The UFC fighter rankings were introduced in February of 2013 and are generated by a voting panel made up of several media members. In order to rank these fighters, the media members are asked to vote who they feel are the top fighters as per the UFC by weight class and pound-for-pound.
Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports for boxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts in order to decide who is the better fighter in relation to their weight (i.e., adjusted to compensate for weight class).
| Rankings | Player | Weight Classes | Win/Loss Record |
| 1 | Jon Jones | UFC Light Heavyweight Champion | 25-1-0(1) |
| 2 | Khabib Nurmagomedov | UFC Lightweight Champion | 28-0-0 |
| 3 | Henry Cejudo | UFC Flyweight/Bantamweight Champion | 15-2-0 |
| 4 | Stipe Miocic | UFC Heavyweight Champion | 19-3-0 |
| 5 | Amanda Nunes | UFC Bantamweight/Featherweight champion | 18-4-0 |
| 6 | Daniel Cormier | UFC Heavyweight | 22-2-0(1) |
| 7 | Israel Adesanya | UFC Middleweight Champion | 18-0-0 |
| 8 | Kamaru Usman | UFC Welterweight Champion | 16-1-0 |
| 9 | Alexander Volkanovski | UFC Featherweight Champion | 21-1-0 |
| 10 | Tony Ferguson | UFC Lightweight | 26-3-0 |
| 11 | Conor McGregor | UFC Lightweight | 22-4-0 |
| 12 | Valentina Shevchenko | UFC Flyweight Champion | 18-3-0 |
| 13 | Max Holloway | UFC Featherweight | 21-5-0 |
| 14 | Dustin Poirier | UFC Lightweight | 25-6-0 |
| 15 | Tyron Woodley | UFC Welterweight | 19-4-0 |
Demetrious Johnson defeated Joseph Benavidez in 2012, at UFC 152 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the finale of a 4-man tournament for the inaugural UFC Flyweight Title.
Johnson lost the championship to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227, as the latter ended Mighty Mouse's reign of 2,142 days.
What are the UFC Flyweight Rankings? Check below:
| Rankings | Fighter | Win/Loss Record | Age |
| Champion | Henry Cejudo | 15-2-0 | 32 |
| 1 | Joseph Benavidez | 28-5-0 | 34 |
| 2 | Jussier Formiga | 23-6-0 | 34 |
| 3 | Deiveson Figueiredo | 17-1-0 | 31 |
| 4 | Alexandre Pantoja | 21-4-0 | 29 |
| 5 | Brandon Moreno | 15-5-1 | 25 |
| 6 | Kai Kara France | 20-7-0(1) | 26 |
| 7 | Rogerio Bontorin | 16-1-0(1) | 27 |
| 8 | Tim Elliot | 15-9-1 | 32 |
| 9 | Matt Schnell | 14-4-0 | 29 |
| 10 | Jordan Espinosa | 14-5-0 | 29 |
The inaugural UFC Women’s Flyweight Title fight was contested in December in Las Vegas, Nevada at The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion finale. The inaugural title fight was between two fighters who appeared on the 26th season of The Ultimate Fighter, as Nicco Montano defeated Roxanne Modafferi to win become the inaugural champion.
What are the UFC Women's Flyweight Rankings? Check below:
| Rankings | Fighter | Win/Loss Record | Age |
| Champion | Valentina Shevchenko | 18-3-0 | 31 |
| 1 | Katlyn Chookagian | 12-2-0 | 30 |
| 2 | Jessica Eye | 14-7-0(1) | 32 |
| 3 | Joanne Calderwood | 14-4-0 | 32 |
| 4 | Liz Carmouche | 13-7-0 | 35 |
| 5 | Jennifer Maia | 17-5-1 | 30 |
| 6 | Viviane Araújo | 8-1-0 | 32 |
| 7 | Lauren Murphy | 10-4-0 | 35 |
| 8 | Roxanne Modafferi | 23-15-0 | 36 |
| 9 | Andrea Lee | 11-3-0 | 30 |
| 10 | Alexis Davis | 19-10-0 | 34 |
Prior to UFC-WEC merger, Dominick Cruz was the WEC Bantamweight Champion. At WEC 53, Cruz defeated Scott Jorgensen to retain the WEC Bantamweight Championship and was simultaneously awarded the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship.
