MMA pound-for-pound rankings: Charles Oliveira, Carla Esparza make moves toward the top
A lot happened during the 3 minutes, 22 seconds of the UFC 274 main event. Charles Oliveira had his arm raised in the end, but along the way to that big moment he got knocked down twice and bloodied by Justin Gaethje. But the biggest hit came after Oliveira finished the fight with a rear-naked choke: He did not get the lightweight championship belt wrapped around his waist.
Oliveira had missed weight the day before, so he was stripped of the title and ineligible to win it right back.
But everyone who watches MMA understands the truth: Charles Oliveira is the greatest 155-pound fighter in the world.
He proved that over the weekend with his 11th victory in a row, all but one of them finishes. And as a result, Oliveira moves up into the top three of the latest ESPN pound-for-pound rankings.
The winner of the UFC 274 co-main event, new strawweight champ Carla Esparza, moves up in the women’s top-10 on the strength of her dethroning of Rose Namajunas, who slides down the rankings.
Note: Results are current; rankings as of May 10.
1. Kamaru Usman 
UFC welterweight champion
Record: 20-1
Last: W (UD) Colby Covington, Nov. 6, 2021
Next: TBD
UFC middleweight champion
Record: 22-1
Last: W (UD) Robert Whittaker, Feb. 12, 2022
Next: July 2 vs. Jared Cannonier
UFC lightweight
Previous ranking: 5
Record: 33-8, 1 NC
Last: W (Sub1) Justin Gaethje, May 7, 2022
Next: TBD
T-4. Francis Ngannou
UFC heavyweight champion
Record: 17-3
Last: W (UD) Ciryl Gane, Jan. 22, 2022
Next: TBD
UFC featherweight champion
Previous ranking: 3
Record: 24-1
Last: W (TKO4) Chan Sung Jung, April 9, 2022
Next: July 2 vs. Max Holloway
6. Max Holloway
UFC featherweight
Record: 23-6
Last: W (UD) Yair Rodriguez, Nov. 13, 2021
Next: July 2 vs. Alexander Volkanovski
UFC lightweight
Record: 28-7, 1 NC
Last: L (Sub3) Charles Oliveira, Dec. 11, 2021
Next: TBD
UFC light heavyweight champion
Record: 33-7
Last: W (Sub2) Jan Blachowicz, Oct. 30, 2021
Next: June 11 vs. Jiri Prochazka
T-9. Deiveson Figueiredo
UFC flyweight champion
Record: 21-2-1
Last: W (UD) Brandon Moreno, Jan. 22, 2022
Next: TBD
T-9. Aljamain Sterling
UFC bantamweight champion
Record: 21-3
Last: W (SD) Petr Yan, April 9, 2022
Next: TBD
Other fighters receiving votes: Robert Whittaker, Khamzat Chimaev and Colby Covington.
Brett Okamoto: 1. Kamaru Usman; 2. Alexander Volkanovski; 3. Israel Adesanya; 4. Charles Oliveira; 5. Max Holloway; 6. Francis Ngannou; 7. Deiveson Figueiredo; 8. Robert Whittaker; 9. Dustin Poirier; 10. Khamzat Chimaev.
Marc Raimondi: 1. Kamaru Usman; 2. Israel Adesanya; 3. Francis Ngannou; 4. Alexander Volkanovski; 5. Charles Oliveira; 6. Aljamain Sterling; 7. Dustin Poirier; 8. Glover Teixeira; 9. Max Holloway; 10. Colby Covington.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Kamaru Usman; 2. Charles Oliveira; 3. Alexander Volkanovski; 4. Israel Adesanya; 5. Francis Ngannou; 6. Max Holloway; 7. Glover Teixeira; 8. Deiveson Figueiredo; 9. Aljamain Sterling; 10. Robert Whittaker.
Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Kamaru Usman; 2. Charles Oliveira; 3. Francis Ngannou; 4. Israel Adesanya; 5. Alexander Volkanovski; 6. Dustin Poirier; 7. Max Holloway; 8. Deiveson Figueiredo; 9. Aljamain Sterling; 10. Glover Teixeira.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Kamaru Usman; 2. Francis Ngannou; 3. Charles Oliveira; 4. Israel Adesanya; 5. Alexander Volkanovski; 6. Glover Teixeira; 7. Dustin Poirier; 8. Max Holloway; 9. Aljamain Sterling; 10. Deiveson Figueiredo.
UFC flyweight champion
Record: 21-3
Last: W (TKO4) Lauren Murphy, Sept. 25, 2021
Next: June 11 vs. Taila Santos
2. Amanda Nunes
UFC featherweight champion
Record: 21-5
Last: L (Sub2) Julianna Peña, Dec. 11, 2021
Next: TBD vs. Julianna Peña
3. Cris Cyborg 
Bellator featherweight champion
Previous ranking: 4
Record: 26-2, 1 NC
Last: W (UD) Arlene Blencowe, April 23, 2022
Next: TBD
UFC bantamweight champion
Previous ranking: 5
Record: 11-4
Last: W (Sub2) Amanda Nunes, Dec. 11, 2021
Next: TBD vs. Amanda Nunes
UFC strawweight champion
Previous ranking: 9
Record: 19-6
Last: W (SD) Rose Namajunas, May 7, 2022
Next: TBD
UFC strawweight
Previous ranking: 3
Record: 11-5
Last: L (SD) Carla Esparza, May 7, 2022
Next: TBD
7. Zhang Weili 
UFC strawweight
Previous ranking: 6
Record: 21-3
Last: L (SD) Rose Namajunas, Nov. 6, 2021
Next: June 11 vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
UFC flyweight
Previous ranking: T-7
Record: 23-9
Last: W (Sub1) Amanda Lemos, April 23, 2022
Next: TBD
PFL lightweight champion
Previous ranking: T-7
Record: 13-0
Last: W (UD) Marina Mokhnatkina, May 6, 2022
Next: TBD
10. Holly Holm
UFC bantamweight
Record: 14-5
Last: W (UD) Irene Aldana, Oct. 3, 2020
Next: May 21 vs. Ketlen Vieira
Other fighters receiving votes: Katlyn Chookagian and Marina Rodriguez.
Brett Okamoto: 1. Valentina Shevchenko; 2. Amanda Nunes; 3. Cris Cyborg; 4. Rose Namajunas; 5. Carla Esparza; 6. Jessica Andrade; 7. Zhang Weili; 8. Kayla Harrison; 9. Julianna Peña; 10. Katlyn Chookagian.
Marc Raimondi: 1. Valentina Shevchenko; 2. Amanda Nunes; 3. Cris Cyborg; 4. Julianna Peña; 5. Carla Esparza; 6. Kayla Harrison; 7. Rose Namajunas; 8. Zhang Weili; 9. Jessica Andrade; 10. Holly Holm.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Valentina Shevchenko; 2. Amanda Nunes; 3. Julianna Peña; 4. Cris Cyborg; 5. Carla Esparza; 6. Rose Namajunas; 7. Kayla Harrison; 8. Holly Holm; 9. Jessica Andrade; 10. Zhang Weili.
Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Julianna Peña; 2. Amanda Nunes; 3. Valentina Shevchenko; 4. Cris Cyborg; 5. Zhang Weili; 6. Carla Esparza; 7. Jessica Andrade; 8. Rose Namajunas; 9. Kayla Harrison; 10. Marina Rodriguez.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Valentina Shevchenko; 2. Amanda Nunes; 3. Cris Cyborg; 4. Julianna Peña; 5. Zhang Weili; 6. Jessica Andrade; 7. Carla Esparza; 8. Rose Namajunas; 9. Kayla Harrison; 10. Katlyn Chookagian.