Merab Dvalishvili and Alex Pereira put on spectacular performances in the two championship fights at UFC 320 on Saturday. But their displays of mastery couldn’t have been more different.
In recapturing the light heavyweight title, Pereira got the job done in the blink of an eye, knocking down Magomed Ankalaev in the main event’s opening minute, then pummeling him with two dozen unanswered punches and elbows before the referee jumped in to end the beatdown at 1 minute, 20 seconds. In getting vengeance against the fighter who had dethroned him in March, Pereira was brutal, efficient and quick.
Dvalishvili, by contrast, worked the entire scheduled five rounds in defending his bantamweight title against Cory Sandhagen. But the champion was in control for the entire 25 minutes, landing 20 takedowns, the second most in a UFC fight (and most in a title bout). The domineering Dvalishvili extended his UFC takedown record to 117 — he’s the only fighter with more than 100 — and extended his winning streak to 14 in a row.
Along with their different roads to victory, Dvalishvili and Pereira also are having different impacts on the latest ESPN pound-for-pound rankings. Dvalishvili remains at No. 3, because with Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev ahead of him in the men’s top 10, there’s little opportunity for upward mobility. Pereira, on the other hand, rises four spots to get back into the top five.
The women’s rankings remain as they were, but change likely will come later this month after Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern meet for the vacant strawweight title at UFC 321. At that Oct. 25 event, Tom Aspinall will make his first defense of the undisputed heavyweight title, facing Ciryl Gane.
For the ESPN divisional MMA rankings, click here.
Note: Results are current; rankings are as of Oct. 8. To be eligible for the rankings, a fighter must have competed over the past 12 months or must have an upcoming fight booked. Fighters who have been dropped for inactivity can be reinstated only after they compete.
Men’s pound-for-pound rankings
1. Ilia Topuria 
UFC lightweight champion
Record: 17-0
Last: W (KO1) vs. Charles Oliveira, June 28
Next: TBD
After knocking out two of the greatest featherweights in UFC history (Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway) in 2024, it was going to be tough for Topuria to top that in 2025. He moved up to lightweight with the goal of challenging Makhachev, but with Makhachev moving up a division, Topuria instead captured the vacant title by knocking out Oliveira cold at UFC 317. — Andreas Hale
2. Islam Makhachev
UFC welterweight
Record: 27-1
Last: W (Sub1) vs. Renato Moicano, Jan. 18
Next: Nov. 15 vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Makhachev staked his claim as the greatest lightweight of all time by swiftly dispatching late-replacement Moicano at UFC 311. It was his UFC-record fourth title defense and tied Kamaru Usman for the second-longest winning streak in UFC history at 15. Next up for Makhachev will be a move to welterweight to challenge new champion Della Maddalena, putting a second championship in play. — Hale
3. Merab Dvalishvili
UFC bantamweight champion
Record: 21-4
Last: W (UD) vs. Cory Sandhagen, Oct. 4
Next: TBD
Dvalishvili is on one of the most impressive runs through the UFC’s bantamweight division ever. Not only did he defeat Sean O’Malley for the second time in nine months at UFC 316, but he showcased a new part of his game, finishing O’Malley with a third-round guillotine. Since August 2022, Dvalishvili has beaten José Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, O’Malley (twice), Umar Nurmagomedov and Sandhagen. And he has said he wants to fight again before the end of this year. — Brett Okamoto
4. Tom Aspinall
UFC heavyweight champion
Record: 15-3
Last: W (TKO1) vs. Curtis Blaydes, July 27, 2024
Next: Oct. 25 vs. Ciryl Gane
If you’re going by the eye test, you can make a case that Aspinall is the most dynamic, skillful, talented heavyweight the sport has seen. He is dominating opponents in a way that is unmatched. No one can last a round with him. He had hoped to prove his supremacy against Jon Jones, but Jones opted to retire, elevating Aspinall from interim champion. He makes his first defense of the undisputed belt against Gane at UFC 321. — Okamoto
5. Alex Pereira 
UFC light heavyweight champion
Previous ranking: 9
