‘Poatan’ Takes Major Hit In Latest UFC Rankings Update

In addition, Ignacio Bahamondes debuts in the lightweight rankings after submitting Jalin Turner.

Alex Pereira lost his light heavyweight title after coming up short against Magomed Ankalaev atop the UFC 313 pay-per-view (PPV) event last weekend in Las Vegas. As a result, “Poatan” also coughed up his seat in the Top 5 in the official UFC pound-for-pound rankings.

The 37 year-old Brazilian was sent tumbling five spots to the No. 8 slot while Ankalaev debuts at No. 6, sandwiched between reigning middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (No. 5) and newly-crowned welterweight titleholder Belal Muhammad (No. 7).

Here’s how the rankings are compiled, at least until AI takes over:

Rankings are 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. Jon Jones
3. Ilia Topuria +1
4. Merab Dvalishvili +1
5. Dricus Du Plessis +1
6. Magomed Ankalaev *NR
7. Belal Muhammad
8. Alex Pereira -5
9. Alexandre Pantoja
10. Tom Aspinall -2
11. Alexander Volkanovski
12. Leon Edwards -3
13. Max Holloway -1
14. Sean O’Malley -1
15. Charles Oliveira -1

FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Alexandre Pantoja

1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Tatsuro Taira
6. Manel Kape
7. Alex Perez
8. Steve Erceg +1
9. Asu Almabayev -1
10. Tim Elliott
11. Tagir Ulanbekov
12. Bruno Silva +1
13. Ramazan Temirov *NR
14. Kai Asakura
15. Charles Johnson -3

BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Merab Dvalishvili

1. Sean O’Malley
2. Petr Yan
3. Umar Nurmagomedov
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Deiveson Figueiredo
6. Song Yadong
7. Marlon Vera
8. Rob Font
9. Henry Cejudo
10. Mario Bautista
11. Jose Aldo
12. Kyler Phillips
13. Marcus McGhee
14. Aiemann Zahabi
15. Montel Jackson

FEATHERWEIGHT

Champion: Ilia Topuria

1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Diego Lopes
4. Movsar Evloev
5. Yair Rodriguez
6. Brian Ortega
7. Arnold Allen
8. Josh Emmett
9. Aljamain Sterling
10. Lerone Murphy
11. Giga Chikadze
12. Youssef Zalal
13. Bryce Mitchell
14. Calvin Kattar
15. Dan Ige

LIGHTWEIGHT

Champion: Islam Makhachev

1. Arman Tsarukyan
2. Charles Oliveira
3. Justin Gaethje
4. Dustin Poirier
5. Max Holloway
6. Dan Hooker
7. Michael Chandler
8. Mateusz Gamrot
9. Beneil Dariush
10. Renato Moicano
11. Rafael Fiziev
12. Paddy Pimblett
13. Benoit Saint Denis +2
14. Grant Dawson
15. Ignacio Bahamondes *NR

WELTERWEIGHT

Champion: Belal Muhammed

1. Leon Edwards
2. Shavkat Rakhmonov
3. Kamaru Usman
4. Jack Della Maddalena
5. Sean Brady
6. Joaquin Buckley
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Gilbert Burns
9. Colby Covington
10. Geoff Neal
11. Stephen Thompson
12. Michael Morales
13. Carlos Prates
14. Vicente Luque
15. Michael Page

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Champion: Dricus Du Plessis

1. Nassourdine Imavov
2. Sean Strickland
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Israel Adesanya
5. Robert Whittaker
6. Caio Borralho
7. Jared Cannonier
8. Marvin Vettori
9. Anthony Hernandez
10. Brendan Allen
11. Paulo Costa +1
12. Roman Dolidze -1
13. Reinier De Ridder +2
14. Michel Pereira -1
15. Roman Kopylov -1

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Magomed Ankalaev

1. Alex Pereira -1
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Jan Blachowicz
4. Jamahal Hill
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. Carlos Ulberg
7. Khalil Rountree
8. Nikita Krylov
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Johnny Walker
11. Dominick Reyes
12. Azamat Murzakanov
13. Bogdan Guskov
14. Alonzo Menifield
15. Anthony Smith

HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Jon Jones

1. Tom Aspinall
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Alexander Volkov
4. Sergei Pavlovich
5. Curtis Blaydes
6. Jailton Almeida
7. Serghei Spivac
8. Marcin Tybura
9. Derrick Lewis
10. Tai Tuivasa
11. Shamil Gaziev
12. Waldo Cortes Acosta
13. Mick Parkin
14. Tallison Teixeira +1
15. Kennedy Nzechukwu -1

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Zhang Weili
3. Alexa Grasso
4. Julianna Pena
5. Manon Fiorot
6. Erin Blanchfield
7. Kayla Harrison
8. Raquel Pennington
9. Rose Namajunas
10. Yan Xiaonan
11. Tatiana Suarez
12. Virna Jandiroba
13. Natalia Silva
14. Jessica Andrade
15. Maycee Barber

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT

Champion: Zhang Weili

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

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Valentina Shevchenko

1. Alexa Grasso
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Natalia Silva
6. Rose Namajunas
7. Jessica Andrade
8. Viviane Araújo
9. Jasmine Jasudavicius
10. Tracy Cortez
11. Karine Silva
12. Miranda Maverick +1
13. Ariane Da Silva -1
14. Casey O’Neill
15. Mayra Bueno Silva

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Julianna Pena

1. Raquel Pennington
2. Kayla Harrison
3. Ketlen Vieira
4. Norma Dumont
5. Macy Chiasson
6. Irene Aldana
7. Mayra Bueno Silva
8. Ailin Perez
9. Karol Rosa
10. Yana Santos
11. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
12. Miesha Tate
13. Nora Cornolle
14. Chelsea Chandler
15. Joselyne Edwards

You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the middleweight division, following the UFC Vegas 104: “Vettori vs. Dolidze 2” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., March 15, 2025 at the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.