Consensus Rankings:   Official  |  Member Designed  |  This Ranking Updated 1 day, 11 hrs ago  |  All By Hellowhosthat

1. 1

   

   Ilia Topuria

   "El Matador"

   15-0-0

   1997 - Georgia - UFC Champion
   
   Continued unstoppable UFC run by finishing an all time great featherweight in Volk to take over at the top of the division. Superb all round fighter. Great boxer, really good wrestler, hits really hard and consistently lands power punches, varies shots up to the body and the head. Exits nicely, finds angles well, great at pressuring people into the cage and then staying in punching range and smashing them when they have nowhere to go rather than falling into the clinch. Going to be very hard work to beat.
   

2. 2

   

   Alexander Volkanovski

   "The Great"

   26-4-0

   1988 - Australia - UFC
   
   Divisional all timer who wasn't doing too badly until Topuria torpedoed him. Took the last Islam fight at short notice and had obviously looked imperious at 145 up until then. Questions have to be asked after getting knocked out twice in a row, whatever level of fighter it was against but hard to drop him down the division given how dominant he was previously.
   

3. 3

   

   Max Holloway

   "Blessed"

   26-7-0

   1991 - USA - UFC
   
   Looked great in step up to 155 but seems to want to stay at 145. Looked like he bulked up a bit for the Gaethje fight so will be interesting to see how a cut would look for him with a bit more muscle on his frame. Dominant against anyone other than Volk at 145 and still absolutely a viable threat to the title.
   

4. 4

   

   Brian Ortega

   "T-City"

   16-3-0, 1 NC

   1991 - USA - UFC
   
   When you can get the guy in there, he's a top of the division guy. Is very hittable but solid chin and even better heart allows him to push through it (also maybe part of the reason he can't fight that often). Some of the best BJJ for MMA in the history of the sport probably, effective from both bottom and top, great control to set things up and superb squeeze on his subs. Just wish he'd fight more.
   

5. 5

   

   Yair Rodriguez

   "El Pantera"

   18-5-0, 1 NC

   1992 - Mexico - UFC
   
   Spectacular offensively and always going to be dangerous early. Good off his back from guard too, throws up a mean triangle. Had issues with Ortega and Volk once they passed guard and seems to struggle once he ends up there. Does have more cardio than you'd think considering the style of offence he uses.
   

6. 6

   

   Movsar Evloev

   18-0-0

   1994 - Russia - UFC
   
   Had a bit of a tendency to be in closer fights than he should have been which made me worry about how he'd do at the top level but he's not really having any more trouble in fights with ranked guys than he did with unranked ones. Having a tough fight with Lopes looks fine in retrospect and clearly beating a guy like Allen shows he's ready to be in the title mix.
   

7. 7

   

   Arnold Allen

   "Almighty"

   19-3-0

   1994 - England - UFC
   
   Coming off a couple of close losses towards fighters at the top of the division but neither loss really anything to be concerned about. Really good striking, good wrestling when he wants to use it, tough to finish, works way back into fights. Capable of taking guys out when he goes for it.
   

8. 8

   

   Islam Omarov

   15-0-0

   1997 - Russia - ACA Champion
   
   Incredible grappler who's beaten just about everyone in ACA. Striking is fine, but he's not really looking to use it too much, when he grabs hold of someone it's a world of trouble. Super strong, great at taking and keeping people down against the cage, very good back takes, ground and pound and chokes.
   

9. 9

   

   Aljamain Sterling

   "Funk Master"

   24-4-0

   1989 - USA - UFC
   
   Former 135 UFC champ looked absolutely fine stepping up to 145. Didn't look undersized at all and immediately able to impose his grappling at the higher weight class. Sometimes lacks urgency to finish but control really good and one of the best back takers and holders in the sport.
   

