The UFC rankings have changed again following events in Shanghai and Paris, with Song Yadong climbing the bantamweight ladder, Salahdine Parnasse breaking into the lightweight top 10 and Michael Page disappearing from the active rankings after leaving the promotion.
Islam Makhachev remains No.1 in the men’s pound-for-pound standings, while Valentina Shevchenko leads the women’s list. Tom Aspinall is still the heavyweight champion and several British fighters remain well placed across the divisions. If the difference between lightweight, welterweight and the other categories gets confusing, our UFC weight classes guide explains every limit first.
Here are the latest UFC rankings for 2026.
UFC Pound-for-Pound Rankings 2026
Islam Makhachev remains the UFC’s No.1 pound-for-pound fighter after successfully defending the welterweight title against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330.
Alexander Volkanovski sits second, with bantamweight champion Petr Yan completing the top three.
- Islam Makhachev
- Alexander Volkanovski
- Petr Yan
- Justin Gaethje
- Ilia Topuria
- Tom Aspinall
- Sean Strickland
- Merab Dvalishvili
- Alex Pereira
- Ciryl Gane
- Joshua Van
- Khamzat Chimaev
- Alexandre Pantoja
- Arman Tsarukyan
- Charles Oliveira
For British fans, Aspinall remains the standout at No.6 while also holding the heavyweight championship.
Valentina Shevchenko leads the women’s pound-for-pound standings ahead of Kayla Harrison and Zhang Weili.
UFC Flyweight Rankings 2026
Joshua Van remains champion at 125lb, with Alexandre Pantoja ranked as the leading contender ahead of their immediate rematch at UFC 331.
Champion: Joshua Van
- Alexandre Pantoja
- Manel Kape
- Brandon Royval
- Tatsuro Taira
- Kyoji Horiguchi
- Lone’er Kavanagh
- Asu Almabayev
- Brandon Moreno
- Amir Albazi
- Ramazan Temirov
- Steve Erceg
- Tim Elliott
- Sumudaerji
- Tagir Ulanbekov
- Alex Perez
Kavanagh at No.6 gives British MMA another genuine contender to watch.
The title picture gets its next major test when Van faces Pantoja again at UFC 331.
UFC Bantamweight Rankings 2026
Song Yadong is the big mover here.
His second-round knockout of Umar Nurmagomedov in Shanghai has taken him up to No.3, while Umar drops to fourth.
Champion: Petr Yan
- Merab Dvalishvili
- Sean O’Malley
- Song Yadong
- Umar Nurmagomedov
- Mario Bautista
- Cory Sandhagen
- Aiemann Zahabi
- David Martinez
- Deiveson Figueiredo
- Marlon Vera
- Payton Talbott
- Raul Rosas Jr.
- Raoni Barcelos
- Farid Basharat
- Marcus McGhee
Song’s rise is one of the biggest changes since our previous update. Our Umar Nurmagomedov knockout explainer looks at exactly how that result happened.
UFC Featherweight Rankings 2026
Alexander Volkanovski remains champion, but unbeaten Movsar Evloev is now firmly established as his No.1 challenger.
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
- Movsar Evloev
- Diego Lopes
- Lerone Murphy
- Aljamain Sterling
- Yair Rodriguez
- Jean Silva
- Arnold Allen
- Youssef Zalal
- Kevin Vallejos
- Steve Garcia
- Brian Ortega
- Aaron Pico
- Melquizael Costa
- David Onama
- Patricio Pitbull
British interest is particularly strong here. Lerone Murphy sits third and Arnold Allen seventh, while Volkanovski is due to defend against Evloev at UFC 333.
Our Alexander Volkanovski next fight page has the latest on that title fight.
UFC Lightweight Rankings 2026
Lightweight has already changed after UFC Paris.
Salahdine Parnasse has entered the rankings at No.9 following his first-round stoppage of Dan Hooker, who has fallen to 13th.
