UFC rankings shake-up: Alexander Volkanovski climbs to the P4P top as Kamaru Usman drops to No.4

Kamaru Usman is no longer the pound-for-pound king in the official UFC rankings.

Having an abundance of the most elite mixed martial artists in the world, it is important for the UFC to maintain a list of the top 15 ranked athletes in each division. While some names on the rankings may get criticized justly, the list serves as a road map for fighters to get to the promotional gold.

UFC rankings shake-up: Alex Volkanovski bags pound-for-pound No.1 spot

Following his defeat to Leon Edwards this past Saturday at UFC 278, Usman got blasted off the top spot of the coveted pound-for-pound rankings. He also dropped down from being the welterweight champion to becoming the top contender. Edwards secured the championship along with a debuting number sixth spot on the pound-for-pound rankings.

Men’s UFC rankings

Pound-for-Pound Top Rank

With Edwards entering the P4P rankings, each athlete under him moved down by a rank including, Aljamain Sterling, Dustin Poirier, Deiveson Figueiredo, Jiri Prochazka, Max Holloway, Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, Petr Yan, and Brandon Moreno.

1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Israel Adesanya
3. Charles Oliveira
4. Kamaru Usman
5. Francis Ngannou
6. Leon Edwards
7. Aljamain Sterling
8. Dustin Poirier
9. Deiveson Figueiredo
10. Jiri Prochazka
11. Max Holloway
12. Jon Jones
13. Stipe Miocic
14. Petr Yan
15. Brandon Moreno

Flyweight (125 lb)

The flyweight division saw Amir Albazi move up one spot and enter the top ten while Tim Elliott and Sumudaerji both dropped a rank each.

Champion: Deiveson Figueiredo

1. Brandon Moreno
2. Alexandre Pantoja
3. Kai Kara France
4. Askar Askarov
5. Brandon Royval
6. Alex Perez
7. Matheus Nicolau
8. Matt Schnell
9. David Dvorak
10. Amir Albazi
11. Tim Elliott
12. Manel Kape
13. Sumudaerji
14. Jeffrey Molina
15. Tagir Ulanbekov

Bantamweight (135 lb)

Merab Dvalishvili moved up three spots and entered the top five of the bantamweight division after beating Jose Aldo, who dropped down by three ranks.

Champion: Aljamain Sterling

1. Petr Yan
2. TJ Dillashaw
3. Merab Dvalishvili
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Marlon Vera
6. Jose Aldo
7. Rob Font
8. Dominick Cruz
9. Pedro Munhoz
10. Song Yadong
11. Ricky Simon
12. Frankie Edgar
13. Sean O’Malley
14. Umar Nurmagomedov
15. Jack Shore

Featherweight (145 lb)

Ilia Topuria moved up by one spot to the 14th rank whereas Alex Careers broke through the rankings for the first time at 15.

Champion: Alexander Volkanovski

1. Max Holloway
2. Yair Rodriguez
3. Brian Ortega
4. Josh Emmett
5. Calvin Kattar
6. Arnold Allen
7. Chan Sung Jung
8. Giga Chikadze
9. Bryce Mitchell
10. Movsar Evloev
11. Dan Ige
12. Sodiq Yusuff
13. Edson Barboza
14. Ilia Topuria
15. Alex Caceres

Welterweight (170 lb)

A new champion was crowned in Leon Edwards. The welterweight division saw Usman take the number one rank with Colby Covington moving down to number two. Geoff Neal moved up by two ranks to land on the sixth spot whereas Stephen Thompson, Sean Brady, and Vicente Luque each went down a rank.

Champion: Leon Edwards

1. Kamaru Usman
2. Colby Covington
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Gilbert Burns
5. Belal Muhammad
6. Geoff Neal
7. Stephen Thompson
8. Sean Brady
9. Jorge Masvidal
10. Vicente Luque
11. Shavkat Rakhmonov
12. Michael Chiesa
13. Neil Magny
14. Li Jingliang
15. Michel Pereira

Middleweight (170 lb)

Marvin Vettori moved up a spot to tie with Jared Cannonier on the second rank.

Champion: Israel Adesanya

1. Robert Whittaker
2. Jared Cannonier
3. Marvin Vettori
4. Derek Brunson
5. Alex Pereira
6. Paulo Costa
7. Sean Strickland
8. Jack Hermansson
9. Darren Till
10. Andre Muniz
11. Kelvin Gastelum
12. Nassourdine Imavov
13. Dricus Du Plessis
14. Brad Tavares
15. Chris Curtis

Heavyweight (170 lb)

Marcin Tybura moved up a rank to enter the top 10 while Chris Daukaus dropped down by one.

Champion: Francis Ngannou

1. Ciryl Gane
2. Stipe Miocic
3. Tai Tuivasa
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Sergei Pavlovich
6. Tom Aspinall
7. Derrick Lewis
8. Alexander Volkov
9. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
10. Marcin Tybura
11. Chris Daukaus
12. Serghei Spivac
13. Alexandr Romanov
14. Shamil Abdurakhimov
15. Blagoy Ivanov

Women’s UFC Rankings

Pound-for-Pound Top Rank

Carla Esparza rose up by two ranks to enter the top five while Rose Namajunas and Zhang Weili moved down one. Taila Santos gained two ranks and Yan Xiaonan dropped two.

1. Amanda Nunes
2. Valentina Shevchenko
3. Julianna Pena
4. Carla Esparza
5. Rose Namajunas
6. Zhang Weili
7. Jessica Andrade
8. Marina Rodriguez
9. Holly Holm
10. Katlyn Chookagian
11. Ketlen Vieira
12. Laila Santos
13. Mackenzie Dern
14. Yan Xiaonan
15. Lauren Murphy

Strawweight (115 lb)

Jessica Andrade moved up two spots and entered the top five. Virna Jandiroba moved up a spot to enter the top ten. Mackenzie Dern, Yan Xiaonan, and Michelle Waterson-Gomez each dropped by one rank.

Champion: Carla Esparza

1. Rose Namajunas
2. Zhang Weili
3. Marina Rodriguez
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Mackenzie Dern
6. Yan Xiaonan
7. Tecia Torres
8. Amanda Lemos
9. Amanda Ribas
10. Virna Jandiroba
11. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
12. Angela Hill
13. Emily Ducote
14. Luana Pinheiro
15. Jessica Penne

Flyweight (125 lb)

Casey O’Neill entered the top ten by moving up one spot replacing Maycee Barber, who dropped down by one.

Champion: Valentina Shevchenko

1. Katlyn Chookagian
2. Laila Santos
3. Lauren Murphy
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Alexa Grasso
6. Viviane Araujo
7. Manon Fiorot
8. Jennifer Maia
9. Andrea Lee
10. Casey O’Neill
11. Maycee Barber
12. Erin Blanchfield
13. Tracy Cortez
14. Cynthia Calvillo
15. Molly McCann

Do you agree with the official UFC rankings?