John
Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration
As he compiled a 13-fight unbeaten streak from 2016 to 2023,
Leon
Edwards became a UFC champion and one of the top
pound-for-pound athletes in the sport.
How quickly things can change. Edwards suffered his second
consecutive defeat on Saturday at the O2 Arena, falling to Sean Brady
via fourth-round submission in the
UFC London headliner. What was supposed to be a potential
redemption arc for “Rocky” following a title bout loss to Belal
Muhammad shifted to a rout in short order, as Brady dominated
Edwards before mercifully locking in the fight-ending guillotine
choke. While Brady has won 18 of 19 professional outings and is a
serious contender at 170 pounds, Edwards didn’t offer the type of
performance worthy of a spot in this pound-for-pound poll. As a
result, he falls completely out of the rankings after being
previously ranked No. 10. That clears the way for undefeated
welterweight contender Shavkat
Rakhmonov to join the rankings at No. 15.
Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.
Makhachev left no doubt in the UFC 311 headliner, submitting
last-minute opponent Renato “Moicano” with a brabo choke in the
opening stanza of their lightweight championship bout at the Intuit
Dome in Los Angeles. The late shift from Arman Tsarukyan to
“Moicano” did little to faze Makhachev, who won his 15th
consecutive outing and set the UFC lightweight record for most
championship victories with five. While Makhachev has expressed
interest in moving up to 170 pounds to pursue two-division glory, a
rebooking against Tsarukyan or a showdown against reigning
featherweight king Ilia Topuria could be interesting options should
he remain at 155 pounds.
Topuria added another significant feather to his cap in the UFC 308
headliner, as he became the first person to knock out Max Holloway
in 34 professional fights at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. With
back-to-back knockouts of Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski on his
ledger — and eight consecutive triumphs in the UFC overall — “El
Matador” is the unquestioned king of the featherweight division.
However, Topuria’s days at 145 pounds appear to be through, as he
officially vacated the belt in February.
3. Jon
Jones (28-1, 1 NC) | UFC [3]
In his second foray at heavyweight, “Bones” was utterly dominant
once again at UFC 309, hammering former champ Stipe Miocic with
brutal ground-and-pound and pelting him with kicks, punches and
elbows on the feet before closing things out with a spinning back
kick to the ribs late in the third round. While many fans
questioned the UFC’s decision to match Jones with the long-inactive
Miocic rather than interim champ Tom Aspinall, there can be no
questioning the former light heavyweight kingpin’s work in the
cage, as he has looked flawless since returning to action last
year.
Pantoja made short work of former Rizin bantamweight king Kai
Asakura in the UFC 310 headliner, winning via second-round
submission at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “The Cannibal” now
has three successful flyweight title defenses to his credit and for
the first time during his reign, he didn’t need the full 25 minutes
to get the job done. In the aftermath of his latest triumph,
Pantoja issued an interesting callout to retired flyweight GOAT
Demetrious Johnson. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but
it’s clear that the Brazilian is the current gold standard in the
division.
Muhammad’s patience paid off, as his 10-fight, four-and-a-half-year
unbeaten streak culminated in a chance to challenge Leon Edwards
for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 304. Whereas their first
meeting had been trending in favor of Edwards before ending due to
an untimely eye poke, in the rematch Muhammad was the superior
fighter in the cage from start to finish. Muhammad was slated to
make his first title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310,
but a foot infection forced him to withdraw from that booking.
“Remember The Name” will now instead defend his crown against Jack
Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in Montreal.
Dvalishvili might have entered the UFC 311 co-main event as the
betting underdog, but he showed that his championship reign may
have some staying power with a unanimous decision triumph over the
previously unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov at the Intuit Dome in Los
Angeles. While “The Machine” started slowly, his trademark
conditioning proved to be the difference, as he gradually wore down
his Dagestani adversary. Dvalishvili will take a 12-fight UFC
winning streak into his next title defense.
Anakalaev proved to be too difficult a puzzle for Alex Pereira to
solve, as the Dagestani outstruck the former Glory Kickboxing
champion en route to a unanimous decision triumph in the UFC 313
main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 8. Perhaps
the most surprising aspect of Ankalaev’s victory was that he was
unable to land a single takedown against “Poatan,” but that only
makes the performance more impressive. Ankalaev will take a 14-bout
UFC unbeaten streak into his first title defense at light
heavyweight.
Pereira wasn’t taken down in the UFC 313 headliner, but he also
struggled to get his vaunted striking going against a defensively
sound opponent in Magomed Ankalaev. The end result was a closely
contested unanimous decision defeat that ended the Brazilian’s
reign after three successful title defenses. The now former
two-divison champion remains perhaps the promotion’s most popular
star, but the latest setback might have stifled the momentum behind
a potential move to heavyweight.
After a somewhat contentious result the first time around, Du
Plessis left no doubt in his rematch with Sean Strickland, as he
cruised to a unanimous decision triumph in the UFC 312 headliner at
Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. “Stillknocks” outstruck his opponent
for the majority of the contest and even busted up Strickland’s
nose in Round 4 to bring an emphatic conclusion to their rivalry.
Du Plessis has won nine straight fights at 185 pounds, but his work
is not done because a future showdown with Khamzat Chimaev looms
large for the South African champion.
Aspinall furthered his case to be considered the top heavyweight in
the sport, smashing Curtis Blaydes with first-round punches in the
co-main event of UFC 304 on July 27 in Manchester, England. As one
of the rare fighters to defend an interim UFC title, Aspinall looms
larger than ever as a potential opponent for Jon Jones, who
defended his half of the belt in brutal fashion on Nov. 16. While
Aspinall has grown frustrated waiting for Jones, UFC CEO Dana White
seems confident that title unfication bout will happen at some
point in 2025.
Other Contenders: Alexander
Volkanovski, Max
Holloway, Francis
Ngannou, Vadim
Nemkov, Shavkat
Rakhmonov.
Sherdog’s divisional and pound-for-pound rankings are compiled
by a panel of Sherdog.com staff members and contributors: Tristen
Critchfield, Mike Fridley, Brian Knapp, Ben Duffy, Jay Pettry,
Marcelo Alonso, Keith Shillan, Tyler Treese, Rob Sargent and Sayan
Nag.
