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talkSPORT’s UFC pound-for-pound rankings as Alex Pereira misses out on top 10 list
A pound-for-pound (P4P) ranking determines the best fighters in an organisation regardless of weight class.
With the UFC moving towards a new Meta ranking system determined by AI that does not feature a P4P list, talkSPORT.com will collectively vote on the best in Dana White‘s promotion for the rest of 2026 and beyond.
Our list will be updated regularly based on performances in the Octagon — with wins, records, title wins and defences, calibre of opponents, methods of victory and much more all determining who makes it.
With all that said, here are talkSPORT’s UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
10. Joshua Van
UFC flyweight champion
While Joshua Van became a first-time UFC champion in just 26 seconds against Alexandre Pantoja under the most unique circumstances, his run to get there was nothing short of spectacular.
Inspired by Manny Pacquiao to start his MMA career, Van was rocked at the start of his UFC journey in July 2024 due to a brutal knockout from Charles Johnson.
However, the first fighter born in the 2000s to challenge for a UFC title and also the promotion’s inaugural Myanmar representative bounced back remarkably.
Less than 12 months after his defeat to Johnson, ‘The Fearless’ had embarked on a four-fight win streak before overcoming Brandon Royval in an epic Fight of the Night at UFC 317 to earn his title shot.
Pantoja had held the flyweight title for 883 days until his arm gave way during the championship bout, crowning Van the UFC’s second-youngest champion in history.
Van shook off discussions of a fluke win when he made his first defence of the flyweight belt against Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328.
The 24-year-old now has his real chance to establish his name as a UFC great when he comes to blows with Pantoja for the second time on September 19 at UFC 331.
9. Merab Dvalishvili
Former UFC bantamweight champion
Merab Dvalishvili’s name has been constantly attached to records during his extraordinary UFC run.
His 14-fight unbeaten UFC streak comes just behind Kamaru Usman, Anderson Silva and Islam Makhachev for the most in promotional history.
Having already surpassed Georges St-Pierre’s takedown record, ‘The Machine’ came ever so close to becoming the first UFC fighter to ever defend a title four times in a single year.
If he had beaten Petr Yan at UFC 323 last December, we might be talking about Dvalishvili as the No. 1 fighter on his list, but the Georgian dropped his belt after a five-round war in Las Vegas.
However, he has the chance to reclaim his throne at UFC 333 on October 24 in a trilogy with the Russian, having previously defeated him in 2023.
8. Sean Strickland
UFC middleweight champion
Love or hate him, Sean Strickland knows how to fight.
When the American suffered back-to-back defeats to Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier in 2022, it seemed his championship opportunities were limited.
But a beatdown of Abus Magomedov a year later put him straight into a title fight as the middleweight division’s fifth-ranked contender.
Strickland was a huge underdog when he met Israel Adesanya — who had just knocked out Pereira at UFC 293 — and put on a masterclass to dethrone ‘The Last Stylebender’ of his 185lbs throne.
As he would go on to do again, Strickland’s victory shocked the world.
Despite losing his belt to Dricus du Plessis in early 2024 and falling short in the UFC 312 rematch, Strickland worked his way back to the top again.
A perfect performance against Anthony Hernandez booked Strickland’s ticket to another UFC title fight and his stunning win over Khamzat Chimaev this past May cements his name as one of the division’s greats.
7. Tom Aspinall
UFC heavyweight champion
The only thing stopping Tom Aspinall from appearing higher on this list is activity.
Although through no fault of his own — sidelined by a serious knee injury against Curtis Blaydes in 2022 and almost blinded by a gory double eye poke against Ciryl Gane last time out — the Englishman’s last UFC win came in July 2024.
He is, however, the UFC heavyweight champion and has proved time and again the deadly knockout power he possesses in both hands.
Furthermore, his average fight time of two minutes 18 seconds, the shortest among all fighters to ever grace the Octagon, speaks for itself.
Aspinall will get the chance to make a proper first heavyweight title defence when he rematches Gane, who knocked out Pereira at UFC White House in June.
The highly anticipated heavyweight title rematch is reportedly slated to take place at UFC 334 at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden.
6. Ilia Topuria
Former UFC featherweight & lightweight champion
Like Dvalishvili, Ilia Topuria embarked on a remarkable undefeated streak before dropping the lightweight title to Justin Gaethje in one of the greatest upsets in MMA history.
He was 17-0 in his professional MMA career — nine fights unbeaten in the UFC — and most, if not the entire combat sports world, tipped him to get the job done against the American.
While ‘El Matador’ was badly beaten up over the four rounds he spent against Gaethje on the South Lawn of the White House, styles make fights.
Entering the bout, Topuria had viciously knocked out three legends: Alexander Volkanovski, who appears further down this list, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira.
The Spaniard remains the lightweight division’s No. 1 contender and will no doubt be out to right the wrongs in his next fight, with a potential matchup against bitter rival Paddy Pimblett on the horizon.
