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Hello everyone, and welcome back for another week of rankings in the UFC. Fight Night 282 saw Magomed Ankalaev defeat Bogdan Guskov in the main event. With that now in the rearview mirror, here are the UFC power rankings, highlighting the top 10 men’s fighters right now.
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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.
Jun 14, 2026; Washington, D.C., UNITED STATES; Justin Gaethje holds his championship belt after his win against Ilia Topuria (not pictured) during UFC Freedom 250 at White House South Lawn. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
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, since then, Gaethje isn’t that interested in giving Topuria a rematch, which could open up the door for Arman Tsarukyan.
Max Holloway defeated Conor McGregor in under two minutes at UFC 329, after McGregor tried a spinning kick, which resulted in tearing up his knee. Now that Holloway officially won, he should be looking for either a title shot or another big-name fighter to put to sleep. For now, Holloway can take any match that comes his way since he didn’t even break a sweat against McGregor.
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.
Alex Pereira came face to face with UFC history on Sunday at UFC Freedom 250, and ended up coming 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 was finished. You would think that this spot would belong to Gane, but given Pereira’s history, he only falls to sixth in my list. CHAMA!
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.
Jan 18, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Merab Dvalishvili (red gloves) celebrates after winning a UFC bantamweight title fight against Umar Nurmagomedov (not pictured) during UFC 311 at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Merab Dvalishvili is set to wrestle Henry Cejudo again at RAF 12 on August 22nd next month. Although, while Dvalishvili has been on a wrestling vacation, us UFC fans keep waiting for a rematch 26th Petr Yan, who sits on his throne fir now.
Sean Strickland remains at the third spot as he continues to enjoy his time as champion. However, after Dricus Du Plessis defeated Kamaru Usman, DDP feels that a third match with Strickland is in order, since he’s already beaten him twice. I didn’t want to see this rematch at first, but right now, it almost feels right. Until then, either Uncle Dana or Strickland’s mouth will let us know what’s next for our Middleweight Champion.
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 sometime this fall. For now, I can’t wait to see these two lock horns when it’s officially announced.
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 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, who he’ll be facing at UFC 330. Until then, let’s all hail Lord Makhachev as the best fighter in the world. SMESH!
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MORE: Dustin Poirier apologizes on-air for airport incident that led to arrest
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:
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Jun 14, 2026; Washington, D.C., UNITED STATES; Justin Gaethje holds his championship belt after his win against Ilia Topuria (not pictured) during UFC Freedom 250 at White House South Lawn. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
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, since then, Gaethje isn’t that interested in giving Topuria a rematch, which could open up the door for Arman Tsarukyan.
8. Max Holloway:
Max Holloway defeated Conor McGregor in under two minutes at UFC 329, after McGregor tried a spinning kick, which resulted in tearing up his knee. Now that Holloway officially won, he should be looking for either a title shot or another big-name fighter to put to sleep. For now, Holloway can take any match that comes his way since he didn’t even break a sweat against McGregor.
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 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 was finished. 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:
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Jan 18, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Merab Dvalishvili (red gloves) celebrates after winning a UFC bantamweight title fight against Umar Nurmagomedov (not pictured) during UFC 311 at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Merab Dvalishvili is set to wrestle Henry Cejudo again at RAF 12 on August 22nd next month. Although, while Dvalishvili has been on a wrestling vacation, us UFC fans keep waiting for a rematch 26th Petr Yan, who sits on his throne fir now.
3. Sean Strickland:
Sean Strickland remains at the third spot as he continues to enjoy his time as champion. However, after Dricus Du Plessis defeated Kamaru Usman, DDP feels that a third match with Strickland is in order, since he’s already beaten him twice. I didn’t want to see this rematch at first, but right now, it almost feels right. Until then, either Uncle Dana or Strickland’s mouth will let us know what’s next for our Middleweight Champion.
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 sometime this fall. 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 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, who 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 —
Continue reading...
