Jon Jones, the former light heavyweight champion, has recently claimed the heavyweight championship by taking down Ciryl Gane, and has now surpassed both Volkanovski and Makhachev to become the current top pound-for-pound fighter in the latest UFC rankings update.
“Bones” has cemented his place in UFC history by becoming only the eighth fighter in the organization’s distinguished annals to hold titles in two separate divisions. His highly-anticipated first title defense is scheduled to take place at the upcoming UFC 290 event in July against Stipe Miocic, and fans across the globe eagerly await the outcome of this monumental matchup.
The former champion in the women’s 125-pound category, Valentina Shevchenko, suffered a shocking upset loss to Alexa Grasso. This loss caused Shevchenko to drop down in the pound-for-pound and flyweight rankings.
Additionally, there were some impressive performances by welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov and middleweight Dricus Du Plessis. Both of these fighters managed to secure big wins at the UFC 285 event, which helped them climb up to the No. 6 spot in their respective divisions.
Here is a glimpse of the current rankings field according to UFC.com. It is important to keep in mind that the symbols used in the rankings indicate movement (+/-) and ties (T) between fighters. Additionally, the designation *NR means that the fighter was not previously ranked.
Jon Jones Makes Epic Comeback to Claim Top UFC Ranking
Men’s Pound-For-Pound
1. Jon Jones +8
2. Alexander Volkanovski -1
3. Islam Makhachev -1
4. Leon Edwards -1
5. Kamaru Usman -1
6. Israel Adesanya -1
7. Alex Pereira -1
8. Aljamain Sterling -1
9. Charles Oliveira -1
10. Brandon Moreno -1
11. Jiri Prochazka
12. Dustin Poirier
13. Jamahal Hill
14. Robert Whittaker
15. Max Holloway
Flyweight
Champion: Brandon Moreno
1. Deiveson Figueiredo
2. Alexandre Pantoja
3. Kai Kara France
4. Brandon Royval
5. Matheus Nicolau
6. Alex Perez
7. Amir Albazi
8. Matt Schnell
9. Manel Kape
10. David Dvorak
11. Tim Elliott
12. Muhammad Mokaev
13. Su Mudaerji
14. Tagir Ulanbekov
14. Tyson Nam
Bantamweight
Champion: Aljamain Sterling
1. Sean O’Malley
2. Petr Yan
3. Merab Dvalishvili
4. Marlon Vera
5. Cory Sandhagen
6. Rob Font
7. Dominick Cruz
8. Song Yadong
9. Pedro Munhoz
10. Ricky Simon
11. Umar Nurmagomedov
12. Adrian Yanez +1
13. Chris Gutierrez -1
14. Said Nurmagomedov
15. Jack Shore
Featherweight
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
1. Interim Champion Yair Rodriguez
2. Max Holloway
3. Brian Ortega
4. Arnold Allen
5. Josh Emmett
6. Chan Sung Jung
7. Calvin Kattar
8. Giga Chikadze
9. Ilia Topuria
10. Movsar Evloev
11. Bryce Mitchell
12. Sodiq Yusuff
13. Dan Ige
14. Edson Barboza
15. Alex Caceres
Lightweight
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Charles Oliveira
2. Dustin Poirier
3. Justin Gaethje
4. Beneil Dariush
5. Michael Chandler
6. Rafael Fiziev
7. Mateusz Gamrot
8. Arman Tsarukyan
9. Rafael dos Anjos
10. Jalin Turner
11. Dan Hooker
12. Damir Ismagulov
13. Renato Moicano
14. Drew Dober
15. Grant Dawson
Welterweight
Champion: Leon Edwards
1. Kamaru Usman
2. Colby Covington
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Belal Muhammed
5. Gilbert Burns
6. Shavkat Rakhmonov +3
7. Stephen Thompson -1
8. Geoff Neal -1
9. Sean Brady -1
10. Vicente Luque -1
11. Jorge Masvidal
12. Neil Magny
13. Michael Chiesa -1
14. Jack Della Maddalena
15. Michel Pereira
Middleweight
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Israel Adesanya
2. Robert Whittaker
3. Jared Cannonier
4. Marvin Vettori
5. Paulo Costa +1
6. Dricus Du Plessis +4
7. Sean Strickland
8. Derek Brunson -3
9. Roman Dolidze -1
10. Jack Hermansson -1
11. Nassourdine Imavov
12. Brendan Allen
13. Andre Muniz
14. Chris Curtis
15. Kelvin Gastelum
Light Heavyweight
Champion: Jamahal Hill
1. Jiri Prochazka
2. Magomed Ankalaev
3. Jan Blachowicz
4. Aleksandar Rakic
5. Anthony Smith
6. Nikita Krylov
7. Johnny Walker
8. Ryan Spann
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Paul Craig
11. Dominick Reyes
12. Jim Crute
13. (T) Khalil Rountree
13. (T) Dustin Jacoby
15. Azamat Murzakanov
Heavyweight
Champion: Jon Jones
1. (T) Ciryl Gane
1. (T) Stipe Miocic +1
3. Sergei Pavlovich
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Tai Tuivasa
6. Tom Aspinall
7. Serghei Spivac
8. Alexander Volkov
9. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
10. Marcin Tybura
11. Derrick Lewis
12. Chris Daukaus
13. Jailton Almeida +1
14. Alexandr Romanov -1
15. Blagoy Ivanov
Women’s Pound-For-Pound
1. Amanda Nunes
2. Alexa Grasso *NR
3. Valentina Shevchenko -1
4. Weili Zhang -1
5. Rose Namajunas -1
6. Julianna Pena -1
7. Carla Esparza -1
8. Jessica Andrade -1
9. Erin Blanchfield -1
10. Amanda Lemos -1
11. Manon Fiorot
12. Taila Santos -2
13. Raquel Pennington
14. Marina Rodriguez -2
15. Holly Holm -1
Women’s strawweight
Champion: Zhang Weili
1. Carla Esparza
2. Rose Namajunas
3. Amanda Lemos
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Marina Rodriguez
6. Yan Xiaonan
7. Mackenzie Dern
8. Tecia Torres
9. Virna Jandiroba +1
10. Michelle Waterson +1
11. Amanda Ribas -2
12. Tatiana Suarez +1
13. Angela Hill -1
14. Luana Pinheiro
15. Tabatha Ricci *NR
Women’s Flyweight
Champion: Alexa Grasso
1. Valentina Shevchenko -1
2. Manon Fiorot -1
3. Talia Santos -1
4. Erin Blanchfield -1
5. Jessica Andrade -1
6. Katlyn Chookagian -1
7. Lauren Murphy
8. Jennifer Maia +1
9. Amanda Ribas *NR
10. Viviane Araújo -2
11. Andrea Lee -1
12. Casey O’Neill -1
13. Maycee Barber -1
14. Tracy Cortez -1
15. Cynthia Calvillo -1
Women’s Bantamweight
Champion: Amanda Nunes
1. Julianna Pena
2. Raquel Pennington
3. (T) Holly Holm
3. (T) Ketlen Vieira
5. Irene Aldana
6. Yana Kunitskaya
7. Pannie Kianzad
8. Macy Chiasson
9. Karol Rosa
10. Mayra Bueno Silva +2
11. Miesha Tate -1
12. Julia Avila -1
13. Norma Dumont
14. Josiane Nunes
15. Chelsea Chandler