Champion: Justin Gaethje
- Ilia Topuria
- Arman Tsarukyan
- Charles Oliveira
- Max Holloway
- Paddy Pimblett
- Benoît Saint Denis
- Mauricio Ruffy
- Quillan Salkilld
- Salahdine Parnasse
- Rafael Fiziev
- Renato Moicano
- Mateusz Gamrot
- Dan Hooker
- Tom Nolan
- Beneil Dariush
Paddy Pimblett remains fifth, putting him firmly among the division’s leading contenders rather than on the edge of the rankings.
Parnasse may be the more interesting newcomer. One UFC fight has already been enough to put him inside the top 10.
UFC Welterweight Rankings 2026
Islam Makhachev still holds the welterweight title following his victory over Ian Machado Garry.
Garry remains the highest-ranked challenger, with Carlos Prates and Michael Morales immediately behind him.
Champion: Islam Makhachev
- Ian Machado Garry
- Carlos Prates
- Michael Morales
- Jack Della Maddalena
- Gabriel Bonfim
- Sean Brady
- Belal Muhammad
- Leon Edwards
- Kamaru Usman
- Joaquin Buckley
- Yaroslav Amosov
- Uroš Medić
- Mike Malott
- Daniel Rodriguez
- Neil Magny
Leon Edwards remains eighth as he tries to work back towards the belt he held between 2022 and 2024.
UFC Middleweight Rankings 2026
Sean Strickland is champion, with Khamzat Chimaev still sitting at No.1.
The most noticeable change for British fans is that Michael Page is no longer ranked.
Page won his final UFC fight against Nursulton Ruziboev in Paris, but his contract expired afterwards and the promotion chose not to renew it. Christian Leroy Duncan is therefore the only British fighter currently inside this middleweight top 15.
Champion: Sean Strickland
- Khamzat Chimaev
- Dricus Du Plessis
- Nassourdine Imavov
- Brendan Allen
- Caio Borralho
- Joe Pyfer
- Gregory Rodrigues
- Anthony Hernandez
- Israel Adesanya
- Christian Leroy Duncan
- Jared Cannonier
- Abus Magomedov
- Ikram Aliskerov
- Bo Nickal
- Shara Magomedov
The full story behind that unusual roster decision is covered in our Michael Page UFC exit article.
UFC Light Heavyweight Rankings 2026
Carlos Ulberg sits at the top of the 205lb division as champion.
Magomed Ankalaev currently leads the challengers, with Jiří Procházka and Alex Pereira following him.
Champion: Carlos Ulberg
- Magomed Ankalaev
- Jiří Procházka
- Alex Pereira
- Khalil Rountree Jr.
- Navajo Stirling
- Paulo Costa
- Jamahal Hill
- Azamat Murzakanov
- Jan Błachowicz
- Dominick Reyes
- Bogdan Guskov
- Robert Whittaker
- Johnny Walker
- Alonzo Menifield
- Nikita Krylov
Robert Whittaker remains one of the more interesting names after moving up from middleweight, although he still has plenty of ground to make up before entering the title conversation.
UFC Heavyweight Rankings 2026
Tom Aspinall remains UFC heavyweight champion.
Ciryl Gane is ranked first beneath him, followed by Alexander Volkov and Sergei Pavlovich.
Champion: Tom Aspinall
- Ciryl Gane
- Alexander Volkov
- Sergei Pavlovich
- Josh Hokit
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta
- Curtis Blaydes
- Rizvan Kuniev
- Vitor Petrino
- Serghei Spivac
- Ante Delija
- Valter Walker
- Tyrell Fortune
- Derrick Lewis
- Mario Pinto
- Aleksandar Rakić
Aspinall remains one of the strongest British positions anywhere on the UFC roster because he is not merely ranked near the top; he owns the division.
Our Tom Aspinall next fight page follows his next championship plans.
UFC Women’s Strawweight Rankings 2026
Mackenzie Dern remains champion at strawweight.
Denise Gomes is one of the biggest movers following her victory over Yan Xiaonan in Shanghai, climbing into the top four.
