Pound-for-pound rankings: Despite draw, did Alexa Grasso win the nod of top-10 voters?
Even though Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko fought to a draw on Saturday, Grasso came away as a winner of sorts because that result allowed her to retain her UFC women’s flyweight championship.
Even without a victory, Grasso’s performance in the Noche UFC main event impressed the ESPN panel enough that the champ has leapfrogged Shevchenko to take over the No. 2 spot in our women’s MMA pound-for-pound rankings.
Grasso previously was ranked third, right behind the woman she dethroned back in March. Five of the six voters on the ESPN panel had Shevchenko ranked second in our most recent previous women’s top 10, with Grasso getting the other vote. Now that has flip-flopped, with five of six putting Grasso ahead of Shevchenko.
Saturday’s rematch was tightly contested and ended controversially, when judge Mike Bell scored the final round 10-8 in favor of Grasso. The champ did spend most of the final 90 seconds in dominant top control on the canvas, immobilizing a prone Shevchenko, raining down punches and working toward a submission attempt. However, for the 3½ minutes prior to that in Round 5, Shevchenko was getting the better of the action and appeared on her way to regaining the title.
Should it have been a 10-9 round? A 10-10? Was the scoring of an earlier round the problem? The debate rages on, overshadowing a fiery fight between the 125-pounders.
Grasso’s move up was the only change in either the women’s or men’s rankings.
For the ESPN divisional MMA rankings, click here.
Note: Results are current; rankings as of Sept. 19. In order 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.
1. Zhang Weili 
UFC strawweight champion
Record: 24-3
Last: W (UD) vs. Amanda Lemos, Aug. 19, 2023
Next: TBD
2. Alexa Grasso 
UFC flyweight champion
Previous ranking: 3
Record: 16-3-1
Last: Split draw vs. Valentina Shevchenko, Sept. 16, 2023
Next: TBD
UFC flyweight
Previous ranking: 2
Record: 22-4-1
Last: Split draw vs. Alexa Grasso, Sept. 16, 2023
Next: TBD
UFC flyweight
Record: 12-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Taila Santos, Aug. 26, 2023
Next: TBD
UFC strawweight
Record: 19-7
Last: L (Sub2) vs. Zhang Weili, Nov. 12, 2022
Next: TBD
6. Yan Xiaonan
UFC strawweight
Record: 17-3
Last: W (KO1) vs. Jessica Andrade, May 6, 2023
Next: TBD
PFL lightweight
Record: 15-1
Last: L (UD) vs. Larissa Pacheco, Nov. 25, 2022
Next: Nov. 24 vs. Julia Budd
PFL lightweight champion
Record: 22-4
Last: W (TKO1) vs. Olena Kolesnyk, Aug. 18, 2023
Next: Nov. 24 vs. Marina Mokhnatkina
UFC strawweight
Record: 10-0
Last: W (Sub2) vs. Jessica Andrade, Aug. 5, 2023
Next: TBD
10. Seika Izawa
Rizin super atomweight champion
Record: 11-0
Last: W (Sub1) vs. Claire Lopez, July 30, 2023
Next: TBD
Other fighters receiving votes: Liz Carmouche, Amanda Lemos, Raquel Pennington, Jessica Andrade, Manon Fiorot, Taila Santos and Mayra Bueno Silva.
How our panel voted
Brett Okamoto: 1. Zhang Weili; 2. Alexa Grasso; 3. Valentina Shevchenko; 4. Erin Blanchfield; 5. Tatiana Suarez; 6. Kayla Harrison; 7. Carla Esparza; 8. Jessica Andrade; 9. Larissa Pacheco; 10. Yan Xiaonan.
Marc Raimondi: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Grasso; 4. Blanchfield; 5. Esparza; 6. Yan; 7. Izawa; 8. Suarez; 9. Manon Fiorot; 10. Liz Carmouche.
