Ngannou and Cyborg make heavy impact
Francis Ngannou and Cris Cyborg are heavy hitters. Their latest impact is on the ESPN pound-for-pound rankings.
Ngannou had been a mainstay of the men’s top 10 back when he was the UFC heavyweight champion. However, after departing the Octagon two years ago to pursue his dream of professional boxing, he fell from our rankings because his inactivity in MMA made him ineligible. But now he’s back in the top 10, after returning with a bang over the weekend. Ngannou knocked out Renan Ferreira in the first round of their PFL Battle of the Giants main event.
Cyborg competed in the co-main event of that same card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and by defeating fellow top-10 fighter Larissa Pacheco, Cyborg added a PFL Super Fights featherweight belt to the Bellator strap she already owned. The victory boosted Cyborg up one spot into the top three of our women’s rankings.
For the ESPN divisional MMA rankings, click here.
Note: Results are current; rankings as of Oct. 22. To be eligible for the rankings, a fighter must have competed over the past 12 months or must have an upcoming fight booked. Fighters who have been dropped for inactivity can be reinstated only after they compete.
Men’s pound-for-pound rankings
UFC lightweight champion
Record: 26-1
Last: W (Sub5) vs. Dustin Poirier, June 1, 2024
Next: TBD
2. Alex Pereira 
UFC light heavyweight champion
Record: 12-2
Last: W (TKO4) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr., Oct. 5, 2024
Next: TBD
3. Ilia Topuria
UFC featherweight champion
Record: 15-0
Last: W (KO2) vs. Alexander Volkanovski, Feb. 17, 2024
Next: Oct. 26 vs. Max Holloway
UFC flyweight champion
Previous ranking: 6
Record: 28-5
Last: W (UD) vs. Steve Erceg, May 4, 2024
Next: Dec. 7 vs. Kai Asakura
5. Tom Aspinall
UFC heavyweight interim champion
Record: 15-3
Last: W (TKO1) vs. Curtis Blaydes, July 27, 2024
Next: TBD
PFL heavyweight Super Fights champion
Previous ranking: Unranked
Record: 18-3
Last: W (KO1) vs. Renan Ferreira, Oct. 19, 2024
Next: TBD
UFC bantamweight champion
Previous ranking: 6
Record: 18-4
Last: W (UD) vs. Sean O’Malley, Sept.14, 2024
Next: TBD
UFC welterweight champion
Previous ranking: 7
Record: 24-3, 1 NC
Last: W (UD) vs. Leon Edwards, July 27, 2024
Next: Dec. 7 vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
T-9. Dricus Du Plessis
UFC middleweight champion
Record: 22-2
Last: W (Sub4) vs. Israel Adesanya, Aug.17, 2024
Next: TBD
UFC featherweight
Previous ranking: 8
Record: 26-4
Last: L (KO2) vs. Ilia Topuria, Feb. 17, 2024
Next: TBD
Other fighters receiving votes: Max Holloway, Leon Edwards, Sean O’Malley and Sean Strickland.
How our panel voted
Brett Okamoto: 1. Islam Makhachev; 2. Alex Pereira; 3. Ilia Topuria; 4. Tom Aspinall; 5. Alexandre Pantoja; 6. Belal Muhammad; 7. Merab Dvalishvili; 8. Alexander Volkanovski; 9. Max Holloway; 10. Dricus Du Plessis.
Andreas Hale: 1. Makhachev; 2. Pereira; 3. Topuria; 4. Aspinall; 5. Dvalishvili; 6. Muhammad; 7. Francis Ngannou; 8. Pantoja; 9. Volkanovski; 10. Holloway.
Megan Anderson: 1. Makhachev; 2. Pereira; 3. Ngannou; 4. Aspinall; 5. Topuria; 6. Volkanovski; 7. Du Plessis; 8. Pantoja; 9. Muhammad; 10. Dvalishvili.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Makhachev; 2. Pereira; 3. Topuria; 4. Du Plessis; 5. Pantoja; 6. Dvalishvili; 7. Ngannou; 8. Muhammad; 9. Aspinall; 10. O’Malley.
