Islam Makhachev and Valentina Shevchenko Climb to the Top of Alofoke Deportes’ P4P Ranking
In a historic day for the world of mixed martial arts, Islam Makhachev and Valentina Shevchenko were crowned as the number one in the pound-for-pound ranking of Alofoke Deportes. Both fighters achieved resounding victories at UFC 322, solidifying their position in the elite of the sport.
Makhachev, who started the day as number two, demonstrated his superiority by dethroning Jack Della Maddalena in the welterweight category. For her part, Shevchenko, flyweight champion, defended her title with a unanimous decision victory over Zhang Weili.
Makhachev’s victory consolidates him as a two-division champion, tying with Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in UFC history.
Alofoke Deportes
The difference in the ranking of his opponents also marked the day. While Shevchenko faced Zhang, who at that moment was number one in the ranking, Makhachev defeated Della Maddalena, positioned in eighth place. One voter kept Makhachev in second place, below Ilia Topuria, the current lightweight champion.
Men’s Pound-for-Pound Ranking
UFC Welterweight Champion. Previously ranked #2. Record: 28-1. Last fight: Win (unanimous decision) against Jack Della Maddalena, November 15. Next fight: To be determined.
Makhachev fulfilled his promise to become a two-division champion by neutralizing the threat of Della Maddalena at UFC 322. This victory ties him with Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in UFC history with 16, and places him on the list of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. With an impressive list of welterweight contenders, Makhachev has multiple options for his next fight. However, the most anticipated matchup is against the current lightweight champion, Ilia Topuria.
UFC Lightweight Champion. Previously ranked #1. Record: 17-0. Last fight: Victory (KO1) against Charles Oliveira, June 28. Next fight: To be determined.
After knocking out two of the best featherweights in UFC history, Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, in 2024, Topuria was looking to surpass those victories in 2025. He moved up to lightweight with the goal of challenging Makhachev, but, with Makhachev moving up a division, Topuria captured the vacant title by knocking out Oliveira at UFC 317.
UFC Bantamweight Champion. Record: 21-4. Last fight: Victory (unanimous decision) against Cory Sandhagen, October 4th. Next fight: December 6th against Petr Yan.
Dvalishvili is having one of the most impressive careers in the UFC bantamweight division. Not only did he defeat Sean O’Malley for the second time in nine months at UFC 316, but he also demonstrated a new facet of his game, finishing O’Malley with a guillotine in the third round. Since August 2022, Dvalishvili has beaten José Aldo, Yan, Henry Cejudo, O’Malley (twice), Umar Nurmagomedov, and Sandhagen. And he will defend his title again, in a rematch with Yan, in December, becoming the only champion in UFC history to defend a title four times in a year.
UFC Heavyweight Champion. Record: 15-3, 1 NC. Last fight: NC1 against Ciryl Gane, October 25. Next fight: To be defined.
It can be argued that Aspinall is the most dynamic, skilled, and talented heavyweight the sport has seen. He is dominating his opponents in an unparalleled way. Nobody can last a round with him. He hoped to prove his supremacy against Jon Jones, but Jones decided to withdraw, elevating Aspinall from interim champion. His first defense of the undisputed belt ended anticlimactically, as an eye poke resulted in his fight at UFC 321 with Gane being declared a no-contest.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Record: 13-3. Last fight: Victory (TKO1) against Magomed Ankalaev, October 4th. Next fight: To be defined.
A stellar 2024 consolidated Pereira as a star in the UFC, but he faced possibly his most difficult test as a light heavyweight champion when he entered the octagon with Ankalaev at UFC 313. Pereira had faced strikers, but the question was whether he could do the job against a talented grappler. Pereira kept the fight standing, but fell short by unanimous decision. He violently changed that result when he faced Ankalaev in a rematch at UFC 320.
UFC Middleweight Champion. Record: 15-0. Last fight: Victory (unanimous decision) against Dricus Du Plessis, August 16. Next fight: To be defined.
After five years of anticipation, Chimaev finally fought for a championship at UFC 319, and the result was one of the most dominant title fight performances in UFC history. Chimaev did not manage to finish, but completely demolished Du Plessis in their five-round bout and answered questions about his physical condition along the way. If Chimaev can stay healthy and compete frequently, he still has plenty of time to climb to the top of this list.
UFC Flyweight Champion. Record: 30-5. Last fight: Victory (Sum3) against Kai Kara-France, June 28. Next fight: December 6 against Joshua Van.
The UFC flyweight king has amassed four title defenses, including two in pay-per-view main events in 2024. He extended his winning streak to eight in his UFC 317 victory over Kara-France, whom he had already defeated before. He will defend the belt against Yan at UFC 323. Pantoja is quickly lapping the 125-pound division.
