The Ringer MMA June Pound-for-Pound Rankings (2024)

After Islam Makhachev defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 on Saturday night to retain his UFC Lightweight Championship, UFC president Dana White tossed a bucket of ice water on the idea that he was the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA.

“For anyone to call Islam the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world when Jon Jones is still fucking fighting is nuts and shouldn’t be ranking in the pound-for-pound, or doing any of the fucking rankings ever if that’s what you really think,” he said during the postfight press conference.

“Jon Jones has never lost a fight, ever. He’s fought all the baddest dudes in the world, and then when you think about what pound-for-pound rankings really mean—he moved up to heavyweight and destroyed the best guy in the world. As long as Jon Jones is still fighting, active, and in the rankings, nobody [else] is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world.”

Dana’s got a point. Jon Jones still exists, though mostly on social media these days. He has fought just once since the beginning of 2020—a massive victory in his heavyweight debut against Cyril Gane in March 2023. He’s never really lost during his 16-year UFC run. The one defeat on his record was a disqualification for smashing Matt Hamill with 12-to-6 elbows. Then again, Dominick Reyes beat him in the minds of stay-at-home judges at UFC 247 (though the official judges gave Jones a generous decision), and Thiago Santos lost the narrowest of split decisions to Jones at UFC 239.

All of this is to point out that Jones—MMA’s consensus GOAT—has looked entirely vincible in two of his last three fights.

Of course, the pound-for-pound discussion is a hypothetical in which you picture all the fighters in the same-sized body at this very moment, proceeding to take a wild guess as to who would smash the rest of the field. It’s easy to imagine a 155-pound Jones pulverized by Makhachev, but how can you know?

Aww, see there? We can’t! The pound-for-pound list is strictly reserved for the imagination, and in the imaginations of the Ringer MMA crew, Jones isn’t no. 1.

Call us weird, but Dagestan’s Makhachev retains the top spot in this month’s pound-for-pound rankings after submitting Poirier in the fifth round on Saturday night in Newark. He isn’t just beating guys; he is breaking them down, turning them into human origami, and thrashing their minds and bodies like the tyranny of our times.

As always, the panel of Chuck Mindenhall, Ariel Helwani, Petesy Carroll, and fearless producer Troy Farkas—known as 3PAC on The Ringer MMA Show—have ranked both the men’s and women’s P4P best, one through 10.

Our only criterion for these monthly rankings is that a fighter has competed within at least a calendar year of the publication date, or has at least had a fight booked within that window. If a fighter hasn’t competed in a year and books a fight after that time, he or she is once again eligible to be voted back in.

Fighters who retire are no longer eligible for the rankings.

Though most of the best fighters are currently in the UFC, these rankings are not UFC-exclusive. We take into consideration all the major promotions, from the Bellator/PFL conglomerate to ONE Championship.

Without further ado, the Ringer MMA P4P Rankings for June.

Men’s Pound-for-Pound Rankings

1. Islam Makhachev

UFC Lightweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 1

A great deal of the focus heading into UFC 302 was on Dustin Poirier’s “25 minutes to make life fair” storyline. The underdog gave it the old frosh try, thwarting many of Makhachev’s takedown attempts and landing some nice body shots whenever the action got close. But make no mistake, he was the hunted in there. Makhachev pursued him—relentlessly and maniacally—for the full 22 minutes and 42 seconds that the fight lasted, finally submitting Poirier via a brabo choke in the waning moments of the fifth round. Now, the question becomes: Who is next for Makhachev? And is he finally surpassing his master, Khabib Nurmagomedov, as the best lightweight of all time?

2. Leon Edwards

UFC Welterweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 2

The best of all worlds for England’s own Leon Edwards. Not only is his next title defense in Manchester (just 85 miles from his hometown of Birmingham), but he won’t be asked to carry the promotional load for that UFC 304 fight against Belal Muhammad. With fellow U.K. fighter Tom Aspinall set to defend the interim heavyweight title on the same card against Curtis Blaydes—and the bad blood spilling over between the ever-chirping Paddy Pimblett and Bobby Green—Leon can focus solely on taking out Muhammad and retaining his title as MMA’s King of England.

3. Alex Pereira

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 3

During an on-stage appearance with Ariel Helwani at the NJPAC this past weekend, Pereira fired his imaginary arrows into a sea of rabid fans chanting “Chama!” as they took them in the heart. This guy’s cult status is at an all-time high, and there are so many tantalizing ways this can go. Does Pereira take a rematch against Jiri Prochazka? Does the UFC roll the dice by booking him against Magomed Ankalaev? If Tom Aspinall successfully defends the interim heavyweight title, does Pereira dare try himself, as a heavyweight, to win a third belt? What about a fight with Jon Jones? If Israel Adesanya takes care of business at UFC 305, does the UFC make the trilogy by inviting Izzy up to 205 pounds to challenge Pereira? Wild times for Poatan.