Record: 13-3
Last: W (TKO1) vs. Magomed Ankalaev, Oct. 4
Next: TBD
A stellar 2024 cemented Pereira’s place as a star in the UFC, but he faced arguably his toughest test as light heavyweight champion when he stepped into the Octagon with Ankalaev at UFC 313. Pereira had dealt with strikers, but the question was whether he could get the job done against a talented grappler. Pereira kept the fight standing but fell short by unanimous decision. He changed that outcome violently when he met Ankalaev in a rematch at UFC 320. — Hale
6. Khamzat Chimaev 
UFC middleweight champion
Previous ranking: Tied for 4
Record: 15-0
Last: W (UD) vs. Dricus Du Plessis, Aug. 16
Next: TBD
After five years of hype, Chimaev finally fought for a championship at UFC 319 — and the result was one of the most dominant title fight performances in UFC history. Chimaev failed to record a finish but thoroughly demolished Du Plessis in their five-round bout and answered questions about his cardio along the way. If Chimaev can stay healthy and compete frequently, there is still plenty of time for him to rise to the very top of this list. — Okamoto
7. Alexandre Pantoja
UFC flyweight champion
Previous ranking: 6
Record: 30-5
Last: W (Sub3) vs. Kai Kara-France, June 28
Next: TBD vs. Joshua Van
The UFC’s flyweight king has racked up four title defenses, including two in pay-per-view main events in 2024. He built his winning streak to eight in his UFC 317 win over Kara-France, whom he had already defeated before. Pantoja is quickly taking laps around the 125-pound division. — Okamoto
8. Jack Della Maddalena
UFC welterweight champion
Record: 18-2
Last: W (UD) vs. Belal Muhammad, May 10
Next: Nov. 15 vs. Islam Makhachev
Della Maddalena seemingly came from nowhere to make his debut on the pound-for-pound list, but that’s what happens when you win a UFC championship and snap Muhammad’s 11-fight win streak. Della Maddalena has had some close calls in the UFC, but at the end of the day he’s always found a way to win, going 8-0 inside the Octagon. Can he keep it going against Makhachev? — Okamoto
9. Alexander Volkanovski
UFC featherweight champion
Previous ranking: 10
Record: 27-4
Last: W (UD) vs. Diego Lopes, April 12
Next: TBD
It felt as if the sport had started to write Volkanovski’s eulogy following his knockout loss to Topuria in February 2024. Volkanovski noticed and made a point of proving to everyone he still has plenty left by recapturing the featherweight belt at UFC 314. His age (36) will likely continue to be a prefight topic, which is fine because Volkanovski enjoys proving people wrong. — Okamoto
10. Francis Ngannou
PFL heavyweight
Previous ranking: Unranked
Record: 18-3
Last: W (KO1) vs. Renan Ferreira, Oct. 19, 2024
Next: TBD
With Magomed Ankalaev falling out of the rankings after his loss to Pereira, Ngannou is back in the top 10 — but possibly not for long. It’s been nearly a year since he last fought, and the PFL has nothing on the books for him, so Ngannou soon will be ineligible. For now, however, he’s hard to deny, riding a seven-fight winning streak with six of those wins coming by knockout — five in the first round. But what is the MMA future for “The Predator”? — Jeff Wagenheim
Other fighters receiving votes: Max Holloway, Magomed Ankalaev, Dricus Du Plessis and Arman Tsarukyan.
How our panel voted
Brett Okamoto: 1. Ilia Topuria; 2. Merab Dvalishvili; 3. Islam Makhachev; 4. Tom Aspinall; 5. Alex Pereira; 6. Alexandre Pantoja; 7. Khamzat Chimaev; 8. Alexander Volkanovski 9. Jack Della Maddalena; 10. Max Holloway.
Andreas Hale: 1. Topuria; 2. Makhachev; 3. Dvalishvili; 4. Aspinall; 5. Pereira; 6. Chimaev; 7. Pantoja; 8. Della Maddalena; 9. Volkanovski; 10. Dricus Du Plessis.
Ian Parker: 1. Topuria; 2. Makhachev; 3. Dvalishvili; 4. Chimaev; 5. Pereira; 6. Pantoja; 7. Della Maddalena; 8. Aspinall; 9. Volkanovski; 10. Holloway.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Topuria; 2. Makhachev; 3. Dvalishvili; 4. Pereira; 5. Pantoja; 6. Chimaev; 7. Aspinall; 8. Volkanovski; 9. Della Maddalena; 10. Arman Tsarukyan.
Andrew Davis: 1. Makhachev; 2. Topuria; 3. Dvalishvili; 4. Aspinall; 5. Chimaev; 6. Pereira; 7. Pantoja; 8. Della Maddalena; 9. Volkanovski; Magomed Ankalaev.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Topuria; 2. Makhachev; 3. Aspinall; 4. Dvalishvili; 5. Chimaev; 6. Pereira; 7. Pantoja; 8. Francis Ngannou; 9. Volkanovski; 10. Della Maddalena.
