Red-Hot Ulberg Launched Up Rankings Ladder
Today at 01:13 PM
Former UFC bantamweight champion, Petr Yan, reestablished himself as a major threat to the 135-pound throne by turning away ex-flyweight titleholder, Deiveson Figueiredo, atop the UFC Macau MMA event last weekend overseas. But "No Mercy" was already ranked two spots above the Brazilian at No. 3 and will gain no traction in the latest (and official) UFC rankings update.
Not the case for Carlos Ulberg.
The hard-hitting kiwi captured his seventh straight victory by defeating former 205-pound title challenger Volkan Oezdemir in the UFC Macau co-main event. His performance was good enough to send "Black Jag" three spots up the light heavyweight ladder to No. 7, while Oezdemir drops one spot to No. 8 in defeat. Don't be surprised to see Ulberg draw a Top 5 contender his next time out.
Here's how the rankings are compiled, at least until AI takes over:
Rankings are generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.
Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).
MEN'S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Islam Makhachev
2. Jon Jones
3. Alex Pereira
4. Ilia Topuria
5. Belal Muhammad
6. Dricus Du Plessis
7. Merab Dvalishvili
8. Tom Aspinall
9. Leon Edwards
10. Alexander Volkanovski
11. Alexandre Pantoja
12. Max Holloway
13. Sean O'Malley
14. Sean Strickland
15. Charles Oliveira
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
1. Brandon Royval
2. Brandon Moreno
3. Amir Albazi
4. Kai Kara France
5. Tatsuro Taira
6. Alex Perez
7. Asu Almabayev
8. Steve Erceg
9. Manel Kape
10. Tim Elliott
11. Tagir Ulanbekov
12. Bruno Silva
13. Charles Johnson
14. Cody Durden
15. Matt Schnell
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Merab Dvalishvili
1. Sean O'Malley
2. Umar Nurmagomedov
3. Petr Yan
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Deiveson Figueiredo
6. Marlon Vera
7. Henry Cejudo
8. Song Yadong
9. Rob Font
10. Mario Bautista
11. Jose Aldo
12. Kyler Phillips
13. Aiemann Zahabi
14. Marcus McGhee
15. Montel Jackson
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Ilia Topuria
1. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Max Holloway
3. Diego Lopes
4. Yair Rodriguez
5. Movsar Evloev
6. Brian Ortega
7. Arnold Allen
8. Josh Emmett
9. Aljamain Sterling
10. Calvin Kattar
11. Lerone Murphy
12. Giga Chikadze
13. Bryce Mitchell
14. Dan Ige
15. Edson Barboza
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Arman Tsarukyan
2. Charles Oliveira
3. Justin Gaethje
4. Dustin Poirier
5. Max Holloway
6. Dan Hooker
7. Michael Chandler
8. Mateusz Gamrot
9. Beneil Dariush
10. Renato Moicano
11. Rafael Fiziev
12. Benoit Saint Denis
13. Paddy Pimblett
14. Jalin Turner
15. Rafael dos Anjos
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Belal Muhammed
1. Leon Edwards
2. Kamaru Usman
3. Shavkat Rakhmonov
4. (T) Jack Della Maddalena
4. (T) Sean Brady
6. Colby Covington
7. Ian Machado Garry
8. Gilbert Burns
9. Joaquin Buckley
10. Stephen Thompson
11. Geoff Neal
12. Michael Morales
13. Carlos Prates
14. Vicente Luque
15. Michael Page
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Dricus Du Plessis
1. Sean Strickland
2. Israel Adesanya
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Robert Whittaker
5. Nassourdine Imavov
6. Caio Borralho
7. Marvin Vettori
8. Jared Cannonier
9. Brendan Allen
10. Roman Dolidze
11. Paulo Costa
12. Jack Hermansson
13. Anthony Hernandez
14. Shara Magomedov
15. Michel Pereira
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Magomed Ankalaev
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Jamahal Hill
4. Jan Blachowicz
5. Aleksandar Rakic
6. Khalil Rountree
7. Carlos Ulberg +3
8. Nikita Krylov -2
9. Volkan Oezdemir -1
10. Johnny Walker -1
11. Azamat Murzakanov
12. Dominick Reyes
13. Anthony Smith -1
14. Bogdan Guskov
15. Alonzo Menifield
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jon Jones
1. Tom Aspinall
2. Ciryl Gane
3. Alexander Volkov
4. Sergei Pavlovich
5. Curtis Blaydes
6. Jailton Almeida
7. Serghei Spivac
8. Marcin Tybura
9. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
10. Derrick Lewis
11. Tai Tuivasa
12. Marcos Rogerio De Lima
13. Waldo Cortes Acosta
14. Mick Parkin
15. Shamil Gaziev
WOMEN'S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Zhang Weili
3. Alexa Grasso
4. Julianna Pena
5. Manon Fiorot
6. Erin Blanchfield
7. Kayla Harrison
8. Rose Namajunas
9. Raquel Pennington -1
10. Tatiana Suarez
11. Yan Xiaonan
12. Virna Jandiroba
13. Jessica Andrade
14. Natalia Silva
15. Maycee Barber
WOMEN'S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Zhang Weili
1. Tatiana Suarez
2. Yan Xiaonan
3. Virna Jandiroba
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Amanda Lemos
6. Mackenzie Dern
7. Iasmin Lucindo
8. Amanda Ribas
9. Marina Rodriguez
10. Tabatha Ricci
11. Loopy Godinez
12. Gillian Robertson
13. Angela Hill
14. Luana Pinheiro
15. Tecia Pennington
WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Alexa Grasso
2. Manon Fiorot
3. Erin Blanchfield
4. Maycee Barber
5. Natalia Silva
6. Rose Namajunas
7. Katlyn Cerminara
8. Jessica Andrade
9. Viviane Araújo
10. Amanda Ribas
11. Tracy Cortez
12. Karine Silva
13. Jasmine Jasudavicius
14. Ariane Da Silva
15. Casey O'Neill
WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Julianna Pena
1. Raquel Pennington
2. Kayla Harrison
3. Ketlen Vieira
4. (T) Macy Chiasson
4. (T) Norma Dumont
6. (T) Irene Aldana
6. (T) Mayra Bueno Silva
8. Holly Holm
9. Karol Rosa
10. Yana Santos
11. Miesha Tate
12. Julia Avila
13. Ailin Perez
14. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
15. Chelsea Chandler
You can expect these rankings to change in roughly two weeks, particularly in the flyweight and welterweight divisions, following the UFC 310: "Pantoja vs. Asakura" pay-per-view (PPV) event on ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., Dec. 7, 2024 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.
