Have to have fought in last 3 years to be ranked
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1
- Tom Aspinall
- 14-3-0
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1993 - England - Interim UFC Champion
The most active of the heavyweights lately and I think given the inactivity of his peers he has to be considered the man for now. Took out the divisional boogeyman in Pavlovich and his only UFC loss to Blaydes was from an injury. Other than that he's looked great, just ridiculously fast for a heavyweight, with power in his hands, the ability to wrestle and a BJJ black belt.
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2
- Jon Jones
- "Bones"
- 27-1-0, 1 NC
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1987 - USA - UFC Champion
Kind of proved he can handle the step up to HW as long as it's a favourable style matchup in the Gane fight, I kind of think the jury is still out there if it's not a favourable style match up and I don't think fighting old man Stipe is going to prove that.
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3
- Ciryl Gane
- "Bon Gamin"
- 12-2-0
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1990 - France - UFC
Creamed by Jones but can give him the benefit of the doubt as usually okay with grapplers. Could have got the nod against big Frank if he hadn't decided to drop for a heel hook. Obviously a calm striker, hits hard when he wants to.
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4
- Sergei Pavlovich
- 18-2-0
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1992 - Russia - UFC
Dude hits like an absolute truck, probably got a bit over confident in that against Tom and found that other guys can hit like trucks too. Even if he doesn't make much in the way of adjustments to his game in the wake of that fight him just coming out and mauling people with heavy punches like he does is going to be something that most guys just aren't equipped to deal with.
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5
- Curtis Blaydes
- "Razor"
- 18-4-0, 1 NC
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1991 - USA - UFC
Somehow still hasn't had a title shot despite being at the top of the division for ages. Showed Jailton that there's levels to the division. Always likely to do well unless he gets knocked out, not sure that he's chinny or anything, he just seems to run into big hitters a lot.
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6
- Anatoly Malykhin
- "Spartak"
- 14-0-0
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1988 - Russia - ONE Champion
Fresh from dropping down weight classes to be Chatri's RDR assassin but likely to stay at heavyweight. Very good workrate for a heavyweight, throws hard punches and throws them often. Loads of forward pressure and wrestling background means it's very hard to clinch with him or try and take him down to alleviate it. Brutal ground and pound. Probably would have to leave ONE to test himself against an elite opponent.
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7
- Alexander Volkov
- "Drago"
- 37-10-0
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1988 - Russia - UFC
Consistently good over a long time and a fixture in the rankings. Seems to alternate weight wise between uber Volkov and skinny Volkov. Good striking, takedown defence not always the best but is good at using his length to work up well. Offensive wrestling better than most when he wants to use it. Consistent in his performances and you can usually expect him to beat people he should be beating.
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8
- Vadim Nemkov
- 18-2-0, 1 NC
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1992 - Russia - Bellator
Although Bruno wasn't a top tier opponent, it still allayed fears that Vadim might struggle with the step up to heavyweight. All the tools that made him such a force in the division below still worked, great jab, high kicks, wrestling, ground and pound etc. I would like to see him consolidate it against another solid HW of a different style, but his big man future seems promising.
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9
- Jailton Almeida
- "Malhadinho"
- 20-3-0
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1991 - Brazil - UFC
No sign of him going back down to 205 where he'd probably be absolutely elite. Very good wrestler and great top game, but his issue at heavyweight is going to be if he can't get guys down, is he able to handle their shots. The Blaydes fight suggested he might not be able to.
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10
- Renan Ferreira
- "Problema"
- 13-3-0, 3 NC
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1989 - Brazil - PFL
2023 Season champ and I guess kind of defacto PFLator champion after the Bader fight? Anyway dude is absolutely massive and carries real power. Standing with him is a terrible idea for most people. He has been badly grapple****** in the past, so there's always a danger that could happen again.
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11
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- "Bigi Boy" | 14-5-0
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1988 - Suriname - UFC
Reminded people that he's a decent fighter against Gaziev. Solid kickboxer, little slow paced but technically good and hits hard. Takedown defence not great but pretty good at staying safe from damage on the ground and working way back up eventually. ****load of scheduled 5 round experience.
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12
- Serghei Spivac
- "Polar Bear" | 16-4-0
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1995 - Moldova - UFC
Really good wrestler, getting better at striking to allow him to use it. Does damage when he gets on top and can either get a stoppage with strikes or force a sub to open up. Falls down against the real top level guys.