Megan Anderson: 1. Zhang; 2. Grasso; 3. Shevchenko; 4. Esparza; 5. Blanchfield; 6. Yan; 7. Raquel Pennington; 8. Manon Fiorot; 9. Taila Santos; 10. Mayra Bueno Silva.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Zhang; 2. Grasso; 3. Shevchenko; 4. Harrison; 5. Esparza; 6. Blanchfield; 7. Yan; 8. Pacheco; 9. Andrade; 10. Carmouche.
Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Zhang; 2. Grasso; 3. Shevchenko; 4. Blanchfield; 5. Pacheco; 6. Lemos; 7. Harrison; 8. Izawa; 9. Carmouche; 10. Yan.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Zhang; 2. Grasso; 3. Shevchenko; 4. Blanchfield; 5. Esparza; 6. Yan; 7. Carmouche; 8. Izawa; 9. Suarez; 10. Pacheco.
Men’s pound-for-pound rankings
UFC featherweight champion
Record: 26-2
Last: W (TKO3) vs. Yair Rodriguez, July 8, 2023
Next: TBD
UFC lightweight champion
Record: 24-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Alexander Volkanovski, Feb. 11, 2023
Next: Oct. 21 vs. Charles Oliveira
3. Jon Jones
UFC heavyweight champion
Record: 27-1, 1 NC
Last: W (Sub1) vs. Ciryl Gane, March 4, 2023
Next: Nov. 11 vs. Stipe Miocic
4. Leon Edwards
UFC welterweight champion
Record: 21-3, 1 NC
Last: W (MD) vs. Kamaru Usman, March 18, 2023
Next: TBD
UFC lightweight
Record: 34-9, 1 NC
Last: W (TKO1) vs. Beneil Dariush, June 10, 2023
Next: Oct. 21 vs. Islam Makhachev
6. Kamaru Usman
UFC welterweight
Record: 20-3
Last: L (MD) vs. Leon Edwards, March 18, 2023
Next: TBD
UFC middleweight
Record: 24-3
Last: L (UD) vs. Sean Strickland, Sept. 9, 2023
Next: TBD
UFC flyweight champion
Record: 26-5
Last: W (SD) vs. Brandon Moreno, July 8, 2023
Next: TBD
UFC bantamweight champion
Record: 17-1, 1 NC
Last: W (TKO2) vs. Aljamain Sterling, Aug. 19, 2023
Next: TBD
UFC bantamweight
Record: 22-4
Last: L (TKO2) vs. Sean O’Malley, Aug. 19, 2023
Next: TBD
Other fighters receiving votes: Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, Sean Strickland, Demetrious Johnson and Brandon Moreno.
How our panel voted
Brett Okamoto: 1. Alexander Volkanovski; 2. Islam Makhachev; 3. Jon Jones; 4. Leon Edwards; 5. Israel Adesanya; 6. Charles Oliveira; 7. Kamaru Usman; 8. Alexandre Pantoja; 9. Max Holloway; 10. Brandon Moreno.
Marc Raimondi: 1. Jones; 2. Makhachev; 3. Volkanovski; 4. Edwards; 5. Oliveira; 6. Sean O’Malley; 7. Pantoja; 8. Sean Strickland; 9. Usman; 10. Moreno.
Megan Anderson: 1. Volkanovski; 2. Jones; 3. Makhachev; 4. Edwards; 5. Oliveira; 6. Adesanya; 7. Usman; 8. Justin Gaethje; 9. Aljamain Sterling; 10. O’Malley.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Volkanovski; 2. Makhachev; 3. Jones; 4. Edwards; 5. Oliveira; 6. Usman; 7. Adesanya; 8. O’Malley; 9. Holloway; 10. Strickland.
Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Volkanovski; 2. Makhachev; 3. Jones; 4. Oliveira; 5. Adesanya; 6. Edwards; 7. Usman; 8. Pantoja; 9. Demetrious Johnson; 10. Sterling.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Makhachev; 2. Volkanovski; 3. Jones; 4. Edwards; 5. Oliveira; 6. Pantoja; 7. O’Malley; 8. Usman; 9. Sterling; 10. Gaethje.
