Islam Makhachev and Valentina Shevchenko Reach the Top of the UFC Rankings
In a historic day for the world of mixed martial arts, Islam Makhachev and Valentina Shevchenko climbed to the top of their respective categories in the Alofoke Deportes pound-for-pound fighter ranking. Both athletes achieved resounding victories at UFC 322, solidifying their position as the best in their divisions.
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, who had previously vacated her strawweight championship to move up a category.
The difference in the performance of both fighters lay in the level of their opponents. Shevchenko faced Zhang, who at that time was number one in the ranking, which made their fight a clash between the two best in the world. Makhachev, on the other hand, defeated Della Maddalena, who was in eighth place in the men’s ranking. This factor may have influenced the decision of some voters, who kept Makhachev in second place, behind Ilia Topuria.
For Alofoke Deportes’ MMA divisional ranking, results up to November 19th were considered.
Men’s Pound-for-Pound Ranking
UFC Welterweight Champion
Makhachev fulfilled his promise to become a two-division champion by neutralizing Della Maddalena’s striking threat at UFC 322. This victory tied him with Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in UFC history, with 16 consecutive wins, and positions him as one of the best MMA fighters of all time. With a large number of welterweight contenders, Makhachev will have many opponents. However, the fight everyone wants to see is a showdown with the current lightweight champion, Ilia Topuria.
UFC Lightweight Champion
After knocking out two of the best featherweights in UFC history (Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway) in 2024, Topuria sought to surpass that feat 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
Dvalishvili is on one of the most impressive streaks 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
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 chose to withdraw, elevating Aspinall from interim champion. His first defense of the undisputed belt ended unspectacularly, as an eye poke caused his fight at UFC 321 with Gane to be declared a no-contest.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
A stellar 2024 consolidated Pereira’s place as a star in the UFC, but he faced possibly his toughest 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 did not achieve victory by unanimous decision. He changed that result violently when he faced Ankalaev in a rematch at UFC 320.
UFC Middleweight Champion
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 finish, but completely demolished Du Plessis in their five-round bout and answered questions about his cardio 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
The UFC flyweight king has accumulated four title defenses, including two in pay-per-view main events in 2024. He built 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 turning the division of 125 pounds.
UFC Featherweight Champion
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 by reclaiming the featherweight belt at UFC 314. His age (36) will likely remain a pre-fight topic, which is fine because Volkanovski likes to prove people wrong.
UFC welter
Della Maddalena’s retention of a top 10 spot might 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 might 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
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 rebuild for another opportunity against Chimaev?
Lightweight UFC
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.
Women’s Pound-for-Pound Ranking
UFC Flyweight Champion
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 has now asserted herself as the number 1 in the world, period. It wasn’t surprising that she beat Zhang, but it was surprising how easily she did it.
UFC flyweight / strawweight
It’s difficult to move up in weight, especially at the highest level. That sounds like an obvious thing to say, but Zhang had been dominant at 115 pounds for so long that some of us might have taken for granted how big a challenge it would be to move up to 125. UFC 322 was a bad night for Zhang, but she hasn’t had many. And if she decides to stay at 125, it certainly seems reasonable that she’ll do better in the future.
UFC Bantamweight Champion
PFL’s face 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 hardware to add to her two Olympic judo gold medals. It won’t be easy for her in her first title defense, as Nunes returns with the belt in her sights.
PFL featherweight
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 two-weight PFL champion, upsetting all of Pacheco’s momentum. One of the original pioneers of women’s MMA is still going strong, and she will seek the vacant PFL title against Collins, an Australian with a 6-0 record but little high-level experience.
UFC flyweight
Fiorot did not succeed 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
The ascent of Dern 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 after her MMA career after multiple world jiu-jitsu championships, has won three fights in a row.
UFC flyweight
Silva is seen as a future UFC champion after a dominant display against Grasso at UFC 315. Silva’s style of hitting and moving has frustrated even the highest-level opponent, and she has youth on her side, as she won’t turn 30 until 2027.
UFC flyweight
Blanchfield avenged her 2019 defeat to Cortez emphatically at UFC 322, submitting her in the second round of their rematch. At just 26 years old, Blanchfield continues to evolve with improved striking and a suffocating grip. She will have to wait her turn for a title shot, with Natalia Silva likely next, but Blanchfield’s turn is certainly approaching.
PFL flyweight
Ditcheva not only won the PFL women’s flyweight season last year, but she did so in spectacular fashion: 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 open 2026 with a matchup against fellow kickboxer Kielholtz.
UFC bantamweight
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 2021 submission victory 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.