10. 10

    

    Losene Keita

    "Black Panther"

    12-1-0

    1997 - Guinea - Oktagon Champion
    
    Fighting up at 155 for the grand prix for a bit of prize money this year but makes 145 easily and it's his best weight. Spectacularly talented fighter. Really good power, one shots guys sometimes but more prone to just beating them up over the course of a fight. Insane pressure, just comes forward with offensive variety and volume. Great sprawl to stop guys taking him down to stop that. Also catches seemingly every body kick people throw at him. Good offensive wrestling if he decides he wants to use that too. Great cardio and can keep the onslaught up as long as he needs to, good fight IQ to not dive in when he needs to.
    

11+

11. 11

    

    Patricio Pitbull

    36-7-0

    1987 - Brazil - Bellator Champion
    
    I think he's clearly lost a step, but he's still up there in the division. Come out of his mid life bantamweight then taking a short notice fight at lightweight crisis and has the same penchant for winning slower paced technical striking matches that he's always had. Likes to mix leg kicks in with well timed punches as guys come at him, works back up pretty well when taken down and sticks to his task.
    

12. 12

    

    Josh Emmett

    "CC0"  |  19-4-0

    1985 - USA - UFC
    
    Getting towards 40 which is old for a guy in this weight class but reminded everyone that he still carries crazy power against Bryce and that doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon. Hard to take down if someone wants to try and impose wrestling on him, striking is decent technically just a bit too slow to deal with someone who's really quick or dynamic on the feet unless he clocks them.
    

13. 13

    

    Calvin Kattar

    "The Boston Finisher"  |  23-8-0

    1988 - USA - UFC
    
    Looking a bit vulnerable at the moment. Dominated on the ground in the Aljo fight although obviously against a good grappler, but didn't show much ability to stay on his feet. Came into that off a bad injury in the Allen fight. A very good striker when he was at his peak with good volume, accuracy and power but seems to be on the downslide.
    

14. 14

    

    Diego Lopes

    24-6-0

    1994 - Brazil - UFC
    
    Really coming into his own at this stage of his career and seems to be improving rapidly even with the amount of experience he has. Aggression is a lot for guys to deal with, throws hard and accurate on the feet and actively looks for submissions. Gave someone as good as Movsar a lot of trouble on the ground. Very fast starter, lands accurately and hard, lovely uppercuts in clinch situations to take out Sodiq. Great killer instinct.
    

15. 15

    

    Chihiro Suzuki

    13-3-0, 1 NC

    1999 - Japan - RIZIN Champion
    
    Former kickboxer constantly improving at MMA. Maybe slightly fortuitous to get Patricio under the circumstances that he did but still took advantage of it. Followed that up by winning the title by getting a KO off his back. Obviously a wildly powerful striker, probably needs to shore up the takedown defence a bit as he won't be able to KO everyone off his back. Upcoming fight with Kanehara a good chance to prove fully where he stands.
    

16. 16

    

    Jesus Pinedo

    "El Mudo"  |  23-6-1

    1996 - Peru - PFL
    
    2023 PFL champ has come a long way since his UFC days. Very busy and hard hitting style and a good amount of aggression. Really gets people out of there when he tags them and constant attacks are just a lot for guys to deal with.
    

17. 17

    

    Timur Khizriev

    "Imam"  |  15-0-0

    1995 - Russia - PFL
    
    Very skilled fighter, good everywhere. Nice range striking, wrestling, throws and decent top control. Little bit of a tendency to coast. Taken down himself a couple of times against Johns but showed good get ups and used the connection to get on top himself.
    

18. 18

    

    Edson Barboza

    "Junior"  |  24-11-0

    1986 - Brazil - UFC
    
    Still competitive at the top level after a long career. Accuracy on punches, great leg kicks and has the spins there. Willing to go to war if need be and capable of coming out on top in that kind of fight. Never really liked fighting under forward pressure from guys who are extremely good at just walking people down.
    

19. 19

    

    Brendan Loughnane

    28-5-0

    1989 - England - PFL
    
    Former PFL season champion is a sharp striker with decent power in his hands. Times punches very well and good killer instinct when has people hurt. Developed takedown defence really well and now able to stay up against good quality wrestlers and manage to get away from them enough to score enough to win fights.
    

