MMA pound-for-pound rankings: Is winning a second title enough to boost Ilia Topuria to No. 1?

 1. Ilia Topuria  

UFC lightweight champion
Previous ranking: 2
Record: 17-0
Last: W (KO1) vs. Charles Oliveira, June 28
Next: TBD

After knocking out two of the greatest featherweights in UFC history (Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway) in 2024, it was going to be tough for Topuria to top that in 2025. He moved up to lightweight with the goal of challenging Makhachev, but with Makhachev moving up a division, Topuria instead captured the vacant title by knocking out Oliveira cold at UFC 317. -- Andreas Hale

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2. Islam Makhachev  

UFC welterweight
Previous ranking: 1
Record: 27-1
Last: W (Sub1) vs. Renato Moicano, Jan. 18
Next: TBD vs. Jack Della Maddalena

Makhachev staked his claim as the greatest lightweight of all time by swiftly dispatching late-replacement Moicano at UFC 311. It was his UFC-record fourth title defense and tied Kamaru Usman for the second-longest winning streak in UFC history at 15. Next up for Makhachev will be a move to welterweight to challenge new champion Della Maddalena, with the date and venue to be determined. -- Hale

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3. Merab Dvalishvili  

UFC bantamweight champion
Record: 20-4
Last: W (TechSub3) vs. Sean O'Malley, June 7
Next: TBD

Dvalishvili is on one of the most impressive runs through the UFC's bantamweight division ever. Not only did he defeat O'Malley for the second time in nine months at UFC 316, but he showcased a new part of his game, finishing O'Malley with a third-round guillotine. Since August 2022, Dvalishvili has beaten José Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, O'Malley (twice) and Umar Nurmagomedov, and he has said he wants to fight twice more before the end of this year. -- Brett Okamoto

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4. Tom Aspinall  

UFC heavyweight champion
Record: 15-3
Last: W (TKO1) vs. Curtis Blaydes, July 27, 2024
Next: TBD

If you're going by the eye test, you can make a case that Aspinall is the most dynamic, skillful, talented heavyweight the sport has seen. He is dominating opponents in a way that is unmatched. No one can last a round with him. He had hoped to prove his supremacy against Jon Jones, but Jones opted to retire, elevating Aspinall from interim champion. -- Okamoto

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5. Alexandre Pantoja  

UFC flyweight champion
Record: 30-5
Last: W (Sub3) vs. Kai Kara-France, June 28
Next: TBD vs. Joshua Van

The UFC's flyweight king has racked up four title defenses, including two in pay-per-view main events in 2024. He built his winning streak to eight in his UFC 317 win over Kara-France, whom he had already defeated before. Pantoja is quickly taking laps around the 125-pound division. -- Okamoto

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6. Magomed Ankalaev  

UFC light heavyweight champion
Record: 20-1-1, 1 NC
Last: W (UD) vs. Alex Pereira, March 8
Next: TBD

Ankalaev dethroned Pereira at UFC 313 for his 14th consecutive fight without a loss, a run that began after his UFC debut in 2018. The Russian champion is enjoying his time at the top, taunting potential challengers online. He's an incredibly difficult puzzle to crack, and that's unlikely to get any easier given his growing sense of confidence. -- Okamoto

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7. Dricus Du Plessis  

UFC middleweight champion
Record: 23-2
Last: W (UD) vs. Sean Strickland, Feb. 8
Next: Aug. 16 vs. Khamzat Chimaev

No one receives as many backhanded compliments as Du Plessis, but as long as the wins keep coming, who cares? The UFC's middleweight champ is known for breaking all of the technical rules of MMA and making it work. He has taken out some of the biggest names of his division's history and has an opportunity to add another when he faces Chimaev at UFC 319. Du Plessis is on his way to becoming one of those big names if it keeps it up. -- Okamoto

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8. Alex Pereira  

UFC light heavyweight
Record: 12-3
Last: L (UD) vs. Magomed Ankalaev, March 8
Next: TBD

A stellar 2024 cemented Pereira's place as a star in the UFC, but he faced arguably his toughest test as light heavyweight champion when he stepped into the Octagon with Ankalaev at UFC 313. Pereira had dealt with strikers, but the question was whether he could get the job done against a talented grappler. Pereira kept the fight standing but fell short by unanimous decision. -- Hale

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9. Jack Della Maddalena  

UFC welterweight champion
Record: 18-2
Last: W (UD) vs. Belal Muhammad, May 10
Next: TBD vs. Islam Makhachev

Della Maddalena seemingly came from nowhere to make his debut on the pound-for-pound list, but that's what happens when you win a UFC championship and snap Muhammad's 11-fight win streak. Della Maddalena has had some close calls in the UFC, but at the end of the day he's always found a way to win, going 8-0 inside the Octagon. Can he keep it going against Makhachev? -- Okamoto

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10. Alexander Volkanovski  

UFC featherweight champion
Record: 27-4
Last: W (UD) vs. Diego Lopes, April 12
Next: TBD

It felt as if the sport had started to write Volkanovski's eulogy following his knockout loss to Topuria in February 2024. Volkanovski noticed and made a point of proving to everyone he still has plenty left by recapturing the featherweight belt at UFC 314. His age (36) will likely continue to be a prefight topic, which is fine because Volkanovski enjoys proving people wrong. -- Okamoto