Two prominent fighters in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings returned to action on Saturday night, not only looking to hold on to their respective titles, but also their spot in the top 10 — or improve on them. However, both Alexandre Pantoja and Merab Dvalishvili saw memorable reigns and historic win streaks come to an end for very different reasons.
Let’s take a look at how the UFC P4P rankings now look following UFC 323.
10. 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 score a win over division great Dustin Poirier, finally. 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.
9. Tom Aspinall (15-3)
Englishman Tom Aspinall is the best heavyweight in the UFC. That became official when MMA GOAT Jon Jones decided to walk away from the sport earlier this year. The Englishman has beaten many of the best fighters in the division for the last three years and is the undisputed top big man in the eyes of most UFC fans.
After definitively avenging the lone loss of his UFC career in the summer of 2024, he made his first defense of the undisputed title in October. Unfortunately, a nasty eye poke from opponent Ciryl Game ended the UFC 321 main event after just a few minutes. An immediate rematch early in 2026 seems likely.
8. Merab Dvalishvili (21-4)
Merab Dvalishvili truly is “The Machine.” His relentlessness and wrestling have turned him into one of the greatest bantamweights of all time. If there were any doubters after his 2024 win over Sean O’Malley, he silenced them with a decisive rematch victory, as well as two other title defenses.
However, staying at the top is always tough, and his title reign came to a definitive end at UFC 323 at the hands of Petr Yan. While he is no longer the champ, his place in division history is set.
7. 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.”
6. Alexandre Pantoja (30-6)
Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja had a long, hard road to becoming the UFC flyweight king. He toiled away in the division for years before finally earning 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 a dominant champion since, scoring wins over Brandon Royval and a second win against Moreno. However, his reign came to an unfair end at UFC 323 when a non-contact injury to his elbow forced the fight to be stopped early in Round 1.
5. Petr Yan (20-5)
Three straight losses had many wondering if Petr Yan’s days as a top-five bantamweight were over. However, his recent wins over Yadon Song, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Marcus McGhee helped rebuild his title contender status. Earning a title shot at UFC 323.
In a rematch with a man who defeated him two years ago, the Russian was the greatest version of himself as he decisively defeated Merab Dvalishvili to become a two-time bantamweight champion. “No Mercy” proved he is completely back to being an elite fighter in the world.
4. 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, facing 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.
3. 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.
2. Ilia Topuria (17-0)
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.
1. Islam Makhachev (28-1)
Islam Makhachev has stamped his place as one of the greatest UFC lightweights ever with his wins over Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski (twice), and Charles Oliveira. Not only is he a dominant grappler, but he has one of the most underrated standup games in the sport.
At UFC 322, he etched his place in UFC history when he moved up in weight to become the latest fighter to win titles in two divisions as he became the new welterweight king with a dominant win over Jack Della Maddalena.
