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A former champion at 155 pounds and the promotion’s current king at featherweight, Freire made the cut to bantamweight look relatively easy. The same couldn’t be said for his matchup with Pettis, as “The Phenom” confounded the Brazilian at every turn in a convincing five-round victory in Chicago on Friday night. While Freire’s body of work is certainly pound-for-pound worthy, he looked surprisingly out of his depth in his 135-pound debut. Perhaps some of that should be credited to Pettis, who didn’t miss a beat in his return from an 18-month absence due to knee surgery.
There were varying opinions on the implications of the bout in Sherdog’s pound-for-pound rankings. Ultimately, the staff decided that Freire should fall from the poll entirely, and Robert Whittaker would join the rankings to replace him at No. 15.
Meanwhile, Vadim Nemkov continued to demonstrate that he has no peer in Bellator’s light heavyweight division with a lopsided five-round verdict over Yoel Romero in Friday’s main event. One could nitpick and say Nemkov needed to deliver a finish, but Romero has proven time and time again that he’s a rare breed — even in his late 40s. As it stands, the Russian champion is unbeaten in his last 12 fights and has indicated that he could be interested in moving up a division. For now, Nemkov climbs to No. 11 in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Note: Previous ranking in brackets.
1. Jon Jones (27-1, 1 NC) | UFC [1]
After a three-year absence, Jones looked as strong as ever in a new division, authoring a first-round submission triumph against Ciryl Gane in the UFC 285 headliner on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In victory, “Bones” staked his claim to GOAT status while adding heavyweight gold to his trophy case. The longtime light heavyweight king has set his sights on a showdown with ex-heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic for his first title defense, with Madison Square Garden targeted as an ideal landing spot for the bout.2. Islam Makhachev (24-1) | UFC [2]
Though he was hardly dominant, Makhachev found a way at UFC 284, earning a five-round verdict against reigning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski in the evening’s main event at the RAC Arena, in Perth, Australia. While the size advantage wasn’t as big a factor as expected, Makhachev nonetheless extended his winning streak to 12 and retained his 155-pound belt in the process. While he may yet have unfinished business with Volkanovski down the road, Makhachev will now devote his focus to a full cadre of contenders in the UFC’s always-crowded lightweight division.3. Alexander Volkanovski (25-2) | UFC [3]
Volkanovski performed admirably in the UFC 284 headliner, giving Islam Makhachev everything he could handle for five rounds before ultimately falling in a closely-contested unanimous decision defeat. The reigning UFC featherweight champion undeniably raised his stock in the loss, and he has a legitimate claim to a rematch against his Dagestani rival. However, there’s also business to attend to in his weight class, where Yair Rodriguez claimed interim gold with a dominant performance in the UFC 284 co-main event. While Volkanovski can clearly hang with the world’s best at lightweight, he will turn his attention to a 145-pound title unification bout next against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290.4. Leon Edwards (21-3, 1 NC) | UFC [4]
While Edwards needed a last-minute knockout to wrest the welterweight crown from Kamaru Usman at UFC 278, “Rocky” authored a much more complete performance in their trilogy, taking a five-round, majority-decision triumph over “The Nigerian Nightmare” in the UFC 286 headliner at the O2 Arena in London. Edwards outlanded Usman on the feet, showcased solid defensive wrestling and weathered a third-round point deduction to extend his unbeaten streak to 12 within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Edwards can move on from his rivalry with Usman, but his next challenge may already be looming: Colby Covington weighed in as an alternate for the main event and was tabbed by Dana White as the No. 1 contender in waiting.5. Israel Adesanya (24-2) | UFC [5]
Adesanya restored order to the middleweight division with a massive second-round knockout of Alex Pereira in the UFC 287 headliner. Not only did “The Last Stylebender” regain the belt he lost to his rival at UFC 281 last November, but he earned his first victory in the pair’s combat sports series — which now spans four bouts across kickboxing and MMA. Adesanya’s eight title fight victories rank second all-time at 185 pounds, and he has victories over the top five UFC middleweights currently ranked below him: Pereira, Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier, Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa.6. Charles Oliveira (34-9, 1 NC??) | UFC [6]
After relinquishing his belt to Islam Makhachev in October 2022, Oliveira made an emphatic statement in his return, as he defeated top contender Beneil Dariush via first-round technical knockout in the UFC 289 co-main event. “Do Bronx” held his own with Dariush on the canvas, but it was on the feet that he did his best work, rattling the Kings MMA product with head kicks and heavy punches before sealing his victory with ground-and-pound. By ending the eight-fight winning streak of his opponent, Oliveira makes a strong case for receiving a rematch with Makhachev at a future event.7. Francis Ngannou (17-3) | UFC [7]
Ngannou displayed a significant step in his evolution at UFC 270, as he relied on takedowns and positional control to grind out a unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane to unify the heavyweight title at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. After being sidelined for the remainder of 2022 due to knee surgery, Ngannou was unable to come to terms with the UFC for a deal to defend his heavyweight crown against Jon Jones. As a result, he was stripped of his belt and granted his release, making him one of the most coveted free agents in combat sports. That process concluded in May 2023, when Ngannou signed a deal with the Professional Fighters League. “The Predator” isn’t supposed to compete for the organization until 2024 as he pursues a pro boxing match, so his rankings eligibility will expire on July 22.8. Brandon Moreno (21-6-2) | UFC [9]
Moreno got the last laugh against Deiveson Figueiredo, as he improved to 2-1-1 against the Brazilian with a doctor stoppage victory at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro. Moreno now begins his second reign as flyweight champion with the Figueiredo rivalry clearly in his rearview mirror. It seems quite likely that Alexandre Pantoja — who owns wins over Moreno at UFC Fight Night 129 and on “TUF 24” — will be next on the fight itinerary for “The Assassin Baby.”9. Aljamain Sterling (20-3) | UFC [10]
Sterling held serve—and held onto his UFC title—at UFC 288 on May 6, taking a hard-fought decision over returning former two-division champ Henry Cejudo. While it may not have been the emphatic result he hoped for, his third title defense breaks a three-way tie with T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz for the most in UFC bantamweight history. Sterling has made noises about moving up to featherweight, but should he elect to stay at 135 pounds, his next title challenger would appear to be set, as Sean O’Malley entered the cage after the UFC 288 main event for a face-off that ended up having to be broken up by security. That bout has already been announced for UFC 292, though some questions remain regarding Sterling’s health.10. Dustin Poirier (29-7, 1 NC) | UFC [13]
Poirier proved there’s still a clear pecking order at lightweight, as he weathered a strong early push from Michael Chandler to secure a third-round submission victory at UFC 281 in New York. “The Diamond” has won four of his last five Octagon appearances and continues to prove that he ranks among the best lightweights in the sport. His next assignment will be a rematch with Justin Gaethje in the UFC 291 headliner — this time with the “BMF” title at stake.Other Contenders: Vadim Nemkov, Kamaru Usman, Alex Pereira, Jiri Prochazka, Robert Whittaker.
Sherdog’s divisional and pound-for-pound rankings are compiled by a panel of Sherdog.com staff members and contributors: Tristen Critchfield, Mike Fridley, Brian Knapp, Ben Duffy, Jay Pettry, Edward Carbajal, Marcelo Alonso, Tudor Leonte, Keith Shillan, Tyler Treese and Lev Pisarsky.