With UFC 222 and Bellator 195 taking place last weekend, the MMAOddsBreaker rankings were bound to get shaken up. MMAOddsBreaker’s Brian Hemminger (@BrianHemminger) has taken over the reigns of the rankings, which are updated after nearly every UFC event.
As always, we only show changes in the rankings with this update. To access the full MMAOddsBreaker rankings, click here. Disagree? Feel free to give us your take on our rankings either in the comment section here or on Twitter!
Pound-for-Pound
1. Demetrious Johnson
2. Jon Jones
3. Max Holloway
4. TJ Dillashaw
5. Khabib Nurmagomedov
6. Stipe Miocic
7. Conor McGregor
8. Daniel Cormier
9. Cris Cyborg
10. Robert Whittaker (+4)
11. Tony Ferguson (-1)
12. Tyron Woodley (-1)
13. Amanda Nunes
14. Georges St. Pierre (-2)
15. Rose Namajunas
I shuffled the bottom of the top 15 after the most recent event. Robert Whittaker’s thrilling split decision victory over Yoel Romero bumps him past Tony Ferguson, who’s injured and Georges St. Pierre, who may not fight for another four years after his return last year. If Tyron Woodley can put on a good performance in his comeback from injury, he could bounce right back.
Heavyweight
1. Stipe Miocic
2. Francis Ngannou
3. Cain Velasquez
4. Curtis Blaydes (+2)
5. Alistair Overeem (-1)
6. Alexander Volkov (-1)
7. Mark Hunt
8. Derrick Lewis
9. Fabricio Werdum
10. Junior dos Santos
11. Ben Rothwell
12. Marcin Tybura
13. Tai Tuivasa (NR)
14. Vitaly Minakov
15. Andrei Arlovski (-2)
After scoring a third round TKO over Alistair Overeem at UFC 225, Curtis Blaydes is officially for real. He’s now impressively defeated two division staples and has cemented himself as a legitimate contender for the belt. If a fighter can’t stop his takedowns, they’re going to have a very rough day.
Welterweight
1. Tyron Woodley
2. Colby Covington (+4)
3. Kamaru Usman (+1)
4. Rafael dos Anjos (-2)
5. Rory MacDonald (-1)
6. Darren Till (-1)
7. Stephen Thompson
8. Robbie Lawler
9. Santiago Ponzinibbio
10. Demian Maia
11. Jorge Masvidal
12. Neil Magny
13. Gunnar Nelson
14. Douglas Lima
15. Dong Hyun Kim
Colby Covington completely surpassed my expecations with his impressive performance against Rafael dos Anjos. Covington combined relentless pressure with improved striking, a sturdy gas tank and constant takedown attempts to never give dos Anjos the space he needed to comfortably operate. I bumped up Kamaru Usman as well because he’s such a similar fighter to Covington, except perhaps more athletic and I think he could do the same thing.
Flyweight
1. Demetrious Johnson
2. Henry Cejudo
3. Kyoji Horiguchi (+1)
4. Sergio Pettis (+3)
5. Joseph Benavidez (-2)
6. Ray Borg (-1)
7. Jussier Formiga (-1)
8. Ben Nguyen
9. Tim Elliott
10. Dustin Ortiz
11. John Moraga
12. Alexandre Pantoja
13. Brandon Moreno
14. Wilson Reis
15. Matheus Nicolau
Sergio Pettis dropped jaws with his decision victory over Joseph Benavidez. He impressively managed distance well, avoided being put on his back and worked his longer strikes to fluster Benavidez, becoming the first man to beat him that hasn’t been a champion.
Women’s Bantamweight
1. Amanda Nunes
2. Ketlen Vieira
3. Holly Holm (+2)
4. Raquel Pennington (-1)
5. Germaine de Randamie (-1)
6. Marion Reneau
7. Julianna Pena
8. Tonya Evinger
9. Cat Zingano
10. Sara McMann
11. Sarah Kaufman
12. Aspen Ladd
13. Leslie Smith
14. Bethe Correia
15. Lucie Pudilova
I fully expect Holly Holm to return to 135 pounds and challenge Amanda Nunes for the belt at some point. Holm vs Nunes is one of the few intriguing fights remaining at the top of the division and I wouldn’t be shocked one bit if she leapfrogged Ketlen Vieira to earn another crack at gold.
