Welcome to the latest update to the MMA Fighting pound-for-pound rankings, where every month our esteemed panel sort through the noise to answer one question: Who are the best overall male and female MMA fighters in the world?
Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev defeated a pair of legendary opponents in unexpected ways at UFC 308, plus Bellator champion Cris Cyborg shined in her PFL debut, so let’s take a look at how the charts were shaken up at the end of October.
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Khamzat ChimaevPhoto by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
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Ilia Topuria just turned the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world debate into a three-horse race.
For much of the past year, Islam Makhachev has been the man to beat with the ever-active Alex Pereira breathing down his neck. Few expected Topuria to put on such a commanding performance against Max Holloway that he would have to be mentioned alongside those names. When Topuria blew the doors off at UFC 308, becoming the first fighter ever to score a knockout of Holloway, it’s now inconceivable to have the discussion without him.
Topuria leaps over Pereira to claim the No. 2 spot on the list, with one panelist going as far as to mark him down at No. 1. The case for Topuria? How about an undefeated record with finishes of two of the greatest fighters of all time? He was the first to defeat Alexander Volkanovski in a 145-pound bout and, as mentioned, the only fighter to put Holloway away with strikes.
Add in featherweight being an absurdly deep division and you can see how Topuria’s resounding title defense has him leading Fighter of the Year talk—and possibly the Pound-for-Pound list next year.
Also of note, you may have noticed the return of one Mr. Khamzat Chimaev to our rankings. Not only does Chimaev have a number next to his name again, he flies in at No. 13 ahead of former UFC champions Sean Strickland, Sean O’Malley, and Charles Oliveira. Chimaev is still yet to even book a title shot, but when you force a frantic tap from Robert Whittaker—who had only been submitted once before—you’re going to get people’s attention again.
And let’s not forget Francis Ngannou is also back, though his knockout of PFL heavyweight tournament champion Renan Ferreira didn’t convince everyone he deserves to be back on the pound-for-pound list. We were all over the place here, with one panelist having “The Predator” as high as No. 6 and two others leaving him off completely. It might not be fair, but if he can’t work with PFL to bring in at least a couple of big-name opponents to face him, we might not see Ngannou get close to the top of the charts again.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 4 Ilia Topuria vs. No. 9 (tied) Max Holloway
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 19 Israel Adesanya, No. 20 Patricio Pitbull (20)
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Cris CyborgJose Peñuela, PFL
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Cris Cyborg has nothing left to prove to anyone. That didn’t stop her from reminding everyone she’s still as good as any woman alive when it comes to cagefighting.
In her PFL debut, Cyborg went five hard rounds with league darling Larissa Pacheco and came out on top with a convincing decision win, putting to rest the notion it was time for her to pass the torch. There may come a day when Cyborg and Pacheco square off again with Pacheco getting the upper hand next time, but that day is yet to arrive.
Cyborg snapped Pacheco’s three-year, 10-fight win streak, and improved her own ridiculous record to 28-2 (1 NC). One of her losses was to Amanda Nunes, and even if Cyborg never surpasses Nunes on the all-time list, the fact she’s still racking up wins and claiming a top-5 Pound-for-Pound spot well after Nunes’ retirement is a unique accomplishment on its own.
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When people talk about an athlete being one of one, they’re talking about Cyborg.
The six-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Damon Martin and Jed Meshew.
Updates to the rankings will be completed following every UFC pay-per-view. Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout.
Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice (let’s put it this way: we’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did).
As a reminder, the notion of pound-for-pound supremacy is always going to inherently be subjective. When you’re debating whether someone like Sean Strickland should be ranked above someone like Charles Oliveira, there is no true right answer. In other words: It’s not serious business, folks.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.
Carlo Ancelotti and Emma Hayes have won the inaugural Johan Cruyff Awards, given to the best coaches in the men’s and women’s games at the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Ancelotti guided Real Madrid to a record-extending 15th Champions League crown last season as well as the La Liga title.
Hayes guided Chelsea to a fifth consecutive Women’s Super League (WSL) title last season, as well as the final of the Women’s League Cup and the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League and Women’s FA Cup.
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At the end of last season Hayes left Chelsea to become head coach of the United States Women’s National Team.
