The Ringer MMA April Pound-for-Pound Rankings

UFC 300 was billed as the greatest card ever assembled, which was the easy part in a game centered on hype. The more complicated part was for the milestone event to live up to that lofty billing. With a dozen past and present champions in action, UFC 300 was designed to be a big night in Las Vegas, and it delivered.

Not only did Alex Pereira successfully defend his light heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill in the main event, but he also managed to add another visual to his already ridiculous set of highlights. As referee Herb Dean moved in to halt the action after Pereira appeared to get kicked in the groin, the champ casually brushed Dean back. Moments later, he dropped Hill with a left hand that brought the house down at the same time.

That knockout capped a night that saw Zhang Weili defend her strawweight title against Yan Xiaonan in dominant fashion, Arman Tsarukyan squeeze by a future Hall of Famer in Charles Oliveira, and Max Holloway steal the show by knocking out Justin Gaethje with one second left on the clock.

Holloway moved back into this month’s pound-for-pound rankings, and on the women’s side, a newcomer shows up. Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison rag-dolled Holly Holm in her UFC debut at UFC 300, and just like that, there’s a new queen in town. One fight in, and it feels like the women’s bantamweight division is in Harrison’s custody.

As always, the panel of Chuck Mindenhall, Ariel Helwani, Petesy Carroll, and 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 April.

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Men’s Pound-for-Pound Rankings

1. Islam Makhachev

UFC Lightweight Champion
Last month: no. 1

Somewhat lost in the jubilation of UFC 300 was the announcement at the post-show press conference that Makhachev finally had a date for his next fight—and that comes on June 1 at UFC 302 against Dustin Poirier. Poirier was the opponent that Makhachev’s team was lobbying for, and why not? He is an aging gunslinger coming off one of the most inspired triumphs of his career against Benoit Saint-Denis. In other words, he’s ripe for the picking. The good news is the contenders will also be lining up behind Poirier. Tsarukyan, who beat Oliveira at UFC 300, could wait on the sideline to see Makhachev in Abu Dhabi come October, should Makhachev get by Poirier.

2. Leon Edwards

UFC Welterweight Champion
Last month: no. 2

With talks of a big U.K. event happening at the end of July, one could assume that welterweight champ Leon Edwards would be a natural fit for that card. Then again, if interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall ends up on the card—with Tommy hailing from the coal mining burg of Wigan, not far from Manchester—who knows if the UFC would want to stack it so profoundly with so much of the calendar left to fill. At any rate, Belal Muhammad seems to have the inside track for the next shot at Leon’s title.

3. Alex Pereira

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Last month: no. 4

The Monday before UFC 300 marked the one-year anniversary of Pereira losing the middleweight title to Israel Adesanya. Given that information, thinking about the year “Poatan” just had is unbelievable. He moved to 205 pounds, which many thought was a better weight class for him. He beat Jan Blachowicz in his first fight there, something that Izzy wasn’t able to do. He then won the vacated title against modern samurai Jiri Prochazka at Madison Square Garden, then knocked out the man who vacated that title—Jamahal Hill—at the biggest event of the year, UFC 300. After all that, he asked to be put on the UFC 301 card in Rio, which is just three weeks away, as a heavyweight. Can you say cult hero?

4. Jon Jones

UFC Heavyweight Champion
Last month: no. 3

In a perfect world, Jon Jones would have fought at UFC 300, yet a torn pectoral muscle has tabled him until later this year. That didn’t mean Jones didn’t still snap up some of the headlines. When a doping agent showed up at his property a couple of weeks before UFC 300 to collect a sample, Jones allegedly threatened her, prompting the agent to press charges. It is the latest on a long list of arrests and charges filed against the GOAT throughout his career. When Jones does return to compete, the UFC has remained steadfast that he will fight Stipe Miocic, who turns 42 in August.

5. Tom Aspinall

UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion
Last month: no. 6

Of course, the man people want to see Jones fight is Aspinall—the interim heavyweight champion, who has all but pleaded with Jones to at least think about fighting him. So far, Jones doesn’t see the need, but if Aspinall is booked into a fight this summer in his home country of England (and takes out either Curtis Blaydes or Ciryl Gane), the mumbling for a unifying Jones-Aspinall title fight will turn into a loud scream. Whatever happens, the UFC heavyweight division is a bit of a mess with Jones on the sidelines, Miocic being grandfathered into a title fight, and a perfectly imposing interim champion standing by.