4. Jon Jones

UFC Heavyweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 4

Jones is still on the mend from his torn pectoral muscle and projects to be ready to take on Stipe Miocic at the Madison Square Garden show in November. If that happens, it will occur a full year after the two were booked in a much-ballyhooed “legacy” battle between the heavyweight GOAT (Miocic) and the overall GOAT (Jones). What is the appetite for this fight, given that a young killer like Tom Aspinall is winning and defending the interim title? Waning by the moment. Miocic will be 42 by the time it happens, and Jones—who thinks about retirement a good deal—has his eyes on the exit.

5. Tom Aspinall

UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 5

Aspinall has talked himself hoarse lobbying for a heavyweight unification bout with Jones, which would do big business. Of course, that has to wait. Aspinall has to get by Curtis Blaydes in Manchester in July to put the heat on Jones, and that’s no slam dunk. The last time the two faced off, Aspinall blew out his knee in the opening seconds, making it an epic buzzkill of a homecoming in front of his British faithful. Should he redeem himself against Blaydes, though? Let’s just say that Jones would be on the clock.

6. Ilia Topuria

UFC Featherweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 6

Topuria has a plan that he’ll do everything in his power to uphold. He wants to face Max Holloway in his first title defense, ideally at the Sphere in Las Vegas in September. Then, he wants to fight Conor McGregor at the Bernabeu in Spain in 2025, which would go down as one of the most massive fights in UFC history. Of course, there are a lot of things that need to happen here. First, Topuria would have to beat Holloway, the BMF titleholder who just smashed Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 with the knockout of the year. And McGregor would need to beat Michael Chandler at UFC 303, and there isn’t a soul in this world who knows how that fight will turn out. If we had to place odds on Topuria’s plan coming to pass, we’d put it around +3000.

7. Sean O’Malley

UFC Bantamweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 7

It looks like it’ll be Merab Dvalishvili for O’Malley when it comes time to defend the bantamweight title later this year, and it’s a fascinating matchup. Dvalishvili has a motor that won’t quit (like seriously, he can fight five rounds and look just as fresh as he does walking to his mailbox), and he has a little bit of that shark-like Gaethje glare in his eyes. You know, like he never considers consequences when giving in to his primal instincts. Anyway, O’Malley sees Dvalishvili as nothing more than a Georgian Lilliputian to be flicked away like a paper football, so this should be fun.

8. Alexander Volkanovski

Former UFC Featherweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 8

There’s a good chance that Volkanovski will get to fight for a championship again—preferably against Topuria, who took his title at UFC 298—if he plays his cards right. Why not? He’s beaten Max Holloway three times, and Max is up next for a shot at the featherweight title. If Topuria handles business, Volkanovski might just have to stand aside until his number is called. Where things get tricky is in the details. If Holloway wins, who knows if the UFC would want to make a fourth fight between him and Volkanovski. And if Volkanovski takes a stay-busy fight while things play out? Let’s just say at 35 years old, that’s some serious roulette.

9A. Max Holloway

UFC Featherweight and Lightweight Contender
Previous ranking: no. 9

As far as we’re concerned, Max can do whatever the hell he wants next. If he feels like staying at 155 pounds after that iconic knockout out of Gaethje at UFC 300, so be it. If he wants to challenge Topuria for the featherweight title now that Volkanovski is (temporarily) out of the picture? More power to him. Holloway is a UFC OG who has plenty of magic left. Critics said he was crazy to fight the bigger Gaethje when his path back to a 145-pound title had opened back up, and he scoffed. This man dances to the beat of his own drum, and we must cherish every minute that we’re “Blessed” with his presence.

9B. Dricus Du Plessis

UFC Middleweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 10A

It looks like that showdown with Israel Adesanya looms ahead at UFC 305 in Perth, which has been a festering feud for a long while now. The truth of the matter is that Du Plessis may hold the middleweight title, but there’s a feeling that he’s a placeholder at the moment. He eked out a victory over Sean Strickland to get it, and Strickland himself felt like he was handling the belt like a hot potato. Beat Izzy, who is right up there among the great champions, and all that goes away.

10. Merab Dvalishvili

UFC Bantamweight Contender
Previous ranking: 10B

It may sound puzzling, but we need to give coach Ray Longo his flowers at some point. From his nook in Long Island, Longo has made homegrown champions of Matt Serra, Chris Weidman, and Aljamain Sterling, and is on the verge of adding another with Dvalishvili. That’s one hell of an accomplishment, even if Merab—who hails from Georgia—is that group’s first “transplant.” There are plenty of reasons to think that Dvalishvili is destined for gold, and the fact that he’s a radically demonized cardio machine is chief among them.

(Others receiving votes: Israel Adesanya)

Women’s Pound-for-Pound Rankings

1. Zhang Weili

UFC Strawweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 1

Sitting alongside such luminaries as Aaron Rodgers, Donald Trump, and Jersey’s own the Situation at UFC 302 in Newark on Saturday night was Tatiana Suarez—the so-called “Khabib Nurmagomedov” of the female ranks. Why bring this up? Because she’s coming. She is coming for Zhang’s strawweight title like the blood-dimmed tide. She’s been coming for that title for years, in fact, but injuries and circumstance keep intervening. What a fight that would be. Zhang is at the top of her game, as she showed against Yan Xiaonan at UFC 300, and Suarez wears the mark of greatness.

