Justin Gaethje owned a UFC championship belt before Sunday. But it signified just an interim title, which essentially made him the second-best lightweight in the world.
That wasn't good enough for "The Highlight." He was in his second run with an interim belt, and he had lost in two previous bids for the undisputed title. It was time for more.
The long-awaited accomplishment came on the biggest stage of MMA history, the White House lawn in Washington, D.C., where Gaethje finally captured the big prize. The longtime fan favorite but huge main event underdog beat up Ilia Topuria to the point where the undefeated champion's corner stopped the fight after four rounds. At age 37, Gaethje finally is UFC lightweight champion.
As a result, Gaethje makes his debut in the ESPN pound-for-pound rankings, as does Ciryl Gane, who knocked out Alex Pereira in Sunday's co-main event to win an interim heavyweight title. Gaethje is No. 7, Gane No. 10. Topuria, who went into the weekend ranked second, falls to No. 5, and Pereira, previously ranked third, lands at No. 10.
The defeats of the second- and third-ranked fighters threw the pound-for-pound men's rankings into disarray. UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev is now a unanimous choice at No. 1, but that is where consensus ends. Eight fighters received votes for the other four spots in the top 5.
In the women's rankings, the most significant change is the removal of bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, who is ineligible because she has not fought in over a year. Tatiana Suarez and Alexa Grasso previously were tied at No. 10, but the latest voting nudged Suarez up to the ninth spot.
For the ESPN divisional MMA rankings, click here.
Note: Results are current; rankings are as of June 17. To be eligible for the rankings, a fighter must have competed over the past 12 months or must have an upcoming fight booked. Fighters who have been dropped for inactivity can be reinstated only after they compete.
Men's pound-for-pound rankings
UFC welterweight champion
Record: 28-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Jack Della Maddalena, Nov. 15, 2025
Next: Aug. 15 vs. Ian Machado Garry
Makhachev fulfilled his prophecy of becoming a two-division champion by snuffing out the threat of Della Maddalena's striking with relative ease at UFC 322. The win tied him with Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in UFC history at 16 and puts Makhachev's name on the short list of greatest MMA fighters of all time. With an incredibly talented crop of contenders at welterweight, there were several potential opponents but Garry got the call for UFC 330. -- Andreas Hale
2. Petr Yan
UFC bantamweight champion
Previous ranking: 5
Record: 20-5
Last: W (UD) vs. Merab Dvalishvili, Dec. 6, 2025
Next: TBA
What a return to the top it's been for Yan. He began his career with 15 consecutive wins before going on a 1-4 run from 2021 to 2023. That almost doesn't feel real now, after watching him reclaim his throne against Dvalishvili, who once handed him the worst loss of his career. Yan took a major detour, but this was the destination we felt he was capable of before the skid. He once again looks like one of the absolute best fighters on the planet. -- Brett Okamoto
T-3. Tom Aspinall
UFC heavyweight champion
Previous ranking: 4
Record: 15-3, 1 NC
Last: NC1 vs. Ciryl Gane, Oct. 25, 2025
Next: TBA
You can make a case that Aspinall is the most dynamic, skillful, talented heavyweight the sport has seen. He is dominating opponents in a way that is unmatched. No one can last a round with him. He had hoped to prove his supremacy against Jon Jones, but Jones opted to retire, elevating Aspinall from interim champion. His first defense of the undisputed belt ended anticlimactically, as an eye poke resulted in his UFC 321 fight with Gane being declared a no contest. -- Okamoto
T-3. Merab Dvalishvili
UFC bantamweight
Previous ranking: 6
Record: 21-5
Last: L (UD) vs. Petr Yan, Dec. 6, 2025
Next: TBA
Dvalishvili was on one of the most impressive runs through the UFC's bantamweight division ever. Not only did he defeat Sean O'Malley for the second time in nine months at UFC 316, but he showcased a new part of his game, finishing O'Malley with a third-round guillotine. Starting in August 2022, Dvalishvili beat José Aldo, Yan, Henry Cejudo, O'Malley (twice), Umar Nurmagomedov and Cory Sandhagen. But at UFC 323, in an attempt to become the first champion in UFC history to successfully defend his title four times in a calendar year, Dvalishvili lost his title in a rematch with Yan. -- Okamoto
5. Ilia Topuria
UFC lightweight
Previous ranking: 2
Record: 17-1
Last: L (TKO4) vs. Justin Gaethje, June 14
Next: TBA
After knocking out two of the greatest featherweights in UFC history (Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway) in 2024, it was going to be tough for Topuria to top that in 2025. He tried, moving up to lightweight with the goal of challenging Islam Makhachev. But with Makhachev moving up a division as well, Topuria instead captured the vacant title by knocking out Oliveira at UFC 317. He lost the belt in his first defense, however, taking a beating from Gaethje. -- Hale
UFC flyweight
Previous ranking: 8
Record: 30-6
Last: L (TKO1) vs. Joshua Van, Dec. 6, 2025
Next: TBA