5. Justin Gaethje
UFC lightweight champion
Praised by many as being the hardest-hitting opponent they’ve ever faced, Gaethje is your favourite fighter’s favourite fighter.
The second-oldest athlete on this list, he embodied the American Dream by stunning Topuria at UFC White House to win his first undisputed title.
After several heartbreaks — losing a championship bout to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020 and being on the receiving end of arguably the greatest KO in UFC history against Holloway — Gaethje defied the odds.
‘The Highlight’ had recognised before his Topuria fight that it was his last chance to win full UFC gold, having previously held the interim belt, and it almost seemed as though it were written in the stars for him to come out victorious.
From the walkout to his backflip off the cage, Gaethje cemented his legacy in front of President Donald Trump and a defence of the lightweight title would doubtless move him up talkSPORT’s P4P list.
4. Alexandre Pantoja
Former UFC flyweight champion
With the most wins (14) and finishes (8) in UFC flyweight history, longtime American Top Team representative Alexandre Pantoja is, in the eyes of many, the best 125lbs fighter ever.
To be debated alongside the great Demetrious Johnson as the best flyweight of all time stands alone in terms of Pantoja’s accomplishments and his dominance over the last few years.
‘The Cannibal’ won the UFC flyweight title for the first time in 2023 against Brandon Moreno, defending the belt four times against the likes of Royval and Kai Kara-France.
If it weren’t for a brief misjudgment during his fifth defence against Van last December, there’s a good chance Pantoja would still be the UFC flyweight king.
As mentioned above, the pair run it back at UFC 331 next month in what will be a huge fight for the future of the promotion’s lightest division.
3. Petr Yan
UFC bantamweight champion
Petr Yan’s points win over Dvalishvili is right up there with the best performances in the sport’s history.
The Russian, too, was largely counted out for the contest, as many MMA fans backed Dvalishvili to make his fourth consecutive defence of the UFC bantamweight title.
However, Yan was flawless, punishing Dvalishvili with nasty body kicks that sounded like a baseball bat in full swing while preventing the Georgian from inflicting any significant damage on the canvas.
It was Yan’s fourth UFC win in a row and places him right up there with the very best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.
Furthermore, Yan’s four defeats to date in his 16 UFC appearances all came against current or prospective UFC champions, two of which came via split decision and another by disqualification.
2. Alexander Volkanovski
UFC featherweight champion
The first and only Australian-born UFC champion, Volkanovski has transcended what it means to hold a title.
He has epitomised what is needed to live up to his nickname ‘The Great’ as the oldest fighter and current oldest UFC champion on talkSPORT’s P4P list.
After being knocked out twice in a row by Makhachev and Topuria — dropping the featherweight title in the latter — Volkanovski became the first male fighter over the age of 35 to win a belt in the promotion’s lighter weight classes.
He also holds the feat of being the only fighter in UFC history to win an undisputed title after consecutive KO losses, which he achieved through a unanimous decision win over Diego Lopes at UFC 314 in April 2025.
With a lack of standout contenders, Volkanovski defended his 145lbs throne nine months later against Lopes and now has the chance to assert his dominance once again.
Should Volkanovski manage to overcome undefeated 20-0 Russian Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 in October, he will surpass Jose Aldo‘s record for the most title defences in divisional history.
Volkanovski has suggested he will retire if things go ‘terribly wrong’ when he fights Evloev, but at the same time has never been more motivated to keep representing the old guard at this stage of his fighting journey.
1. Islam Makhachev
Former UFC lightweight champion and current welterweight champion
Not much needs to be argued for Makhachev being the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.
But for the sake of it, he is just one of 11 fighters to become a UFC two-division champion and his 17-fight winning streak is the longest in the promotion’s history.
Not only did Makhachev make four consecutive defences of the UFC lightweight title — the most in the division’s history — he then moved up to 170lbs, winning and defending the welterweight title.
His five title fight wins at lightweight are also the most in 155lbs history, ahead of his legendary mentor Nurmagomedov and all-time great BJ Penn.
Although not entirely dominant, Makhachev made his first defence of the welterweight title last time out at UFC 330 against Ian Machado Garry.
His next fight is set to come against Brazilian fan-favourite Carlos Prates.
Prates will prove to be another awkward puzzle for Makhachev to solve, but it seems the Russian is on a path to setting more history as time goes on.
After all, Makhachev has already stated he wishes to break as many records as possible during his UFC run, with reports of a switch to Zuffa Boxing emerging in August.
talkSPORT's UFC P4P rankings
- Islam Makhachev
- Alexander Volkanovski
- Petr Yan
- Alexandre Pantoja
- Justin Gaethje
- Ilia Topuria
- Tom Aspinall
- Sean Strickland
- Merab Dvalishvili
- Joshua Van
(Just misses out: Arman Tsarukyan, Pereira, Gane, Carlos Ulberg)
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