At UFC 173, T.J. Dillashaw defeated Renan Barao to win the UFC Bantamweight Championship. At UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs Cruz, Dominick Cruz became the first-ever two-time Bantamweight Champion. At UFC 207, Cruz lost the title to Cody Garbrandt, who eventually lost it to Dillashaw, making the latter a two-time division champion.
At UFC 238, Henry Cejudo defeated T.J. Dillashaw to win the Bantamweight Championship.
What are the UFC Bantamweight Rankings? Check below:
| Rankings | Fighter | Win/Loss Record | Age |
| Champion | Henry Cejudo | 15-2-0 | 32 |
| 1 | Marlon Moraes | 22-6-1 | 31 |
| 2 | Aljamain Sterling | 18-3-0 | 29 |
| 3 | Cory Sandhagen | 12-1-0 | 27 |
| 4 | Petr Yan | 13-1-0 | 26 |
| 5 | Raphael Assuncao | 27-7-0 | 37 |
| 6 | Pedro Munhoz | 18-4-0(1) | 32 |
| 7 | Jimmie Rivera | 22-4-0 | 30 |
| 8 | Cody Garbrandt | 11-3-0 | 28 |
| 9 | Cody Stamann | 18-2-0 | 29 |
| 10 | Rob Font | 16-4-0 | 31 |
Prior to its folding and absorption by the UFC, Ronda Rousey was the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion. Rousey was eventually awarded the inaugural UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship on December 6, 2012, at the UFC on Fox: Henderson vs Diaz pre-event press conference.
After a reign of 1,074 days, Rousey lost the Bantamweight Championship to Holly Holm at UFC 193. Holm would eventually lose the title to Meisha Tate, who was beaten by Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 for the title. Nunes has held the title for a total of 1,110 days (and counting).
What are the UFC Women's Bantamweight Rankings? Check below:
| Rankings | Fighter | Win/Loss Record | Age |
| Champion | Amanda Nunes | 18-4-0 | 31 |
| 1 | Germaine de Randamie | 9-3-0 | 35 |
| 2 | Ketlen Viera | 10-0-0 | 27 |
| 3 | Holly Holm | 12-5-0 | 37 |
| 4 | Julianna Pena | 9-3-0 | 29 |
| 5 | Aspen Ladd | 8-1-0 | 24 |
| 6 | Raquel Pennington | 10-7-0 | 30 |
| 7 | Yana Kunitskaya | 12-4-0(1) | 29 |
| 8 | Marion Reneau | 9-5-1 | 42 |
| 9 | Sara McMann | 11-5-0 | 38 |
| 10 | Irene Aldana | 11-5-0 | 31 |
Prior to the UFC-WEC merger, José Aldo was the WEC Featherweight Champion. Aldo was awarded the inaugural UFC Featherweight Championship on November 20, 2010, at UFC 123 in a ceremony prior to the event.
At UFC 194, Conor McGregor won the Undisputed Featherweight Championship after beating Jose Aldo within 13 seconds. At UFC 206, Max Holloway won the Featherweight Championship from Aldo.
At UFC 245, Alexander Volkanovski dethroned Max Holloway and became the first Australian born UFC Featherweight Champion.
