Stock Up, Stock Down: Pound-for-Pound Rankings After UFC 280
UFC 280 went down on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, which means its time for another update to B/R's pound-for-pound UFC rankings.
The card had massive implications for our rankings, which is no surprise considering the number of world-class fighters in the lineup.
In the main event, Khabib Nurmagomedov protégé Islam Makhachev won the vacant lightweight title with a dominant second-round submission against the great Charles Oliveira who, after 11 straight wins, had become a staple of our men's rankings. Makhachev is now on an 11-fight win streak of his own.
Co-headlining honours went to bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, also a familiar name on our men's list, who defended his title with an effortless second-round TKO over TJ Dillashaw. Dillashaw was fighting with an injured shoulder, but the two-time former champ is still a great addition to Sterling's already impressive list of conquests.
The card also included appearances from several fighters who had previously been on the cusp of pound-for-pound glory, including rising flyweight contender Manon Fiorot. The Frenchwoman was back in action in the opening bout of the main card, defeating No. 1-ranked contender and former pound-for-pound star Katlyn Chookagian by unanimous decision.
Keep scrolling to see how the UFC 280 results affected our pound-for-pound rankings.
Men: Nos. 10-6
10. Dustin Poirier
9. Deiveson Figueiredo
8. Aljamain Sterling
7. Charles Oliveira
6. Leon Edwards
Islam Makhachev's lightweight title win had major implications for our men's pound-for-pound rankings, particularly the back half of the list.
His debut in our rankings forced his vanquished foe Charles Oliveira, who had previously been perched at No. 5, down to No. 7. He's now just behind new welterweight champion Leon Edwards, who is riding high after a win over pound-for-pound great Kamaru Usman at UFC 278.
Aljamain Sterling also improved his position on our men's list at UFC 280, climbing from No. 10 to No. 8. He moved past reigning flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, both of whom are coming up on a year without a fight.
At this point, Poirier is clinging to his No. 10 spot, but he could hang onto it with an impressive win over former Bellator champ Michael Chandler at UFC 281 in New York City next month.
Men: Nos. 5-1
5. Islam Makhachev
4. Francis Ngannou
3. Kamaru Usman
2. Israel Adesanya
1. Alexander Volkanovski
After UFC 280, Islam Makhachev is sitting at No. 3 in the promotion's official pound-for-pound rankings. That's preposterous, and it suggests that the people who vote on the rankings have been mystified by his connection to former pound-for-pound king Khabib Nurmagomedov.
As impressive as Makhachev's UFC 280 win was, Charles Oliveira is the first fighter he has ever beaten who was anywhere near pound-for-status ahead of their fight. That isn't enough snag the No. 3 spot.
We here at B/R have far better sense than that. We've plunked Makhachev into our No. 5 spot, right where Oliveira used to sit.
All signs now point to Makhachev defending his title against featherweight champion and pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski in his next fight. If he survives that challenge, he will rocket toward the top of the list. He might even snag the top spot.
Women: Nos. 10-6
10. Manon Fiorot
9. Ketlen Vieira
8. Marina Rodriguez
7. Julianna Peña
6. Jessica Andrade
France's Manon Fiorot has been incredibly impressive since she arrived in the UFC flyweight division. She picked up her best win to date at UFC 280, defeating her division's No. 1 contender, Katlyn Chookagian, by unanimous decision.
While Chookagian was not on our women's list before UFC 280, she has appeared on it before, and she was right on the cusp of a spot. Beating her was enough to push Fiorot into the No. 10 spot at the expense of former bantamweight champ Holly Holm.
Holm's loyal fans will probably take issue with that shuffle, but the 41-year-old former champ hasn't won a fight since October 2020, when she beat Irene Aldana by decision. As close as her May loss to Ketlen Vieira was, there's no reason to believe she's still a pound-for-pound talent in 2022.
With no fight plans on the calendar, it doesn't look like Holm will be proving us wrong any time soon. So for now, she's out and Fiorot is in.
Women: Nos. 5-1
5. Carla Esparza
4. Zhang Weili
3. Rose Namajunas
2. Amanda Nunes
1. Valentina Shevchenko
The top half of our women's pound-for-pound list is unchanged after UFC 280 because none of the fighters were in action on the card. But with strawweight champion Carla Esparza set to defend her title against former champ Zhang Weili at UFC 281 next month in New York, we could see some big changes soon.
Our No. 3 spot is still held by former strawweight champ Rose Namajunas, while our No. 2 spot is the property of featherweight and bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes. Our No. 1 spot is still the domain of flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko, who assumed the top spot when Nunes lost to Julianna Peña last year.