MMA Divisional Rankings: Can anyone stop Khamzat Chimaev?

In the ever-shifting MMA landscape, ranking the world’s greatest fighters might seem like a fool’s errand, but that’s exactly what we’ve set out to do with the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. Here, our esteemed panel sorts out the movers and shakers from every division to provide you with the most definitive list of the best fighters on the planet.

Updated pound-for-pound rankings can be found here.

Khamzat Chimaev has arrived. Again.

You can’t blame fans for being disappointed with the past few years of Chimaev’s career after an unprecedented UFC debut in 2020 that saw him finish three fighters in three months. Since then, health issues (and possibly visa issues) have limited his in-cage appearances, he made embarrassed himself at UFC 279 by missing weight and missing out on a main event spot against Nate Diaz, and he had a couple of close calls against Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns that raised doubts as to whether he was truly championship material.

At UFC 308 this past weekend, those doubts went out the window as he ran through former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. “The Reaper” was Chimaev’s toughest test yet and he not only succumbed to Chimaev’s ruthless wrestling attack, he left Abu Dhabi with a busted-up mouth courtesy after tapping out to a brutal face crank.

Chimaev jumps up 10 spots in our middleweight rankings to the No. 2 spot, but questions remain. Was his towering performance enough to jump him over Sean Strickland in the contender’s line after UFC CEO Dana White recently proclaimed that Strickland is likely to rematch champion Dricus du Plessis next? More importantly, should Chimaev be granted that opportunity, can he be trusted to make it to fight night?

One thing is for sure: There are few fighters in the world today more intriguing than Chimaev when he steps into that cage.

Let’s take a quick look at the other big storylines in our latest rankings update.

• Kamaru Usman out! Our criteria includes an automatic removal clause if a fighter is inactive for 18 months, which might have some of you scratching your head as to why Usman is no longer listed. His bout with Chimaev occurred 12 months ago, however, it was contested at 185 pounds. The former welterweight champion hasn’t actually competed at 170 pounds since March 2023 (and hasn’t actually won a fight since November 2021, yikes!), meaning he has passed the threshold and is no longer eligible to be ranked in that division.
• Julianna Peña is back! Whether you agree with the scoring or not, Peña is officially bantamweight champion again after defeating Raquel Pennington. Our panel still didn’t see enough in that comeback fight to put her over Kayla Harrison, our No. 1 fighter at 135 pounds by just a few points. Hopefully, they get the chance to prove who deserves the top spot inside the octagon.
• Hat tip to Anthony Hernandez, Paul Hughes, and Iasmin Lucindo for making major moves in the rankings. Hernandez impressed in his first UFC main event, bulldozing Michel Pereira and cracking our top-10, while Lucindo eked out a split decision over strawweight stalwart Marina Rodriguez to jump up seven spots. But the most surprising shakeup came from PFL, where highly touted Irish lightweight Paul Hughes made a gargantuan step up in competition and became just the second man to earn a victory over A.J. McKee. Hughes earns a coveted top-15 spot in MMA’s deepest division and could soon be one of the faces of the league.

Check out the complete October rankings below.

Heavyweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Francis Ngannou def. No. 9 Renan Ferreira

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Alexander Volkov vs. No. 6 Ciryl Gane (UFC 310, Dec. 7), No. 5 Sergei Pavlovich vs. No. 12 Jairzinho Rozenstruik (UFC Saudi Arabia, Feb. 1), No. 7 Jailton Almeida vs. No. 8 Serghei Spivac (UFC 311, Jan. 18), No. 10 Anatoly Malykhin vs. Reug Reug (ONE 169, Nov. 8), No. 13 Phil De Fries vs. Darko Stosic (KSW 100, Nov. 16), No. 15 (tied) Derrick Lewis vs. Jhonata Diniz (UFC Edmonton, Nov. 2)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Linton Vassell (3), Oleg Popov (2), Ryan Bader (1)

Light Heavyweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Alex Pereira def. No. 10 Khalil Rountree, No. 3 Magomed Ankalaev def. No. 7 Aleksandar Rakic

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 9 (tied) Nikita Krylov vs. No. 15 Azamat Murzakanov (UFC 309, Nov. 16), No. 9 (tied) Anatoly Malykhin vs. Reug Reug (heavyweight bout) (ONE Fight Night 28, Nov. 8),

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Roman Dolidze (2), Bogdan Guskov (2), Impa Kasanganay (2), Anthony Smith (1)

Middleweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 12 Khamzat Chimaev def. No. 4 Robert Whittaker, No. 5 Johnny Eblen def. Fabian Edwards, No. 7 Nassourdine Imavov def. No. 8 (tied) Brendan Allen, No. 14 Roman Dolidze def. Kevin Holland, Anthony Hernandez def. No. 15 Michel Pereira

