On Saturday night, a trio of fighters on our UFC pound-for-pound rankings were in action to defend their spot in the top 10. In the main event of UFC 320, Magomed Ankalaev saw his light heavyweight title reign and run in the pound-for-pound rankings come to an end when Alex Pereira regained his title with a legendary knockout win.
In the co-main event, reigning bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili retained his title with another dominant victory, this time over fan-favorite Cory Sandhagen. Following their wins this weekend, let’s take a look at where Pereira and Dvalishvili land in our updated P4P rankings after UFC 320.
10. Jack Della Maddalena (18-2)
Jack Della Maddalena has been on a rocket of success to the top of the UFC welterweight division ever since he joined the roster in 2022. The Aussie is unbeaten after eight fights inside the Octagon and secured his biggest victory yet at UFC 315 when he dethroned Belal Muhammad. If he can defeat Islam Makhachev at UFC 322, he will be in the discussion as one of the best fighters on earth.
9. Khamzat Chimaev (15-0)
Khamzat Chimaev has been an absolute wrecking machine his entire career. Rarely has he faced serious resistance during his current UFC run. And that again was the case at UFC 319 when he reached the middleweight mountain top and beat Dricus Du Plessis. While it isn’t always pretty, few fighters on the UFC roster are as dominant as “Borz.”
8. Max Holloway (27-8)
Max Holloway will go down as one of the greatest UFC featherweights of all time. However, all good things come to an end. With him being unable to overcome Alexander Volkanovski, he made the move up to lightweight and became the new BMF champ in 2024 with a KO win over Justin Gaethje. However, a knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in a return to 145 pounds solidified the fact that 155 needs to be his permanent home.
In July, he looked to finally score a win over division great Dustin Poirier. In his third attempt, he got sweet revenge and now has definitive wins over two of the best lightweights of the decade. He may now be one win away from a title fight in his new division.
7. Tom Aspinall (15-3)
If not for Jon Jones, who is still around, interim heavyweight king Tom Aspinall would be higher on this list. However, that could change in 2025 if the two finally face off in a rumored unification clash. Nevertheless, there is no denying the immense talent of the big man. While heavyweights don’t often land in pound-for-pound rankings, Aspinall is a highly skilled and well-rounded talent who would be a big problem at any weight class.
6. Alexander Volkanovski (27-4)
Alexander Volkanovski has solidified his place as the best featherweight of all time. However, trips up in weight for a second title and the rise of Ilia Topuria led to three straight losses for “The Great” and speculation that his best days were behind him.
With Topuria choosing to leave the division and move up to lightweight, the Australian was gifted another chance at the 145-pound belt at UFC 314 when he faced Diego Lopes for the vacant title. In April, the legend turned back the clock one more time and proved he is still an elite fighter to become a two-time featherweight champ.
5. Alexandre Pantoja (30-5)
Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja has had a long, hard road to becoming the UFC flyweight king. He toiled away inside the division for years before he was finally able to earn a title fight at UFC 290. In his first chance at being champion, he made good by scoring a second (third unofficial) win over division king Brandon Moreno.
He has been on a roll ever since and is putting himself in the discussion as one of the best 125ers of all time. At UFC 317, he extended his win streak to eight straight with another dominant win, this time over Kai Kara-France. Pantoja has a case as the best flyweight ever, not named Demetrious Johnson.
4. Alex Pereira (12-3)
Alex Pereira’s UFC story is legendary. After nine fights, he became a two-division champion and scored destructive wins over some of the best fighters of this era, at middleweight and light heavyweight. The 38-year-old has been a revelation for the company and connected with the MMA fanbase with an approach to fighting similar to cage-fighting icon Fedor Emelianenko.
After being on the wrong side of a frustrating decision loss in March, the Brazilian came back with a vengeance at UFC 320. He stormed out of the gates in his rematch with Magomed Ankalaev and blew through him in just a couple of minutes to reclaim his place at the top of the division.
3. Merab Dvalishvili (21-4)
Merab Dvalishvili truly is “The Machine.” His relentlessness and wrestling have turned him into the best bantamweight on the planet. If there were any doubters after his 2024 win over Sean O’Malley, he silenced them with an even more decisive rematch victory at UFC 316.
In the follow-up to that fight, the champ put his gold on the line at UFC 320 against fan-favorite Cory Sandhagen, and just like his previous 13 fights, he dominated with his wrestling and cardio. He seems unstoppable at this point.
2. Islam Makhachev (27-1)
The idea of Islam Makhachev being the best lightweight fighter of all time would have been scoffed at a couple of years ago. However, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s pupil has compiled a Hall of Fame resume and is emerging as one of the best lightweight champions ever.
He took his legacy to new heights at UFC 311 when he had a short-notice replacement for the second time in a title fight. And just like last time, he dominated and racked up another successful title defense. Islam Makhachev is currently the best fighter in the world.
1. Ilia Topuria (15-0)
Ilia Topuria will go down as one of the great featherweights of all time. But instead of building on his 145-pound resume, “El Matador” made the move up to lightweight in search of history. Well, he achieved that in June by becoming just the 10th fighter to win gold in two divisions. Crushing former 155-pound champ Charles Oliveria and adding him to his hitlist of legends.
