On the verge of global stardom following his first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last Saturday, Ilia Topuria accomplished a lot more in his vacant title bout at 155 pounds than becoming the first unbeaten two-division champion in promotional history.
Topuria (17-0), the 28-year-old fighter of Georgian descent who was born in Germany and now resides as a national sporting hero in his adopted Spain, also supplanted new rival Islam Makhachev as the best fighter on the planet in the sport of mixed martial arts.
As the breakout star that UFC was in dire need of this calendar year, Topuria likely became the new face of the company after brutally finishing the former champion while proving that his punching power very much carries up with him an additional 10 pounds. It was a performance that wasn’t achieved without adversity, however, as Topuria shook off an early forearm smash to the face at close range and reversed a potentially vulnerable grappling battle along the fence to take top position on the ground.
But Topuria’s true calling card is his boxing game, which is starting to look as if it might be the most clinical and violent skillset any previous UFC fighter before him has displayed. Topuria is always in the perfect position to deliver crushing hooks from the right distance without sacrificing the torque and precision it takes to end a fight with simply one shot.
Topuria revealed the UFC made him promise not to call out Makhachev by making an immediate move to welterweight just one fight after he vacated the featherweight crown. The only question now becomes which opponent UFC will choose next for Topuria to begin his 155-pound title reign against from the trio of deserving contenders: Justin Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan and Paddy Pimblett (the latter of whom squared off with Topuria in a colorful postfight faceoff).
Whether or not he eventually becomes the first UFC fighter to attempt to win a title in a third weight division, Topuria is poised for the kind of meteoric star turn that hasn’t been seen since the rise of Conor McGregor.
Topuria is the hero UFC fans most need right now from the standpoint of making crossover fights and it just so happens that he’s also the best fighter in the game at this moment following a trio of knockout victories over Alex Volkanovski, Max Holloway and now Oliveira.
Men’s pound-for-pound rankings
1. Ilia Topuria — Lightweight champion
Record: 18-0 | Previous ranking: No. 2
Topuria took a massive step forward in becoming the new face of the promotion by knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June to capture the vacant lightweight title. The first unbeaten, two-division champion in UFC history just might have the most technical and explosive boxing skills the Octagon has ever seen. Topuria appears on his way toward becoming the biggest MMA star since Conor McGregor.
2. Islam Makhachev — Lightweight
Record: 27-1 | Previous ranking: No. 1
Makhachev chose to vacate his 155-pound title despite the presence of former featherweight king Ilia Topuria moving up to his division. At 33, Makhachev is looking to add to his increasingly legendary resume by competing for a title in a second weight class. He’s expected to challenge new welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena this fall with a shot at equaling Anderson Silva’s UFC record of 16 consecutive wins.
3. Merab Dvalishvili — Bantamweight champion
Record: 20-4 | Previous ranking: 3
It’s scary to think about but, at age 34, “The Machine” only continues to get better as his 135-pound title reign continues. Five months after he outpointed unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov despite an injured back, Dvalishvili submitted former champion Sean O’Malley in their June rematch at UFC 316. With cardio for days and improved striking, Dvalishvili is slowly becoming a complete fighter and he’s expected to return against top contender Cory Sandhagen.
4. Alexandre Pantoja — Flyweight champion
Record: 31-5 | Previous ranking: No. 5
Aging like a fine wine, the 35-year-old native of Brazil recorded his fourth title defense with a submission of Kai Kara-France at UFC 317 in June. The victory moved Pantoja into first place for most victories, finishes and submissions in flyweight history. A showdown against red-hot contender Joshua Van is next as Pantoja continues to add on to his legacy during this late career renaissance.
5. Dricus du Plessis — Middleweight champion
Record: 22-2 | Previous ranking: 4
Say what you will about his lumbering and often raw style of forward pressure, the native of South Africa has achieved tremendous results throughout nine unbeaten trips to the Octagon. The defending 185-pound champion returned to Australia in February to widely outpoint Sean Strickland in their title rematch. A showdown with unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev looms for August at UFC 319 in Chicago as the champion is set to enter as a betting underdog.
6. Alexander Volkanovski — Featherweight champion
Record: 27-4 | Previous ranking: 7
A 14-month layoff did the 36-year-old Volkanovski good as he rebounded from a pair of knockout losses to the two best fighters in the world by brilliantly outpointing Diego Lopes to capture the vacant 145-pound title at UFC 314 in April. Now a two-time champion, Volkanovski proved, even this late in his career, that skills, IQ and timing can still defeat youth and power.