6. Ilia Topuria

UFC Featherweight Champion
Last month: no. 5

With his victory lap completed, Spain’s Topuria becomes a target for would-be contenders to openly dream about smashing. Though Alexander Volkanovski has an argument for a rematch, it will be tough for the UFC to overlook Holloway as Topuria’s next opponent. Holloway’s knockout of lightweight Gaethje to win the BMF title at UFC 300 makes for a colossal title fight with Topuria, especially if that fight is contested at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid. Would it rival Conor McGregor versus Jose Aldo in terms of all-time magnitude for a featherweight title clash? It should excite you that the answer is probably “yes.”

7. Sean O’Malley

UFC Bantamweight Champion
Last month: no. 7

The dismantling of Marlon Vera at UFC 299 made believers out of some of Suga Sean’s staunchest critics, but if he wants to convince everyone, he will have to do the same thing to Merab Dvalishvili. Merab is a miniature juggernaut who has plowed through everyone the UFC has put in front of him since 2018. He is a cardio machine who never tires in a fight and will look at the lanky O’Malley as a kind of tackling dummy, a Wicker Man that he can set aflame. Of course, O’Malley is one of the best strikers in the division and a super-smart game planner who can identify (and exploit) tendencies. It’s going to be good.

8. Alexander Volkanovski

Former UFC Featherweight Champion
Last month: no. 8

If anything, Volkanovski’s three victories against Holloway have aged like the old Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Holloway is on a post-Volkanovski death march, destroying everything in his path. If Holloway gets the next crack at Topuria, the rooting interest for Volk will be clear. He’ll need Topuria to hold court so he can get his rematch. If Holloway beats Topuria? It would be interesting to see if the UFC would even consider making Holloway-Volkanovski IV, especially with Holloway in an 0-3 hole.

9. Max Holloway

UFC Featherweight Contender
Last month: n/a

Listen, most people thought Holloway was jeopardizing his chance to fight for the featherweight title by taking the BMF title fight at lightweight against Gaethje. In fact, that made the fight so compelling—that the stakes, esoteric and difficult to quantify, were so abstractly massive, and there was just so much to lose. Well, we don’t need to tell you what happened. With Max appearing in the P4P rankings, you know he pulled off one of the greatest performances—not only of his storied career, but in UFC history. Holloway is an icon, and if he fights Topuria next, buckle up.

10A. Dricus Du Plessis

UFC Middleweight Champion
Last month: no. 9

It’s looking increasingly like Du Plessis will defend his middleweight title against his archnemesis Adesanya in Perth at UFC 305 late this summer. That’s the natural fight to make, and the chirping between the camps has been steady through each title reign. The big question is whether Dricus can keep the middleweight title from becoming a hot potato? Should he lose to Izzy, that would mean that the title will have changed hands four times in the last four fights. It would also mean Izzy > Du Plessis > Sean Strickland > Izzy, and nobody wants to get bewitched by that kind of MMA math.

10B. Merab Dvalishvili

UFC Bantamweight Contender
Last month: 10

Merab has become not only a contender in the bantamweight division but the official mascot of the UFC. He shows up to almost every event decked out to show his festive spirit (in Mexico City, he wore a poncho and sombrero). He’s also winning the social media game, putting out videos of himself carrying a startlingly accurate Sean O’Malley lookalike like a crash-test dummy. Of course, it’s dressing for the fight itself, which should be something to behold when it does roll around. One thing is sure: Merab looks poised to create his own era.

Others receiving votes: Israel Adesanya

Voting Results

Women’s Pound-for-Pound Rankings

1. Zhang Weili

UFC Strawweight Champion
Last month: no. 1

Realistically, Weili ran the gamut in her strawweight title defense against Yan Xiaonan at UFC 300. She got a submission finish by choking Xiaonan unconscious to close out the first round (Xiaonan was saved by the bell, waking up between rounds). She essentially got a ground-and-pound TKO in the second round (Xiaonan was saved only by the referee’s threshold for letting a fight continue). Then she faced adversity, as Xiaonan—to the surprise of everyone—rebounded and won the third round of their five-round fight. In the end, Weili got a unanimous decision. It was an impressive showing. Next up: It has to be Tatiana Suarez, doesn’t it?

2. Valentina Shevchenko

Former UFC Flyweight Champion
Last month: no. 2

Things were floating along smoothly for Valentina’s trilogy fight with Alexa Grasso: Everything was aligning so nicely, and people were starting to get excited … but then the record skipped when the UFC announced that she and Grasso would coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. That means their third fight will now occur a little further into the 2024 calendar than anticipated: very likely in September, when the UFC has rented out the Sphere for its now-annual Mexican Independence Day event.

3. Alexa Grasso

UFC Flyweight Champion
Last month: no. 3

Grasso will be joined at the hip with Shevchenko until their three-match plays out, which might be a good thing. With her coaching stint opposite Shevchenko on The Ultimate Fighter, the public will get to know Grasso, who has been a quiet figure in the women’s ranks for a long time, better (that is, if anybody still watches The Ultimate Fighter). Will coaching against her rival create a tension that will play into the trilogy? To be honest, the rivalry could use a little heat.