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13
- Denis Goltsov
- "The Russian Bogatyr" | 33-8-0
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1990 - Russia - PFL
Consistent at making the post season in PFL but always seems to **** the bed at some point when it comes to getting the grand prize. Really good jab on the feet and a decent workrate for a heavyweight. Top game pretty good, climbs through to mount positions and does decent damage. Takedown defence not always the best but usually solid, does have some sweeps but probably not going to work against really good wrestlers.
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14
- Phil De Fries
- 24-6-0, 1 NC
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1986 - England - KSW Champion
Much different beast to what he used to be in his UFC days. Now a dominant top grappler who excels in wearing guys down in long fights with mat returns, tight positional BJJ and ground and pound. Not always the most exciting but he's very good at it.
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15
- Marcin Tybura
- "Tybur" | 25-8-0
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1985 - Poland - UFC
Kind of the everyman of heavyweight. Doesn't really excel anywhere but good enough everywhere that he can take advantage of someone having a big defect in any particular area. Always seems to lose clearly when he steps up to the guys challenging for the top ranking spots, but still beats everyone else.
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16
- Ryan Bader
- "Darth" | 31-8-0, 1 NC
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1983 - USA - Bellator Champion
Unfortunately I think Bader's chin has gone at heavyweight as well as 205 now. Going to have to rely on pushing the wrestling before his opponent has chance to clock him. Obviously a good wrestler and has good cardio and will stick at it and wear guys out if he can get them down initially, but initial storms might get harder for him to survive.
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17
- Valentin Moldavsky
- 13-3-0, 1 NC
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1992 - Russia - PFL
Looks like he's been hard at work at his striking lately, was always a solid (if very boring) wrestler, but impressive in the way he came forward and KO'd an admittedly probably injured Delija. Pretty important for him to right the loss he had to Vassell next if we're going to consider him a consistent top guy.
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18
- Alexandr Romanov
- "King Kong" | 17-2-0
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1990 - Moldova - UFC
Wrecking machine if he can get his grappling going on someone, very strong, throws mid level guys about and gets off plenty of ground and pound. Struggled to impose that on guys higher up the food chain so far.
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19
- Ante Delija
- "Walking Trouble" | 24-6-0
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1990 - Croatia - PFL
Walking Trouble seemed to have walking trouble after a knee injury in his last fight. He's still pretty solid all round though. Should mix it fine with both the ex PFL and Bellator guys when he's healthy. Good striking, decent wrestling when he decides he has to go that route and pretty tough.
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20
- Linton Vassell
- "The Big Swarm" | 24-9-0, 1 NC
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1983 - England - PFL
Performance against Goltsov was a bit worrying. Looked fine early but gas tank completely went when dragged into deep waters. Good power and good offensive grappler with really good ground and pound early on. Getting to the age where his explosiveness might start to wane.
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21
- Derrick Lewis
- "The Black Beast" | 27-12-0, 1 NC
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1985 - USA - UFC
Performances seem to vary according to motivation. Still has concussive power, but ability to just stand up doesn't seem to be quite as good as it used to be. Also tends to quit when the going gets tough, but good luck if he clocks you first.
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22
- Bruno Cappelozza
- 15-7-0, 1 NC
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1989 - Brazil - PFL
I don't know if millionaire Bruno has lost a bit of his motivation but he doesn't seem to be quite the fighter he was when he won the PFL tourney to me. He's got fast hands and power still, but doesn't seem to use them quite as aggressively, although at least he avenged that horrendous loss to Scheffel (before failing a drug test)
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23
- Marcos Rogério de Lima
- "Pezão" | 22-9-1
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1985 - Brazil - UFC
Pretty solid dude. Not the quickest but hits pretty hard and has very good leg kicks. Serviceable wrestling and top game too. Can do well against specialists by going against what they do best but struggles against well rounded dudes.
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24
- Tai Tuivasa
- "Bam Bam" | 15-7-0
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1993 - Australia - UFC
Seems to alternate between good and terrible runs. Hard match up for fellow brawlers because he's good a good chin, carries power and is decently fast and athletic. Lacks takedown defence and get ups aren't really technical enough so good grapplers are hard work for him.
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25
- Steve Mowry
- "Tall" | 10-2-1, 1 NC
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1992 - USA - PFL
Weird fighter, just seemed to give up against Popov after a dominant first round. Good grappler, much better than average BJJ for his size, but seems to tire himself out doing it, lost winning positions against both Popov and Isaev. Takedown defence pretty ****, not as good on his back as he is on top, so kind of depends who gets the first takedown with him. Striking defence used to be absolutely awful but he seems to have shored that up a little bit at least.