20. 20

    

    Sodiq Yusuff

    "Super"  |  13-4-0

    1993 - Nigeria - UFC
    
    Solid technical striker, decently strong and solid all round. Only really ever blown out by Lopes and was up early in a very compeitive fight with Edson. Showed cardio to go deep into fights. Caught by uppercuts in clinch situations against Lopes.
    

21. 21

    

    Giga Chikadze

    "Ninja"  |  15-3-0

    1988 - Georgia - UFC
    
    Has adapted his kickboxing game to MMA really well. Really nice body kicks, keeps a decent pace but struggled a bit with Kattar when he mixed it up more. A lot of his wins haven't really aged that well and kind of needs to show he can mix it with the guys who've risen in the rankings since he was more active.
    

22. 22

    

    Ádám Borics

    "The Kid"  |  19-2-0

    1993 - Hungary - PFL
    
    Very good striker, creates angles pretty well and finds the chin well with long punches. Good jab, crosses and dangerous with flying knees. Takedown defence a little questionable, but generally finds his way back up. Had to dig deep against Barzola and able to.
    

23. 23

    

    Bryce Mitchell

    "Thug Nasty"  |  16-2-0

    1994 - USA - UFC
    
    Little one dimensional, has kind of developed functional striking but only really useful to get pressure on and leaves him vulnerable against good strikers. Top control obviously very good and floats from position to position on top brilliantly. Not as much of a finisher in the grappling as you'd think. Coming off a very bad knockout.
    

24. 24

    

    Dan Ige

    "50k"  |  18-7-0

    1991 - USA - UFC
    
    Solid all round fighter who's worked hard to get himself into a solid position. Hits pretty hard and also has a solid enough chin, decent boxing offensively, can be taken down but very hard to finish down there. Good workrate and makes it an awkward night for anyone.
    

25. 25

    

    Joanderson Brito

    "Tubarão"  |  16-3-1

    1995 - Brazil - UFC
    
    Physical beast who cracks hard, squeezes chokes really ******* hard and generally does everything full force. Just overwhelms a lot of guys with how strong and athletic he is. Cardio seems solid, was able to stop JSP wearing him out and got back up to finish him. Will probably take a good technical fighter who can mix in takedowns to beat him.
    

26. 26

    

    Lerone Murphy

    "The Miracle"  |  13-0-1

    1991 - England - UFC
    
    Finally going to get his true top level test against Edson. I thought he lost against Gabriel Santos but other than that he's been pretty comfortable since the draw in his UFC debut. Well rounded with good pop on the feet, some decent striking variety and can wrestle and hold people down pretty well too.
    

27. 27

    

    Nate Landwehr

    "The Train"  |  18-5-0

    1988 - USA - UFC
    
    Nate the train in the UFC baby! The owner of the best bicep in the business is an absolute ******* dog who'll go to war every time. Has the mentality you'd expect of a dude who chose to get to the top by winning titles in Russia. Hittable and usually gets cracked hard at some point and often gets dropped or wobbled but you'd better put him out otherwise once the train gets some momentum it's ******* hard to stop.
    

28. 28

    

    David Onama

    "Silent Assassin"  |  12-2-0

    1994 - Uganda - UFC
    
    Now training at Factory X and improving. Always had athleticism and power but technique is now starting to catch up. Nice fast jab and has a decent cross he can put behind it. Makes a few technical mistakes in takedown defence and ends up on his back a bit. Gives his back up a lot but was exploding out of it to turn in against JSP. Showed a few times he can dig deep and has been in with some cardio monsters like JSP and Nate the train so should be well equipped to deal with those kind of fights going forward.
    

29. 29

    

    Gabriel Alves Braga

    13-1-0

    1998 - Brazil - PFL
    
    Good Muay Thai stylist. Manages distance well, gets his jabs, hooks and leg kicks off. Fights at his own pace most of the time and able to control bouts the way he wants them. Takedown defence very solid. Only really struggled when found Pinedo a bit too aggressive for him.
    