4. Cris Cyborg

Bellator Featherweight Champion
Last month: no. 4

From the PFL’s perspective, UFC 300 was a taste of what could have been. Instead of Holly Holm vs. Kayla Harrison, it could have been Cyborg vs. Harrison, in what would’ve been one of the most ballyhooed MMA fights outside of the UFC this year. In other words, a boon for the PFL. Instead, Harrison got away to the UFC, and Cyborg is left to fight whoever is left. Fortunately for her, Larissa Pacheco—who beat Harrison in their last match together—is the obvious choice, and, if you listen to PFL founder Donn Davis, that fight will happen shortly.

5. Tatiana Suarez

UFC Strawweight Contender
Last month: no. 5

Perhaps the most interested party watching Weili’s title defense against Xiaonan was Suarez—the closest thing to a no. 1 contender the strawweight division has right now. Let’s face it: Things have been a little out of whack lately in the division. Suarez was supposed to fight Amanda Lemos in February but had to withdraw due to an injury. Lemos smashed Mackenzie Dern instead, which was impressive, but Lemos got smashed by Weili at UFC 292 in August, which made her unlikely to get a rematch. That means Suarez inherits the contender spot by default. Having said all that, Suarez is a real threat to that throne if she can stay healthy.

6. Manon Fiorot

UFC Flyweight Contender
Last month: no. 6B

You’ve got to hand it to Fiorot, who has proved herself to be a legit force at flyweight over the last two fights. Not only did she beat popular former champ Rose Namajunas in a homecoming bout in Paris this past year, but she also followed that up by winning a main event against Erin Blanchfield in the heart of enemy territory (New Jersey, where Blanchfield is from). It wasn’t just a victory for the French fighter; it was a statement. She shut Blanchfield down, making her look one-dimensional. The boos in Jersey sounded just as sweet to her as the deafening cheers she heard in Paris. It’s a shame she must wait for the Grasso-Shevchenko trilogy to play out, as Fiorot’s more than earned her title shot. If she opts to stay busy, a fight with Maycee Barber might be just what the doctor ordered.

7. Kayla Harrison

UFC Bantamweight Contender
Last month: n/a

The fight within the fight for Harrison was with the scale, as it was an imposing task to drop from her original fighting weight of 155 pounds to the bantamweight limit of 136. She looked emaciated at the weigh-ins, but—as a testament to her will—Harrison made weight, and she looked every bit the force she was advertised to be in the octagon come fight night. She battered Holm like nobody has before. Afterward, she tossed out the names Raquel Pennington (the current 135-pound champ) and Julianna Peña (the former champ), which drew a response from the most intriguing name of them all: Amanda Nunes. The retired champ seems keen on returning to face Harrison, and that’s a delicious story line to follow in a division that desperately needs it.

8. Raquel Pennington

UFC Bantamweight Champion
Last month: no. 10

How’s that for a cruel twist of fate? Rocky finally wins a title after a decade of toiling in the UFC just in time for a smashing machine like Harrison to show up on the scene, like a hatchet woman ready to relieve everyone of their posts. Pennington’s next bout was supposed to be against Peña, and that might still be the case. But Harrison looms on all radars now, and that’s an uncomfortable feeling, especially if Harrison draws Nunes out of retirement.

9. Erin Blanchfield

UFC Flyweight Contender
Last month: no. 6A

The casual MMA fan might not have known Erin Blanchfield from Erin Brockovich until her main event against Fiorot in Atlantic City. The fight didn’t go as planned for the 24-year-old phenom. Blanchfield tried to pressure and ultimately bully Fiorot, yet Fiorot was stronger than Blanchfield realized. Frankly, she wouldn’t budge. It was a tough lesson for a grappling whiz who hasn’t needed to resort to a plan B through her first 14 fights. And now it’s back to the drawing board for Blanchfield, who is young enough to be dealt that kind of blow and ultimately benefit from it in the long run.

10. Larissa Pacheco

2023 PFL Featherweight Champion
Last month: n/a

Pacheco has been on a war path since she was dealt a loss by Harrison in 2019, when Pacheco was a 25-year-old still getting her bearings. She has won 10 straight fights, including an eye-popping upset of Harrison in 2022, and looks to have come into her own as one of the faces of PFL. What’s at stake in a fight against Cyborg, should the two meet in 2024? Plenty. If Pacheco can overthrow the women’s GOAT, she will have the distinction of beating both Cyborg and Harrison, which would send her stock through the roof.

Others receiving votes: Rose Namajunas, Julianna Peña, Yan Xiaonan

Voting Results