The Independent’s pound-for-pound UFC list

The UFC is home to some of the best mixed martial artists on the planet, so it is no surprise that fans often debate how the elite fighters compare to one another.
Alongside its weekly-updated rankings for each weight class, the UFC has its own pound-for-pound rankings, containing 15 names – as with each list for every division.
Here, The Independent has constructed its own top 10, pound-for-pound rankings for men’s UFC fighters, to be updated after each pay-per-view-event.
While there is no exact science to putting together lists such as this, a number of factors have been considered in making the rankings, including each fighter’s overall record, recent record, level of activity and calibre of opposition.
Without further ado… Here are our rankings after UFC 309 in November:
After suffering the first defeat of his pro career in 2013, Volkanovski won a stunning 22 fights in a row. In fact, his only pro losses had come against a welterweight champion and a lightweight champion until February, when he finally lost the UFC featherweight title.
Two of those defeats came in 2023, with Volkanovski losing a narrow decision to Islam Makhachev in February while challenging for the 155lb belt, then suffering an early knockout against the Russian in their rematch. Those results, the latter coming after Volk stepped in on short notice, saw the Australian drop from No 1 to No 4 here.
The 36-year-old has fallen further since losing his belt to Ilia Topuria via knockout, but “Alexander The Great” remains one of the best to ever do it. His four-year title reign consisted of three wins against Max Holloway plus victories over Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez and Chan Sung Jung.
Edwards became Britain’s second UFC champion with a stunning, last-gasp knockout of Kamaru Usman in 2022. After taking down the Nigerian-American – something no fighter had ever done in the UFC – Edwards continually rose to his feet amid an onslaught of grappling pressure, keeping himself in the fight. Then, with a minute left on the clock, he knocked Usman out cold with a head kick.
In 2023, Edwards outpointed Usman in London to solidify his status as champion, before further cementing that status by beating Colby Covington. Edwards put on clinical displays in both decision wins, showing just how well rounded he is – one of the best examples of the modern mixed martial artist.
Those wins took the Jamaican-born southpaw, 33, to 12 victories in a row – dating back to a points loss to Usman in 2015. But his fine run was finally ended by Belal Muhammad in July, as the Palestinian-American outpointed Edwards in Manchester, three years after they fought to a No Contest. Edwards’s title loss and results elsewhere have seen him drop down our rankings.
Muhammad has his critics – a lot of them. Much of the criticism aimed at the Palestinian-American is due to his relative lack of finishes, but there is no doubting his progress or momentum; the 36-year-old’s improved grappling has secured him 10 straight victories in five years, including his welterweight title win in July. There was actually one blemish between those wins, that No Contest against Leon Edwards in 2021, but that was not Muhammad’s fault, and he controlled his rival in their rematch this summer to claim the 170lb belt. Add that impressive win to victories over Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady, Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia – all in consecutive fights. A first title defence was due in December, against the ominous Shavkat Rakhmonov, but Muhammad withdrew due to injury.
The Georgian entered our rankings after winning the bantamweight strap from Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in September. That result marked an 11th straight win for Dvalishvili, who cruised to a decision victory over “Sugar Sean” with relentless pressure and superior grappling. The 33-year-old’s detractors will point to his lack of finishes, and that point is a fair one (the “Machine” has just one stoppage in his current win streak), but his accomplishments are more important. Prior to beating O’Malley, Dvalishvili won three straight fights against former champions: Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan and Jose Aldo – and none of them came close to defeating him.
When Jones returned to the UFC in 2023 after a three-year absence, winning the heavyweight title by submitting Ciryl Gane in the first round, many believed that the American confirmed himself as the greatest of all time. A lot of fans also felt he should go straight to the top of any pound-for-pound list. And Jones’s victory was certainly impressive, particularly due to its manner and the factors around the 37-year-old’s heavyweight debut.
It was enough for the former two-time light-heavyweight champion to shoot straight into our rankings at No 2. However, his lack of activity has seen him drop by several spots following his injury in late 2023, which derailed his planned clash with heavyweight ‘GOAT’ Stipe Miocic. That fight was rebooked for November, with Jones stopping Miocic in round three. The spinning-back-kick finish was impressive, but Jones’s performance wasn’t enough to elevate him here, given Miocic was 42 and hadn’t fought in four years. What fans really want is Jones vs Aspinall – the interim champ whom “Bones” seems keen to avoid.