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Michel Pereira (4), Fabian Edwards (1), Jack Hermansson (1)

Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 15 Michel Pereira

Welterweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 15 Joaquin Buckley def. No. 10 Stephen Thompson, No. 13 Geoff Neal def. Rafael dos Anjos

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Belal Muhammad vs. No. 2 (tied) Shavkat Rakhmonov (UFC 310, Dec. 7), No. 15 Shamil Musaev vs. Magomed Umalatov (PFL 2024 Championships, Nov. 29)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Michael Morales (4), Bryan Battle (1), Rinat Fakhretdinov (1), Vicente Luque (1), Magomed Umalatov (1)

Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 4 Kamaru Usman (inactivity at 170 pounds)

Lightweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Ilia Topuria def. No. 3 Max Holloway (featherweight bout), No. 12 Renato Moicano def. No. 14 Benoit Saint Denis, Paul Hughes def. No. 13 A.J. McKee

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler (UFC 309, Nov. 16)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Alexandr Shabliy (2), Grant Dawson (1), Matt Frevola (1), Paddy Pimblett (1), Jalin Turner (1)

Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 15 Alexandr Shabliy

Featherweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Ilia Topuria def. No. 3 Max Holloway, Lerone Murphy def. No. 15 Dan Ige

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Movsar Evloev vs. No. 11 Aljamain Sterling (UFC 310, Dec. 7)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Dan Ige (2), Chihiro Suzuki (2), Movlid Khaybulaev (1), Adam Borics (1)

Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 15 Dan Ige

Bantamweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Mario Bautista def. No. 7 Jose Aldo, No. 14 Rob Font def. Kyler Phillips, No. 15 Raufeon Stots def. Marcos Breno

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 6 Petr Yan vs. No. 7 Deiveson Figueiredo (UFC Macau, Nov. 23)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Magomed Magomedov (2), Raufeon Stots (2), Kai Asakura (1), Kyler Phillips (1)

Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 15 Raufeon Stots

Flyweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 2 (tied) Brandon Royval def. No. 8 Tatsuro Taira, No. 15 Asu Almabayev def. No. 13 Matheus Nicolau

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura (UFC 310, Dec. 7), No. 4 Brandon Moreno vs. No. 6 Amir Albazi (UFC Edmonton, Nov. 2), No. 7 Adriano Moraes vs. Danny Kingad (ONE 169, Nov. 8), No. 11 Manel Kape vs. Bruno “Bulldog” Silva (UFC Tampa, Dec. 14)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Tim Elliott (3), Charles Johnson (3), Hiromasa Ougikubo (2), Askar Akarov (1)

Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 14 Tim Elliott

Women’s Bantamweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Kayla Harrison def. No. 4 Ketlen Vieira, Julianna Peña def. No. 2 Raquel Pennington, Jacqueline Cavalcanti def. No. 13 (tied) Nora Cornolle, No. 15 Ailin Perez def. Darya Zheleznyakova

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Miesha Tate (2), Tainara Lisboa (2), Nora Cornolle (1), Melissa Mullins (1)

Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 13 (tied) Miesha Tate, No. 13 (tied) Nora Cornolle

Women’s Flyweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Erin Blanchfield vs. No. 9 Rose Namajunas (UFC Edmonton, Nov. 2), No. 5 Taila Santos vs. No. 14 Dakota Ditcheva (2024 PFL Championships), No. 11 Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern (strawweight bout) (UFC Tampa, Dec. 14), No. 12 Viviane Araujo vs. Karine Silva (UFC 309, Nov. 16)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Karine Silva (3), Ariane da Silva (2), Miranda Maverick (1)

Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 11 Lauren Murphy (inactivity)

Strawweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 14 Iasmin Lucindo def. No. 7 Marina Rodriguez

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Yan Xiaonan vs. No. 12 Tabatha Ricci (UFC Macau, Nov. 23), No. 8 Mackenzie Dern vs. No. 10 Amanda Ribas (UFC Tampa, Dec. 14), No. 14 Gillian Robertson vs. No. 15 Luana Pinheiro (UFC Vegas 100, Nov. 9)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Loma Lookboonmee (3), Tecia Pennington (3), Karolina Kowalkiewicz (1)

A refresher on the 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.
• Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout in a given weight class. Updates to the rankings are typically completed following each month’s UFC pay-per-view.
• 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.)
• Holding a promotion’s title does not guarantee that fighter will be viewed as the best in their promotion. Additionally, fighters who regularly compete or hold titles in multiple weight classes are eligible to be ranked in multiple lists.

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