Pound For Pound Rankings
Jones is one of the greatest fighters of all time, and though he was pushed to the limit by Dominick Reyes, he retained his belt and now returns to the top of MMA Junkie’s pound-for-pound rankings.
If you had ‘global pandemic’ on your ‘Why Khabib vs. Tony Ferguson will be canceled for a fifth time’ bingo card, congratulations.
Upcoming Fight: vs Stipe Miocic | Aug 15, 2020 – UFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier 3
Cormier admits he shied from the gameplan at UFC 241, and it cost him dearly in a loss to Stipe Miocic. Now, at age 41, Cormier has decided to give it one more go against Miocic before calling it a career.
After fulfilling his dream of adding a global belt to his collection of championships, ‘Mighty Mouse’ now looks to add ONE’s flyweight belt to the grand prix title he already earned.
Adesanya got to add Yoel Romero to his list of career victories, even if it wasn’t exactly a thrilling affair, and it appears the undefeated Paulo Costa is up next.
Usman may not be the most popular figure on the UFC roster, but he’s certainly effective and is starting to put his name in the history books with his dominant run.
Bader’s heavyweight title defense with Cheick Kongo ended in rather odd fashion, but now it’s back to light heavyweight to defend that belt.
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.
Poirier continues to be one of the most exciting fighters in the game, and his grit is immeasurable – qualities he hopes will net him another UFC title shot in the near future.
Gaethje debuts on the pound-for-pound list after an absolutely brilliant dismantling of Tony Ferguson and could take an even bigger leap if he’s able to unseat Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Holloway was all-class following a razor-thin loss to Alexander Volkanoski and now must decide what to do next.
Costa has made clear his disdain for UFC champ Israel Adesanya, and it appears the two are set to meet sometime this summer to work out their differences.
Reyes’ lone career loss came to the man widely regarded as the greatest of all-time – and some people believe ‘The Devastator’ should have walked away with the win.
Honorable Mentions
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, July 14: Pound-for-pound movement after UFC 251
UFC 251 was stacked with big fights, two of which resulted in a shakeup within the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie pound-for-pound rankings for both men and women.
In the main event, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman was mostly dominant through five rounds, en route to a unanimous decision win over Jorge Masvidal, who took the fight on six days’ notice. Usman entered UFC 251 at No. 8 in the men’s pound-for-pound list but climbs after an impressive showing.
Also on the night, Rose Namajunas defeated Jessica Andrade in a hard-fought rematch between the former strawweight champions. As a result, Namajunas climbs up from No. 8 on the women’s pound-for-pound list.
You can check out all the moves to come out of UFC 251 in the dropdowns 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.