30. 30

    

    Jonathan Pearce

    "JSP"  |  14-6-0

    1992 - USA - UFC
    
    Pace merchant who tries to drown people with wrestling and grappling and mostly succeeds. Not always technically perfect and is a bit sloppy at times but the sheer pace the man fights at is good enough to beat a lot of people. Good at maintaining connection and diving back in when opponents get back up to try and avoid seperations.
    

31. 31

    

    Damon Jackson

    "The Leech"  |  23-6-1, 1 NC

    1998 - USA - UFC
    
    Solid grappler, not a bad striker either. Tends to lose to top competition, but does well against everyone else. Solid power, gets caught a bit but tries hard to stay in the fight when clocked. Good back taker and aggressive with subs.
    

32. 32

    

    Kai Kamaka III

    "Fighting Hawaiian"  |  13-5-1

    1995 - USA - PFL
    
    Constantly improving, very solid kickboxing, mixes offence up really well, punches tight, correct form, good calf kicks, hands where they should be defensively. Quick at working back up when taken down. Solid gas tank, able to fight at a consistent pace for three rounds. Not really outstanding at anything but clearly a dude who works very hard to get as good as he can be.
    

33. 33

    

    Enrique Barzola

    "El Fuerte"  |  20-8-2

    1989 - Peru - PFL
    
    I was worried about how his style would adapt to coming up a division but fought well against Borics. Very good gas tank, very good chin, very good desire and pushes a pace which just allows him to outwork a lot of dudes, lost a close fight with Borics but was still doing the things he was good at at 135. Striking kind of underrated, gets inside well and throws hard hooks that land pretty well. Does get hit a lot, but even if he gets dropped he's tough as ****.
    

34. 34

    

    Alex Caceres

    "Bruce Leeroy"  |  21-14-0, 1 NC

    1988 - USA - UFC
    
    Seems to be the go to guy for the UFC to put back in the rankings when someone falls out for a reason other than losing to someone in the same division. No idea why as I don't really think he's anywhere near rankings level. Still an experienced guy who's tough to finish and knows how to win fights with good movement and solid striking even if it lacks power and pretty good BJJ if average wrestling. Just not really dynamic enough anywhere to trouble the true top level guys.
    

35. 35

    

    Brett Johns

    "The Pikey"  |  20-4-0

    1992 - Wales - PFL
    
    Looked better at the weight than I thought he might do against Timur. Always has the same plan, come forward, throw punches in aggressively and tightly and look to try and get into legs and try and join hands together for double. Worked well at 135 but time will tell how well it works at 145. Looks hard to finish, but maybe a tendancy to not work up fast enough from bottom and got stuck there more than he probably wanted to against both Timur and Sabatello.
    

36. 36

    

    Justin Gonzales

    "J-Train"  |  14-4-0

    1991 - USA - PFL
    
    Seems to be stagnating after once being a pretty hot prospect. Solid wrestler, pretty good from bodylock, solid enough cardio, striking is okay too, just doesn't really seem to impose himself on fights enough. Seems to have found his level.
    

37. 37

    

    Bubba Jenkins

    "Bad Man"  |  21-8-0

    1988 - USA - PFL
    
    Has worked on striking over the years and now fairly competitive there early. Seems to have been at a detriment to his wrestling, has a striking mode and a wrestling mode, doesn't really blend it well. Ends up on ankle picks a lot which don't seem to work at a high level, better when can get to a body lock but seems to struggle to hold people down when they turtle. Always likely to fade in the third.
    

38. 38

    

    Tyler Diamond

    13-3-0

    1991 - USA - PFL
    
    Team Alpha male trained and fights like it. Good power on the feet, can really hurt guys if he can land clean on them. Wrestling and top control good. A little frustrating in the sense that he cannot avoid his instinct to wrestle and engage in grappling even when he's winning on the feet.
    

39. 39

    

    Cub Swanson

    "Killer"  |  29-13-0

    1983 - USA - UFC
    
    Returned to 145 after his ill advised late career crisis try at bantamweight. He's still got something left although I don't know what the judges were thinking giving him the Dawodu fight.
    

