Barely a week after his defeat to Alex Pereira, former UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, has dropped in the latest UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
Pereira at UFC 281 on October 13 defeated Adesanya during the fifth-round TKO. The loss was Adesanya’s first at middleweight and his first stoppage defeat, according to The PUNCH
For the first time since unifying the belt in 2019, Adesanya is no longer sitting atop the middleweight division and is now the No.1 contender.
Using a criterion that takes into account everything from accomplishments to current form, here are the current top fighters inside the Octagon.
1. Alexander Volkanovski — Featherweight champion (24-1)
Previous ranking: No. 1
2. Kamaru Usman — Welterweight (20-2)
Previous ranking: No. 3
Usman looked on his way to a sixth title defense and a tie with Anderson Silva for consecutive UFC wins until a miraculous head-kick knockout from Leon Edwards in Round 5 shocked the world at UFC 278. An immediate trilogy bout appears like the next move for the 35-year-old who yielded the first takedown of his career in the opening round.
3. Islam Makhachev — Lightweight champion (23-1)
Previous ranking: 4
4. Francis Ngannou — Heavyweight champion (16-3)
Previous ranking: No. 5
5. Israel Adesanya — Middleweight champion (23-2)
Previous ranking: No. 2
