UFC 323 was the last pay-per-view event of the 12 months, and it marked the tip of PPVs as fight fans know them. While the best way that the UFC operates will look a little bit different starting in 2026, the ultimate PPV event of each the 12 months and the foreseeable future definitely shook up the pound-for-pound rankings. Merab Dvalishvili and Alexandre Pantoja, two of essentially the most dominant fighters on the planet for quite a while now, suffered shocking losses. The upset defeats create massive ramifications for pound-for-pound rankings.
There are recent champions who lack elite resumes, and there are also some non-champions whose record-breaking runs before losing the belt cannot be forgotten. Moreover, there are still some dominant champions who’re well on their option to becoming or are already established amongst the very best UFC fighters in history. Even Ilia Topuria is in a weird spot, as he has the talent to be the very best MMA fighter on the planet, but he’s currently taking a leave of absence to take care of personal issues. As of now, not a single men’s champion has a title defense during their current reign. All of this craziness has led to fight experts being far and wide on where fighters belong within the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, but who does ClutchPoints view because the 20 best male fighters within the promotion?
20. Shavkat Rakhmonov
A 12 months ago, Shavkat Rakhmonov ranked twelfth in ClutchPoints’ UFC pound-for-pound rankings and second among the many undefeated fighters. Rakhmonov, who’s 19-0, was purported to fight Belal Muhammad for the Welterweight Championship. As an alternative, an injury to Muhammed forced Rakhmonov to tackle Ian Machado Garry in a title eliminator fight of sorts. Rakhmonov won that event and kept his zero, but he has been affected by injuries ever since.
The fighter nicknamed Nomad didn’t fight in any respect in 2025, and he only has one fight to his name since 2023. This inactivity has allowed a variety of fighters to surpass him in P4P rankings and a bunch of welterweight contenders to leapfrog him in line for a title shot. For instance, Machado Garry has impressed since that aforementioned loss, Jack Della Maddalena became the 170-pound champion, Islam Makhachev moved as much as welterweight and earned gold, and Michael Morales became the brand new undefeated darling within the division.
It is kind of the unlucky turn of events for a fighter who has finished 18 of his 19 opponents and had an awesome likelihood to be crowned champion if his planned title shot had actually happened. Still, Rakhmonov has all of the potential to skyrocket up this list if he can get back within the octagon. Rakhmonov’s streak of ending opponents, which ended when he took on Machado Garry, was highlighted by each knockout wins and submission victories. He can do all of it, but fans must hope he’ll appear like the identical fighter after quite a few surgeries have kept him sidelined.
Muhammad, Nassourdine Imavov, Sean O’Malley, Ciryl Gane, Charles Oliveira, Anthony Hernandez, Diego Lopes, Tatsuro Taira, Jiri Prochazka, and Movsar Evloev just narrowly missed out on taking the last spot in these pound-for-pound rankings.
19. Lerone Murphy
Lerone Murphy is 17-0-1. Although he has yet to suffer a loss, many fans and MMA experts considered him to be too boring of a fighter. Murphy modified that narrative with a spinning back elbow knockout of Aaron Pico at UFC 319 that was certainly one of the highlight finishes of the 12 months.
It was somewhat surprising that Lopes was given one other title shot at featherweight after recently losing to Volkanovski, but with unbeaten records, Murphy or Evloev might be fighting for the belt very soon.
18. Arman Tsarukyan
Arman Tsarukyan is in Dana White’s dog house and must prove himself once more with a view to get one other title shot. That’s the reason arguably inferior talents in Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje are fighting for the Lightweight Interim Championship and will likely be next in line to tackle Topuria upon his return.
That does not change the proven fact that Tsarukyan is one of the crucial talented fighters within the UFC, though. The 23-3 fighter was tasked with facing Makhachev in his first UFC fight, and he suffered a defeat by the hands of Mateusz Gamrot in 2022. He had five-fight winning streaks before and after that, though.
Tsarukyan is a flexible fighter who can take opponents to the bottom and submit them, or he can use unique striking methods to win on the feet. He showcased his talent at UFC 300 in a win over Charles Oliveira in certainly one of the largest UFC cards ever. There, his flexibility and unpredictability were displayed with an axe kick that almost connected with Oliveira’s skull. He most recently beat the all the time dangerous and aggressive Dan Hooker. Tsarukyan is likely to be the one fighter at 155 kilos who has greater than only a “fighter’s likelihood” to defeat Topuria.
