Reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis defeated former 185-pound titleholder Sean Strickland for a second time when they went to war atop the UFC 312 pay-per-view (PPV) event last weekend in Sydney, breaking “Tarzan’s” nose in the process. “Stillknocks” now holds victories over Strickland, Israel Adesanya, and Robert Whittaker and may be a couple of wins away from the GOAT conversation.
No doubt contenders like Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov will have something to say about that.
Du Plessis (23-2) climbed one spot to No. 6 in the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings, dropping welterweight champion Belal Muhammad to No. 7. As for Strickland (29-7), he lost ground at both pound-for-pound (No. 15) and middleweight (No. 2) following last weekend’s poor performance.
Here’s how the rankings are compiled, at least until AI takes over:
Rankings are generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.
Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Islam Makhachev
2. Jon Jones
3. Alex Pereira
4. Ilia Topuria
5. Merab Dvalishvili
6. Dricus Du Plessis +1
7. Belal Muhammad -1
8. Tom Aspinall
9. Alexandre Pantoja
10. Leon Edwards
11. Alexander Volkanovski
12. Max Holloway
13. Sean O’Malley
14. Charles Oliveira +1
15. Sean Strickland -1
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Tatsuro Taira
6. Manel Kape
7. Alex Perez
8. Asu Almabayev
9. Steve Erceg
10. Tim Elliott
11. Tagir Ulanbekov
12. Charles Johnson
13. Bruno Silva
14. Kai Asakura
15. Joshua Van
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Merab Dvalishvili
1. Sean O’Malley
2. Petr Yan
3. Umar Nurmagomedov
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Deiveson Figueiredo
6. Marlon Vera
7. Henry Cejudo
8. Song Yadong
9. Rob Font
10. Mario Bautista
11. Jose Aldo
12. Kyler Phillips
13. Aiemann Zahabi
14. Marcus McGhee
15. Montel Jackson
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Ilia Topuria
1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Diego Lopes
4. Movsar Evloev
5. Yair Rodriguez
6. Brian Ortega
7. Arnold Allen
8. Josh Emmett
9. Aljamain Sterling
10. Calvin Kattar
11. Lerone Murphy
12. Giga Chikadze
13. Bryce Mitchell
14. Dan Ige
15. Edson Barboza
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Arman Tsarukyan
2. Charles Oliveira
3. Justin Gaethje
4. Dustin Poirier
5. Max Holloway
6. Dan Hooker
7. Michael Chandler
8. Mateusz Gamrot
9. Beneil Dariush
10. Renato Moicano
11. Rafael Fiziev
12. Paddy Pimblett
13. Jalin Turner
14. Benoit Saint Denis
15. Grant Dawson
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Belal Muhammed
1. Leon Edwards
2. Shavkat Rakhmonov
3. Kamaru Usman
4. Jack Della Maddalena
6. Sean Brady
6. Joaquin Buckley
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Gilbert Burns
9. Colby Covington
10. Geoff Neal
11. Stephen Thompson
12. Michael Morales
13. Carlos Prates
14. Vicente Luque
15. Michael Page
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Dricus Du Plessis
1. Nassourdine Imavov +1
2. Sean Strickland -1
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Israel Adesanya
5. Robert Whittaker
6. Caio Borralho
7. Jared Cannonier
8. Marvin Vettori
9. Brendan Allen
10. Roman Dolidze
11. Paulo Costa
12. Anthony Hernandez
13. Michel Pereira
14. Roman Kopylov
15. Bo Nickal
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Magomed Ankalaev
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Jan Blachowicz
4. Jamahal Hill
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. Carlos Ulberg
7. Khalil Rountree
8. Nikita Krylov
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Johnny Walker
11. Dominick Reyes
12. Azamat Murzakanov
13. Bogdan Guskov
14. Anthony Smith
15. Alonzo Menifield
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jon Jones
1. Tom Aspinall
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Alexander Volkov
4. Sergei Pavlovich
5. Curtis Blaydes
6. Jailton Almeida
7. Serghei Spivac
8. Marcin Tybura
9. Derrick Lewis
10. Tai Tuivasa
11. Shamil Gaziev
12. Waldo Cortes Acosta
13. Mick Parkin
14. Kennedy Nzechukwu *NR
15. Don’Tale Mayes -1
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Zhang Weili
3. Alexa Grasso
4. Julianna Pena
5. Manon Fiorot
6. Erin Blanchfield
7. Kayla Harrison
8. Raquel Pennington +1
9. Rose Namajunas -1
10. Yan Xiaonan +1
11. Tatiana Suarez -1
12. Virna Jandiroba
13. Natalia Silva +1
14. Jessica Andrade -1
15. Maycee Barber
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Zhang Weili
1. Yan Xiaonan +1
2. Tatiana Suarez -1
3. Virna Jandiroba
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Amanda Lemos
6. Mackenzie Dern
7. Iasmin Lucindo
8. Amanda Ribas
9. Marina Rodriguez
10. Tabatha Ricci
11. Loopy Godinez
12. Gillian Robertson
13. Angela Hill
14. Luana Pinheiro
15. Tecia Pennington
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Alexa Grasso
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Natalia Silva
6. Rose Namajunas
7. Jessica Andrade
8. Viviane Araújo
9. Jasmine Jasudavicius
10. Tracy Cortez
11. Karine Silva
12. Ariane Da Silva
13. Miranda Maverick
14. Casey O’Neill
15. Mayra Bueno Silva
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Julianna Pena
1. Raquel Pennington
2. Kayla Harrison
3. Ketlen Vieira
4. Norma Dumont
5. Macy Chiasson
6. Irene Aldana
7. Ailin Perez
8. Mayra Bueno Silva
9. Karol Rosa
10. Yana Santos
11. Miesha Tate
12. Julia Avila
13. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
14. Chelsea Chandler
15. Nora Cornolle
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the middleweight division, following the UFC Vegas 102: “Cannonier vs. Rodrigues” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., Feb. 15, 2025 at APEX in Las Vegas.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.