Neither were in Paris to collect their awards as Hayes is in the United States before a game against Argentina, and Real Madrid did not send any representatives the ceremony.
This past Saturday, Topuria secured the first defense of his featherweight title, stopping former champion Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308. Topuria is now the first person to finish Holloway with strikes and given his second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year, “El Matador” has established himself as one of the most devastating strikers in the sport currently, so much so that even his possible future opponent was impressed.
“I ain’t standing with that guy. I would never stand and trade with that guy!” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I saw comments from the reaction, ‘You should change weight classes.’ I thought that was so funny… I made a joke, ‘I want to go back to 135.’ [Laughs] …
“I’ll point to the ground but I’ll do my running man dance instead.”
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All kidding aside, Sterling may soon be in a position to face Topuria.
Volkanovski appears to be next up for Topuria, with Diego Lopes waiting in the wings, but the former bantamweight champion faces Movsar Evloev at UFC 310 and the winner could also be in the mix for a shot at the champion. And should that happen, “The Funkmaster” believes he can give Topuria a run for his money.
“If I were to fight him, god willing, I beat Movsar and I do get the crack, I do think I have a great style to neutralize his offense,” Sterling said. “Bro, most of these guys are striking with him. I ain’t doing that, bro! I ain’t doing that. We’re sitting there looking for a takedown. I have to make it a grappling match. I’m trying to the the W, I’m not trying to get my brain and my head sent to the next dimension again. I’m cool on that.”
Sterling notably lost his UFC bantamweight when he was knocked out by Sean O’Malley last year at UFC 292. Following that loss, Sterling moved up to featherweight where he defeated Calvin Kattar in his debut.
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After he left bantamweight, his longtime friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili dethroned O’Malley to become the 135-pound champion. And for Sterling, that might be the only downside to a matchup with Topuria: making Merab choose sides.
“Merab and I are boys. Merab is also boys with Ilia, so I don’t know what that turns into,” Sterling said. “… Thankfully I don’t have to worry about that anytime soon. I’ve got one other tough opponent in front of me and then we kind of go from there.”
UFC 310 takes place on on Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Jasmine Jasudavicius may not have hit her peak yet, but she’s looking to get to the top as soon as possible.
Although she’s only seven fights into her UFC career with a total of 14 pro bouts, Jasudavicius (11-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is 35 and knows she can’t fight forever. A few stumbles could set her back into an impossible timeline.
“This is my time. I understand my window is short. I’m older,” she told MMA Junkie Radio. “I know I’m not going to have a long career, a 10-year, 20-year career in the UFC. So I know my window is short and I’m here to make the best of it.”
Jasudavicius returns Saturday at UFC Fight Night 246 as she battles fellow promotion-ranked flyweight Ariane da Silva (17-9 MMA, 6-6 UFC). The event takes place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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While she thinks her skills are already title challenger-ready, it’s just a matter of getting repetitions in and proving herself to the UFC. Saturday’s bout is the next step in doing that.
“I know my skill set is there, but it’s just the opportunities,” Jasudavicius said. “I’ve got to wait for them to line up. Hopefully soon. … A title shot is a title shot, but also any loss that I’ve ever had, I’d love to obviously avenge that. If one of them ever owned a title, then I’d love to take it from them. It’d be kind of the dream. But other than that, whoever has a title, that’s who I want to get matched up with.”
A proud Ontarian, Jasudavicius is excited to represent Canada three provinces away. She’s one of eight home country fighters competing on the card.
“I can see martial arts growing just around,” Jasudavicius said. “There are so many more people just in the gym than there was even a year ago. It’s growing exponentially. I understand that I’m one of the people kind of putting themselves out there in front of everyone, presenting martial arts. I am grateful that people can get inspired and I can be part of the growth of martial arts.
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“It’s a wonderful journey and everyone should at least try martial arts for a little bit regardless of if they fight or not. But I think it’s so good it’s growing and it’s growing exponentially in Canada.”
A new episode of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is released every Monday and Thursday. You can stream or download all episodes over at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, OmnyStudio, and more.
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Show up or get shown out. That’s the motto heading into November.
With more than half of the 2024 college football season in the books, programs that have not proven to be perennial powers are flexing their resilience.