UFC Featherweight Champion. Previously ranked 9th. Record: 27-4. Last fight: Victory (unanimous decision) against Diego Lopes, April 12th. Next fight: January 31st against Diego Lopes.
It seemed that the sport had begun to write Volkanovski’s eulogy after his knockout loss to Topuria in February 2024. Volkanovski took notice and made a point of showing everyone that he still has a lot left to recapture the featherweight belt at UFC 314. His age (36) will likely remain a topic before the fight, which is fine because Volkanovski likes to prove people wrong.
UFC Welterweight. Previously ranked 8th. Record: 18-3. Last fight: Loss (unanimous decision) against Islam Makhachev, November 15th. Next fight: To be defined.
That Della Maddalena staying in the top 10 could be a surprise, but it speaks to a few things. One, of course, is that there’s no shame in losing to Makhachev. And two, this could be the deepest welterweight division in MMA history. Della Maddalena’s eight-fight win streak in this division still means a lot. And although Della Maddalena had a bad night at UFC 322, the perception of his talent hasn’t changed drastically because of it.
UFC Middleweight. Record: 23-3. Last fight: Loss (unanimous decision) against Khamzat Chimaev, August 16. Next fight: To be determined.
Before being submitted by Chimaev and losing the belt, Du Plessis was dominating the middleweight division with 11 consecutive victories, including four in a row over champions or former champions (Sean Strickland twice, Israel Adesanya, and Robert Whittaker). Can he fight again for another opportunity against Chimaev?
UFC Lightweight. Record: 27-8. Last fight: Win (unanimous decision) against Dustin Poirier, July 19. Next fight: To be defined.
Holloway has won four of his last five fights, alternating between lightweight and featherweight. The only loss was against Ilia Topuria, who now reigns in Holloway’s current division, lightweight.
Other fighters who received votes: Magomed Ankalaev, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Arman Tsarukyan.
This is how our panel voted:
Brett Okamoto: 1. Islam Makhacgev; 2. Ilia Topuria; 3. Merab Dvalishvili; 4. Tom Aspinall; 5. Alex Pereira; 6. Alexandre Pantoja; 7. Khamzat Chimaev; 8. Alexander Volkanovski 9. Max Holloway; 10. Umar Nurmagomedov.
Andreas Hale: 1. Makhachev; 2. Topuria; 3. Dvalishvili; 4. Aspinall; 5. Pereira; 6. Chimaev; 7. Pantoja; 8. Volkanovski; 9. Dricus Du Plessis; 10. Holloway.
Ian Parker: 1. Makhachev; 2. Topuria; 3. Dvalishvili; 4. Chimaev; 5. Pereira; 6. Pantoja; 7. Jack Della Maddalena; 8. Aspinall; 9. Volkanovski; 10. Holloway.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Topuria; 2. Makhachev; 3. Dvalishvili; 4. Pereira; 5. Pantoja; 6. Chimaev; 7. Aspinall; 8. Volkanovski; 9. Della Maddalena; 10. Arman Tsarukyan.
Andrew Davis: 1. Makhachev; 2. Topuria; 3. Dvalishvili; 4. Chimaev; 5. Aspinall; 6. Pereira; 7. Pantoja; 8. Volkanovski; 9. Magomed Ankalaev; 10. Du Plessis.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Makhachev; 2. Topuria; 3. Aspinall; 4. Dvalishvili; 5. Chimaev; 6. Pereira; 7. Pantoja; 8. Volkanovski; 9. Du Plessis; 10. Holloway.
Women’s Pound-for-Pound Ranking
UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion. Previously ranked #2. Record: 26-4-1. Last fight: Win (unanimous decision) against Zhang Weili, November 15. Next fight: To be determined.
Shevchenko’s dominance was questioned in 2022 and 2023, when she had a 1-1-1 record in a trilogy with Alexa Grasso. Now, that seems like a long time ago. Shevchenko has reasserted herself as the best flyweight in the world, and now she has asserted herself as the number one in the world, period. It wasn’t surprising that she beat Zhang, but it was surprising how easily she did it.
UFC Flyweight/Strawweight. Previously ranked 1. Record: 26-4. Last fight: Loss (unanimous decision) against Valentina Shevchenko, November 15. Next fight: To be determined.
It’s difficult to gain weight, especially at the highest level. That sounds obvious, but Zhang had been dominant at 115 pounds for so long that some of us might have taken for granted how big the challenge of moving to 125 would be. UFC 322 was a bad night for Zhang, but she doesn’t have many. And if she decides to stay at 125, it certainly seems reasonable that she will do better in the future.
UFC Bantamweight Champion. Record: 19-1. Last fight: Victory (TechSub2) against Julianna Peña, June 7. Next fight: January 24 against Amanda Nunes.
