5 highest ranked fighters right now who haven't fought for a UFC title

The UFC's official rankings have been in use now for over a decade. While they're not always perfect, they are a useful tool when it comes to looking at a divisional title picture.

The UFC's rankings, though, feature a number of fighters who, despite being highly ranked, have yet to fight for a title in the octagon.

There are different reasons for this, of course, in each individual case. However, it's still interesting to look at and wonder whether these fighters will ever get their chance.

Here, then, are the five highest ranked fighters right now who haven't fought for a UFC title.

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#5. Manon Fiorot - No.2-ranked UFC flyweight & Kayla Harrison - No.2-ranked UFC bantamweight

Why are they highly ranked?

Both of these women sit in the No.2 spot in their respective divisions, but interestingly, they've taken very different routes to do so.

Manon Fiorot has been with the UFC since 2021, and the French kickboxer has slowly worked her way up the ladder to the top. Like many prospects, she started by beating lower-level foes, and eventually progressed to be able to knock off top-rated opponents like Rose Namajunas and Erin Blanchfield.

Kayla Harrison's case is a little different. A highly-touted free agent signing from the rival PFL promotion, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo destroyed former bantamweight champ Holly Holm in her octagon debut last year. She followed this with a win over Ketlen Vieira.

Given both Holm and Vieira were ranked near the top of the 135-pound division, Harrison has essentially taken a shortcut to the top, something only a decorated champion from another promotion would be able to do.

Is their ranking inflated?

In the case of Fiorot, absolutely not. 'The Beast' holds wins over the No.3 and No.6 ranked fighters in her division, and past opponents like Katlyn Cerminara and Jennifer Maia were also ranked when she defeated them.

For Harrison, it's a little more debatable as she only has two fights in the octagon to her name, and Holm departed the promotion after their bout. However, the fact that she beat No.3-ranked Vieira, coupled with her reputation, means her ranking is warranted.

Will they ever get a title shot?

Thankfully when it comes to both of these fighters, the answer appears to be yes.

Fiorot is scheduled to fight flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in the co-headliner of UFC 315 this weekend, while Harrison is booked to challenge for Julianna Pena's bantamweight title at UFC 316 in June.

Given that the two fighters ranked above them - Alexa Grasso and Raquel Pennington - are former champions beaten by the incumbent titleholder, both Fiorot and Harrison are completely deserving challengers.

Whether both, one, or neither walk away with the title, though, remains to be seen.

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#4. Shavkat Rakhmonov - No.2-ranked UFC welterweight

Why is he highly ranked?

Shavkat Rakhmonov is currently ranked at No.2 in the welterweight division, and for good reason.

'The Nomad' is unbeaten at 19-0, and holds seven wins in the octagon, with only one of those wins going the distance.

The native of Kazakhstan has beaten two top-15 ranked welterweights in Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal, while Neil Magny was also ranked when Rakhmonov defeated him.

Perhaps most importantly, he's the only fighter to beat Ian Machado Garry, who currently sits at No.6 in his own right.

Is his ranking inflated?

Not really, no. Compared to some highly-ranked fighters in other divisions, Rakhmonov's list of wins over fellow ranked fighters isn't that extensive, but it's still impressive.

Nobody else has been able to beat Machado Garry, marking out that win as Rakhmonov's most impressive. More importantly, 'The Nomad' was able to finish both Thompson and Neal, two fighters who had not been stopped in years beforehand.

Will he ever get a title shot?

Rakhmonov was actually set to fight for the 170 pound title last December and only missed out when current champ Belal Muhammad suffered a bone infection. This injury resulted in him fighting Machado Garry instead.

The unfortunate part for the Kazakh fighter is the fact that Muhammad - who is now healthy - will not be defending against him this weekend due to an injury suffered by Rakhmonov this time.

Rakhmonov did take to X to claim that he's still next in line for a shot, whether it's Muhammad or Jack Della Maddalena holding the title.

However, plans in the promotion are always fluid, and given another fighter now sits above Rakhmonov in the No.1 spot, he could well find himself out in the cold depending on other results.

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#3. Nassourdine Imavov - No.1-ranked UFC middleweight

Why is he highly ranked?

Nassourdine Imavov has been around the UFC since 2020, and after winning his first few bouts, appeared to have hit his ceiling with a 2023 loss to Sean Strickland.

Since then, though, he's taken out three top-15 ranked foes in Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier and Brendan Allen, and most recently knocked out former middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya.

It's that win over 'The Last Stylebender' which has earned him his rank, as Adesanya was not only a former two-time champion, he also stands as one of the promotion's biggest stars.