What are the UFC Featherweight Rankings? Check below:
| Rankings | Fighter | Win/Loss Record | Age |
| Champion | Alexander Volkanovski | 21-1-0 | 30 |
| 1 | Max Holloway | 21-5-0 | 27 |
| 2 | Brian Ortega | 14-1-0(1) | 28 |
| 3 | Jose Aldo | 28-5-0 | 32 |
| 4 | Zabit Magomedsharipov | 18-1-0 | 28 |
| 5 | Frankie Edgar | 23-7-1 | 37 |
| 6 | Yair Rodriguez | 13-2-0(1) | 26 |
| 7 | Chan Sung Jung | 15-5-0 | 32 |
| 8 | Renato Moicano | 13-3-1 | 30 |
| 9 | Jeremy Stephens | 28-17-0(1) | 33 |
| 10 | Josh Emmett | 15-2-0 | 34 |
Prior to UFC 31 in 2001, the Lightweight Title was known as the Bantamweight Title. The Strikeforce Lightweight Title was seemingly unified with the UFC Lightweight Title on April 20, 2013, when Benson Henderson defeated Gilbert Melendez.
The UFC Lightweight Title has been held by the likes of Frankie Edgar, Anthony Pettis, Rafael Dos Anjos, and Eddie Alvarez throughout the years. At UFC 205, Conor McGregor won the Lightweight Title. At UFC 223, Khabib Nurmagomedov became the Lightweight Title after beating Al Iaquinta.
At UFC 236, Dustin Poirier became the Interim Lightweight Championship by beating Max Holloway.
What are the UFC Lightweight Rankings? Check below:
| Rankings | Fighter | Win/Loss Record | Age |
| Champion | Khabib Nurmagomedov | 28-0-0 | 30 |
| 1 | Tony Ferguson | 25-3-0 | 35 |
| 2 | Dustin Poirier | 25-6-0(1) | 30 |
| 3 | Conor McGregor | 22-4-0 | 31 |
| 4 | Justin Gaethje | 21-2-0 | 30 |
| 5 | Donald Cerrone | 36-14-0(1) | 36 |
| 6 | Paul Felder | 17-4-0 | 34 |
| 7 | Dan Hooker | 19-8-0 | 29 |
| 8 | Kevin Lee | 17-5-0 | 27 |
| 9 | Al Iaquinta | 14-5-1 | 32 |
| 10 | Edson Barboza | 20-7-0 | 33 |
The UFC Welterweight Title is considered as one of the most prestigious titles' in the UFC. The inaugural Welterweight Champion was crowned at UFC Brazil in 1998 when Pat Miletich won the belt. Throughout the years, the likes of Matt Hughes, B.J. Penn, Georges-St Pierre, Matt Serra, Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks, and Robbie Lawler have all held the Welterweight Championship.
Till date, GSP and Matt Hughes are the only two-time UFC Welterweight Champion in history.
At UFC 201, Tyron Woodley defeated Robbie Lawler to win the Welterweight Championship. At UFC 235, Kamaru Usman became the new champion by beating Woodley.
What are the UFC Welterweight Rankings? Check below:
| Rankings | Fighter | Win/Loss Record | Age |
| Champion | Kamaru Usman | 15-1-0 | 32 |
| 1 | Tyron Woodley | 19-4-1 | 37 |
| 2 | Colby Covington | 15-1-0 | 31 |
| 3 | Jorge Masvidal | 34-13-0 | 34 |
| 4 | Leon Edwards | 18-3-0 | 27 |
| 5 | Rafael Dos Anjos | 29-12-0 | 34 |
| 6 | Demian Maia | 27-9-0 | 41 |
| 7 | Santiago Ponzinibbio | 27-3-0 | 32 |
| 8 | Stephen Thompson | 14-4-1 | 36 |
| 9 | Nate Diaz | 21-11-0 | 34 |
| 10 | Anthony Pettis | 22-8-0 | 32 |
On March 1, 2008, the Pride World Welterweight Championship was unified with the UFC Middleweight Title on March 1, 2008, when Anderson Silva defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 82.