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26
- Shamil Gaziev
- 12-1-0
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1990 - Bahrain - UFC
The king of Bahrain stepped up a bit too quickly against Jairzinho and found that he couldn't push his pace long enough against a guy who could get back up and start striking back at him. Hits really hard when he can land, but isn't going to land too much on good strikers, but with people without good getups should be able to wrestle. Bit gassy and has a bit of quit in him.
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27
- Augusto Sakai
- 16-5-1
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1991 - Brazil - Free Agent
Left the UFC on a win but released anyway presumably for being boring. Good at what he does which is mostly clinch guys in slow paced fights.
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28
- Rodrigo Nascimento
- "Zé Colmeia" | 11-1-0, 1 NC
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1992 - Brazil - UFC
Kind of okay for current heavyweight standards. Solid enough punching power although a little on the slow side, decent enough grappling and a decent squeeze. Doesn't really seem great at anything but it's modern day heavyweight.
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29
- Blagoy Ivanov
- "Baga" | 19-7-0, 1 NC
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1986 - Bulgaria - PFL
The best chin in the biz, but pretty limited otherwise. Does have faster hands than you think, but generally needs to fence push guys to get anywhere. Lacks power and generally fights at a very slow pace, but if he can manage to lean on you, he can give you problems.
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30
- Tyrell Fortune
- 13-2-0, 2 NC
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1990 - USA - PFL
Always somehow seems to be less than he should be, but still pretty good. He's got good enough offensive wrestling from his college days to be tough for most people to deal with in that realm. Problem is when he runs into a bit of resistance he seems to fade and not be able to deal with it.
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31
- Don'Tale Mayes
- "Lord Kong" | 11-6-0, 1 NC
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1992 - USA - UFC
Unwavering in his endless quest to be the most mediocre UFC heavyweight of all time. Likes to lumber around, then throw a couple of punches, then go back to lumbering around for a bit. Likes that as a pattern, very rarely makes anything clear. Also seems to have added some awful spinning **** to his game for some reason.
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32
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta
- "Salsa Boy" | 11-1-0
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1991 - Dominican Republic - UFC
Pretty good boxing, likes to brawl, absolutely **** leg kick defence, doesn't check those at all and heavy on front foot too. Likes **** talking and showboating.
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33
- Karl Williams
- 10-1-0
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1990 - US Virgin Islands - UFC
Late starter who gets by on athleticism and strength. Looked better served as a LHW when I first saw him where that was a huge advantage and he could just ragdoll dudes. Good cardio and able to keep shooting and trying to wrestle but feels like he has a ceiling at heavyweight.
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34
- Robelis Despaigne
- "The Big Boy" | 5-0-0
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1988 - Cuba - UFC
Power, speed and athleticism is off the charts. As soon as he touches people they go to sleep, even if he's ridiculously off balance when he lands. Obviously we need to see what happens when he gets dragged into deep waters but holy **** he's dangerous early and if he reacts well to adversity and the takedown defence holds up we've got a contender.
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35
- Jhonata Diniz
- 7-0-0
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1991 - Brazil - UFC
Former Glory kickboxer who's very fast with the hands, particularly dangerous when he gets indside, throws hooks at a speed you don't usually see at heavyweight. Working on takedown defence, seemed to get better as Lane when Austen got tired, needs to work on get ups but managed to stay safe.
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36
- Talisson Teixeira
- "Xicão" | 6-0-0
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1999 - Brazil - LFA
6'8 dude who comes forward maintaining his range and throwing hard as **** straight punches and hard kicks. Absolutely rolling through the cans that are crazy enough to agree to fight someone his size. Chin looks like it might be a little bit out there but nobody has come close to tagging it yet. Just need to see him against tougher opponents but looks the goods.
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37
- Martin Buday
- "Badys" | 13-2-0
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1991 - Slovakia - UFC
Lumbering dude who just looks to get people against the cage, lean on them and maybe get on top if he can. Pretty decent at doing that but not very varied and had no answer when Gaziev made him do something different. Kind of a poor man's Blagoy Ivanov.
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38
- Mick Parkin
- 9-0-0
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1995 - England - UFC
The master of just about getting the job done at the moment. Able to stay on feet alright thus far and worked up when needed to. Keeps just about enough volume to stay ahead in lower volume fights.
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39
- Justin Tafa
- "Bad Man" | 7-4-0, 1 NC
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1993 - Australia - UFC
Bangs on the feet which generally works okay in a division with a lack of wrestlers in the UFC. Takedown defence lacking a bit and really lacks technical getups.
