He’s back! Sean Strickland crashes pound-for-pound chart in UFC 328 rankings update

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. Alexander Volkanovski +1
4. Alex Pereira +1
5. Petr Yan +1
6. Tom Aspinall +1
7. (T) Merab Dvalishvili +1
8. (T) Sean Strickland (*NR)
9. Joshua Van +1
10. Khamzat Chimaev -7
11. Alexandre Pantoja -2
12. Charles Oliveira -1
13. Dricus Du Plessis -1
14. Carlos Ulberg
15. Arman Tsarukyan -2

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. Steve Erceg
11. Alex Perez
12. Tim Elliott
13. Tagir Ulanbekov +1
14. Charles Johnson -1
15. Bruno Silva

BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Petr Yan

1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. (T) Umar Nurmagomedov
3. (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
   5. Yair Rodriguez
5. Jean Silva
6. Arnold Allen
7. Youssef Zalal
8. Steve Garcia
9. Kevin Vallejos
10. Brian Ortega
11. Melquizael Costa
12. Aaron Pico
13. David Onama
14. 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. Quillan Salkilld
13. Michael Chandler
14. Fares Ziam +1
15. Beneil Dariush -1

WELTERWEIGHT

Champion: Islam Makhachev

1. Ian Machado Garry
2. Carlos Prates
3. Michael Morales
4. Jack Della Maddalena
5. Belal Muhammed
6. Sean Brady
7. Leon Edwards
8. Kamaru Usman
9. Joaquin Buckley
10. Yaroslav Amosov +4
11. Gabriel Bonfim -1
12. Mike Malott -1
13. Michael Page -1
14. Uros Medic -2
15. Daniel Rodriguez -1

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Champion: Sean Strickland

1. Khamzat Chimaev -1
2. Dricus Du Plessis -1
3. Nassourdine Imavov -1
4. (T) Brendan Allen
5. (T) Caio Borralho +1
6. (T) Joe Pyfer
7. (T) Anthony Hernandez +1
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. Volkan Oezdemir +2
10. Bogdan Guskov
11. Dominick Reyes -2
12. Aleksandar Rakic
13. Nikita Krylov
14. Johnny Walker
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
8. Rizvan Kuniev
9. Derrick Lewis
10. Tyrell Fortune +1
11. Ante Delija -1
12. Marcin Tybura
13. Valter Walker
14. Brando Pericic +1
15. Tallison Teixeira -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
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. Rose Namajunas +1
6. (T) Maycee Barber -1
7. (T) Jasmine Jasudavicius +1
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
4. Norma Dumont
5. Ketlen Vieira
6. Ailin Perez
7. (T) Yana Santos
8. (T) Irene Aldana
9. Macy Chiasson
10. Karol Rosa
11. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
12. Michelle Montague +1
13. Nora Cornolle -1
14. Luana Santos
15. Bia Mesquita

You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the featherweight division, following the UFC Vegas 117: “Allen vs. Costa” MMA event on Paramount+, scheduled for Sat., May 16, 2026 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.