Pound-for-pound rankings: Just one small move in men’s top 10, but voters add new names
The ESPN pound-for-pound MMA rankings you see below are only slightly different from the men’s and women’s top 10s we published Aug. 24, the last time our voting panel weighed in.
That should come as no shock. There have been only two UFC fight cards and few other major events across the sport in the three weeks since our last update. No fighter in either of our P4P rankings was in action.
That is not to suggest, however, that our voters are not making moves.
UFC men’s bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling rises a spot in the men’s rankings, largely because the fighter who was ahead of him, men’s flyweight titlist Deiveson Figueiredo, was replaced on one voter’s ballot. Sterling will have to protect his top-10 position at the next major UFC event, UFC 280 on Oct. 22, when he defends his belt against former champ TJ Dillashaw.
Beyond the Sterling boost, three ESPN voters made moves in their top 10s, with two of them inserting fighters who were not there in our last update. Marc Raimondi added Ciryl Gane on the strength of the heavyweight’s knockout of Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris on Sept. 3. Jeff Wagenheim reinserted the onetime highly ranked Demetrious Johnson, who captured the One Championship flyweight title with a KO of Adriano Moraes on Aug. 27.
Gaining added support was former UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker, who moved up on Brett Okamoto’s ballot after defeating Marvin Vettori on the Gane-Tuivasa undercard.
But none of these fighters garnered enough votes to crack the men’s top 10. And the women’s rankings remain the same.
Note: Results are current; rankings as of Sept. 13.
UFC featherweight champion
Record: 25-1
Last: W (UD) Max Holloway, July 2
Next: TBD
UFC lightweight
Record: 33-8, 1 NC
Last: W (Sub1) Justin Gaethje, May 7
Next: Oct. 22 vs. Islam Makhachev
UFC middleweight champion
Record: 23-1
Last: W (UD) Jared Cannonier, July 2
Next: Nov. 12 vs. Alex Pereira
4. Kamaru Usman 
UFC welterweight
Record: 20-2
Last: L (KO5) Leon Edwards, Aug. 20
Next: TBD
UFC heavyweight champion
Record: 17-3
Last: W (UD) Ciryl Gane, Jan. 22
Next: TBD
6. Leon Edwards
UFC welterweight champion
Record: 20-3, 1 NC
Last: W (KO5) Kamaru Usman, Aug. 20
Next: TBD
UFC light heavyweight champion
Record: 29-3-1
Last: W (Sub5) Glover Teixeira, June 11
Next: TBD
UFC bantamweight champion
Previous ranking: T-9
Record: 21-3
Last: W (SD) Petr Yan, April 9
Next: Sept. 10 vs. TJ Dillashaw
T-9. Deiveson Figueiredo 
UFC flyweight champion
Previous ranking: 8
Record: 21-2-1
Last: W (UD) Brandon Moreno, Jan. 22
Next: TBD
T-9. Dustin Poirier
UFC lightweight
Record: 28-7, 1 NC
Last: L (Sub3) Charles Oliveira, Dec. 11, 2021
Next: Nov. 12 vs. Michael Chandler
Other fighters receiving votes: Robert Whittaker, Max Holloway, Ciryl Gane, Brandon Moreno and Demetrious Johnson.
Brett Okamoto: 1. Alexander Volkanovski; 2. Israel Adesanya; 3. Charles Oliveira; 4. Kamaru Usman; 5. Robert Whittaker; 6. Francis Ngannou; 7. Deiveson Figueiredo; 8. Dustin Poirier; 9. Aljamain Sterling; 10. Brandon Moreno.
Marc Raimondi: 1. Volkanovski; 2. Adesanya; 3. Oliveira; 4. Usman; 5. Ngannou; 6. Edwards; 7. Sterling; 8. Jiri Prochazka; 9. Ciryl Gane; 10. Poirier.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Volkanovski; 2. Oliveira; 3. Usman; 4. Adesanya; 5. Ngannou; 6. Edwards; 7. Prochazka; 8. Figueiredo; 9. Sterling; 10. Moreno.
Megan Anderson: 1. Volkanovski; 2. Oliveira; 3. Adesanya; 4. Usman; 5. Ngannou; 6. Edwards; 7. Prochazka; 8. Max Holloway; 9. Whittaker; 10. Figueiredo.
Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Oliveira; 2. Adesanya; 3. Volkanovski; 4. Usman; 5. Ngannou; 6. Poirier; 7. Figueiredo; 8. Sterling; 9. Prochazka; 10. Edwards.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Volkanovski; 2. Ngannou; 3. Oliveira; 4. Adesanya; 5. Usman; 6. Edwards; 7. Prochazka; 8. Poirier; 9. Sterling; 10. Demetrious Johnson.
1. Amanda Nunes
UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion
Record: 22-5
Last: W (UD) Julianna Peña, July 30
Next: TBD
UFC flyweight champion
Record: 22-3
Last: W (SD) Taila Santos, June 11
Next: TBD
3. Cris Cyborg
Bellator featherweight champion
Record: 26-2, 1 NC
Last: W (UD) Arlene Blencowe, April 23
Next: TBD
T-4. Julianna Peña
UFC bantamweight
Record: 11-5
Last: L (UD) Amanda Nunes, July 30
Next: TBD
T-4. Zhang Weili
UFC strawweight
Record: 22-3
Last: W (KO2) Joanna Jedrzejczyk, June 11
Next: Nov. 12 vs. Carla Esparza
UFC strawweight champion
Record: 19-6
Last: W (SD) Rose Namajunas, May 7
Next: Nov. 12 vs. Zhang Weili
UFC strawweight
Record: 11-5
Last: L (SD) Carla Esparza, May 7
Next: TBD
PFL lightweight champion
Record: 15-0
Last: W (Sub1) Martina Jindrova, Aug. 20
Next: Nov. 25 vs. Larissa Pacheco
UFC flyweight
Record: 23-9
Last: W (Sub1) Amanda Lemos, April 23
Next: TBD
10. Marina Rodriguez
UFC strawweight
Record: 16-1-2
Last: W (SD) Yan Xiaonan, March 5
Next: TBD
Other fighters receiving votes: Katlyn Chookagian, Holly Holm and Seika Izawa.
Brett Okamoto: 1. Amanda Nunes; 2. Valentina Shevchenko; 3. Cris Cyborg; 4. Rose Namajunas; 5. Zhang Weili; 6. Julianna Peña; 7. Kayla Harrison; 8. Carla Esparza; 9. Jessica Andrade; 10. Katlyn Chookagian.
Marc Raimondi: 1. Nunes; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Peña; 5. Esparza; 6. Harrison; 7. Namajunas; 8. Weili; 9. Andrade; 10. Seika Izawa.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Nunes; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Peña; 4. Harrison; 5. Cyborg; 6. Esparza; 7. Weili; 8. Namajunas; 9. Andrade; 10. Holly Holm.
Megan Anderson: 1. Nunes; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Weili; 5. Namajunas; 6. Esparza; 7. Andrade; 8. Marina Rodriguez; 9. Harrison; 10. Peña.
Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Nunes; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Peña; 4. Weili; 5. Cyborg; 6. Esparza; 7. Andrade; 8. Namajunas; 9. Harrison; 10. Rodriguez.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Nunes; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Weili; 5. Andrade; 6. Peña; 7. Esparza; 8. Namajunas; 9. Harrison; 10. Chookagian.