Is his ranking inflated?

Given his win over Adesanya, the only fighter who could really lay claim to being ranked above Imavov would be Strickland.

Strickland also beat Adesanya, and does hold that 2023 win over Imavov himself, too.

However, given Strickland also holds two losses to current champ Dricus du Plessis on his ledger, one of which happened earlier this year, it probably makes sense to have Imavov above him right now.

Will he ever get a title shot?

This one is very debatable. In terms of rankings, he ought to be next in line for du Plessis. However, it looks like the promotion is still set on matching 'Stillknocks' with Khamzat Chimaev next, perhaps even at UFC 317 in July.

Is this fair? On one hand, Imavov's win over Adesanya is a stronger one than any of Chimaev's.

On the other hand, though, 'Borz' was told he'd get a title shot after he destroyed Robert Whittaker, another former champ, last year. More importantly, he's a far bigger star with the fans than Imavov.

With that considered, 'The Sniper' may have to wait his turn, and it's unlikely the promotion will be happy with him reportedly not wanting a fight with No.6-ranked Caio Borralho in the meantime.

What the future holds for him, then, is uncertain right now.

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#2. Sean Brady - No.1-ranked UFC welterweight

Why is he highly ranked?

Long considered a highly-regarded prospect in the welterweight division, Sean Brady has earned his No.1 ranking for one reason: he submitted former titleholder Leon Edwards in Edwards' home country of the UK in March.

Prior to that win, Brady was one of a number of fighters in the chasing pack for a welterweight title shot, with wins over Kelvin Gastelum and Gilbert Burns propelling him into the top ten.

Overall, Brady is 18-1, and given that only current champ Belal Muhammad had beaten Edwards since 2015 prior to his win over 'Rocky', his ranking is understandable.

Is his ranking inflated?

Brady arguably doesn't have as many key wins over ranked opponents as the likes of Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry, who are below him on the ladder right now.

However, a win over a decorated former champion like Edwards obviously outweighs almost any other victory a fighter could have. Therefore, it's hard to deny that Brady is ranked in a deserving position right now.

Will he ever get a title shot?

Here's where things get interesting.

On the face of it, Brady ought to be next in line for the winner of the upcoming welterweight title clash between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. After all, he's ranked at No.1 right now.

However, the fact is that the next title shot was already promised to Shavkat Rakhmonov, who has already missed out on it twice due to a pair of injuries.

To add to this, if Muhammad defends his title successfully, there may be less clamor for Brady because he was knocked out by 'Remember the Name' in 2022.

Essentially, then, due to timing and that key loss, Brady is likely to have to fight at least once more before a title shot. If Rakhmonov is given his opportunity in the third quarter of 2025, then it might be smart to match Brady with Machado Garry to decide the next title challenger at 170 pounds.

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#1. Arman Tsarukyan - No.1-ranked UFC lightweight

Why is he highly ranked?

It's safe to say that Arman Tsarukyan has more than earned his No.1 ranking in the lightweight divison.

After pushing future champion Islam Makhachev to the limit in his 2019 UFC debut, he's beaten nine highly-regarded fighters, finishing the majority of them before the final buzzer.

The win that really earned him his spot, though, was his decision victory over former titleholder Charles Oliveira last year.

The bout was marketed as a title eliminator, and given Tsarukyan came out on top, it only makes sense for him to be ranked behind Makhachev only.

Is his ranking inflated?

It's true that outside of Oliveira and Beneil Dariush, Tsarukyan hasn't beaten any of the other top-regarded lightweights in the UFC. However, he hasn't lost to them either.

Put simply, Tsarukyan just hasn't been given the opportunity to beat the likes of Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler. Some might even say bigger name have ducked him.

However, given that Oliveira does hold wins over all of those aforementioned names, a win over him should be weighted very highly, meaning Tsarukyan's rank is probably justified.

Will he ever get a title shot?

Tsarukyan was, of course, expected to fight Makhachev for the lightweight crown at UFC 311 earlier this year. However, when he suffered a back injury prior to the fight, he was forced out.

Since then, Dana White has stated that he'll need to "go back to the drawing board" and won't be guaranteed a shot at Makhachev.

While Tsarukyan took this decision well, whether it's fair is another thing entirely, particularly if Gaethje is given the shot, as is rumored.

Either way, though, it definitely feels like the Armenian will have to fight at least one more time before he finally gets his opportunity. Based on what he's shown previously, though, betting against him winning and earning his shot might be a bad idea.