UFC pound-for-pound rankings: The 15 best fighters in the world ranked by SPORTbible
Pound-for-pound rankings have divided fans for decades, with even the official rankings causing controversy, so here's SPORTbible's stab at ranking the best in the UFC.
In each of the UFC's eight men's weight classes, it's very simply to see who the best in the division is by simply looking at the official rankings.
Although there may be some debate over a couple of spots in the top 15 of each weight class, results within the division itself means the rankings are never far off how fans perceive the UFC's best fighters.
However, this task becomes considerably more difficult when who is the best pound-the-pound fighter in the UFC is.
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Pound-for-pound rankings compare fighters across weight divisions, essentially asking if all of them were equal, who would come out on top?
Of course, while things like quality of opponents beaten, how convincingly the fighter is winning and title reigns are all considered, pound-for-pound are completely subjective, leading to constant debate amongst fans.
With that in mind, here is SPORTbible's official UFC pound-for-pound rankings, updated regularly after each of the organisation's major events.
SPORTbible's UFC pound-for-pound rankings
1 Islam Makhachev
Starting with probably the least controversial pick on the list, Makhachev is undoubtedly the best fighter in the UFC right now.
It's not often that we have a fighter who is so clearly on top of the sport, let alone one who now has a serious case to be considered not just the current greatest current fighter, but the greatest fighter of all-time.
Apart from one loss right at the start of his UFC tenure, Makhachev has been impeccable throughout his entire mixed martial arts career, leading to him being a dominant champion across two weight divisions.
After cleaning out the lightweight division, beating a who's who of the biggest names in the division, as well as the featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, Makhachev has stepped up and won, and later defended, the welterweight belt.
Honestly, it's hard to see anyone beating Makhachev right now, with his place on top of the pound-for-pound rankings likely safe until he decides to call time on his spectacular career.
2 Alexander Volkanovski
Like Makhachev, Volkanovski can confidently claim that he's not just one of the best in the sport right now, but that he also has a place amongst the greatest the UFC has ever seen.
In a division that's had Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor and Max Holloway as champions, Volkanovski has established himself as the greatest featherweight fighter of all time.
Yes, he's twice gone up to lightweight and failed to become a two-weight champion, but daring to be great and pushing Makhachev, who now fights two weight classes above Volkanovski, only adds to his credibility.
Add in three victories over Holloway, two reigns as featherweight champion and the fact that at 38 years old he's still accepting the toughest fights in the division, and the Australian's spot right at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings is undeniable.
3 Petr Yan
Yan has had a pretty crazy six years since beating Aldo to win the vacant bantamweight title in July 2020, and how he's dealt with that shows just how great he really is.
The Russian striker lost his title immediately after winning it for the first time, all due to a highly controversial illegal knee that led to his disqualification.
Although he got a big win over Cory Sandhagen next time out, he then went on a three-fight skid losing again to Aljamain Sterling and then to Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.
But, rather than let himself fade into obscurity, Yan picked himself back up and is now on a four-fight win streak that saw him reclaim his title with a dominant win in a rematch with Dvalishvili, setting up the chance to put a rubber stamp on his second title reign as he once again faces Dvalishvili in a trilogy fight at UFC 333.
4 Tom Aspinall
If injuries and other drama outside of octagon hadn't stopped Aspinall from being as active as he'd like to be, he'd probably be higher on this list.
Nevertheless, the Englishman still deserves to be in the top five given his dominance in the UFC's heavyweight division during his career.
Apart from one loss to Curtis Blaydes caused by a freak injury, which he later avenged, Aspinall has won all of his fights in the UFC and will no doubt be the favourite when he returns and rematches now-champion Ciryl Gane in the future.
5 Justin Gaethje
Just one year ago it seemed like Gaethje was going to become another one of the fighters on the list of the best to never become an undisputed champion.
But, on the grandest of occasions, the American showed up in force and stopped one of the best fighters in the sport at a blockbuster event at The White House.
With wins over Ilia Topuria, Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler and Rafael Fiziev, Gaethje deserves his flowers.
6 Ilia Topuria
Speaking of Topuria, a shock loss to Gaethje doesn't mean he's no longer among the best in the UFC.
Consecutive knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira, winning two UFC titles in the process, will forever go down as one of the greatest winning streaks in UFC history, and one loss doesn't stop that.
And best believe, when Topuria returns sometime within the next six months, he's going to be a huge favourite to add another win to his already stellar career.