Women’s pound-for-pound rankings
1. Zhang Weili
UFC strawweight / flyweight
Record: 26-3
Last: W (UD) vs. Tatiana Suarez, Feb. 8
Next: Nov. 15 vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Amanda Nunes left a big hole in women’s MMA when she announced her retirement in 2023, but Zhang has filled that void in terms of a dominant presence. Now that she’s moving up to flyweight, can Zhang become champion in a second division? — Okamoto
2. Valentina Shevchenko
UFC flyweight champion
Record: 25-4-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Manon Fiorot, May 10
Next: Nov. 15 vs. Zhang Weili
Shevchenko put a cap on the Alexa Grasso trilogy in 2024 with a dominant performance that put to bed any remaining questions around that rivalry. She followed that up with a well-rounded performance against Fiorot to improve to 10-1-1 in UFC title fights. Her next challenge will be to fend off the pound-for-pound No. 1. — Okamoto
3. Kayla Harrison
UFC bantamweight champion
Record: 19-1
Last: W (TechSub2) vs. Julianna Peña, June 7
Next: TBD
The longtime face of the PFL is quickly becoming the face of the UFC’s women’s divisions as well. With a dominant win over Peña at UFC 316, Harrison is 4-0 in the UFC and has the hardware to add to her two Olympic judo gold medals. She won’t have it easy in her first title defense, though, because Nunes is coming back with the belt in her sights. — Okamoto
4. Cris Cyborg
PFL featherweight
Record: 28-2, 1 NC
Last: W (UD) vs. Larissa Pacheco, Oct. 19, 2024
Next: Dec. 13 vs. Sara Collins
It had been a while since Cyborg had fought an elite opponent in MMA until she met Pacheco in 2024. That was a legitimate matchup — and many within the industry were predicting Cyborg’s downfall. Instead, she took out the PFL’s two-weight champion, upending all of Pacheco’s momentum. One of the original pioneers of women’s MMA is somehow still going strong, and she’ll go for the vacant PFL title against Collins, an Australian with a 6-0 record but little top-level experience. — Okamoto
5. Natalia Silva
UFC flyweight
Record: 19-5-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Alexa Grasso, May 10
Next: TBD
Silva is looking every bit the part of a future UFC champion following a dominant display against Grasso at UFC 315. Silva’s stick-and-move style has frustrated even the highest level of opponent, and she’s got youth on her side as she won’t turn 30 until 2027. — Okamoto
6. Manon Fiorot
UFC flyweight
Record: 12-2
Last: L (UD) vs. Valentina Shevchenko, May 10
Next: Oct. 18 vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
Fiorot fell short in her challenge of Shevchenko, the champ, at UFC 315. But by knocking off Rose Namajunas and Erin Blanchfield in her previous two fights, Fiorot has shown she has the tools to become champion. — Hale
7. Larissa Pacheco
PFL featherweight
Record: 23-5
Last: L (UD) vs. Cris Cyborg, Oct. 19, 2024
Next: TBD
As the only woman to defeat Kayla Harrison and after coming close to beating Cyborg in October, Pacheco deserves her spot on this list. Unfortunately, the lack of quality opponents in the PFL will prevent her from climbing higher. At 30, Pacheco is still improving, but it will be interesting to see who the PFL finds to face her next. — Hale
8. Erin Blanchfield
UFC flyweight
Record: 13-2
Last: W (UD) vs. Rose Namajunas, Nov. 2, 2024
Next: Nov. 15 vs. Tracy Cortez
Blanchfield dug herself out of a hole to beat Namajunas last November, and she was scheduled to have a chance to build more momentum in a meeting with another young prospect — until Maycee Barber pulled out of their May bout on fight night. Next up is the surging Cortez. Blanchfield has immense potential and has shown new wrinkles in her game since dropping a decision to Manon Fiorot last year. — Hale
9. Dakota Ditcheva
PFL flyweight
Record: 14-0
Last: W (UD) vs. Sumiko Inaba, July 19
Next: TBD
Not only did Ditcheva win the PFL’s flyweight season last year, but she did so in spectacular fashion — a TKO finish over Taila Santos, who once challenged for a UFC title. Ditcheva opened her 2025 campaign by dominating Inaba in the co-main event of the first PFL Champions Series card in Cape Town, South Africa. — Okamoto
10. Virna Jandiroba
UFC strawweight
Record: 22-3
Last: W (UD) vs. Yan Xiaonan, April 12
Next: Oct. 25 vs. Mackenzie Dern
Jandiroba thrust herself into title contention by dominating Yan at UFC 314, neutralizing the striking threat of the one-time title challenger and forcing Yan into her world — a grappling bout. With the win, Jandiroba extended her winning streak to five. Jandiroba will tussle with Dern for the vacant title at UFC 321. — Hale
Other fighters receiving votes: Rose Namajunas, Alexa Grasso and Julianna Peña.
How our panel voted
Brett Okamoto: 1. Zhang Weili; 2. Valentina Shevchenko; 3. Kayla Harrison; 4. Cris Cyborg; 5. Manon Fiorot; 6. Natalia Silva; 7. Rose Namajunas; 8. Erin Blanchfield; 9. Larissa Pacheco; 10. Virna Jandiroba.
Andreas Hale: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Zhang; 3. Harrison; 4. Cyborg; 5. Silva; 6. Pacheco; 7. Fiorot; 8. Blanchfield; 9. Jandiroba; 10. Dakota Ditcheva.
Ian Parker: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Harrison; 4. Silva; 5. Cyborg; 6. Jandiroba; 7. Fiorot; 8. Blanchfield; 9. Ditcheva; 10. Pacheco.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Harrison; 3. Zhang; 4. Cyborg; 5. Julianna Peña; 6. Ditcheva; 7. Alexa Grasso; 8. Pacheco; 9. Fiorot; 10. Silva.
Andrew Davis: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Harrison; 4. Cyborg; 5. Silva; 6. Fiorot; 7. Pacheco; 8. Blanchfield; 9. Ditcheva; 10. Peña.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Harrison; 5. Fiorot; 6. Pacheco; 7. Silva; 8. Blanchfield; 9. Jandiroba; 10. Ditcheva.