17. Michael Morales
In Michael Morales’ last three fights, he knocked off certainly one of the UFC’s best gatekeepers in Neil Magny, he bested a gentle veteran in Gilbert Burns, and he beat a premier grappling threat in Sean Brady. All three of those wins got here via first-round knockout. Morales is now 19-0, and he has the potential to change into certainly one of the perfect fighters within the promotion.
The welterweight division is certainly one of the deepest and most star-studded in MMA, and Morales is quickly climbing up the rankings at 170 kilos. Morales continues to be likely a win away from a title shot due to depth at welterweight. He’s tied with Rakhmonov and Evloev for the very best undefeated records within the UFC, but Morales has as many knockouts (14) as those two do combined.
16. Umar Nurmagomedov
The cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Umar Nurmagomedov, does a whole lot of winning in his own right. At 19-1, Nurmagomedov’s lone loss got here to Dvalishvili after he reportedly broke his hand in the primary round. Like his relatives and shut friends, Nurmagomedov is an elite sambo wrestler.
He has underrated striking, too, and with Dvalishvili unexpectedly losing the bantamweight title, the 135-pound division suddenly becomes wide open again. Nurmagomedov bounced back from the one lack of his profession by beating Mario Bautista, who was within the midst of an eight-fight winning streak.
15. Magomed Ankalaev
Magomed Ankalaev previously held a nine-fight winning streak within the UFC. He didn’t lose his first title shot at UFC 282, but when that bout led to a draw, it took some time until Ankalaev was awarded one other shot at gold. He eventually became the Light Heavyweight Champion at UFC 313, dethrowing Alex Pereira in the method.
On the time, Pereira was on certainly one of the best championship runs in UFC history. The win established Ankalaev has one of the crucial talent mixed martial artists on the planet. He combines Dagestani wrestling with great leg kicking power, but he lost the rematch fight against Pereira in the primary round. Rumors suggest the UFC doesn’t need to schedule an instantaneous trilogy, however it needs to be assumed that Ankalaev will likely be fighting for the belt again in some unspecified time in the future.
14. Ian Machado Garry
The lone blemish on Machado Garry’s resume is his loss to Rakhmonov, but Machado Garry was the one fighter to ever really challenge Rakhmonov, and he has looked even higher ever since. The 17-1 fighter has since beaten Carlos Prates and Belal Muhammad, each of whom just narrowly missed this list. Prates is a fringe title contender with elite striking in his own right, and Muhammad is a former champion.
Machado Garry has a technical approach through which he uses timing and precision to win striking exchanges. He’s nicknamed The Future, and he’s well on his option to living as much as that title. Machado Garry might be next in line to fight for the Welterweight Championship.
13. Jack Della Maddalena
Many thought that Jack Della Maddalena could give Makhachev a run for his money because Makhachev uses striking to establish takedowns, very much like how Belal Muhammad fights. Della Maddalena beat Muhammad to change into the Welterweight Champion. Nevertheless, JDM was beaten pretty handily in his first attempt at a title defense.
Della Maddalena has loads of time to work his way back to the highest, though. He’s just 29 years old and has a few of the very best striking within the UFC.
12. Joshua Van
Rarely throughout UFC history could or not it’s justified for a champion to rank outside the highest 10 in pound-for-pound rankings. Joshua Van, who became the Flyweight Champion at UFC 323, just hasn’t done enough to warrant being any higher than this, though. Van won the belt in 26 seconds only because his opponent, Alexandre Pantoja, broke his shoulder in a freak incident.
Still, Van has done quite rather a lot over the past 12 months and alter. His UFC 323 victory made him the second youngest UFC champion ever, only trailing UFC G.O.A.T. Jon Jones in that regard. He has seven wins since 2024, and his activity and production in a limited time should be rewarded. Van’s signature fight was a win over Brandon Royval at UFC 317 that earned him a title shot.
There, Van and Royval set the three-round record for significant strikes (419) in what was one of the crucial entertaining fights in UFC history. During an era through which a variety of fans complain concerning the frequency through which a whole lot of fighters are in search of control time, Van’s willingness to get up and bang needs to be respected. Van is a young fighter who has a protracted profession ahead of himself. The 24-year-old could construct quite a resume for himself, considering just how much time is ahead of him.
Speaking of premier boxers, Max Holloway is the best punch artist in UFC history. That’s evidenced by his record 3,655 profession significant strikes landed. Holloway has an earlier-career 13-fight winning streak to his name. He has since lost to some of legends, but he has knocked out plenty, too.
Notably, in his most up-to-date matchup, Holloway avoided losing all three of his fights to Dustin Poirier when he spoiled Poirier’s retirement bout in what was truly a dominant performance that reminded fans that Holloway still has plenty left within the tank. He has been fighting within the UFC since 2012, but he began his profession at such a young age that he has had loads of time to change into an icon.
Holloway’s mixtures are unmatched, and his knockout of Justin Gaethje is probably essentially the most iconic in UFC history. He became the BMF Champion with that win, and he truly is the right representative of that distinction.
Dricus du Plessis has an unpredictable and unorthodox fighting style that no one was capable of determine at middleweight. That was until Khamzat Chimaev bested him in one of the crucial lopsided championship bouts in UFC history. Which will say more about Chimaev’s dominance than any weakness du Plessis can have, though.
The previous Middleweight Champion attacks his opponents with reckless abandon. He displays toughness in every certainly one of his fights, and before the loss to Chimaev, he had beaten former champions in 4 straight bouts.
Petr Yan ended what looked like an unstoppable force in Merab Dvalishvili. Not only that, Yan was pretty dominant in that win, as two of the three judges had him winning 4 out of 5 rounds before he was crowned the brand new Bantamweight Champion. Even before the impressive win, Yan was each an undisputed Bantamweight Champion and an Interim Bantamweight Champion.
He’d only lost the belt the primary go around because he was disqualified for an illegal knee. Moreover, many think Yan’s loss to Sean O’Malley was a scorecard robbery. Yan has moved past his previous three-fight losing streak and established himself as certainly one of the perfect fighters within the UFC.
8. Alexandre Pantoja
It long looked like no one could truly beat Pantoja, and which will still be the case. He wasn’t bested at UFC 323; he just happened to suffer a fluke injury just seconds into the competition against Van. It’s unclear when Pantoja will return to the octagon, but he deserves an automatic rematch when he’s back to health.
Prior to his injury, Pantoja was on a tear. He had won eight straight fights, including five straight championship bouts. Pantoja has a ways to go to catch as much as Demetrious Johnson, who has 12 title fight wins at flyweight. Pantoja is pretty clearly the second-best 125-pounder ever, though.
Alexander Volkanovski is back on top within the featherweight division. His only losses within the UFC got here against Makhachev when Volkanovski was competing for double champion status at lightweight, and against Topuria just before he was set to maneuver as much as lightweight. Volkanovski has all the time dominated true 145-pounders, though.
He has won seven lightweight title fights, including most recently against Diego Lopes when he regained the championship belt. Volkanovski is not any spring chicken, but he seemingly still has plenty left within the tank. His next fight will likely be a rematch against Lopes.
Tom Aspinall has the potential to change into the best heavyweight ever. In a division filled with lumbering fighters who are only as prone to be knocked out as they’re to knock another person out, Aspinall has a whole skill set. He has loads of power for the division, but he also has elite speed and takedown talent.
Unfortunately, Aspinall’s prime years have not contributed as much to his heavyweight G.O.A.T. chase as most would have liked. He spent far too long because the Interim Champion waiting on Jon Jones, and his first title defense once he was promoted to the undisputed champion led to a no-contest. Some even say that Aspinall was losing before Ciryl Gane poked him in the attention.
Regardless, if things go in response to plan, Aspinall could thoroughly top pound-for-pound rankings in the future. He’s a freak athlete who also has a high fight IQ. Aspinall is historically dominant, as only certainly one of his UFC fights has gone to the second round. His 2:18 average fight time is the shortest in UFC history, and he has only been in bottom position for one second during his entire UFC profession.
5. Merab Dvalishvili
The highest-ranked non-champion on this list is Dvalishvili, who would have ranked third if he had not suffered a shocking loss to Petr Yan at UFC 323. Dvalishvili had previously 50-45’d Yan, and he looked completely unbeatable during his championship reign. Dvalishvili was on a 14-fight winning streak, which was the third longest in UFC history. That included three championship defenses.