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40
- Mohammed Usman
- "The Motor" | 10-3-0
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1989 - Nigeria - UFC
Getting further than I thought he would but still not really all that impressive. Has enough wrestling to take advantage of people who have bad TDD which is a lot of HW. Striking is pretty **** technique wise but he has a bit of power, tends to leap in and try and bomb a lot and more technical guys can just stay out of the way and counter him.
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41
- Andrei Arlovski
- "The Pitbull" | 34-23-0, 2 NC
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1979 - Belarus - UFC
Crazy to think that it's almost 20 years since he was champion but he's still in the UFC. Paid pretty well and seems to just turn up for the pay cheques. He'll have a bit of a sparring match with people and check out if he feels like he's taking too much damage. Still just about technically decent enough to beat **** tier brawlers who don't have the power to trouble him.
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42
- Caio Machado
- "Bigfoot" | 8-3-1
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1994 - Brazil - UFC
Has decent BJJ but never tries to actually use it preferring to be a sloppy brawler who comes in to throw hands while leaving his head on a platter for counters. In fairness he's pretty tough, but the dude really needs to mix it up more.
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43
- Łukasz Brzeski
- "The Bull" | 9-4-1, 1 NC
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1992 - Poland - UFC
Did better against Walker but that might be more of a knock on Walker than anything else. Did a better job with the TDD than I thought he would and got a bit of volume off. Quite small for a heavyweight, but doesn't go away easily.
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44
- Austen Lane
- 12-5-0, 1 NC
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1987 - USA - UFC
Athletic former football player who's a glass cannon without much of a gas tank. Pretty explosive early and can get guys down but relies on explosivity to do so and only really has a round of that. Fairly good jab and a bit of power, but too slow with the hands to deal with proper strikers. Chin just not there.
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45
- Jamal Pogues
- "The Stormtrooper" | 11-4-0
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1995 - USA - UFC
Doing slightly better than I thought he would as a heavyweight but I still don't think he's very good. He did do pretty well to shut Petersen's wrestling down, so he's got that going for him, I do find his offence a bit plodding and slow but the lower levels of the UFC HW division is the pits so he seems to be able to pick up some wins.
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46
- Valter Walker
- "The Clean Monster" | 11-1-0
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1997 - Brazil - UFC
Big lummox, massive but slow, wants to try and drag people down and beat them up from there. Failed miserably in first step up against someone with a little bit of athletic ability to stop him doing that.
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47
- Raffael Cerqueira
- "BJJ" | 11-0-0
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1990 - Brazil - Demo Fight
Pretty underwhelming for a guy with his record. Seems to have decent power but wings his punches a lot, seemed okayish on top but had to stick his head in a guillotine and wait for the guy to jump for it before he got him down. Looks pretty hittable as he comes in, doesn't look particularly athletic or quick either.
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48
- Felipe Franco
- "Negão" | 5-0-0
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2001 - Brazil - Demo Fight
No idea what this kid is like on the feet but his grappling looks phenomenal against cans and he's big and athletic and fast. Reminds me a lot of Jailton Almeida, extremely low level competition so far but probably not a guy people are particularly keen to fight. They probably need to put a call in to Guelke to get him a more experienced guy to fight.
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49
- Miles Banks
- 2-1-0
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1995ish - USA - Fury FC
Interesting prospect. Huge, athletic ****** who uses size pretty well. Fought Robelis pretty early in career but going well other than that. Showed decent cardio for his size against a tough guy he couldn't get out of there. Not sure he has one shot KO power against guys with solid chins.
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50
- Benjamin Šehić
- "Dragon of Bosnia" | 6-4-0
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1995 - Bosnia - Ares
Heavyweight meme master. Can't strike at all and just pulls guard or dives into Imanari rolls. Does work well on low level guys who don't know what they're doing and sometimes higher level guys find it surprisingly awkward too.
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51
- Francis NGannou
- "The Predator" | 17-3-0
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1986 - Cameroon - PFL
Last fight more than two years ago so unranked. Concentrating on boxing, not sure he'll ever actually fight for PFL. I also worry about guys who focus on boxing for a long period of time deteriorating in MMA skill.
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52
- Stipe Miocic
- 20-4-0
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1982 - USA - UFC
Last fight more than two years ago so unranked. Hasn't won in nearly four years. Dana obsessed with seeing him fight Jon Jones for some reason.
My Summary