The face of PFL for a long time is also quickly becoming the face of the UFC women’s divisions. With a dominant victory over Peña at UFC 316, Harrison has a 4-0 record in the UFC and has the prize to add to her two Olympic judo gold medals. However, she will not have it easy in her first title defense, as Nunes returns with the belt in sight.
PFL featherweight. Record: 28-2, 1 NC. Last fight: Victory (unanimous decision) against Larissa Pacheco, October 19, 2024. Next fight: December 13 against Sara Collins.
It had been a while since Cyborg had fought an elite MMA opponent until she faced Pacheco in 2024. That was a legitimate fight, and many within the industry predicted Cyborg’s downfall. Instead, she eliminated the PFL two-weight champion, undoing all of Pacheco’s momentum. One of the original pioneers of women’s MMA is still going strong somehow, and she will seek the vacant PFL title against Collins, an Australian with a 6-0 record but little high-level experience.
UFC Flyweight. Record: 13-2. Last fight: Victory (TKO1) against Jasmine Jasudavicius, October 18. Next fight: To be defined.
Fiorot fell short in her challenge against Shevchenko, the champion, at UFC 315. But by defeating Rose Namajunas and Erin Blanchfield in her two previous fights, Fiorot has shown that she has the tools to become a champion.
UFC Strawweight Champion. Record: 16-5. Last fight: Victory (unanimous decision) against Virna Jandiroba, October 25. Next fight: To be determined.
Dern’s ascent to the 115-pound throne was truly a changing of the guard. She is the first first-time champion of the division since 2019, because the previous three champions (Zhang Weili, Carla Esparza, and Rose Namajunas) were in their second reigns. Dern, almost a decade into her MMA career after multiple world jiu-jitsu championships, has won three fights in a row.
UFC Flyweight. Record: 19-5-1. Last fight: Win (unanimous decision) against Alexa Grasso, May 10. Next fight: To be determined.
Silva looks to be the future UFC champion after a dominant showing against Grasso at UFC 315. Silva’s hit-and-move style has frustrated even the highest-level opponent, and she has youth on her side, as she won’t turn 30 until 2027.
UFC Flyweight. Record: 14-2. Last fight: Victory (Sum2) against Tracy Cortez, November 15th. Next fight: To be defined.
Blanchfield avenged her 2019 defeat to Cortez emphatically at UFC 322, submitting her in the second round of their rematch. At only 26 years old, Blanchfield continues to evolve with improved striking ability and a suffocating grip. She will have to wait her turn for a title opportunity, with Natalia Silva likely next, but Blanchfield’s turn is certainly approaching.
PFL Flyweight. Record: 14-0. Last fight: Victory (unanimous decision) against Sumiko Inaba, July 19. Next fight: February 7 against Denise Kielholtz.
Ditcheva not only won the PFL flyweight season last year, but she did it spectacularly: a TKO finish over Taila Santos, who once challenged for a UFC title. Ditcheva opened her 2025 campaign by dominating Inaba in the co-main event of the first PFL Champions Series card in Cape Town, South Africa. She will begin 2026 with a matchup against fellow kickboxer Kielholtz.
UFC Bantamweight. Record: 12-6. Last fight: Loss (Sum2) against Kayla Harrison, June 7. Next fight: To be determined.
Peña is a two-time women’s bantamweight champion, and one of those reigns was made possible by one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, her submission victory in 2021 over Amanda Nunes. Peña’s four most recent appearances have been in title fights, so she is prepared for big moments.
Other fighters who received votes: Alexa Grasso, Virna Jandiroba, Rose Namajunas, and Tatiana Suarez.
This is how our panel voted:
Brett Okamoto: 1. Valentina Shevchenko; 2. Zhang Weili; 3. Kayla Harrison; 4. Cris Cyborg; 5. Manon Fiorot; 6. Mackenzie Dern; 7. Natalia Silva; 8. Erin Blanchfield; 9. Rose Namajunas; 10. Virna Jandiroba.
Andreas Hale: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Zhang; 3. Harrison; 4. Cyborg; 5. Silva; 6. Fiorot; 7. Blanchfield; 8. Dakota Ditcheva; 9. Dern; 10. Namajunas.
Ian Parker: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Zhang; 3. Cyborg; 4. Harrison; 5. Dern; 6. Julianna Peña; 7. Fiorot; 8. Jandiroba; 9. Blanchfield; 10. Silva.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Harrison; 3. Cyborg; 4. Zhang; 5. Ditcheva; 6. Dern; 7. Alexa Grasso; 8. Peña; 9. Fiorot; 10. Silva.
Andrew Davis: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Harrison; 3. Zhang; 4. Cyborg; 5. Dern; 6. Silva; 7. Fiorot; 8. Blanchfield; 9. Ditcheva; 10. Peña.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Zhang; 3. Cyborg;
