UFC rankings: The Independent’s pound-for-pound fighters list

The UFC is home to some of the best mixed martial artists on the planet, so it’s no surprise that fans often debate how the elite fighters compare to one another – would fare against each other.

Alongside its rankings for each weight class, the UFC has its pound-for-pound list, and below, The Independent has constructed its own pound-for-pound top 10 for men’s UFC fighters.

While there is no exact science to putting together lists like this, numerous factors have been considered, including each fighter’s overall resume, recent record, frequency of activity and calibre of opposition. The list will be updated after each major event, typically monthly.

Without further ado... here are our rankings after UFC 323 in December:

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Holloway re-enters our list as Jack Della Maddalena drops out, following the latter’s defeat in November. Holloway is a former featherweight champion who is now campaigning at lightweight, where he is 2-0 courtesy of wins over previous interim champions Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier. Holloway, 33, dominated then stopped Gaethje in the final second in 2024 (with arguably the greatest knockout in UFC history) and easily outpointed Poirier this July to avenge two prior defeats by the “Diamond”. The Hawaiian did suffer a KO loss to then-featherweight king Ilia Topuria between those bouts, and he came up short in a trio of clashes with this list’s No 8 earlier in his career, but Holloway’s legacy is secure and continues to grow. Thanks to his wins over Gaethje and Poirier, he is the current “Baddest Motherf*****” champion.

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For a long time, the South African was derided, with many fans saying his bulldozing, ungainly style would eventually be his undoing. Yet that style has led Du Plessis to victories over some of the best middleweights ever, and it took him to the middleweight title.

By narrowly winning a battle with Sean Strickland in 2024, the 31-year-old became South Africa’s first UFC champion, and that win was sandwiched between stoppages of former title holders Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker – two of the best fighters the division has seen. After submitting Adesanya, Du Plessis further consolidated his reign by outpointing Strickland again, and more clearly this time.

“Stillknocks” also holds wins over Darren Till, Derek Brunson and Brad Tavares, and has secured 20 of his 23 wins via stoppage – with a near-even split of KOs and submissions. His resume is fantastic, and although it failed to hit another level when he took on Khamzat Chimaev in August – the night he lost the belt to the Russian and dropped down this list – he remains one of the standout 185lbers of this generation.

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Volkanovski went from underrated to undeniable as featherweight champion. The Australian came out victorious in all three of his bouts with bona fide featherweight icon Max Holloway, as well as racking up wins over Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez and “The Korean Zombie” across a legendary first reign at 145lb. He then jumped up a division to give Islam Makhachev – who you’ll find in quite a high position on this list – his toughest test as lightweight kingpin in 2023.

While he was outpointed by the formidable Russian, Volk put in a blinder of a performance and dragged Makhachev into uncharted waters, despite being the smaller fighter. At this time, the pair were jostling for top position in our rankings. But after suffering a first-round knockout in the rematch with Makhachev– a bout he took on just 11 days’ notice – he would see his famed featherweight title run end in brutal fashion as he was slept by Ilia Topuria, ushering in a new era at the top of the division.

Off the back of two KOs, many feared Volk, now 37, was consigned to the scrapheap. However, as Topuria relinquished the belt to chase multi-division glory, the Aussie bounced back with an impressive decision win over rising star Diego Lopes to regain his crown in April – and his place in our P4P rankings.

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When Chimaev debuted emphatically in the UFC in 2020, scoring two stoppage wins in 10 days, he was already touted as a future champion. When he knocked out veteran Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds, two months later, that feeling only intensified. But illness and travel issues slowed the Russian’s momentum, limiting him to one fight in 2021, two in 2022, one in 2023, and one in 2024. Still, when the 31-year-old did enter the cage, he was frightening. Look no further than the rapid submissions of Li Jingliang, Kevin Holland, and former champion Robert Whittaker (whose jaw Chimaev crushed).

In outpointing former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman – who stepped in on short notice and moved up a weight class – Chimaev showed the slightest vulnerability, while he previously showed more against ex-title challenger Gilbert Burns, who dropped the “Wolf” in their three-round bout, which ended in a decision win for the unbeaten Russian. So, those results led some to believe that he might fail against Dricus Du Plessis, as Chimaev finally challenged for UFC gold this August.

But Chimaev was unstoppable, taking down the champion almost at will and trapping him against the canvas for the vast majority of their bout. With that, the Chimaev era began in earnest.

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Aspinall didn’t plan on rocketing towards gold when he was demolishing fighters in the UFC Apex, early into his stint with the promotion; he seemed happy climbing the ladder steadily. But possessing attributes that make him the archetype of the new era of heavyweight, he quickly emerged as levels above the rest of the pack.

While the UFC pegged knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich as the next big thing, Aspinall derailed his hype train by flattening the Russian on two weeks’ notice to win the interim title. He then retained the gold by stopping Curtis Blaydes with a first-minute KO – avenging the only blotch on his UFC record, where a freak knee injury forced a stoppage loss in 2022. He then eyed arguable GOAT Jon Jones, and Indy Sport thinks the Briton would have won, but Jones retired and vacated the regular heavyweight title in the process.

With that, Aspinall was crowned undisputed champion. The 32-year-old was the future of heavyweight MMA, now he is the present: a remarkable athlete who moves like a lightweight while hitting like his predecessors. Perhaps his greatest threat is bad luck; first there was an injury in 2022 that kept him out for a year, then Jones’s behaviour, and most recently a double eye poke by Ciryl Gane in October – which led Aspinall’s title defence versus the Frenchman to be labelled a no-contest in round one.

