Hello everyone, and welcome back for another week of rankings in the UFC. Since we’re back from a holiday weekend, I’m completely excited for this weekend’s fight card. UFC 329 in Las Vegas is going to be an exciting card. Amongst the other great fights on this card, the main event features the return of Conor McGregor, who will be taking on Max Holloway. Since Holloway is on this list, you could see him drop off it next week if he loses. That being said, let’s get to this week’s rankings and see who made it. Have a great day, everyone, and may the fights be with you.
MORE: Rafael Fiziev vs veteran contender, and more fights to make after UFC Baku
10. Joshua Van:
Joshua Van moved back to the tenth spot, even after surviving Tatsuro Taira’s first-round insanity, which led to him knocking out Taira late in the fifth round. With that dominant performance, he now has to defend his belt against the man he won it from, Alexandre Pantoja. I know that’s a lot to say at this point, but like Thanos, it is inevitable that this matchup happens next. However, with Manel Kape beating Kyoji Horiguchi, Kape could step in front of Pantoja as the next contender for our champ.
9. Justin Gaethje:
Justin Gaethje defeated Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday to become the sole Lightweight Champion in the world. That means Gaethje makes his debut on my list at number nine following this huge upset of the god-like Topuria. However, it’s not only this win, but also his win against Paddy Pimblett, that convinced me that Gaethje deserved to be recognized for his accomplishments.
8. Max Holloway:
Max Holloway will be fighting Conor McGregor this Saturday, as the main event at UFC 329. With so much in the line for both fighters, this match could become pivotal if McGregor wins. I bring that up because McGregor does have a chance to become a three-division champion if he can beat Holloway. That’s not going to be an easy task since Holloway has been an active fighter and isn’t coming back from rehab. Regardless, this match could go down as one of the biggest matches of the year, if not all-time.
7. Charles Oliveira:
Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira is the new BMF Champion in the world after systematically taking apart Max Holloway at UFC 326. Recently, Oliveira has said he would like to have another rematch with Justin Gaethje, but this time for the title. That could spell doom for Gaethje, since he went to sleep the last time they fought.
6. Alex Pereira:
Alex Pereira came face-to-face with UFC history on Sunday at UFC Freedom 250 and ended up coming up short in the end. Pereira was looking great until he was caught with a jab that rocked him. From there, Ciryl Gane kicked it into high gear, and there Pereira by finish. You would think that this spot would belong to Gane, but given Pereira’s history, he only falls to sixth in my list. CHAMA!
5. Ilia Topuria:
Ilia Topuria has slipped to fifth on this list after losing badly to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250. It wasn’t just how he lost, but how his god-like complex got in the way of his goals. Topuria even changed his status on X to 18-0, which has now been removed. Topuria did look great in this fight and even almost finished Gaethje, only to find out how a human can will himself to beat a God.
4. Merab Dvalishvili:
Merab Dvalishvili defeated Frankie Edgar by a technical fall (12-1) in their match at Raf 09. Now that he has that out of the way, you can expect that Dvalishvili will be ready to take his belt back from Yan at UFC 332. I know Yan doesn’t want this to happen, but it’s inevitable, since Dvalishvili is hungrier now than he was for their match last year.
3. Sean Strickland:
Sean Strickland moves up to third on my list after seeing two champions fall this past weekend. Not only did Strickland upset the world by defeating Khamzat Chimaev for the Middleweight Championship of the world, but he also beat Anthony Hernandez along the way. These two wins are not only this year’s most impressive wins in the UFC, but they also show the level that Strickland is fighting on right now. Love him, we hate him, at least we know we’ll have a fighting champ.
2. Alexander Volkanovski:
Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski moves up to second on this list as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world after defeating Diego Lopes at UFC 325. Now that we’re past that match, Volk has said that he wants to fight someone who deserves it. Right now, it looks like Movsar Evloev will be getting his title shot at UFC 330, if that’s the plan. For now, I can’t wait to see these two lock horns when it’s officially announced.
1. Islam Makhachev:
Islam Makhachev is still the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world after he easily dispatched Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322. Not only did he dominate JDM, but he also became the 11th fighter to claim a belt in another division. Now that I’ve seen the Darth Vader of the UFC smash a man, we can only hope that next year we get another super match between Makhachev and another opponent. That opponent is none other than Ian Machado-Garry, whom he’ll be facing at UFC 330. Until then, let’s all hail Lord Makhachev as the best fighter in the world. SMESH!
— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead —
