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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 09: Sean Strickland reacts after the UFC middleweight championship fight against Khamzat Chimaev of Russia during the UFC 328 event at Prudential Center on May 09, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Michelle Farsi/Zuffa LLC)
Sean Strickland, why must you keep doing this.
Listen, I know rankings are silly. Especially pound-for-pound rankings, which are for the most part theoretical and often of nebulous criteria depending on who you ask. But I like them. They’re fun to debate. They’re still real to me!
But you know what’s not fun? Strickland knocking off another supposedly invincible champion and single-handedly shredding the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound list to pieces. This isn’t the first time, either. He did it three years ago at UFC 293, too, when he handily beat Israel Adesanya, who was even higher ranked than Khamzat Chimaev was at UFC 328 this past Saturday. We wrote then how Strickland broke the system and now he’s taken a hammer to it again.
Then again, you could also argue that the rankings never recovered from that Strickland stunner, which is how we’ve ended up with our current mess that includes Strickland back in the top 10, Chimaev falling from our top 5 to No. 11 (aided by a fast-rising Joshua Van), Dricus du Plessis oddly at No. 13 despite beating Strickland twice, and all other kinds of weirdness.
Check out the post-UFC 328 Pound-for-Pound Rankings and let us know your thoughts in the poll and comments below. Heck, I don’t know, give us your P4P lists while you’re at it.
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
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Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Sean Strickland def. No. 4 Khamzat Chimaev, Carlos Prates def. No. 12 (tied) Jack Della Maddalena, No. 16 Joshua Van def. Tatsuro Taira
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 2 Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje (UFC White House, June 14), No. 3 Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane (UFC White House, June 14)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Ian Machado Garry (3), Justin Gaethje (1), Umar Nurmagomedov (1), Carlos Prates (1), Aljamain Sterling (1)
Falling out of the rankings: No. 12 (tied) Jack Della Maddalena
A refresher on the ground rules:
- The five-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew.
- Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout in a given weight class. Updates to the rankings are typically completed following each month’s UFC pay-per-view.
- Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice. (Let’s put it this way: We’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did.)
- Holding a promotion’s title does not guarantee that fighter will be viewed as the best in their promotion. Additionally, fighters who regularly compete or hold titles in multiple weight classes are eligible to be ranked in multiple lists.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.
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