Stock Up, Stock Down: B/R Pound-for-Pound UFC Rankings After UFC 271
The blockbuster UFC 271 event went down Saturday night in Houston. That means it's time for an update to B/R's pound-for-pound UFC rankings.
The card was topped by a middleweight title fight between dominating champion Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, the division's former king. It was the pair's second meeting. In the first, Adesanya knocked out Whittaker to usurp the middleweight throne in October of 2019.
The sequel was a much more competitive affair, but Adesanya came out on top again, denying six of 10 takedown attempts and outlanding his foe by a 98-74 margin en route to a unanimous-decision win that has been the subject of some debate.
It was Adesanya's fourth defense of the middleweight title, and the win reaffirmed his status as one of the top pound-for-pound talents in MMA. Keep reading to see how our rankings look in the wake of his latest win.
Men: Nos. 10-6
10. Deiveson Figueiredo
9. Petr Yan
8. Dustin Poirier
7. Charles Oliveira
6. Stipe Miocic
Israel Adesanya was the only fighter in our men's pound-for-pound rankings in action at UFC 271, so the bottom half of our list is unchanged.
That being said, we could see some big changes to this segment in the next few months, as interim bantamweight champion Petr Yan takes on undisputed champ Aljamain Sterling at UFC 273 on April 9, and lightweight champion Charles Oliveira defends his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 on May 7.
Flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo and lightweight contender Dustin Poirier will also probably be ready to fight again by summer. Unfortunately, it's still unclear what the future holds for our No. 6 fighter, former heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic, who hasn't fought since a March 2021 knockout loss to Francis Ngannou. If he doesn't fight soon, he risks losing his spot on this list.
Men: Nos. 5-1
5. Francis Ngannou
4. Max Holloway
3. Alexander Volkanovski
2. Israel Adesanya
1. Kamaru Usman
Heading into UFC 271, Israel Adesanya was sitting at No. 2 on our men's pound-for-pound list, perched just behind Kamaru Usman, the UFC welterweight champion. That's also where he's sitting after the event.
Beating Robert Whittaker is impressive under any circumstances, but Adesanya had already beaten the Australian by knockout once before. Defeating him for a second time, far less decisively, just didn't do much to strengthen his case for the No. 1 spot.
He's almost there, but Usman hasn't lost a fight since 2013. He's still the king.
So our men's top five is unchanged. Our No. 3 spot is still the property of featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, while our Nos. 4 and 5 spots go to former featherweight champion Max Holloway and reigning heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou.
Women: Nos. 10-6
10. Carla Esparza
9. Holly Holm
8. Katlyn Chookagian
7. Germaine de Randamie
6. Jessica Andrade
None of the women in our pound-for-pound rankings were in action at UFC 271, so our list is unchanged.
However, we could get some movement soon, as No. 9 fighter Holly Holm will take on Ketlen Vieira on May 21, and our No. 6 fighter Jessica Andrade is slated to battle Amanda Lemos on April 23.
Former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza, our No. 10 fighter, is also expected to challenge Rose Namajunas for the division's top prize in the near future. Though the fight has not yet been announced, president Dana White told ESPN Esparza is "100 percent" Namajunas' next opponent.
It would also be remiss not to mention that our No. 8 fighter, Katlyn Chookagian, is a free agent, having concluded her latest UFC contract after a decision win over Jennifer Maia in January. She has not re-signed with the UFC—and it's possible she won't—but we're going to keep her on the list until she signs elsewhere.
Women: Nos. 5-1
5. Weili Zhang
4. Julianna Pena
3. Amanda Nunes
2. Rose Namajunas
1. Valentina Shevchenko
The top five in our women's pound-for-pound rankings also stays the same, but there could be some changes coming. Former bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and current champion Julianna Pena are slated to coach the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter and will meet in the Octagon sometime thereafter. That fight could have huge ramifications for this list.
None of the other women on this half of the list have fight plans.