The UFC’s pound-for-pound list was hotly contested in 2023.
After Kamaru Usman’s shocking knockout loss to Leon Edwards in 2022, the top spot became vacant and several fighters have tried to take his place.
Alexander Volkanovski was considered the best UFC fighter on the planet when 2023 began, but he’s suffered three defeats during the past 12 months.
This has given the likes of Islam Makhachev, Jon Jones and Edwards a chance to make compelling cases to replace him as the pound-for-pound best UFC fighter.
Taking into account results, the manner of their victories/defeats, titles won and the level of opposition faced, the UFC has ranked the top 10 male pound-for-pound UFC stars.
10. Alexandre Pantoja
Age: 34
Record: 27-5
After years of toiling as a top contender, Pantoja finally realised his world champion dream in 2023. A third win over Brandon Moreno earned him a UFC belt before a flawless defence against Brandon Royval saw him crack the UFC’s pound-for-pound top 10.
9. Dricus du Plessis
Age: 30
Record: 21-2
Du Plessis stopped Darren Till, Derek Brunson and Robert Whittaker during an exceptional six-fight win streak to earn a middleweight title shot. After a bloody five-round battle with Sean Strickland in January, he became the first South African fighter to win a UFC belt.
8. Max Holloway
Age: 32
Record: 26-7
Holloway hasn’t lost to a featherweight not named Alexander Volkanovski since facing Conor McGregor a decade ago. After beating Arnold Allen and Chan Sung Jung to make himself the number one contender again, he stepped up to lightweight and scored the ‘greatest KO of all time’ to take Justin Gaethje’s BMF belt at UFC 300.
7. Alexander Volkanovski
Age: 35
Record: 26-3
Volkanovski used to reign supreme atop this list, but three defeats in four fights have sent him tumbling down the rankings. Ilia Topuria took his long-held featherweight strap with a brutal KO earlier this year, and now it’s unclear if he’ll be given an immediate rematch.
6. Sean O’Malley
Age: 29
Record 18-1 (1NC)
O’Malley shocked the world when he KO’d Aljamain Sterling to take his belt. Some doubters remained but ‘Suga’ turned them into believers with a ‘masterclass’ win against the only man to beat him, Marlon Vera, at UFC 299 in March.
5. Ilia Topuria
Age: 27
Record: 15-0
Topuria has looked close to perfect during his UFC run. ‘El Matador’ went from a prospect to a bonified champion and made it look easy when he stopped Volkanovski at UFC 298. Now he wants to bring MMA’s premier promotion to Spain for a show at the Santiago Bernabeu.
4. Alex Pereira
Age: 36
Record: 9-2
Pereira rebounded from losing his middleweight title after being slept by Israel Adesanya in April to win two subsequent fights and another belt at light heavyweight. ‘Poatan’ easily defended his belt by KO’ing former champion Jamahal Hill at UFC 300.
3. Leon Edwards
Age: 32
Record: 22-3
Edwards took the UFC back to England for a massive PPV show and proved his first win over Usman wasn’t a fluke by beating him again. The welterweight champion followed that up by silencing Colby Covington, who has been regarded as the second-best 170lb fighter for years.
2. Jon Jones
Age: 36
Record: 27-1
The greatest fighter of all time proved he’s still got it after a three-year layoff when he quickly tapped out Ciryl Gane to become heavyweight champion in his divisional debut. An injury delayed his fight with Stipe Miocic but they are expected to clash at some point this year.
1. Islam Makhachev
Age: 32
Record: 25-1
Makhachev has been close to perfect during his MMA career. In 2023, he defended his lightweight belt twice with Volkanovski, who was widely regarded as the best fighter in MMA, before being outpointed and knocked out by Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege. He’ll kick off his 2024 campaign by fighting Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in June.
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- Who is the best pound-for-pound UFC fighter? Jon Jones, Leon Edwards, and Sean O’Malley feature in top 10 rankings list
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