Ian Parker: 1. Pereira; 2. Makhachev; 3. Topuria; 4. Dvalishvili; 5. Holloway; 6. Du Plessis; 7. Pantoja; 8. Muhammad; 9. Aspinall; 10. Sean Strickland.
Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Makhachev; 2. Pereira; 3. Pantoja; 4. Ngannou; 5. Topuria; 6. Volkanovski; 6. Muhammad; 7. Leon Edwards; 8. Holloway; 9. Aspinall.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Pereira; 2. Makhachev; 3. Ngannou; 4. Topuria; 5. Aspinall; 6. Pantoja; 7. Dvalishvili; 8. Holloway; 9. Volkanovski; 10. Muhammad.
Women’s pound-for-pound rankings
1. Zhang Weili
UFC strawweight champion
Record: 25-3
Last: W (UD) vs. Yan Xiaonan, April 13, 2024
Next: TBD
UFC flyweight champion
Record: 23-4-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Alexa Grasso, Sept. 14, 2024
Next: TBD
3. Cris Cyborg 
Bellator featherweight and PFL Super Fights champion
Previous ranking: 4
Record: 28-2, 1 NC
Last: W (UD) vs. Larissa Pacheco, Oct. 19, 2024
Next: TBD
4. Alexa Grasso 
UFC flyweight
Previous ranking: 3
Record: 16-4-1
Last: L (UD) vs. Valentina Shevchenko, Sept. 14, 2024
Next: TBD
UFC bantamweight
Record: 18-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Ketlen Vieira, Oct. 5, 2024
Next: TBD
6. Manon Fiorot
UFC flyweight
Record: 12-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Erin Blanchfield, March 30, 2024
Next: TBD
PFL featherweight champion
Record: 23-5
Last: L (UD) vs. Cris Cyborg, Oct. 19, 2024
Next: TBD
UFC bantamweight champion
Record: 12-5
Last: W (SD) vs. Raquel Pennington, Oct. 5, 2024
Next: TBD
UFC flyweight
Record: 12-2
Last: L (UD) vs. Manon Fiorot, March 30, 2024
Next: Nov. 2 vs. Rose Namajunas
10. Yan Xiaonan
UFC strawweight
Record: 17-4, 1 NC
Last: L (UD) vs. Zhang Weili, April 13, 2024
Next: TBD
Other fighters receiving votes: Rose Namajunas, Raquel Pennington, Seika Izawa and Amanda Lemos.
How our panel voted
Brett Okamoto: 1. Zhang Weili; 2. Valentina Shevchenko; 3. Cris Cyborg; 4. Alexa Grasso; 5. Manon Fiorot; 6. Rose Namajunas; 7. Erin Blanchfield; 8. Kayla Harrison; 9. Larissa Pacheco; 10. Yan Xiaonan.
Andreas Hale: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Grasso; 4. Cyborg; 5. Fiorot; 6. Harrison; 7. Pacheco; 8. Namajunas; 9. Peña; 10. Blanchfield.
Megan Anderson: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Grasso; 5. Fiorot; 6. Harrison; 7. Peña; 8. Yan; 9. Pacheco; 10. Blanchfield.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Zhang; 3. Grasso; 4. Cyborg; 5. Harrison; 6. Peña; 7. Raquel Pennington; 8. Pacheco; 9. Fiorot; 10. Blanchfield.
Ian Parker: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Harrison; 5. Grasso; 6. Yan; 7. Peña; 8. Pacheco; 9. Fiorot; 10. Namajunas.
Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Grasso; 4. Cyborg; 5. Pacheco; 6. Harrison; 7. Peña; 8. Fiorot; 9. Blanchfield; 10. Amanda Lemos.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Fiorot; 5. Grasso; 6. Pacheco; 7. Harrison; 8. Yan; 9. Blanchfield; 10. Seika Izawa.
