Top 10 Pound for Pound Rankings After UFC 253
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Andy Brownbill/Associated Press
The official UFC rankings are a farce. That sounds harsh, alternatively it is the real fact.
The total arrangement appears to be like to be predicated on the whims and fancies of the voting panelists, many of whom own no longer even appear to carefully prepare blended martial arts. There might be no longer a consistency in the case of what happens when a ranked fighter adjustments weight classes or retires. There might be legit proof that capability the UFC nudges its panelists within the instructions it deems most exact. The list of points goes on and on and on.
We here at Bleacher Document are drained of it and own determined to plot terminate a stand by constructing our bear UFC pound-for-pound lists: one list for men and one other for females.
We are in a position to update our original pound-for-pound rankings after every UFC pay-per-sight and, with a itsy-bitsy bit success, bring some expose to the chaotic world of blended martial arts.
Without extra ado, here are the B/R Pound-for-Pound UFC Rankings after final Saturday’s action-packed UFC 253 card on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi
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John Locher/Associated Press
10. Petr Yan
9. Max Holloway
8. Justin Gaethje
7. Dustin Poirier
6. Alexander Volkanovski
We did no longer alternate the bottom half of our men’s pound-for-pound rankings after UFC 253, nonetheless that used to be no longer a actually easy decision to own.
Within the UFC 253 co-predominant match, Poland’s Jan Blachowicz captured the vacant UFC gentle heavyweight title with a 2d-spherical knockout of Dominick Reyes. The victory stands out because the ideal of Blachowicz’s lengthy profession, nonetheless the build a matter to we wrestled with used to be whether or no longer it used to be enough to ticket him a space in our pound-for-pound top 10. More accurately, used to be his plot terminate over Reyes necessary enough to boot UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan from our No. 10 space?
Our verdict? Now not barely.
In 2020, Blachowicz’s plot terminate over Dominick Reyes, who had handiest been crushed by pound-for-pound stalwart Jon Jones beforehand, is almost definitely extra precious than the most efficient wins of Yan’s Octagon profession: finishes of increasing old legends in Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber. However, Yan has a leg up on Blachowicz in one key space: he’s infrequently ever lost within the Octagon. The original gentle heavyweight champ, meanwhile, used to be knocked out by Thiago Santos in 2019. No matter rattling off four wins since, that loss is smooth honest new, so for now he’s on the exterior of our top 10 having a observe in, and Yan stays right at No. 10.
Beyond that, the bottom discontinuance of our men’s pound-for-pound top 10 is rounded out by gentle featherweight champion Max Holloway, interim gentle-weight champion Justin Gaethje, longtime gentle-weight contender Dustin Poirier (the final man to beat Gaethje) and reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Now let’s switch on to our men’s pound-for-pound top five.
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Michael Wyke/Associated Press
5. Stipe Miocic
4. Israel Adesanya
3. Kamaru Usman
2. Khabib Nurmagomedov
1. Jon Jones
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, the most up-to-date entrant into our eminent men’s pound-for-pound top five, used to be serve in action within the UFC 253 predominant match, defending his title against unbeaten Brazilian knockout artist Paulo Costa.
Forward of the fight, Costa used to be broadly hailed because the champion’s hardest adversary up to now. Opposite to that thought, Adesanya used to be the image of dominance within the fight, shedding and stopping his challenger in Round 2.
Within the same capability that we needed to hunt files from ourselves if Blachowicz’s UFC 253 plot terminate used to be enough to displace Petr Yan on the old trail, we needed to hunt files from ourselves if Adesanya’s UFC 253 triumph used to be precious enough to switch him earlier than UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in our top five.
We determined it used to be.
Whereas Miocic now holds two victories over Daniel Cormier, who used to be a staple of pound-for-pound lists in each explain unless he retired in August, he hasn’t fought any one assorted than Cormier since January 2018, when he defeated Francis Ngannou. That’s no longer his fault, nonetheless Adesanya has simply been extra filled with life against a miles wider differ of top-10 foes, most particularly Costa, Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker. He additionally gets extra aspects for being undefeated.
Whereas Adesanya’s UFC 253 plot terminate used to be enough to push him previous Miocic, we’re keeping him within the serve of his fellow Nigerian, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, within the intervening time. The pair own every defended their titles twice and own faced roughly the same scale of opposition, nonetheless Usman has been the image of dominance, whereas Adesanya scraped by Yoel Romero in an undeniable stinker earlier this year. For that purpose, he’s smooth one space within the serve of the welterweight champ.
Beyond Miocic, Adesanya and Usman, our men’s pound-for-pound top five is rounded out by undefeated UFC gentle-weight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and lightweight UFC gentle heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who unbiased unbiased currently vacated his belt to switch as much as heavyweight.
Jones gets our top space because he’s been beating top-stage opponents since sooner than Nurmagomedov even made his UFC debut, and he’s smooth doing so this day—even if his final two victories were extra competitive than we’re worn to. If Nurmagomedov beats Gaethje at UFC 254 on October 24, alternatively, he might per chance approved bound previous Jones into the No. 1 space.
With that covered, let’s flip our attention to the most efficient females within the UFC.
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John Locher/Associated Press
10. Holly Holm
9. Katlyn Chookagian
8. Tatiana Suarez
7. Germaine de Randamie
6. Jessica Andrade
The skin of our females’s pound-for-pound list is unchanged, alternatively it need to decide up a necessary facelift within the approaching weeks.