40. 40

    

    Chepe Mariscal

    "Machine Gun"  |  16-6-0, 1 NC

    1992 - USA - UFC
    
    In the form of his life at the moment, transitioned from the guy who was the guy who people beat on their way to the UFC but never made it himself to a solid UFC roster member. Great chin, very aggressive, solid both in striking and grappling. Hard to keep down, just has that dog in him.
    

41. 41

    

    Pedro Carvalho

    "The Game"  |  13-9-0

    1995 - Portugal - PFL
    
    Always going to be limited due to having absolutely no chin and having a habit of getting cracked on it a lot. Is a dog so will always try and fight through it unless he's actually unconcious. Usually a threat against lighter hitters because he does bring it, has decent wrestling and top grappling and keeps a good pace so can outwork people if they don't KO him.
    

42. 42

    

    Alexander Hernandez

    "The Great Ape"  |  14-8-0

    1992 - USA - UFC
    
    Loves trying to cut to 145 and losing for some reason. Not sure why he keeps doing it. Fine as a lightweight, but keeps having bad weight cuts, missing weight, gassing and generally having awful performances at 145.
    

43. 43

    

    Morgan Charriere

    "The Last Pirate"  |  19-10-1

    1995 - France - UFC
    
    Good body kicks, decently athletic with good grappling, hard to sub and works way back up well. Generally fights close and sometimes doesn't do enough to separate himself and can end up on the wrong side of close decisions because of it. Frustrating because it feels like he has the power and athleticism to hurt people when he goes for it.
    

44. 44

    

    James Hendin

    9-2-0

    1997 - England - Oktagon
    
    Good fighter, primarily interested in grappling, works guys back to the cage, shoots in on the legs, pulls legs out well and keeps control from there looking for Dagi style cross overs. Good gas tank, gets guys flat and gets off damage and works for subs.
    

45. 45

    

    Samuel Bark

    "Sammon Decker"  |  9-2-0

    1993ish - Sweden - Oktagon
    
    Good Muay Thai specialist who sticks pretty rigidly to that style in a manner that usually doesn't translate too well to MMA but he makes it work. Keeps up pressure and comes in close well, hits nice leg kicks and has good clinch trips too. I thought he won his fight against Loof and the only time he's really lost was getting beaten up by Losene Keita, but there's no shame in that.
    

46. 46

    

    Michael Aswell

    "Texas Kid"  |  9-1-0

    2000 - USA - Fury FC Champion
    
    Fast improving trainee of the late Saul Soliz. Has the kind of Yanez like boxing that you see out of his guys. Good power in his hands, gets good pressure on and showed good clean finishing to take out a guy as experienced as Nate Richardson
    

47. 47

    

    Otto Rodrigues

    14-2-0

    1988 - Brazil - PFL
    
    Late bloomer, making a run into a major promotion late in his career. Good grappler and back taker if he can get on top but doesn't look like he'll find it easy against good wresters. Striking pretty limited, mostly loopy punches to try and get into clinches. Pretty hittable, but tough. Looked like he might be just short of a good level big promotion guy in the diamond fight.
    

48. 48

    

    Mikuru Asakura

    17-4-0, 1 NC

    1992 - Japan - RIZIN
    
    Never really sure how committed he is, seems to be threatening to retire a lot. He's not as good as his brother but he's okay, good technical boxing although doesn't really sit down on things enough. Gets dragged down a lot in a ring and struggles to work back up and can be out pointed that way. I actually think he'd probably do better in a cage.
    

49. 49

    

    Niko Samsonidse

    "One Love"  |  10-3-0

    1994 - Germany - Oktagon
    
    Good fighter, bit of bad luck recently, once by having a horrible leg break, but then built himself back up only to be in the same division as Losene Keita. He's a pretty fun striker with also a decent sub game and it'll be interesting to see how he gets on with the James Hendin's of the world.
    