It is funny to think the South African is still somewhat derided, with many fans saying his bulldozing, ungainly style will eventually be his undoing. Yet that style has led Du Plessis to victories over some of the best middleweights ever, and to the middleweight title.
By narrowly winning a battle with Sean Strickland in January, the 30-year-old became South Africa’s first UFC champion, and that win was sandwiched between stoppages of former title holders Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker – two of the best fighters the division has ever seen.
“Stillknocks” also holds wins over Darren Till, Derek Brunson and Brad Tavares, is unbeaten in the UFC, and has secured 20 of his 22 wins via stoppage – with a near-even split of KOs and submissions. To that point, he TKOed Whittaker and submitted Adesanya, with the latter result moving him up our rankings by a few spots.
Spoke ‘arrogantly’ of his chances against featherweight great Alexander Volkanovski in February, only for his words to prove prophetic. Topuria, 27, brutally knocked out the Australian in the second round, taking the 145lb title and becoming the first UFC champion to represent Spain or Georgia. That win also kept Topuria unbeaten, moving him to 15-0, and he improved that record with his first title defence: a third-round knockout of Max Holloway in October.
That victory showed off Topuria’s unforgiving power, as he became the first man to knock out the former champion, but “El Matador” is more than just a heavy-handed, tidy boxer. In fact, while six of his wins have come via knockout, eight have come via submission, thanks to Topuria’s fine wrestling and under-rated jiu-jitsu. He displayed those skills in a dominant points win over Josh Emmett and a submission of grappling specialist Bryce Mitchell, prior to fighting for the title.
Topuria is a great example of the modern mixed martial artist, and he may be carrying the UFC into a new era.
Aspinall almost entered our rankings a year ago, when he demolished Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim heavyweight title, but he finally got the nod this January. Then, in July, he shot from 10th to third.
The Briton, 31, was the future of heavyweight MMA, now he is the present: a remarkable athlete who moves like a lightweight while hitting like his predecessors. He holds the record for the shortest average fight time for an athlete with five or more UFC bouts – and barring his early injury in a fight with Curtis Blaydes in 2022, he has won them all.
In fact, Aspinall avenged that loss with a first-minute KO of Blaydes this July, retaining the interim title – while waiting for regular champion Jones to defend his belt against ex-champ Miocic. Whoever wins that rescheduled fight in November, a year after it was first due to play out, should be very afraid of Aspinall. If the Jones-Miocic winner does not retire, Aspinall awaits.
The kickboxing extraordinaire enjoyed a rapid rise through the middleweight rankings after transitioning to MMA, culminating in a KO of his old rival Israel Adesanya to take the belt. Although Pereira was stopped by Adesanya in a rematch in 2023, he bounced back with a swift move up to light-heavyweight, where he outpointed former champion Jan Blachowicz.
In his next fight, the Brazilian fought for the vacant title, beating another ex-champ in Jiri Prochazka to secure two-weight-champion status in record time. Pereira sealed that feat with a second-round TKO, before knocking out yet another former title holder; in the main event of UFC 300, the Brazilian stopped Jamahal Hill early and emphatically.
Then, at UFC 303, Pereira stepped up on two weeks’ notice to defend the title again, knocking out Prochazka in the second round for the second time in seven months. Finally for his 2024 endeavours, he overcame a tricky start against Khalil Rountree Jr to bludgeon the American in October.
Earlier in his career, by the way, Pereira recorded a knockout of Sean Strickland, who would go on to become middleweight champion. As some have said, “Poatan” is speed-running a Hall of Fame career – and he is pushing for No 1 here.
Some used to question the Russian’s credentials, given a lack of top-tier opponents on his record, though that was arguably due to fighters’ tentativeness to risk their rankings against a dangerous up-and-comer. Others accused Makhachev of benefiting from his connection to Khabib – his childhood friend and now one of Makhachev’s coaches.
Regardless, the 33-year-old banished any doubt in 2022 when he submitted Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight title, suggesting he would have done the same to most contenders. Next, Makhachev made it to 13 straight wins by beating then-featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski twice in eight months, retaining his title in both fights. In February 2023, Makhachev outpointed the Aussie in Perth, then in October, he knocked him out with a head kick in round one.
Those victories saw Makhachev rise to No 1 in our rankings, a position he solidified with his submission of lightweight great Dustin Poirier in June.