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“Poatan” was chasing top spot on our list not long ago, having enjoyed a mesmeric rise in the UFC. The kickboxing champion shot through the middleweight rankings before sleeping old rival Israel Adesanya to take the belt, just a year after his promotional debut. And while Adesanya would respond by stopping the Brazilian in the rematch, Pereira bounced back with a swift move up to light-heavyweight, where he stamped his mark as one of the most formidable finishers in the sport.

En route to becoming a two-weight champion in record time, the 38-year-old outpointed former title holder Jan Blachowicz, before claiming the gold by knocking out another ex-champ in Jiri Prochazka. He then recorded defences in 2024 with three more KOs, against Jamahal Hill (also a former champion), Prochazka again, and Khalil Rountree. As a ferocious knockout artist with a rigorous fight schedule, Pereira became Dana White’s relied-upon headliner.

He looked all but unbeatable, until he was put against arguably his biggest stylistic mismatch in Ankalaev. And while he came out on the losing side of a dull decision in March, he avenged that defeat in shockingly impressive fashion – knocking out Ankalaev in 80 seconds in October.

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After submitting Kai Asakura in December 2024, to retain the men’s flyweight title, Pantoja entered our top 10. Not only was he included (in a long overdue move), but he came into the top four. The Brazilian, 35, has wiped out the division, with three wins over ex-champ Brandon Moreno, two over No 1-ranked Brandon Royval, and two over Kai Kara-France. In fact, Pantoja was 10-0 against fighters in the top 10 at one point, before he shockingly lost his title with an arm injury just 26 seconds into a defence against young upstart Joshua Van. We can’t hold the nature of that December defeat against Pantoja, whose place in the rankings is protected for the time being.

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The Georgian entered our rankings in 2024 as he won the bantamweight strap, a key moment on his journey to become arguably the greatest fighter in the division’s history. Dvalishvili’s title win over Sean O’Malley was just one episode in a long season: a 14-fight winning streak that culminated in three successful title defences in 2025, including a second victory over O’Malley and dismissals of Umar Nurmagomedov and Cory Sandhagen. Add these results to Dvalishvili’s past wins over former UFC champions Jose Aldo, Henry Cejudo and Petr Yan, and you’ve got a scarcely-believable resume. Well, you haven’t; Dvalishvili has.

Yes, the 34-year-old’s remarkable run and reign came to an end in December, but it took Yan producing a near-perfect, all-round performance in their rematch for the “Machine” to lose for the first time since 2018. Like Pantoja, who lost his belt under strange circumstances on the same night that Dvalishvili dropped his, the Georgian won’t be penalised in our rankings in the immediate aftermath. After all, Dvalishvili already made history by just stepping in the ring with Yan, as the first fighter in UFC history to attempt four title defences in one calendar year.

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“El Matador” is threatening to wreck everyone and leave. He spoke ‘arrogantly’ of his chances against featherweight great Volkanovski in 2024, only for his words to prove prophetic. Topuria, still only 28, brutally knocked out the Australian in the second round, taking the 145lb title and becoming the first UFC champion to represent Spain or Georgia. That win also kept Topuria unbeaten, moving him to 15-0, and he improved that record with his first title defence: a third-round knockout of icon Max Holloway.

That victory showed off Topuria’s unforgiving power, as he became the first man to knock out the former champion, but he is more than just a heavy-handed, tidy boxer. In fact, while seven of his wins have come via KO, eight have come via submission, thanks to Topuria’s fine wrestling and underrated jiu-jitsu. Topuria is a great example of the modern mixed martial artist, and he may be carrying the UFC into a new era.

But Topuria was not content with dominating at featherweight, as was projected by many. In early 2025, he vacated his belt in a shock move, intent on chasing multi-division champion status at lightweight. With Islam Makhachev moving up to welterweight and vacating the 155lb belt, Topuria faced former champ Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title in June. Just as he predicted, El Matador knocked Oliveira out cold in the first three minutes.

If Topuria sustains this prophetic form, he genuinely could become the greatest ever – he could definitely become pound-for-pound No 1, if he isn’t already in your eyes. But his next move is unclear, with Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje set to vie for an interim version of his belt while Topuria takes a short break for personal reasons.

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The best mixed martial artist in the world right now, if it is not the man we just discussed. There was a time when the ceiling of the Russian’s ability was questioned, and it was suggested he would never be quite as good as Khabib Nurmagomedov. Yet Makhachev not only emulated Khabib in becoming UFC lightweight champion, he broke his childhood-friend-turned-coach’s record for title defences in the division, achieving four after winning the belt in 2022.

Makhachev, 34, claimed the gold by submitting the greatest submission artist in UFC history, Charles Oliveira, before retaining the gold with two wins over Alexander Volkanovski, one over Dustin Poirier, and one against Renato Moicano. Volkanovski was at the peak of his first featherweight title reign at the time, but Makhachev outpointed and knocked out the Australian across their two bouts. He also submitted lightweight legend Poirier in their clash, and did the same to Moicano when the latter replaced Arman Tsarukyan (whom Makhachev had already beaten) at the 11th hour.

Makhachev then gave up the belt to eye two-weight champion status, which he achieved by dominating Jack Della Maddalena at welterweight in November. In doing so, he again went beyond Khabib, while tying the all-time record for most UFC wins in a row (16). Treasure Makhachev while he’s here, for he really is the best in the world.