7 Joshua Van
Van won the UFC flyweight title under strange circumstances, with then-champion Alexandre Pantoja suffering a freak injury that led to him losing the title.
Therefore, many felt that the 25-year-old didn't deserve to be champion, and since then he's proven exactly why that view was completely wrong.
Stopping the highly-rated Tatsuro Taira and beating Pantoja over five rounds in their rematch has now cemented Van's place as the best at flyweight and one of the best in the sport.
8 Merab Dvalishvili
Dvalishvili's dominance across a 14-fight winning streak and three successful title defences in 2025 mean he is deservedly the first non-title holder on the list.
Consistent dominant wins against elite bantamweights, including Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen, saw Dvalishvili enjoy one of the best runs in recent history.
And if he can reclaim the bantamweight title in the trilogy bout with Yan at UFC 333 on Saturday night, he will absolutely move further up the list.
9 Sean Strickland
If you'd said to a UFC fan four years ago that in 2026 Strickland would be a two-time middleweight champion, let alone one of the best in the sport, they might have laughed at you.
But, seemingly against all odds, Strickland has continued to show up when it matters most with shock championship victories over Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev.
That being said, of any fighter on the list Strickland may be the most likely to lose his spot if he is serious about leaving the UFC to pursue a boxing career, calling out the likes of Jake Paul.
10 Arman Tsarukyan
As much as fans rate both Gaethje and Topuria, many would likely see Tsarukyan as the champion-in-waiting and undoubtedly as one of the best non-title holding fighters in the UFC.
Inactivity and actions outside of the octagon have held Tsarukyan back so far in his UFC career, but submitting Dan Hooker and knocking out Mauricio Ruffy has demonstrated threats both standing and on the ground, and cemented his place as the next lightweight title challenger.
11 Ciryl Gane
Gane is perhaps the most controversial champion in the UFC right now given the nature of how he was given the title.
The Frenchman is responsible for the injury that led to Aspinall vacating the heavyweight title and, having stopped Alex Pereira to win the interim title for the second time, was essentially rewarded for fouling Aspinall as he is now the undisputed champion.
But, despite all the recent controversies, Gane's skills are undeniable and it's hard to justify placing him any lower on the list.
12 Alex Pereira
Although he's one of the most popular fighters perhaps in UFC history, Pereira's recent run of two losses in his last three is hard to ignore.
However, Pereira's run from joining the UFC in November 2021 to becoming a two-weight champion just two years later, before defending his light heavyweight three times in 2024, is one of the best in recent memory.
In December, the Brazilian has the chance to throw himself right back into the heavyweight title picture with a win over Sergei Pavlovich, but a loss could see him drop out of the pound-for-pound rankings, possibly forever.
13 Movsar Evloev
Although some have criticised Evloev's lack of finishes during his UFC career, a 20–0 professional record with wins over Diego Lopes, Arnold Allen, Aljamain Sterling and Lerone Murphy is exceptional.
This run all leads up to Saturday night, where he could fly up the pound-for-pound rankings if he can beat Volkanovski and claim the featherweight title.
14 Khamzat Chimaev
Chimaev absolutely remains one of the most frightening fighters on the UFC roster, with wins over Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman and Dricus du Plessis in recent memory.
But, questions still remain about his discipline and gas tank and having lost his middleweight title to Strickland despite entering the fight as a heavy favourite, Chimaev must answer these questions or risk wasting his potential.
15 Carlos Ulberg
Ten consecutive UFC wins, capped by a first-round knockout of Prochazka, done after suffering an early injury in the fight, to win the light heavyweight titles sees Ulberg sneak the final spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.
With no successful title defence at the time of writing, the New Zealander still has more to prove before climbing the pound-for-pound list, but he's certainly done enough to be considered among the best in the sport.
UFC official pound for pound rankings
Now that you've seen our rankings, here's how they compare to the UFC's current top 15 at the time of writing:
1 Islam Makhachev
2 Alexander Volkanovski
3 Justin Gaethje
4 Petr Yan
5 Ilia Topuria
6 Joshua Van
7 Sean Strickland
8 Tom Aspinall
9 Merab Dvalishvili
10 Alex Pereira
11 Ciryl Gane
12 Khamzat Chimaev
13 Arman Tsarukyan
14 Alexandre Pantoja
15 Carlos Ulberg
Ben McCrum