2. Valentina Shevchenko

Former UFC Flyweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 2

If you’re going to pluck a champion and a contender from active rotation and stick them opposite each other on a franchise like The Ultimate Fighter, it might as well be Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso. The three-match should take place in September, if all goes according to plan, and perhaps there will be some added heat when they come off the show. Sometimes rivalries strengthen when competitors are locked in close proximity with each other for a sustained period of time, but then again … how many people are still watching TUF?

3. Alexa Grasso

UFC Flyweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 3

The good news is that Grasso gets to correct the narrative that she lucked into retaining her title against Shevchenko once and for all, as the trilogy fight is a lock to happen. The better news? It’ll likely be on the big Mexican Independence Day card in September, which means Grasso will get to perform for thousands of throaty partisans. If there’s any bad news, it’s that Shevchenko is still considered one of the best female MMA practitioners of all time, and there’s a big bull’s-eye drawn on Grasso’s head.

4. Cris Cyborg

Bellator Featherweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 4

PFL must’ve felt full-blown FOMO when Kayla Harrison went to the UFC and treated decorated former champion Holly Holm like a rag doll. The anticipated bout between Cyborg and Harrison under the PFL banner captivated the imagination, as Cyborg would finally face somebody bigger than her. For once, she wouldn’t be seen as the bully! Oh well. Regrets have stayed in business for a long time. At least Cyborg can fight the biggest threat left on roster, Larissa Pacheco, so long as everyone cooperates.

5. Tatiana Suarez

UFC Strawweight Contender
Previous ranking: no. 5

If you were to sneak a glimpse of the book Suarez has been working on for the last bunch of months, you might shrink away in terror. “All work and no title makes Tatiana a mad girl. All work and no title makes Tatiana a mad girl. All work and no title makes Tatiana a mad grrrl. All wrk and no title makes Tatianaa a madd girl …”

6A. Manon Fiorot

UFC Flyweight Contender
Previous ranking: no. 6

It’s a tough situation for Fiorot, who has emerged as the clear-cut no. 1 contender at flyweight. In fact, it’s a little slice of purgatory. Though the Frenchwoman is due for a title shot, the drama needs to play out between Grasso and Shevchenko, and that’s not happening anytime soon. So what does she do in the meantime? Does she take on Maycee Barber, who has asked for the chance to smash her? And does she do that in Paris in September when the UFC returns there to at least have a home game? If that’s the case, the timing would work out, as it would sync up on the calendar with Grasso-Shevchenko III. (This scenario seems likely.)

6B. Kayla Harrison

UFC Bantamweight Contender
Previous ranking: no. 7

If you ask Harrison whom she should fight in her UFC encore, she will tell you she doesn’t really give a hoot. The UFC 300 dismantling of Holm felt declarative for anyone within a thousand-mile radius at the top of the 135-pound division, and it’s a guarantee that champion Raquel Pennington is in Harrison’s crosshairs. How the UFC books her will be interesting. If not Pennington, former champ Julianna Peña is nearing a return, which could be interesting. But that’s not the fight everyone wants. The fight everyone wants is Harrison versus the female GOAT, Amanda Nunes, who is “retired.” (We put that in quotes because of course she isn’t.)

7. Raquel Pennington

UFC Bantamweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 8

It’s telling that the champion Pennington should appear below Harrison in these rankings, and perhaps it’s a touch disrespectful. But this feels like a Category 5 hurricane moving in on Florida; it will get rough. Not to discount Pennington’s chances altogether, but if she is given a choice between fighting Peña or Harrison, avoiding the class destroyer is probably a wise move. One thing we will say about Pennington: She embodies perseverance. If Harrison is her next fight, she will have to live up to her nickname of “Rocky,” and—to her credit—there’s plenty of fight left in her.

8. Erin Blanchfield

UFC Flyweight Contender
Previous ranking: no. 9

When you’re barely 25 years old and still in the early stages of an MMA career, you can use a word like “setback” rather than “catastrophe.” Blanchfield indeed ran into a bulldozer in the form of Fiorot during what was supposed to be her breakout moment the last time out, but if anything, she can use it as a learning experience. The biggest priority for Blanchfield as she goes back to the drawing board is to install a plan B, which she didn’t seem to have in her first loss. Once Blanchfield’s aggression was nullified early, she was nullified for 25 minutes. Prediction: Whomever the UFC books her against next will catch hell.

9. Larissa Pacheco

2023 PFL Featherweight Champion
Previous ranking: no. 10

The 2022 upset of Harrison sits atop Pacheco’s résumé like the Battle of Austerlitz sat atop Napoleon’s. She can always point to that as an incredible feat with a sense of wonder and pride. Now the question becomes: Can she add a legend to her conquests in the form of Cyborg? It’s easy for people to dismiss non-UFC fighters since they aren’t facing the best competition in the world each time out, but scoring victories over Harrison and Cyborg would go a long way toward earning her admission to the pantheon of greats.

(Others receiving votes: Rose Namajunas, Yan Xiaonan)