Our No. 10 space is smooth held by gentle UFC females’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm, nonetheless her inconsistency over the old couple of years has her explain in jeopardy. If she loses her upcoming fight against Irene Aldana, which headlines Saturday’s card on Fight Island, she’s a goner.
Our No. 9 space is smooth occupied by Katlyn Chookagian, who unbiased unbiased currently rebounded from a loss to UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko with a decisive plot terminate over the champ’s sister, Antonina. She’s scheme to plot terminate on Brazil’s Jessica Andrade, who you will bump into extra up this list, on October 17. If she wins, build a matter to her to rocket up extra than one spots.
Our No. 8 space smooth belongs to Tatiana Suarez, who has no longer fought since June of 2019. Oftentimes, fighters will be bounced from the official UFC rankings after a year of explain of no process—though that’s no longer a laborious-and-like a flash rule. Whereas we admit it is getting more sturdy to justify the lengthy-absent Suarez’s explain in our pound-for-pound top 10, we’re no longer shedding her but. We’re honest assured she’d stomp the overwhelming majority of her strawweight peers—even after a lengthy layoff—and she holds precious wins over ranked foes in Alexa Grasso, Carla Esparza and Nina Ansaroff.
In our No. 7 space, we own got gentle UFC featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie, who unbiased unbiased currently reaffirmed her reputation as one of many hardest females within the UFC by knocking out Aspen Ladd and giving our pound-for-pound queen Amanda Nunes a with out a doubt advanced take a look at in a bantamweight title fight. If she performs effectively in her fight with Julianna Pena, which additionally goes down this Saturday, she might per chance own one other upward switch on this list.
The No. 6 fighter stays gentle UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade, who looked approved in a contemporary fracture up-decision loss to Rose Namajunas. Whereas she hasn’t moved since our final rankings update, that might per chance alternate if she defeats Chookagian on October 17. Now not handiest is Chookagian a solid foe, nonetheless this fight will additionally ticket Andrade’s first within the UFC flyweight division, and we’re astronomical on fighters who own success across extra than one weight classes.
Now for the pause five.
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Frank Franklin II/Associated Press
5. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
4. Rose Namajunas
3. Weili Zhang
2. Valentina Shevchenko
1. Amanda Nunes
Our females’s pound-for-pound top five is additionally unchanged since our final rankings update, and sadly we own no longer take a seat up for many adjustments over the approaching weeks.
Our No. 5 space is smooth held by Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who’s with out instruct the most carried out strawweight in UFC history and positively one of many most efficient female fighters ever. Jedrzejczyk has had some advanced setbacks of leisurely, stumbling against Weili Zhang, Valentina Shevchenko and Rose Namajunas within the old couple of years, nonetheless those females comprise three of our top five. In assorted phrases, they’re the extra or less fighters one can not be shamed for shedding to. Jedrzejczyk has unbiased unbiased currently been chomping at the bit for a rematch with Zhang, nonetheless she doesn’t for the time being own a fight booked and is therefore with out a possibility to toughen her explain on this list.
At No. 4 is the 2-time Jedrzejczyk foil and lightweight strawweight champ Namajunas. Namajunas unbiased unbiased currently rebounded from an injurious slam-ended in knockout to Andrade with a fracture up-decision triumph of their UFC 251 rematch. From here, it looks love she might per chance decide up the subsequent crack at the reigning champion, Zhang, nonetheless the bout is smooth no longer official. If she gets the chance and reclaims the title, build a matter to her to plot terminate a important step up this list.
The aforementioned Zhang is our No. 3-ranked fighter. The UFC has her ranked at No. 2, which is understandable based completely totally on her contemporary victories over Jedrzejczyk and Andrade, nonetheless we with out a doubt feel she wants about a extra wins over top-flight foes to displace our No. 2 fighter, who’s initiating to own a look at as unbeatable as male pound-for-pound stalwarts love Kamaru Usman, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones.
That fighter, needless to philosophize, is the flyweight champion Shevchenko. Since taking pictures the vacant title with a decision plot terminate over Jedrzejczyk, Shevchenko has decimated her first three challengers in Chookagian, Liz Carmouche and Jessica Note. She’s lost twice since joining the UFC, nonetheless every of those defeats were terminate choices against Amanda Nunes within the bantamweight division, where she’s at a necessary dimension plot back. She’s additionally bought some good bantamweight wins to her name, including triumphs over Holm and Julianna Pena.
Shevchenko is slated to defend her flyweight strap against Jennifer Maia at UFC 255 in leisurely November, nonetheless all a plot terminate will carry out for her is reaffirm her No. 2 space on this list, as it can per chance plot terminate absolute mountain-interesting to displace our No. 1 fighter: Amanda Nunes.
Nunes holds the UFC featherweight and bantamweight titles in a vice grip and has defeated every assorted girl to construct titles in both division. For those with short recollections, that contains De Randamie, Holm, Cris Cyborg, Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate. Throw in her two wins over Shevchenko, and her location as MMA‘s pound-for-pound queen is fully irrefutable.
She’s scheduled to defend her featherweight title against Megan Anderson at UFC 255. Whereas she’s expected to blow thru that instruct, a loss might be disastrous for her explain atop this list.