LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 25: Aljamain Sterling prepares to face Youssef Zalal of Morocco in a featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Meta APEX on April 25, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) updated its official rankings in the wake of the UFC Vegas 116 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which took place last Sat. night (April 25, 2026) at the promotion’s Meta Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. That’s where former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling styled on featherweight rising star Youssef Zalal, not long after Joselyne Edwards outlasted 135-pound bruiser Norma Dumont. As a result, both Sterling and Edwards gained ground in their respective divisions. Here’s how the rankings are compiled, at least until AI takes over: Rankings are generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings. Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked). MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND 1. Islam Makhachev 2. Ilia Topuria 3. Khamzat Chimaev 4. Alexander Volkanovski 5. Alex Pereira 6. Petr Yan 7. Tom Aspinall 8. Merab Dvalishvili 9. Alexandre Pantoja 10. Joshua Van 11. Charles Oliveira 12. Dricus Du Plessis 13. Arman Tsarukyan 14. Magomed Ankalaev 15. Carlos Ulberg FLYWEIGHT Champion: Joshua Van 1. Alexandre Pantoja 2. Manel Kape 3. Tatsuro Taira 4. Brandon Royval 5. Kyoji Horiguchi 6. Lone’er Kavanagh 7. Amir Albazi 8. Asu Almabayev 9. Brandon Moreno 10. Alex Perez 11. Tim Elliott 12. Steve Erceg 13. Charles Johnson 14. Tagir Ulanbekov 15. Bruno Silva BANTAMWEIGHT Champion: Petr Yan 1. Merab Dvalishvili 2. (T) Umar Nurmagomedov 2. (T) Sean O’Malley 4. Cory Sandhagen 5. Song Yadong 6. Aiemann Zahabi 7. Deiveson Figueiredo 8. Mario Bautista 9. David Martinez 10. Marlon Vera 11. Payton Talbott 12. Vinicius Oliveira 13. Raul Rosas Jr. 14. Montel Jackson 15. Farid Basharat FEATHERWEIGHT Champion: Alexander Volkanovski 1. Movsar Evloev 2. Diego Lopes 3. Lerone Murphy 4. Aljamain Sterling +1 5. Yair Rodriguez -1 6. Jean Silva 7. Arnold Allen +1 8. Youssef Zalal -1 9. Steve Garcia 10. Kevin Vallejos 11. Brian Ortega 12. Melquizael Costa 13. Aaron Pico 14. David Onama 15. Patricio Pitbull LIGHTWEIGHT Champion: Ilia Topuria 1. Justin Gaethje (interim champion) 2. Arman Tsarukyan 3. Charles Oliveira 4. Max Holloway 5. Benoit Saint Denis 6. Paddy Pimblett 7. Mateusz Gamrot 8. Dan Hooker 9. Renato Moicano 10. Mauricio Ruffy 11. Rafael Fiziev 12. Beneil Dariush 13. Michael Chandler 14. Manuel Torres 15. Fares Ziam WELTERWEIGHT Champion: Islam Makhachev 1. Jack Della Maddalena 2. Ian Machado Garry 3. Michael Morales 4. Belal Muhammed 5. Carlos Prates 6. Sean Brady 7. Kamaru Usman 8. Leon Edwards 9. Joaquin Buckley 10. Gabriel Bonfim 11. Mike Malott 12. Michael Page 12. (T) Uros Medic +1 14. Daniel Rodriguez 14. (T) Yaroslav Amosov +1 MIDDLEWEIGHT Champion: Khamzat Chimaev 1. Dricus Du Plessis 2. Nassourdine Imavov 3. Sean Strickland 4. Brendan Allen 5. Caio Borralho 6. Joe Pyfer 7. Anthony Hernandez 8. Reinier De Ridder 9. Israel Adesanya 10. Robert Whittaker 11. Jared Cannonier 12. Gregory Rodrigues 13. Christian Leroy Duncan 14. Roman Dolidze 15. Paulo Costa LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT Champion: Carlos Ulberg 1. Magomed Ankalaev 2. Alex Pereira 3. Jiri Prochazka 4. Jan Blachowicz 5. Khalil Rountree 6. Jamahal Hill 7. Paulo Costa 8. Azamat Murzakanov 9. Dominick Reyes 10. Bogdan Guskov 11. Volkan Oezdemir 12. Aleksandar Rakic 13. Johnny Walker 14. Nikita Krylov 15. Alonzo Menifield HEAVYWEIGHT Champion: Tom Aspinall 1. Ciryl Gane 2. Alexander Volkov 3. Sergei Pavlovich 4. Waldo Cortes Acosta 5. Josh Hokit 6. Serghei Spivac 7. Curtis Blaydes -1 8. Rizvan Kuniev 9. Derrick Lewis 10. Ante Delija 11. Tyrell Fortune 12. Marcin Tybura 13. Tallison Teixeira 14. Shamil Gaziev +1 15. Mick Parkin -1 WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND 1. Valentina Shevchenko 2. Kayla Harrison 3. Zhang Weili 4. Natalia Silva 5. Manon Fiorot 6. Mackenzie Dern 7. Alexa Grasso 8. Erin Blanchfield 9. Julianna Pena 10. Tatiana Suarez 11. Virna Jandiroba 12. Raquel Pennington 13. Yan Xiaonan 14. Rose Namajunas 15. Maycee Barber WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT Champion: Mackenzie Dern 1. Zhang Weili 2. Tatiana Suarez 3. Virna Jandiroba 4. Yan Xiaonan 5. Gillian Robertson 6. Loopy Godinez 7. Amanda Lemos 8. Tabatha Ricci -1 9. Jessica Andrade 10. Amanda Ribas 11. Fatima Klein 12. Denise Gomes 13. Alexia Thainara 14. Angela Hill 15. Mizuki Inoue WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT Champion: Valentina Shevchenko 1. Natalia Silva 2. Manon Fiorot 3. Alexa Grasso 4. Erin Blanchfield 5. Maycee Barber 6. Rose Namajunas 7. Jasmine Jasudavicius 8. Tracy Cortez 9. Karine Silva 10. Miranda Maverick 11. Casey O’Neill 12. Wang Cong 13. Eduarda Moura 14. JJ Aldrich 15. Gabriella Fernandes WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT Champion: Kayla Harrison 1. Julianna Pena 2. Raquel Pennington 3. Joselyne Edwards +8 4. Norma Dumont -1 5. Ketlen Vieira -1 6. Ailin Perez 7. (T) Yana Santos -2 7. (T) Irene Aldana -1 9. Macy Chiasson 10. Karol Rosa -2 11. Jacqueline Cavalcanti -1 12. Nora Cornolle +1 13. Luana Santos +1 14. Michelle Montague *NR 15. Bia Mesquita You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the welterweight division, following the UFC Perth: “Jack Della vs. Prates” MMA event on Paramount+, scheduled for Sat., May 2, 2026 at RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia. For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.