Islam Makhachev reigns supreme as the New Year approaches, but his status as No. 1 on the Pound-for-Pound list has been tenuous, to say the least.

The seemingly indomitable UFC lightweight champion entered 2024 with all of our panelists having him at the top and in his lone appearance of the past 12 months, he did enough to keep his spot with a brilliant finish of Dustin Poirier to stifle a spirited effort from “The Diamond.” When you’ve rattled off 14 straight victories and gone without a loss since 2015, a little inactivity isn’t enough to drag you from the top of the mountain. Yet.

Fortunately for Makhachev, an opportunity to remind everyone why he’s the man to beat is just around the corner. He defends his title against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311 on Jan. 18.

Several other notable names made strong cases to be considered No. 1 and depending who you ask (and what month you asked) you could credibly argue for Alex Pereira, Ilia Topuria, Alexandre Pantoja, and—as one particularly passionate, influential, and bald member of the MMA industry will tell you—all-time great Jon Jones, among others.

So let’s look at a few of these cases with UFC having wrapped it’s calendar year, while also checking in on the women’s side where the enduring Valentina Shevchenko found a way back to her No. 1 spot.

MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Ilia Topuria: Four months after Makhachev’s sensational head kick knockout of Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria dusted off what was left of the longtime featherweight champion with a vicious second-round knockout to claim the 145-pound title at UFC 298. That was enough to propel Topuria from outside of our men’s Pound-for-Pound rankings all the way to No. 5 (Volkanovski was No. 2 when Topuria beat him) and that felt like the right placement at the time.

Then in his first title defense at UFC 308, Topuria knocked out Max Holloway, becoming the first fighter ever to put “Blessed” down with strikes. Jose Aldo, Justin Gaethje, Volkanovski, Poirier, Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, Charles Oliveira, Jeremy Stephens, Cub Swanson, The Korean Zombie, all of these men tested Holloway’s chin and were left wanting. It was Topuria who finally found the mark, leaving us all gasping for air at the sight of Holloway being put down and actually out.

Topuria has teased going from one shark tank of a division to another with a possible move to lightweight and while he still has work to do at featherweight (*cough* Movsar Evloev *cough*), no one should be surprised if he finds the right matchups to jump past Makhachev by the end of 2025.

Alex Pereira: Well, unless this man has something to say about it.

If your definition of Pound-for-Pound greatness requires a fighter to put their money where their mouth is and actually compete in more than one division, few fighters in MMA history have done it with more style and panache than Pereira. The one-touch KO god was ready for any opponent at any time in 2024, notching three title defenses from April to October and saving the UFC’s bacon on little notice on more than one occasion.

Even taking into account the talent drop-off from 185 and above, Pereira’s finishes are just so stunning and so memorable, it’s easy to believe you’re watching the true baddest man on the planet every time he exits the octagon with another body in his wake.

Jon Jones wants a piece of him, so does deserving light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev. A knockout of either man would not only likely propel Pereira up to No. 1, it would force “Poatan” into any GOAT conversation going forward.

Jon Jones: Dana White, this one’s for you.

Calling Jones’ return in 2024 “polarizing” among our voters would be an understatement. Jones was briefly removed from our list altogether due to 18 months of inactivity and when he finally defended his “undisputed” title against Stipe Miocic, it wasn’t exactly a “y’all must have forgot” (a lot of air quotes needed when talking about ol’ Jonny these days) moment.

Currently, he’s only as high as No. 4 on our ballots with one panelist (Jed Meshew, we’re all looking in your direction) leaving him off the list entirely. Based on that math, Jones isn’t even in our top 5, much less the no-doubt No. 1 as White would have us all believe.

His work at light heavyweight is still fresh in the mind for most. His two wins at heavyweight are nothing to sneeze at even if it was over a legend with one foot and four toes out the door. And skill-for-skill regardless of weight class, one can still see why Jones is considered among the best to ever do it.

Now all he has to do is fight Tom Aspinall and maybe we can all agree to give “Bones” his due.

Alexandre Pantoja: It’s me. Hi. I’m the Pound-for-Pound problem, it’s me.

Even before winning UFC gold, Pantoja was making a case to be considered among the MMA elite as he racked up wins over one ranked contender after another. His presence loomed over Brandon Moreno’s title run, having defeated the Mexican star on The Ultimate Fighter and then again in a proper octagon matchup in 2018. When he beat Moreno a third time at UFC 290 for the belt, we all had to consider whether the best fighter in the world was a flyweight (again).

Pantoja’s case is hurt by the fact that he kind of cleared out the division before becoming champion, leaving him to defend his title in a forgettable rematch with Brandon Royval and then against two unexpected challengers in Kai Asakura and Steve Erceg. The one big name he hasn’t beaten at 125 pounds is Deiveson Figueiredo, who holds a previous win over Pantoja but is currently competing at bantamweight.

No one is saying Pantoja is close to surpassing Demetrious Johnson’s accolades anytime soon, but just being mentioned in the same breath as “Mighty Mouse” is achievement enough. Just by nature of being in the smallest men’s division in the UFC, Pantoja has the tallest hill to climb to be considered No. 1. Luckily for him, all he does is keep winning and typically in spectacular fashion.

Belal Muhammad, Dricus du Plessis, Tom Aspinall, and the rest: Why not one of these guys, right?