The Machine has arguably the very best stamina in MMA history. He pursues takedowns with nonstop aggression, which is why he’s the all-time leader with 119. When he fails to land one, he simply tries many times. Once he gets his opponents down, he barrages them with ground-and-pound, which is evidenced by his 2,782 total strikes landed. That only trails Holloway on the all-time list.
Perhaps what’s most impressive about Dvalishvili is just how energetic he’s and needs to be. While most championship fighters get into the octagon twice or so a 12 months, Dvalishvili defended his belt 4 times in 2025. The regularity in how often he cut weight this 12 months can have played a component in his loss to Yan, so perhaps he may have to decelerate going forward. It’s unclear if he’ll get one, but Dvalishvili is definitely deserving of an instantaneous rematch, especially because he already has a win over Yan under his belt. Despite the fact that he is not any longer the Bantamweight Champion, Dvalishvili continues to be the bantamweight G.O.A.T.
4. Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev burst onto the scene within the UFC. He won two fights within 10 days to begin his profession, and three fights in a two-month period. The expectation was that Chimaev would quickly climb to the championship ranks, but weight cutting, health, and travel issues prevented that from happening for a lot too long.
Chimaev proved just how good he’s when he finally made his option to a title shot. His UFC 319 win was one of the crucial dominant championship performances ever, and it made du Plessis appear like an amateur. Chimaev is an explosive athlete, and that’s most on display in Chimaev’s wrestling. The Middleweight Champion could thoroughly have a protracted run with the belt around his waist, but fans must hope that he’s capable of stay energetic.
3. Alex Pereira
Alex Pereira didn’t join the UFC until 2021, when he was already 34 years old. He has completed a lot in so little time, though. Pereira is a former Middleweight Champion who got the higher end of his rivalry against Israel Adesanya, who was a staple of pound-for-pound rankings for years and years. He then moved as much as light heavyweight and has won five of his six title fights at 205 kilos.
Pereira is 38 years old, but he’s all the time energetic and is arguably the face of the UFC without delay. He bested Jiri Prochazka twice, Jamahal Hill, and Khalil Rountree, all in highlight knockout fashion. While he stumbled against Ankalaev, he found revenge and regained control of the belt of their UFC 320 rematch. Now, a move as much as heavyweight and a likelihood to change into the first-ever triple champion have been rumored.
Pereira’s calf kicks include extreme power. He can even knock anybody out together with his hands, most ceaselessly with a violent left hook. Fans were frightened that he would not have what it takes to beat Ankalaev, but Pereira proved that no one is protected from hitting the canvas face-first once they share an octagon with the fighter nicknamed Poatan.
2. Ilia Topuria
Ilia Topuria doesn’t appear to have any in-octagon weaknesses. His power was unmatched at featherweight, and it has translated quite well since he became a double champion at lightweight. Topuria is the primary unbeaten two-division champion ever. He has change into somewhat of a legend killer of sorts. At 17-0, El Matador has the potential to push to change into the most effective UFC fighters ever, too.
Unfortunately, Topuria is coping with some personal issues, but hopefully that will likely be resolved soon. His next step will likely be defending his Lightweight Championship against Gaethje or Pimblett, and there are a number of other 155ers that Topuria seems poised to dominate, as he has done against anyone else who has shared the octagon with him up to now. Fans can not help but wonder if/when a superfight with the following athlete on these pound-for-pound rankings will eventually happen.
1. Islam Makhachev
Islam Makhachev is the very best pound-for-pound fighter within the UFC he’s working his way up the all-time ranks, and he’s the most effective two-division champions in promotion history. The 28-1 fighter is tied with Anderson Silva for essentially the most consecutive wins with 16. He can also be only one win away from tying his coach and friend, Khabib Nurmagomedov, for total wins, although Nurmagomedov retired without suffering a loss.
Even so, it might be argued that Makhachev had a greater lightweight resume, and he now seems poised to run through the welterweight division. The 170-pound division is the very best within the UFC, so if Makhachev eliminates all of the contenders vying for his belt, fans may have to have some uncomfortable conversations on where he ranks all-time. For now, it’s just protected to say that he’s the very best energetic fighter within the UFC.