MMA pound-for-pound rankings: where does Islam Makhachev end up after dominant title win?

Welcome to the latest update of the MMA Fighting Pound by Pound, where each month our esteemed panel sorts through the noise to answer one question: who are the best combined male and female MMA fighters in the world?

How has the past six weeks impacted the global pound-for-pound landscape? Let’s take a look.

It’s the world of Islam Makhachev right now – the rest of us just live in it.

Remember when Leon Edwards toppled one of the pound-for-pound kings two months ago and shot all the way from the leaderboard to a top five spot? Makhachev apparently saw it and thought, “Yeah, that looks fun.” Dagestan’s second son stirred up the game yet again with a scintillating title win at UFC 280 that propelled him straight to No. 3 in the ranking formerly held by Charles Oliveira . By fulfilling father’s plan and cementing his long-awaited destiny as Khabib Nurmagomedov’s heir, Makhachev proved what his team has been telling us all along – he’s one of the best fighters in the whole damn world.

What’s next?

Well, a shot at No. 1 in the pound-for-pound rankings, apparently. Following their tête-à-tête in the cage at UFC 280, Makhachev is expected to travel into enemy territory to defend his lightweight belt against Alexander Volkanovski in a massive showdown on February 12 in Perth, Australia. With a win, there’s a very good chance Makhachev could go from unrated to pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in the sport in just two fights. Who would have thought?

Looking ahead to November, all eyes will once again be on No. 2 seed Israel Adesanya, who will jeopardize his middleweight title again in a much-anticipated grudge against Alex Pereira on November 12 at UFC 280. Adesanya has already lost twice to Pereira in kickboxing – will Pereira go 3-0 and dethrone The Last Stylebender again?

MMA fights

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking is displayed): Islam Makchechev defeated. No. 3 Charles Oliveira, No. 7 Aljamain Sterling def. TJ Dillashaw, defeated No. 11 Patricio Pitbull. Adam Borics, def. Sean O’Malley. No. 17T Petr Yan

Upcoming fights with ranked fighters: No. 2 Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira (UFC 281, Nov 12), #14 Dustin Poirier vs Michael Chandler (UFC 281, Nov 12)

Fighters who also receive votes (number of ballots shown): Colby Covington (4), Jan Blachowicz (3), Islam Makhachev (2), Ciryl Gane (2), Johnny Eblen (2), Alexandre Pantoja (2), AJ McKee (2), Raufeon Stots (1), Gegard Mousasi (1), Jose Aldo (1), Reinier de Ridder (1)

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

It’s not often that we see an unranked fighter create so much excitement in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings, but Manon Fiorot delivered in the most important fight of her young career.

The up-and-coming French flyweight debuts at No. 13 in this month’s rankings, level with bantamweight veteran Ketlen Vieira and ahead of competitors Marina Rodriguez, Lauren Murphy and the woman she defeated at UFC 280, Katlyn Chookagian. It’s been an impressive rise for Fiorot, who made her pro debut just four years ago in a controversial split decision loss to current Bellator star Leah McCourt before clinching five straight wins on the international stage.

Fiorot’s punching power caught the eye immediately, and in her final fight before signing with the UFC in 2020, it took her less than a round to finish off Gabriela Campo and become the UAE Warriors’ 125-pound champion. It was obvious that Fiorot was title contender material, the question was how long would it be before she knocked on Valentina Shevcheko’s door? Now, at 5-0 in the UFC, depending on who you ask, she’s either a win away (Alexa Grasso says hello) or already next in line when Bullet is about to fire again.

Even the phenomenon Kayla Harrison took time to work her way up this ranking, but if Fiorot can knock off another flyweight with a number to her name in her next fight, she could continue her rapid climb up the charts.

MMA fights

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking is displayed): #3 Cris Cyborg def. Simone da Silva (boxing match), defeated Manon Fiorot. #13 Katlyn Chookagian, #17 Seika Izawa def. Anastasiya Svetkivska defeated Yan Xiaonan. No. 19T Mackenzie Dern

Upcoming fights with ranked fighters: #4 Carla Esparza vs. #8 Zhang Weili (UFC 281, Nov. 12), #15 Marina Rodriguez vs. Amanda Lemos (UFC Vegas 64, Nov. 5)

Fighters who also receive votes (number of ballots shown): Larissa Pacheco (4), Seo Hee Ham (3), Julia Budd (2), Irene Aldana (2), Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (1), Raquel Pennington (1), Xiong Jingnan (2), Alexa Grasso (1) , Michelle Waterson (1), Angela Lee (1)

Finally, a refresher on a few ground rules:

• The eight-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staff Shaun Al-Shatti, Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Steven Marrocco, Damon Martin and Jed Meshew.
• Ranking updates will be finalized after each UFC pay-per-view. Fighters will be removed from the leaderboard if they don’t compete within 18 months of their last fight. (Stipe Miocic sends regards.)
• Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether to remove that fighter from the rankings immediately, or to keep their position until further notice (let’s put it this way: we would have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov much quicker from our rankings than the UFC).

As a reminder, the notion of pound-for-pound superiority will always be inherently subjective. When you debate whether someone likes Robert Whittaker should be classified over someone like Max Hollowey, there is no really right answer. In other words, it’s not serious business, folks.

Throughts? Questions? To ponder? Make your voice heard in the comments below.