Muhammad is on an 11-fight unbeaten streak, he won the UFC welterweight title with a dominant win over Leon Edwards, and he’s on top of a division that, while not as hot as it once was, has been home to previous Pound-for-Pound No. 1s Georges St-Pierre and Kamaru Usman.

Unfortunately for Muhammad, his reputation as a decisionator (didn’t stop GSP!) and his quirky personality have always made him a tough sell to the broader fan base and when a foot infection knocked him out of a title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310, there was no chance he was topping the list this year.

Du Plessis has an intriguing case, with an 8-0 UFC record that includes three consecutive victories over the best that middleweight has to offer, Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland, and Robert Whittaker. What’s hurting the bruising South African is that he competes in a weight class that isn’t considered as deep as the ones below it, though it’s arguably in the best shape it’s ever been from a potential contender standpoint.

It’s doubtful another win over Strickland at UFC 312 moves him up the charts much, but there’s a legitimate argument to be made that he’s already deserving of top-4 consideration.

As for Aspinall, see Jones section above.

Aspinall is our No. 1 heavyweight, not Jones, and he’s been as hot as any fighter in the UFC since 2020. The only thing really stopping him from rising higher is Jones refusing to fight him, but even if that matchup doesn’t happen (please let this matchup happen!) there’s potential for Aspinall to climb if he keeps notching first-round finishes. It’s not fair for his legacy to be tied to Jones, a fighter clearly uninterested in granting the same kind of opportunities given to him in his illustrious career.

Dishonorable mention to Merab Dvalishvili for his shameful antics since winning the bantamweight title. Should have just sold the Umar Nurmagomedov fight from Day 1. But hey, at least he has the chance to shut everyone up when he defends against Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 4 Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Asakura, No. 18 Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Ian Machado Garry, No. 17 Charles Oliveira def. Michael Chandler, Movsar Evloev def. No. 19 (tied) Aljamain Sterling

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Islam Makhachev vs. No. 13 Arman Tsarukyan (UFC 311, Jan. 18), No. 6 Dricus du Plessis vs. No. 17 Sean Strickland (UFC 312, Feb. 8), No. 9 Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov (UFC 311, Jan. 18)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Israel Adesanya (3), Aljamain Sterling (3), Patricio Pitbull (2), Magomed Ankalaev (1), Usman Nurmagomedov (1), Kamaru Usman (1)

Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 20 Aljamain Sterling

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

There wasn’t as much drama in the women’s Pound-for-Pound rankings list this year, especially with Valentina Shevchenko charging back to the No. 1 spot.

Shevchenko’s loss to Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 and the screwy scoring in their September 2023 rematch left plenty of fans wondering if the best days of “Bullet” were behind her, but she won a lopsided decision over Grasso at UFC 306 to reclaim the flyweight title and re-establish herself as the best in the business. She’s in a virtual tie with strawweight champion Zhang Weili at the moment, with only a third-place vote for Zhang creating separation between them.

Outside of that, there was some disappointment, with Tatiana Suarez’s injuries costing the undefeated fighter another year of her career, Erin Blanchfield showing she still has some ways to go to reach championship status, and the bantamweight division continuing to slog along (though welcome back to the charts, Julianna Peña!).

There were bright spots, too. Cris Cyborg added to her legendary résumé with an impressive win over the streaking Larissa Pacheco, Kayla Harrison’s UFC move has been a success, and strawweight veteran Virna Jandiroba is finally getting her flowers.

Perhaps most intriguing of all is the rise of PFL star Dakota Ditcheva, who has done a spectacular job of learning on the fly with a ton of pressure put on her shoulders. The 26-year-old Englishwoman was an obvious standout from the league’s European expansion, but it was fair to question how she’d perform against better competition. She cruised through her first three PFL fights to end up in the tournament finals against Taila Santos, by far the stiffest test of her young career, and then annihilated the one-time UFC title challenger in a way no one had done before.

Ditcheva may have to follow Harrison to the UFC someday if she’s to move higher up the rankings, but for now PFL has a special talent on its hands and hopefully it can capitalize in a way that’s beneficial for both the league and their prized prospect.

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 8 Erin Blanchfield def. No. 10 Rose Namajunas, No. 11 Yan Xiaonan def. Tabatha Ricci, Dakota Ditcheva def. No. 15 (tied) Taila Santos

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 2 Zhang Weili vs. No. 6 Tatiana Suarez (UFC 311, Jan. 18), No. 12 Seika Izawa vs. Lucia Apdelgarin (RIZIN DECADE, Dec. 31)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Maycee Barber (2), Stamp Fairtex (2), Macy Chiasson (1), Norma Dumont (1), Amanda Lemos (1), Marina Rodriguez (1), Mayra Bueno Silva (1), Ketlen Vieira (1)

Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 20 Stamp Fairtex

Lastly, a refresher on some ground rules:

• The six-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Damon Martin and Jed Meshew.
• Updates to the rankings will be completed following every UFC pay-per-view. Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout.
• Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice (let’s put it this way: we’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did).

As a reminder, the notion of pound-for-pound supremacy is always going to inherently be subjective. When you’re debating whether someone like Sean Strickland should be ranked above someone like Charles Oliveira, there is no true right answer. In other words: It’s not serious business, folks.

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.

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