The Middleweight Title has been held by the likes of Dave Menne, Rich Franklin, and at UFC 64, Anderson Silva won the title. Silva went on to hold the belt for a total of 2,457 days. At UFC 162, Chris Weidman defeated Silva to win the Middleweight Title. Weidman's reign came to an end when he was beaten by Luke Rockhold at UFC 194.
At UFC 199, Michael Bisping won the Middleweight Title and eventually lost it to the returning GSP at UFC 217. On December 7, 2017, Robert Whittaker was promoted as the Middleweight Champion, having won the Interim Title at UFC 213.
At UFC 236, Israel Adesanya won the Interim Middleweight Championship by defeating Kelvin Gastelum.
At UFC 243, Israel Adesanya defeated Robert Whittaker and became the new UFC MIddleweight Champion.
What are the UFC Middleweight Rankings? Check below
| Rankings | Fighter | Win/Loss Record | Age |
| Champion | Israel Adesanya | 18-0-0 | 30 |
| 1 | Robert Whittaker | 20-5-0 | 28 |
| 2 | Paulo Costa | 13-0-0 | 28 |
| 3 | Yoel Romero | 13-4-0 | 42 |
| 4 | Jared Cannonier | 11-4-0 | 35 |
| 5 | Darren Till | 17-2-1 | 26 |
| 6 | Jack Hermansson | 20-5-0 | 31 |
| 7 | Kelvin Gastelum | 15-5-0 | 27 |
| 8 | Derek Brunson | 18-7-0 | 35 |
| 9 | Edmen Shahbazyan | 9-0-0 | 21 |
| 10 | Ian Heinisch | 13-1-0 | 31 |
The Light Heavyweight Title was known as the Middleweight Title prior to UFC 31 (May 4, 2001). In 2007, the Pride World Middleweight Championship was unified with the UFC Light Heavyweight Title on when Quinton Jackson defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 75.
The UFC Light Heavyweight Title has been held by the likes of Frank Shemrock, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, Forest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, and Mauricio Rua.
At UFC 128, Jon Jones won the Light Heavyweight Title for the first time in his career. However, after being stripped off the title, Daniel Cormier won the belt by beating Anthony Johnson at UFC 187.
At UFC 232, Jon Jones became a two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, following his return to Octagon.
What are the UFC Light Heavyweight Rankings? Check below:
| Rankings | Fighter | Win/Loss Record | Age |
| Champion | Jon Jones | 25-1-0(1) | 32 |
| 1 | Thiago Santos | 21-7-0 | 35 |
| 2 | Daniel Cormier | 22-2-0(1) | 40 |
| 3 | Anthony Smith | 32-14-0 | 30 |
| 4 | Dominick Reyes | 11-0-0 | 29 |
| 5 | Corey Anderson | 13-4-0 | 30 |
| 6 | Jan Blachowicz | 24-8-0 | 36 |
| 7 | Alexander Gustafsson | 18-6-0 | 32 |
| 8 | Volkan Oezdemir | 16-4-0 | 29 |
| 9 | Glover Texeira | 30-7-0 | 39 |
| 10 | Aleksandar Rakic | 12-1-0 | 27 |
In 1997, the UFC Superfight Championship was unified with the UFC Tournament Championship to determine the UFC Heavyweight Champion, as Mark Coleman defeated Dan Severn at UFC 12.
Notable names such as Randy Couture, Josh Barnett, Frank Mir, Andre Arlovski, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, and Fabricio Wedrum have all won the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
At UFC 198, Stipe Miocic won the UFC Heavyweight Championship in Brazil. However, at UFC 226, Miocic was beaten by Daniel Cormier to win the Heavyweight Title.