50. 50

    

    John Teixeira

    "Macapá"  |  27-9-2

    1986 - Brazil - ACA
    
    Very experienced Bellator veteran now doing fine in Russia. Seems to have rebounded from a weird loss to De Jesus years ago to get back to something like his best. Not going to trouble the top featherweights in Russia but he's good as a gatekeeper out there.
    

51. 51

    

    Nate Richardson

    "The Natural"  |  11-5-0

    1990 - USA - Fury FC
    
    Solid former Glory kickboxer. Good at going deep into fights and wearing dudes down. Decent anti-wrestler for the most part. Recent KO was just a case of being caught by a hard hitter and not being able to recover. Don't think he should actually have won the Diego Lopes fight but impressive to even be competitive with a guy like that.
    

52. 52

    

    Wilson Reis

    28-13-0

    1985 - Brazil - Cage Warriors
    
    Up all the way at featherweight now but former UFC flyweight title challenger is still pretty decent because he knows what he's good at and he sticks to it. He's going to try and get inside, wrestle, control you from the top and either get a choke or get a decision.
    

53. 53

    

    Ulka Sasaki

    24-10-2

    1989 - Japan - RIZIN
    
    Feels like he's a weight class too high at 145 but still reasonably tall even at this weight. Good grappler, wraps up necks pretty well but I think more powerful strikers at this weight will probably eat him alive.
    

54. 54

    

    Cody Law

    8-2-0

    1995 - USA - Bellator
    
    One of the wrestling prospects Bellator took from scratch that isn't really working out. As a D1 wrestler he's obviously got the ability to take dudes down but guys who are decent at creating space and scrambling back up seem to be giving him trouble even at the lower mid level of the division in Bellator.
    

55. 55

    

    Brahyan Zurcher

    8-0-0

    1996 - Mexico - Lux Fight League
    
    Good grappler who's fighting for Lux on a loan of sorts from PFL. Hasn't really fought tough competition yet but has solidly beaten the guys he had fought. Coming off a solid win over a journeyman in Pasha Rodriguez that everyone in Mexico has to go through.
    

56. 56

    

    Justice Torres

    9-2-0

    1997 - USA - Fury FC
    
    Decentish striker with good kicks, good hooks a bit of pop and some good aggression. TDD really not very good and makes a lot of stupid decisions when grappling that put him in bad positions. Also liable to shoot on grapplers.
    

57. 57

    

    Aryion Young

    "The Kid"  |  7-3-0

    1997 - USA - Fury FC
    
    Decent wrestler/grappler, quite one dimensional in that regard. Extremely hittable on the feet, but pretty tough so can take it a bit. Will continue to shoot, back takes and work rate pretty decent. Can control parts of fights but lose on damage.
    

58. 58

    

    Jakub Dohnal

    "Hezoun"  |  12-5-0

    1991 - Czechia - Oktagon
    
    Reasonable fighter, decently athletic and strong. Fairly consistent in getting wins against guys at the lower level of the division but just doesn't have the level when a higher level guy comes at him, couldn't deal with the grappling of Hendin at all.
    

59. 59

    

    Gian Maurente

    "The White Dragon"  |  5-0-0

    2003 - Uruguay - Samurai Fight House
    
    Absolutely rolling through cans at the moment. Very good, quick and snappy high kick. BJJ working at SA regional level but maybe needs tightening up a little bit, aggressive with it, goes for subs and seems to have a good squeeze on his RNC.
    

60. 60

    

    Alejandro Martinez

    "El Pato"  |  13-6-1

    1999 - Mexico - Fury FC
    
    Tough dude, took a pasting up a couple of divisions against Kody Steele. More of a threat at his natural weightclass with some okay wins on the Mexican regionals.
    

61. 61

    

    Ángel Rodríguez

    "Pasha"  |  14-14-0

    1986 - Mexico - Lux Fight League
    
    Fun Mexican journeyman who's usually good to give prospects in that region a workout. Comes to scrap, nice and aggressive but generally going to get finished by anyone decent.