Sherdog’s Pound-for-Pound Top 10 Rankings

Israel Adesanya’s pound-for-pound status had been on shaky ground in recent months.

“The Last Stylebender” took a significant step toward solidifying his position in the poll with a second-round knockout of longtime rival Alex Pereira in the UFC 287 headliner at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday night. Heading into the bout, Adesanya was just 3-2 in the Octagon since 2021 after an upset loss to Pereira at UFC 281 and a failed bid for light heavyweight gold against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.

While nobody is talking about a two-divisional reign for Adesanya these days, the Nigerian-born Kiwi is unquestionably No. 1 in the middleweight division — and potentially one of the top 185-pounders of all-time. As a result of his latest work, Adesanya climbs from 10th to fifth in Sherdog’s latest pound-for-pound rankings.

Note: Previous ranking in brackets.

1. Jon Jones (27-1, 1 NC) | UFC [1]

After a three-year absence, Jones looked as strong as ever in a new division, authoring a first-round submission triumph against Ciryl Gane in the UFC 285 headliner on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In victory, “Bones” staked his claim to GOAT status while adding heavyweight gold to his trophy case. The longtime light heavyweight king has set his sights on a showdown with ex-heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic for his first title defense, with UFC 290 looking like an ideal landing spot for the bout.

2. Islam Makhachev (24-1) | UFC [2]

Though he was hardly dominant, Makhachev found a way at UFC 284, earning a five-round verdict against reigning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski in the evening’s main event at the RAC Arena, in Perth, Australia. While the size advantage wasn’t as big a factor as expected, Makhachev nonetheless extended his winning streak to 12 and retained his 155-pound belt in the process. While he may yet have unfinished business with Volkanovski down the road, Makhachev will now devote his focus to a full cadre of contenders in the UFC’s always-crowded lightweight division.

3. Alexander Volkanovski (25-2) | UFC [3]

Volkanovski performed admirably in the UFC 284 headliner, giving Islam Makhachev everything he could handle for five rounds before ultimately falling in a closely-contested unanimous decision defeat. The reigning UFC featherweight champion undeniably raised his stock in the loss, and he has a legitimate claim to a rematch against his Dagestani rival. However, there’s also business to attend to in his weight class, where Yair Rodriguez claimed interim gold with a dominant performance in the UFC 284 co-main event. While Volkanovski can clearly hang with the world’s best at lightweight, he will turn his attention to a 145-pound title unification bout next against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290.

4. Leon Edwards (21-3, 1 NC) | UFC [4]

While Edwards needed a last-minute knockout to wrest the welterweight crown from Kamaru Usman at UFC 278, “Rocky” authored a much more complete performance in their trilogy, taking a five-round, majority-decision triumph over “The Nigerian Nightmare” in the UFC 286 headliner at the O2 Arena in London. Edwards outlanded Usman on the feet, showcased solid defensive wrestling and weathered a third-round point deduction to extend his unbeaten streak to 12 within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Edwards can move on from his rivalry with Usman, but his next challenge may already be looming: Colby Covington weighed in as an alternate for the main event and was very animated cageside in the aftermath of the champion’s victory.

5. Israel Adesanya (24-2) | UFC [10]

Adesanya restored order to the middleweight division with a massive second-round knockout of Alex Pereira in the UFC 287 headliner. Not only did “The Last Stylebender” regain the belt he lost to his rival at UFC 281 last November, but he earned his first victory in the pair’s combat sports series — which now spans four bouts across kickboxing and MMA. Adesanya’s eight title fight victories rank second all-time at 185 pounds, and he has victories over the top five UFC middleweights currently ranked below him: Pereira, Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier, Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa.

6. Francis Ngannou (17-3) | UFC [5]

Ngannou displayed a significant step in his evolution at UFC 270, as he relied on takedowns and positional control to grind out a unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane to unify the heavyweight title at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. While it wasn’t the most thrilling performance, the effort speaks volumes about Ngannou’s resolve, when in previous fights he struggled to do anything of note when forced to go past the second round. After being sidelined for the remainder of 2022 due to knee surgery, Ngannou was unable to come to terms with the UFC for a deal to defend his heavyweight crown against Jon Jones. As a result, he was stripped of his belt and granted his release, making him one of the most coveted free agents in combat sports. If “The Predator” doesn’t book an MMA bout by July 22, his rankings eligibility will expire.

7. Patricio Freire (35-5) | Bellator [6]

Freire was methodical in victory against Kleber Koike Erbst at Rizin 40, as he denied his foe’s takedown attempts and landed solid offense on the feet en route to a unanimous decision triumph against the Japanese promotion’s featherweight champion. “Pitbull,” who is currently on his third reign as Bellator’s 145-pound king, has won 10 of his last 11 professional appearances dating back to 2017. After previously holding the lightweight belt, Freire will make his second bid to become a two-division champ when he meets bantamweight king Sergio Pettis at Bellator 297.

8. Charles Oliveira (33-9, 1 NC) | UFC [7]

Oliveira entered UFC 280 with the confidence of someone on an 11-fight winning streak, but in the end he simply had no answers for Islam Makhachev. The Brazilian was outgunned on the feet and outgrappled on the canvas en route to a second-round submission loss in the evening’s main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The setback doesn’t diminish all that Oliveira has accomplished, most notably a complete turnaround from a middling featherweight to one of the top talents in the sport at 155 pounds. “Do Bronx” will look to return to the win column in a matchup with top contender Beneil Dariush at UFC 288.

9. Brandon Moreno (21-6-2) | UFC [8]

Moreno got the last laugh against Deiveson Figueiredo, as he improved to 2-1-1 against the Brazilian with a doctor stoppage victory at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro. Moreno now begins his second reign as flyweight champion with the Figueiredo rivalry clearly in his rearview mirror. It seems quite likely that Alexandre Pantoja — who owns wins over Moreno at UFC Fight Night 129 and on “TUF 24” — will be next on the fight itinerary for “The Assassin Baby.”

10. Kamaru Usman (20-3) | UFC [11]

Usman entered UFC 286 with the confidence of knowing he had won the majority of his rounds against Leon Edwards in their first two bouts. That all changed in London, as Edwards put together his best all-around performance in three meetings with “The Nigerian Nightmare” to capture a majority decision triumph in the evening’s welterweight championship headliner. After winning his first 15 UFC appearances, Usman will have to attempt to rebound from the first two-bout losing streak of his professional career in his next outing.

Other Contenders: Alex Pereira, Dustin Poirier, Aljamain Sterling, Vadim Nemkov, Jiri Prochazka.

Sherdog’s divisional and pound-for-pound rankings are compiled by a panel of Sherdog.com staff members and contributors: Tristen Critchfield, Mike Fridley, Brian Knapp, Ben Duffy, Jay Pettry, Edward Carbajal, Marcelo Alonso, Tudor Leonte, Keith Shillan, Tyler Treese and Lev Pisarsky.