What are the UFC Heavyweight Rankings? Check below:
| Rankings | Fighter | Win/Loss Record | Age |
| Champion | Stipe Miocic | 19-3-0 | 37 |
| 1 | Daniel Cormier | 22-2-0(1) | 40 |
| 2 | Francis Ngannou | 14-3-0 | 32 |
| 3 | Curtis Blaydes | 12-2-0(1) | 28 |
| 4 | Junior Dos Santos | 21-6-0 | 35 |
| 5 | Derrick Lewis | 21-7-0(1) | 34 |
| 6 | Alistair Overeem (tied) | 45-17-0(1) | 39 |
| 6 | Alexander Volkov (tied) | 31-7-0 | 31 |
| 8 | Walt Harris | 13-7-0(1) | 36 |
| 9 | Shamil Abdurakhimov | 20-4-0 | 37 |
| 10 | Blagoy Ivanov | 18-2-0(1) | 32 |
The inaugural UFC Strawweight Champion was Carla Esparza, who defeated Rose Namajunas in 2014 in the tournament finale for The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned. At UFC 185, Joanna Jedrzejczyk won the Strawweight Championship and held the title for a total of 966 days. The current Strawweight Champion is Jessica Andrade, who defeated former champion Rose Namajunas at UFC 237.
What are the UFC Strawweight Rankings? Check below:
| Rankings | Fighter | Win/Loss Record | Age |
| Champion | Zhang Weili | 20-1-0 | 29 |
| 1 | Jessica Andrade | 20-7-0 | 27 |
| 2 | Rose Namajunas | 8-4-0 | 27 |
| 3 | Tatiana Suarez | 8-0-0 | 28 |
| 4 | Joanna Jedrzejczyk | 16-3-0 | 31 |
| 5 | Nina Ansaroff | 10-6-0 | 33 |
| 6 | Claudia Gadelha | 17-4-0 | 30 |
| 7 | Carla Esparza | 15-6-0 | 31 |
| 8 | Michelle Waterson | 17-7-0 | 33 |
| 9 | Marina Rodriguez | 12-0-1 | 32 |
| 10 | Cynthia Calvillo | 8-1-0 | 31 |
Last Updated: 2nd January, 2020
People also ask
Jon Jones is the current #1 ranked pound for pound fighter in the UFC.
Rankings were 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.
With leading MMA promotions like the UFC and Bellator based in the United States of America, the country is the powerhouse of global MMA. With the rapid growth of UFC, fans of combat sports in the country have started to shift allegiances from sports like boxing and wrestling to MMA. With the massive following bringing in ridiculous amounts of money, the infrastructure for MMA in the US has increased by leaps and bounds, giving rise to a host of new talent, present and future champions belonging from the country. Fighters from other countries move to the states for the infrastructure it has to offer.
In the world of Mixed Martial Arts, ‘Pound for pound’ is a ranking used to determine who the best fighters in an MMA promotion / organization are spanning across all weight divisions. Since fighters belonging to different weight classes do not compete against each other, the criteria for adjudging the best fighters is based on factors such as quality of opposition they faced, popularity, and determining who would win if the best ranked fighters fought against each other in the same weight class depending on their style of fighting.
Irish Superstar Conor McGregor is regarded as the most famous Mixed Martial Artist of all time. McGregor is often credited for single-handedly bringing UFC on the map. McGregor is a two division world champion in two promotions – Cage Warriors and UFC and is also known for famously transitioning from MMA to Boxing to fight Floyd Mayweather. The Irishman is currently ranked 21st among the world's highest-paid athletes as per Forbes.
Canadian fighter George St. Pierre is considered by many as the best fighter to have stepped inside the Octagon. He has been a two division world champion in the UFC. George is one of the best-rounded fighters in the game and he has always been quick to learn and shut down his opponent’s game. GSP is famous for his perfectly timed take-downs and willingness to always train with and learn from the best fighters in the game. He has beaten the biggest names in the organization time and time again over a career spanning 15 years.
Cris Cyborg is the only female mixed martial artist to become a champion across three major mixed martial arts promotions – UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC. Cyborg is in a league of her own, with an unbelievable professional MMA record of 21 wins and just 2 losses in her decade long career. With credentials like this, Cyborg can easily be regarded as the best female UFC fighter of all time.
