MMA: Merab Dvalishvili and Alex Pereira impact UFC P4P rankings

Dvalishvili and Pereira Shine at UFC 320: Victory Analysis

Merab Dvalishvili and Alex Pereira delivered spectacular performances at the UFC 320 championship fights, although their paths to victory were very different. Dvalishvili, defending his bantamweight title, and Pereira, reclaiming the light heavyweight title, demonstrated their dominance in contrasting ways. Pereira, with astonishing efficiency, knocked out Magomed Ankalaev in the first minute of the main event, securing the victory with speed and force. On the other hand, Dvalishvili faced Cory Sandhagen for the five scheduled rounds, controlling the fight with 20 takedowns, the second-highest amount in UFC history and the most in a title fight. Dvalishvili, with this victory, extended his UFC takedown record to 117 and his winning streak to 14. These victories have had different impacts on the pound-for-pound ranking of Alofoke Deportes. Dvalishvili maintains his position at number 3, while Pereira moves up four places, returning to the top five.

Upcoming Events and Ranking Changes

The women’s rankings remain stable, but changes are anticipated after the Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern fight for the vacant strawweight title at UFC 321. In that same event, Tom Aspinall will defend his undisputed heavyweight title for the first time against Ciryl Gane.

Men’s Pound-for-Pound Ranking

• Ilia Topuria: UFC Lightweight Champion.
• Islam Makhachev: UFC Welterweight Champion.
• Merab Dvalishvili: UFC Bantamweight Champion.
• Tom Aspinall: UFC Heavyweight Champion.
• Alex Pereira: UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
• Khamzat Chimaev: UFC Middleweight Champion.
• Alexandre Pantoja: UFC Flyweight Champion.
• Jack Della Maddalena: UFC Welterweight Champion.
• Alexander Volkanovski: UFC Featherweight Champion.
• Francis Ngannou: PFL Heavyweight.

Tom Aspinall will defend his heavyweight belt for the first time at UFC 321.Ilia TopuriaAfter knocking out Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in 2024, Topuria might find it difficult to surpass his achievements in 2025. He moved up to lightweight with the intention of challenging Makhachev, but upon Makhachev moving up a division, Topuria conquered the vacant title by knocking out Oliveira at UFC 317.Islam MakhachevMakhachev solidified his position as the best lightweight of all time by quickly defeating Renato Moicano at UFC 311. This was his fourth title defense, tying Kamaru Usman for the second-longest winning streak in UFC history, with 15 consecutive victories. His next challenge will be to move up to welterweight to face the new champion Jack Della Maddalena.Merab DvalishviliDvalishvili is in an impressive moment in the bantamweight division. In addition to defeating Sean O’Malley for the second time at UFC 316, he demonstrated a new facet of his game by submitting O’Malley with a guillotine in the third round. Since August 2022, Dvalishvili has defeated José Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, O’Malley (twice), Umar Nurmagomedov, and Sandhagen.Tom AspinallAspinall is considered one of the most dynamic and talented heavyweights. His dominance over his opponents is unmatched, finishing all his rivals in the first round. He will make his first defense of the undisputed title against Gane at UFC 321.

Alex Pereira

Pereira solidified his star status in UFC in 2024. Although he faced his most difficult test as light heavyweight champion against Ankalaev at UFC 313, where he lost by unanimous decision, he demonstrated his ability to adapt in the rematch at UFC 320, where he achieved a resounding victory.Khamzat ChimaevAfter years of anticipation, Chimaev finally fought for the championship at UFC 319, delivering one of the most dominant performances in UFC history. Despite not managing to finish Du Plessis, he demonstrated his endurance and physical capacity throughout the five rounds.

Alexandre Pantoja

The UFC flyweight king has accumulated four title defenses, including two main events in 2024. His victory over Kara-France at UFC 317 extended his winning streak to eight. Pantoja is dominating the 125-pound division.Jack Della MaddalenaDella Maddalena burst into the pound-for-pound rankings after winning the UFC championship and ending Muhammad’s 11-fight winning streak. He has demonstrated his ability to win in the UFC, with an 8-0 record in the octagon. His next challenge will be Makhachev.Alexander VolkanovskiFollowing his knockout loss to Topuria in February 2024, Volkanovski proved his worth by regaining the featherweight belt at UFC 314. His age (36 years old) will continue to be a topic of conversation, but Volkanovski enjoys proving others wrong.Francis NgannouNgannou returns to the top 10 after Ankalaev’s defeat, but his position could be temporary due to his inactivity and the lack of scheduled events with PFL. Currently, he has a streak of seven consecutive victories, with six of them by knockout, five in the first round.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound Ranking

• Zhang Weili: UFC Strawweight and Flyweight.
• Valentina Shevchenko: UFC Flyweight Champion.
• Kayla Harrison: UFC Bantamweight Champion.
• Cris Cyborg: PFL Featherweight.
• Natalia Silva: UFC Flyweight.
• Manon Fiorot: UFC Flyweight.
• Larissa Pacheco: PFL Featherweight.
• Erin Blanchfield: UFC Flyweight.
• Dakota Ditcheva: PFL Flyweight.
• Virna Jandiroba: UFC Strawweight.

Mackenzie Dern, on the left, will face Virna Jandiroba at UFC 321 for the vacant strawweight title.Zhang WeiliZhang has filled the void left by Amanda Nunes, who retired in 2023. Now, moving up to flyweight, she seeks to become a champion in a second division.Valentina ShevchenkoShevchenko defeated Alexa Grasso in 2024 and continued with an outstanding performance against Fiorot. Her next challenge is to defend against the number 1 pound-for-pound fighter.Kayla HarrisonHarrison is quickly becoming the face of the UFC women’s divisions, with a dominant victory over Pena at UFC 316. Harrison is 4-0 in UFC and added a title to her two Olympic judo gold medals. However, she will not have an easy task in her first title defense, as Nunes returns.Cris CyborgCyborg faced Pacheco in 2024, proving she remains an elite competitor. She defeated the PFL champion in two divisions and will compete for the vacant PFL title against Collins.Natalia SilvaSilva seems destined to be UFC champion after her dominance over Grasso at UFC 315. Her “hit and move” style has frustrated the most experienced opponents. She won’t turn 30 until 2027.Manon FiorotFiorot, although she lost against Shevchenko, has shown that she has the potential to become a champion by defeating Rose Namajunas and Erin Blanchfield in her previous fights.Larissa PachecoPacheco deserves her spot on the list after being the only woman to defeat Kayla Harrison and for coming close to defeating Cyborg. At 30 years old, Pacheco is still improving.

Erin Blanchfield

Blanchfield defeated Namajunas and will face Cortez. She has great potential and has shown new skills in her game.Dakota DitchevaDitcheva won the PFL flyweight season with an impressive technical knockout over Taila Santos. She began her 2025 campaign by dominating Inaba.Virna JandirobaJandiroba put herself in contention for the title by dominating Yan Xiaonan at UFC 314. She extended her winning streak to five and will face Dern for the vacant title at UFC 321.