7. Magomed Ankalaev — Light heavyweight champion
Record: 20-1-1, 1 NC | Previous ranking: 8
The native of Dagestan, Russia, finally got his shot at Alex Pereira’s 205-pound title at UFC 313 in March and Ankalev delivered a strong and technical performance to take the title. He also extended his unbeaten streak to an impressive 14 fights. Even though Ankalaev went 0-for-12 on takedown attempts against Pereira, he showed a well-rounded game by pressuring his opponent and landing the cleaner strikes without making a crucial mistake.
8. Alex Pereira — Light heavyweight
Record: 12-3 | Previous ranking: No. 9
The 37-year-old Brazilian slugger finally welcomed the well-rounded game and grappling threat of top contender Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March. The result brought an end to Pereira’s historic run as 205-pound champion, which included three title defenses in a UFC record of just 176 days in 2024. Expect “Poatan” to secure an immediate rematch as any future talks of moving up to heavyweight need to be shelved in order to look to avenge his title defeat.
9. Jack Della Maddalena — Welterweight champion
Record: 24-4, 1 NC | Previous ranking: 10
Despite a 14-month layoff and close victories in his previous three fights, the Australian slugger became the class of the 170-pound division with his hard-fought decision win over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 in May. Della Maddalena showed elite boxing and footwork yet it was his takedown defense and improvements on the ground which played the biggest role in JDM conquering such a deep division.
10. Khamzat Chimaev — Middleweight
Record: 14-0 | Previous ranking: NR
Despite a dominant 8-0 record in the UFC, Chimaev had yet to remain healthy long enough throughout battles with injury and illness to attain a title shot. Finally, that will change come Aug. 19 at UFC 319 in Chicago when Chimaev, one year removed from a first-round destruction of former champion Robert Whittaker in his last outing, will challenges Dricus du Plessis (and do so as the betting favorite).
Dropped out: Jon Jones
Just missed: Tom Aspinall, Umar Nurmagomedov, Shavkat Rakhkmonov, Belal Muhammad, Arman Tsarukyan
Women’s pound-for-pound rankings
1. Valentina Shevchenko — Flyweight champion
Record: 24-4-1 | Previous ranking: No. 1
The future Hall of Famer only continued to cement her legacy even further at UFC 315 in May when she outpointed the red-hot Manon Fiorot over five rounds. The 37-year-old Shevchenko, who improved her UFC record for title wins by a female with 10, also achieved her eighth title defense by making the championship adjustments when it mattered most. A superfight against strawweight queen Zhang Weili could be on tap to close 2025.
2. Zhang Weili — Strawweight champion
Record: 25-3 | Previous ranking: No. 2
Zhang improved to 10-0 in the UFC against everyone not named Rose Namajunas when she dominated unbeaten Tatiana Suarez over five rounds at UFC 312 in February. At 35, Zhang only continues to round out her game while teasing aspirations of moving up to 125 pounds and attempting to become a two-division champion. Could a superfight against Valentina Shevchenko be in her future?
3. Kayla Harrison — Bantamweight champion
Record: 19-1 | Previous ranking: 3
Despite enduring an insane cut to make championship weight of 135 pounds, Harrison dominated two-time champion Juianna Pena at UFC 316 in June to capture the women’s bantamweight title. A showdown against former champion (and former teammate) Amanda Nunes appears to be next as MMA’s female G.O.A.T. returns to the sport at age 37. Either way, Harrison’s inspirational story of persevering provided a true feel-good moment.
4. Manon Fiorot — Flyweight
Record: 12-2 | Previous ranking: 4
The 35-year-old native of France snapped an impressive 7-0 start to her UFC career by coming up just short in a close decision loss to champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 315 in June. Fiorot rebounded from a disastrous first round in which her nose was battered to rely on her size and clinch work against Shevchenko in a close chess match that felt like it could’ve been scored either way.
5. Natalia Silva — Flyweight
Record: 19-5-1 | Previous ranking: 5
Unbeaten in seven trips to the Octagon, Silva earned a decision in May at UFC 315 against former champion Alexa Grasso to put the 28-year-old native of Brazil in position for a possible title shot. The dynamic striker has won 13 fights in a row overall since a 2017 loss on the regional scene to Marina Rodriguez and remains a difficult test for any flyweight given her speed, feints and accurate strikes.
Dropped out: None
Just missed: Virna Jandiroba, Erin Blanchfield, Pena, Alexa Grasso, Tatiana Suarez
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