Iowa State is 7-0 for the first time since 1938. Indiana is 8-0 for just the second time since 1967. BYU is 8-0 for just the second time since 1990. Army is 8-0 for the first time since 1996. All four programs could end this season undefeated, and that includes the Hoosiers, who will play Ohio State on Nov. 23 in the Shoe.
And all of that is happening while Vanderbilt has earned its first top 25 ranking since 2013 and Boise State boasts a tailback who might come close to breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing total (2,628). Normally, these programs would simply make for good stories — like UCF running the table in 2017 or TCU running the table in 2010. Each ended their seasons undefeated with wins in a New Year’s Six Bowl, but neither had the opportunity to play for the national title in the Bowl Championship Series or College Football Playoff era.
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This season, that comes to an end.
At least one of these programs – Iowa State, Indiana, BYU and Army – will earn entry into the 12-team CFP if they finish the regular season unbeaten. Odds are that it will be either BYU or Iowa State, who could meet for the first time this season in the Big 12 title game and be one of the four highest-ranked champions. Not bad in a season where Alabama has faltered, Florida State has been abysmal and Oklahoma and USC have simply been mediocre.
With that said, let’s get to my updated CFP projections:
1. Oregon: Bye (would then play the winner of 8. Clemson vs. 9. BYU)
2. Georgia: Bye (would then play the winner of 7. Texas vs. 10. Texas A&M)
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3. Miami: Bye (would then play the winner of 6. Penn State vs. 11. Tennessee)
4. Iowa State: Bye (would then play the winner of 5. Ohio State vs. 12. Boise State)
5. Ohio State (Big Ten championship runner-up) vs. 12. Boise State (highest-ranked Group of 5 champion)
This matchup involves the most prolific tailback in the sport in Ashton Jeanty and perhaps the most talented set of tailbacks on one team in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. Jeanty rushed for 192 yards against an Oregon team that is the consensus No. 1 team in the country. Going up against the Buckeyes would make for an exciting matchup.
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Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty leads the country with 1,376 rushing yards this sason. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
6. Penn State (one of the top-12 teams) vs. 11. Tennessee (one of the top-12 teams)
If Ohio State has the best set of tailbacks in the sport, then Penn State has the second in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The tandem has helped lead Penn State to a 7-0 start to the season, while Tennessee possesses the best tailback in the SEC in Dylan Sampson, who rushed for over 100 yards in the Vols’ win against Alabama.
Backup Penn State QB Beau Pribula threw for 98 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 28 yards in place of an injured Drew Allar against Wisconsin. (Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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7. Texas (one of the top-12 teams) vs. 10. Texas A&M (one of the top-12 teams)
This matchup might be the most anticipated of this projected CFP field with the Longhorns and Aggies meeting for the first time this November since 2011. That game could also decide which team earns entry into the SEC Championship Game. Mike Elko’s Aggies remain undefeated in SEC play as the season enters November.
Texas QB Quinn Ewers completed 17 straight passes in its win over Vanderbilt.(Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)
After a devastating loss to Georgia to open this season, the Tigers have rampaged through their schedule. Meanwhile, the Cougars are off to an 8-0 start for just the second time since 1990. Between quarterbacks Cade Klubnik and Jake Retzlaff, this CFP matchup could come down to who scores 40.
Cade Klubnik has led Clemson to a 6-1 record this season. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him at @RJ_Young.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those reader consensus picks will be part of the main card staff predictions we release ahead of UFC Fight Night 246 (ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev both accomplished something that had never been done before at UFC 308 as the rising stars capped off a wild pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi. Now that the dust has settled, what comes next for both guys?
On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee discuss what could for Topuria after he became the first man ever to knock out Max Holloway in the main event to retain the UFC featherweight title. Additionally, future matchups are discussed for Holloway, Chimaev — after being the first UFC fighter to submit Robert Whittaker in the co-main event — Magomed Ankalaev following his decision win over Aleksandar Rakic, Lerone Murphy after earning a hard fought decision against Dan Ige, Shara Magomedov following his wild knockout win over Armen Petrosyan, and more.
Watch the UFC 308 edition of On To the Next One in the video above. Audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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