Pound For Pound Rankings
Nurmagomedov announced his retirement in October, but UFC officials have given him time to mull over his future and are expected to have a firm decision in place following an upcoming meeting.
Already considered one of the greatest fighters of all-time, Jones said he wants to turn his attention to heavyweight and has no intention of returning to 205 pounds.
With his trilogy win over Daniel Cormier secured, Miocic is widely considered the greatest heavyweight in UFC history – and perhaps even all of MMA.
A point dediction for a low blow forced Figueiredo to settle for a draw against Brandon Moreno, and the two are expected to meet again in early 2021.
Bader was certainly disappointed to lose his Bellator champ-champ status, but he does still have one belt and promises to return in top form.
It wasn’t as convincing as the first time around, but Volkanovski picked up a second win over Max Holloway and says he wants to continue taking out top contenders.
Khabib Nurmagomedov proved to be too much for Gaethje at UFC 254, but ‘The Highlight’ could very well get another title shot in the very near future.
With a fantastic win over Jared Cannonier, Whittaker seemed to prove himself the No. 1 contender in the UFC’s middleweight division, but Dana White said he’ll need one more win for a title shot.
Costa was frustrated after suffering the first loss of his career and has been campaigning for a rematch with Israel Adesanya, though it certainly doesn’t seem to be in the cards right now.
Honorable Mentions
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Jan. 12: Business about to pick up
The holiday season through the start of the New Year is traditionally the closest thing MMA has to an offseason.
And now that the period of three weeks or so has come and gone, business is about to pick up again in a big way.
The UFC is back in Abu Dhabi for a stretch of three fight cards in 10 days, a run which will be full of consequential fights that are highly likely to have major implications on the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
It all kicks off on Saturday with UFC on ABC 1, which will be headlined by what sure looks like an outstanding fight between former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway and fast-rising Calvin Kattar.
Holloway clocks in at No. 2 in the current featherweight rankings, while Kattar sits at No. 7.
Before things get rolling once again, it’s a great time for a refresher course on where things stand. You can check out men’s and women’s pound-for-pound rankings and each of the divisions for both genders by clicking on the drop-down menu above.
Ranking Criteria
The rankings take into account a fighter’s wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.
Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they’ve been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.
Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they’re not inactive for more than 24 months.
To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter’s primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, non-titleholders can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won’t be ranked in a new weight class until they’ve had their first fight at that weight.