Champion: Mackenzie Dern
- Zhang Weili
- Tatiana Suarez
- Virna Jandiroba
- Denise Gomes
- Gillian Robertson
- Yan Xiaonan
- Fatima Kline
- Loopy Godinez
- Alexia Thainara
- Jéssica Andrade
- Tabatha Ricci
- Amanda Lemos
- Amanda Ribas
- Angela Hill
- Mizuki
The division is fairly open underneath Dern, particularly with several of the leading contenders having recently fought one another.
UFC Women’s Flyweight Rankings 2026
Valentina Shevchenko remains listed as champion, although the title picture is changing after injury disrupted her plans.
Natalia Silva is the leading challenger, ahead of Manon Fiorot and Alexa Grasso.
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
- Natalia Silva
- Manon Fiorot
- Alexa Grasso
- Erin Blanchfield
- Rose Namajunas
- Maycee Barber
- Jasmine Jasudavicius
- Wang Cong
- Tracy Cortez
- Miranda Maverick
- Karine Silva
- Casey O’Neill
- Eduarda Moura
- Gabriella Fernandes
- JJ Aldrich
Silva and Wang are now scheduled to fight at UFC 332, so this division should look very different again in October.
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Rankings 2026
Kayla Harrison remains champion at 135lb.
Champion: Kayla Harrison
- Julianna Peña
- Raquel Pennington
- Joselyne Edwards
- Norma Dumont
- Ailin Perez
- Yana Santos
- Luana Santos
- Macy Chiasson
- Jacqueline Cavalcanti
- Karol Rosa
- Bia Mesquita
- Michelle Montague
- Nora Cornolle
- Miesha Tate
- Melissa Croden
Harrison remains comfortably the biggest name in the division, but the order beneath her continues to move as the women’s bantamweight division rebuilds around a newer generation of contenders.
How Do the UFC Rankings Work?
UFC rankings are intended to show where fighters sit within their individual weight divisions, but they are not a strict queue for title shots.
The system has also changed significantly during 2026.
In June, UFC and Meta introduced the Meta UFC Rankings, a data-led model designed to sit alongside and eventually replace the traditional voting system.
The model looks at fight results rather than asking journalists to decide who belongs where. It considers the quality of opposition, how a fight ended, how recently it happened and whether a fighter has been inactive for an extended period. Older results gradually lose value.
That is why a major win can cause a fighter to move several places immediately, while somebody who has not competed for a long time can slowly lose ground.
The UFC currently displays both ranking systems while the transition continues.
Does Being No.1 Guarantee a UFC Title Fight?
No. Being ranked first normally puts a fighter in a strong position, but UFC matchmaking has never worked like a league table.
Timing, injuries, availability and promotional plans can all change who receives the next title opportunity.
A champion may already have another opponent lined up. The No.1 contender could be injured. Somebody ranked lower might produce a huge win at exactly the right time.
The rankings are therefore better viewed as a picture of each division rather than a guaranteed waiting list.
Which British Fighters Are in the UFC Rankings?
British MMA remains in a strong position.
Tom Aspinall is heavyweight champion, while Lerone Murphy is third at featherweight and Paddy Pimblett fifth at lightweight. Lone’er Kavanagh has reached sixth at flyweight, Arnold Allen sits seventh at featherweight and former welterweight champion Leon Edwards is eighth.
Christian Leroy Duncan is also inside the middleweight top 10.
That gives Britain contenders spread across several weight classes rather than relying on one or two established names.
Our ranking of the greatest British UFC fighters looks at how the current generation compares with those who came before them.
When Are the UFC Rankings Updated?
UFC rankings generally change after events once new results have been processed.
A major knockout or win over a highly ranked opponent can cause a significant jump, while inactivity, defeats and roster changes can push fighters down or remove them entirely.
That is why this page will continue changing through the rest of 2026.
The UFC schedule 2026 shows which upcoming fights are most likely to affect the rankings next.
For fight odds across the divisions, visit BetVictor’s UFC betting section, or follow the latest stories through the BetVictor UFC and MMA hub.
