MMA
UFC weight classes, champions and rankings
With MMA now a major sport across the globe, UFC continues to create legends and remains the premier and most prestigious competition in the sport.
UFC features 12 weight classes (eight male and four female) which maintain the best martial artists in the world, ranking them on ability and form, and at some point, potentially offering them a shot at the title.
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UFC Flyweight rankings – 116 to 125lbs /53 to 56kg
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
Rankings:
- Brandon Moreno
- Deiveson Figueiredo
- Amir Albazi
- Brandon Royval
- Kai Kara-France
The UFC Flyweight division has been tight with the top five hardly changing over the last couple of years.
Beating Brandon Moreno last month, current champion Alexandre Pantoja took the crown at UFC 290. The Brazillian fighter was meant to be competing for the title at UFC 269 on December 11th, 2021, however, a knee injury and subsequent surgery forced him out of the bout, allowing Deiveson Figueiredo to successfully beat Moreno in a rematch between the pair at UFC 270.
UFC Bantamweight rankings – 126 to 135lbs / 57 to 61kg
Champion: Aljamain Sterling
Rankings:
- Merab Dvalishvili
- Sean O’Malley
- Henry Cejudo
- Cory Sandhagen
- Petr Yan
Having defeated his last opponent, Henry Cejudo, via a split decision, the Bantamweight champion from Jamaica, Aljamain Sterling, is on a winning streak of nine and looks to continue to hold onto his title.
UFC Featherweight rankings – 136 to 145lbs / 61 to 66kg
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
Rankings:
- Max Holloway
- Yair Rodriguez
- Brian Ortega
- Arnold Allen
- Ilia Topuria
Another division which has seen the same faces competing at the top for the last few years, the UFC Featherweight class is tightly contested and was previously dominated by the now world-famous Conor McGregor who was the undisputed champion after beating Jose Aldo inside 13 seconds. Alexander Volkanovski now holds the title having beaten, and successfully defended against Max Holloway at UFC 245 and 251
UFC Lightweight rankings – 146 to 155lbs /66 to 70kg
Champion: Islam Makhachev
Rankings:
- Charles Oliviera
- Dustin Poirier
- Justin Gaethje
- Beneil Dariush
- Michael Chandler
The UFC lightweight belt was previously one of the most hotly contested divisions in the UFC with fights between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov making the headlines in the mainstream media, pushing the sport into the spotlight outside the UFC niche for the first time.
While the title was vacant, Makhachev faced Charles Oliveira at UFC 280, a bout the Russian won in the second round thanks to an arm-triangle choke.
UFC Welterweight rankings – 156 to 170lbs / 70 to 77kg
Champion: Leon Edwards
Rankings:
- Kamaru Usman
- Colby Covington
- Belal Muhammad
- Khamzat Chimaev
- Gilbert Burns
Considered to be one of the most important divisions in UFC, the Welterweight division is fiercely contested and to this day Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes are the only two-time champions in welterweight history.
Current champion Leon Edwards defeated Kamaru Usman, the number one ranked fighter in the division, in five rounds at UFC 278 before defending the championship seven months later in a rematch on March 18th, 2023.
UFC Middleweight rankings – 171 to 185lbs /77 to 84kg
Champion: Israel Adesanya
Rankings:
- Dricus Du Plessis
- Alex Pereira
- Robert Whittaker
- Jared Cannonier
- Marvin Vettori
The current champion is Israel Adesanya who won the interim Middleweight Championship in April 2019 against Kelvin Gastelum, a fight that has been regarded as the best fight of 2019, before unifying the titles against Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 later that year.
UFC Light Heavyweight rankings – 186 to 205lbs / 84 to 93kg
Champion: Vacant
Rankings:
- Jiri Prochazka
- Magomed Ankalaev
- Jan Blachowicz
- Aleksandar Rakic
- Nikita Krylov
It would be impossible to talk about the UFC Light Heavyweight Division without mentioning the infamous Jon Jones. Jones won the championship on two different occasions and held the title for 1,501 days before he was stripped of it due to exterior issues. He then reclaimed the belt, beating Alexander Gustafsson and successfully defended it from three opponents before moving up to the heavyweight division.
It is now held up as vacant after Jamahal Hill ruptured his Achilles during a basketball game with Daniel Cormier.
UFC Heavyweight rankings– 206 to 265lbs / 93 to 120kg
Champion: Jon Jones
Rankings:
- Sergei Pavlovich
- Ciryl Gane
- Stipe Miocic
- Curtis Blaydes
- Tom Aspinall
Following Francis Ngannou’s departure from the company in January this year, the Heavyweight Championship was stripped from him and held up as vacant.
This tempted Jon Jones to return to the octagon for the first time in three years as he faced Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, a bout he won via a guillotine choke submission in the first round.
UFC Women’s Strawweight rankings– 106 to 115lbs / 48 to 52kg
Champion: Zhang Weili
Rankings:
- Carla Esparza
- Rose Namajunas
- Yan Xiaonan
- Amanda Lemos
- Jessica Andrade
The lowest weight of any UFC division, the Strawweight category is currently led by Zhang Weili who took the title from Carla Esparza at UFC 281 having lost the belt at UFC 261 to Rose Namajunas.
UFC Women’s Flyweight rankings – 116 to 125lbs / 53 to 57kg
Champion:
Rankings: Alexa Grasso
- Valentina Shevchenko
- Manon Fiorot
- Taila Santos
- Erin Blanchfield
- Jessica Andrade
Previously held by Valentina Shevchenko since December 8th, 2018, Alexa Grasso took the title from the 35-year-old at UFC 285 in March of this year when considered a heavy underdog.
The pair are set for a rematch later this year at UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2.
UFC Women’s Bantamweight rankings – 126 to 135lbs/ 58 to 61kg
Champion: Vacant
Rankings:
- Julianna Pena
- Raquel Pennington
- Mayra Bueno Silva
- Ketlen Vieira
- Holly Holm
Awarded the inaugural UFC Women’s Bantamweight championship, Ronda Rousey was champion for 1,074 days before she was defeated by Holly Holm. Holm then lost the title to Miesha Tate who was eventually beaten by Amanda Nunes at UFC 196. She held the title until UFC 289 where she announced her retirement following her win over Irene Aldana, allowing the title to be held up as vacant.
UFC Women’s Featherweight rankings – 136 to 145lbs / 62 to 66kg
Champion: Vacant
Before UFC 289, Amanda Nunes held both the Featherweight and Bantamweight titles simultaneously since 2019 bar some time away from the Bantamweight belt when Julianna Pena defeated her at UFC 269 in December 2021 before reclaiming her championship six months later.
After Nunes’ retirement, the champion position in this division is also vacant.
