MMA Pound-for-Pound Rankings: Ilia Topuria punches ticket to No. 1 spot debate

Welcome to the newest replace to the MMA Combating pound-for-pound rankings, the place each month our esteemed panel kind by the noise to reply one query: Who’re one of the best total female and male MMA fighters on this planet?

Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev defeated a pair of legendary opponents in sudden methods at UFC 308, plus Bellator champion Cris Cyborg shined in her PFL debut, so let’s check out how the charts had been shaken up on the finish of October.

Ilia Topuria simply turned the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on this planet debate right into a three-horse race.

For a lot of the previous 12 months, Islam Makhachev has been the person to beat with the ever-active Alex Pereira respiration down his neck. Few anticipated Topuria to placed on such a commanding efficiency in opposition to Max Holloway that he must be talked about alongside these names. When Topuria blew the doorways off at UFC 308, changing into the primary fighter ever to attain a knockout of Holloway, it’s now inconceivable to have the dialogue with out him.

Topuria leaps over Pereira to assert the No. 2 spot on the record, with one panelist going so far as to mark him down at No. 1. The case for Topuria? How about an undefeated report with finishes of two of the best fighters of all time? He was the primary to defeat Alexander Volkanovski in a 145-pound bout and, as talked about, the one fighter to place Holloway away with strikes.

Consider, Holloway has been in there with Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Yair Rodriguez, Jose Aldo, Anthony Pettis, and Jeremy Stephens, a listing of opponents who’ve authored a few of the most devastating knockouts in MMA historical past. None of them might do what Topuria did.

Add in featherweight being an absurdly deep division and you may see how Topuria’s resounding title protection has him main Fighter of the 12 months speak—and presumably the Pound-for-Pound record subsequent 12 months.

Additionally of observe, you could have seen the return of 1 Mr. Khamzat Chimaev to our rankings. Not solely does Chimaev have a quantity subsequent to his identify once more, he flies in at No. 13 forward of former UFC champions Sean Strickland, Sean O’Malley, and Charles Oliveira. Chimaev continues to be but to even ebook a title shot, however while you pressure a frantic faucet from Robert Whittaker—who had solely been submitted as soon as earlier than—you’re going to get folks’s consideration once more.

And let’s not neglect Francis Ngannou can also be again, although his knockout of PFL heavyweight match champion Renan Ferreira didn’t persuade everybody he deserves to be again on the pound-for-pound record. We had been all over right here, with one panelist having “The Predator” as excessive as No. 6 and two others leaving him off utterly. It won’t be honest, but when he can’t work with PFL to herald not less than a few big-name opponents to face him, we’d not see Ngannou get near the highest of the charts once more.

Latest outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 4 Ilia Topuria vs. No. 9 (tied) Max Holloway

Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 4 Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura (UFC 310, Dec. 7), No. 5 Belal Muhammad vs. No. 18 Shavkat Rakhmonov (UFC 310, Dec. 7), No. 17 Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler (UFC, 309, Nov. 16), No. 19 (tied) Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev (UFC 310, Dec. 7)

Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Israel Adesanya (4), Anatoly Malykhin (3), Kyoji Horiguchi (2), Patricio Pitbull (2), Robert Whittaker (2), Magomed Ankalaev (1), Johnny Eblen (1), Usman Nurmagomedov (1), Kamaru Usman (1)

Falling out of the rankings (earlier rating proven): No. 19 Israel Adesanya, No. 20 Patricio Pitbull (20)

Jose Peñuela, PFL

Cris Cyborg has nothing left to show to anybody. That didn’t cease her from reminding everybody she’s nonetheless pretty much as good as any lady alive in the case of cagefighting.

In her PFL debut, Cyborg went 5 arduous rounds with league darling Larissa Pacheco and got here out on high with a convincing choice win, placing to relaxation the notion it was time for her to cross the torch. There might come a day when Cyborg and Pacheco sq. off once more with Pacheco getting the higher hand subsequent time, however that day is but to reach.

Cyborg snapped Pacheco’s three-year, 10-fight win streak, and improved her personal ridiculous report to 28-2 (1 NC). Considered one of her losses was to Amanda Nunes, and even when Cyborg by no means surpasses Nunes on the all-time record, the very fact she’s nonetheless racking up wins and claiming a top-5 Pound-for-Pound spot nicely after Nunes’ retirement is a novel accomplishment by itself.

When folks discuss an athlete being one in every of one, they’re speaking about Cyborg.

Latest outcomes for ranked fighters (earlier rating proven): No. 7 Cris Cyborg def. No. 6 Larissa Pacheco

Upcoming bouts that includes ranked fighters: No. 8 Erin Blanchfield vs. No. 10 Rose Namajunas (UFC Edmonton, Nov. 2), No. 11 Yan Xiaonan vs. Tabatha Ricci (UFC Macau, Nov. 23), No. 15 (tied) Taila Santos vs. Dakota Ditcheva (PFL 2024 Championships, Nov. 29)

Fighters additionally receiving votes (variety of poll appearances proven): Maycee Barber (2), Irene Aldana (1), Macy Chiasson (1), Dakota Ditcheva (1), Norma Dumont (1), Amanda Lemos (1), Marina Rodriguez (1), Mayra Bueno Silva (1), Ketlen Vieira (1)

Lastly, a refresher on some floor guidelines:

• The six-person voting panel consists of MMA Combating staffers Alexander Ok. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Damon Martin and Jed Meshew.
• Updates to the rankings can be accomplished following each UFC pay-per-view. Fighters can be faraway from the rankings if they don’t compete inside 18 months of their most up-to-date bout.
• Ought to a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will resolve whether or not that fighter ought to instantly be faraway from the rankings or keep their place till additional discover (let’s put it this fashion: we’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings loads faster than the UFC did).

As a reminder, the notion of pound-for-pound supremacy is at all times going to inherently be subjective. Whenever you’re debating whether or not somebody like Sean Strickland ought to be ranked above somebody like Charles Oliveira, there is no such thing as a true proper reply. In different phrases: It’s not critical enterprise, people.

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