Pantoja became the UFC's unquestioned flyweight king by racking up four title defenses, including two in pay-per-view main events in 2024. He built his winning streak to eight in his UFC 317 win over Kai Kara-France, whom he had already defeated before, like other challengers. But he lost his belt in a gruesome way, injuring his elbow in the opening seconds of a UFC 323 fight with Van. -- Okamoto
UFC lightweight champion
Previous ranking: Unranked
Record: 28-5
Last: W (TKO4) vs. Ilia Topuria, June 14
Next: TBA
Gaethje has spent his 15-year career thrilling MMA fans, but before this past weekend, all he had to show for it -- aside from 15 bonus checks in 15 UFC appearances -- were two missed opportunities to be an undisputed champion. But his fourth-round TKO of Topuria got Gaethje over the hump. It was an aggressive, resilient performance in a back-and-forth battle that is a prime candidate for fight of the year. More important for Gaethje: At age 37, he is finally sitting at the top of the mountain. -- Jeff Wagenheim
UFC featherweight champion
Previous ranking: 7
Record: 28-4
Last: W (UD) vs. Diego Lopes, Jan. 31
Next: TBA
It felt as if the sport had started to write Volkanovski's eulogy following his knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in February 2024. Volkanovski noticed and made a point of proving to everyone he still has plenty left by recapturing the featherweight belt at UFC 314, the first of two consecutive wins over Lopes. His age (37) will likely continue to be a prefight topic, which is fine because Volkanovski enjoys proving people wrong. -- Okamoto
9. Alex Pereira
UFC heavyweight / light heavyweight
Previous ranking: 3
Record: 13-4
Last: L (TKO2) vs. Ciryl Gane, June 14
Next: TBA
A stellar 2024 cemented Pereira's place as a star in the UFC, but he faced arguably his toughest test as light heavyweight champion when he stepped into the Octagon with Ankalaev at UFC 313. Pereira had dealt with strikers, but the question was whether he could get the job done against a talented grappler. Pereira kept the fight standing but fell short by unanimous decision. He changed that outcome quickly and violently when he met Ankalaev in a rematch at UFC 320. Pereira's reign as light heavyweight champion is over, however, as he vacated the title to fight Gane for an interim heavyweight title on the White House card. Pereira fell short in that test. -- Hale
10. Ciryl Gane
UFC heavyweight interim champion
Previous ranking: Unranked
Record: 14-2, 1 NC
Last: W (TKO2) vs. Alex Pereira, June 14
Next: TBA
Gane is pretty unique in that he is the first -- and could very well go down as the only -- heavyweight to face its four biggest names in Francis Ngannou, Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall and Pereira. None of those four have fought each other, yet all four have have fought the Frenchman. Gane was 0-2 with a no- contest against that group, before he knocked out Pereira in the second round of their interim title fight. Gane was heralded as the future of the generation when he first broke onto the scene, but endured growing pains in losses to Ngannou and Jones. He looks very formidable now, and no one will be counting him out if and when he faces Aspinall in a title unification bout. -- Okamoto
Other fighters receiving votes: Joshua Van and Arman Tsarukyan.
How our panel voted
Brett Okamoto: 1. Islam Makhachev; 2. Petr Yan; 3. Merab Dvalishvili; 4. Ilia Topuria; 5. Alexander Volkanovski; 6. Ciryl Gane; 7. Tom Aspinall; 8. Arman Tsarukyan; 9. Alex Pereira; 10. Alexandre Pantoja.
Andreas Hale: 1. Makhachev; 2. Aspinall; 3. Pantoja; 4. Yan; 5. Dvalishvili; 6. Pereira; 7. Justin Gaethje; 8. Topuria; 9. Volkanovski; 10. Joshua Van.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Makhachev; 2. Volkanovski; 3. Gaethje; 4. Topuria; 5. Pereira; 6. Dvalishvili; 7. Gane; 8. Van; 9. Yan; 10. Pantoja.
Andrew Davis: 1. Makhachev; 2. Aspinall; 3. Yan; 4. Dvalishvili; 5. Pantoja; 6. Gaethje; 7. Topuria; 8. Volkanovski; 9. Gane; 10. Pereira.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Makhachev; 2. Aspinall; 3. Pantoja; 4. Yan; 5. Gaethje; 6. Dvalishvili; 7. Topuria; 8. Gane; 9. Pereira; 10. Volkanovski.
Women's pound-for-pound rankings
UFC flyweight champion
Record: 26-4-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Zhang Weili, Nov. 15, 2025
Next: TBA
Shevchenko's dominance came under question in 2022 and 2023, when she went 1-1-1 in a trilogy with Alexa Grasso. Boy, does that feel like a long time ago now. Shevchenko has more than reasserted herself as the best flyweight in the world, and now she's asserted herself as the No. 1 woman in the world, period. It wasn't surprising that she beat Zhang, but it was surprising how easy she made it look. -- Okamoto
2. Zhang Weili
UFC flyweight / strawweight
Previous ranking: 3
Record: 26-4
Last: L (UD) vs. Valentina Shevchenko, Nov. 15, 2025
Next: TBA
It's hard to move up in weight, especially at the highest level. That sounds like it should be obvious, but Zhang had been dominant at 115 pounds for so long, some of us might have taken for granted how big of a challenge moving to 125 would be. UFC 322 was a bad night for Zhang, but she doesn't have many. And if she decides to stay at 125, it certainly seems reasonable she'll fare better in the future. -- Okamoto
3. Cris Cyborg
PFL featherweight champion
Previous ranking: 4
Record: 29-2, 1 NC
Last: W (Sub3) vs. Sara Collins, Dec. 13, 2025
Next: TBA
It had been a while since Cyborg had fought an elite opponent in MMA until she met Larissa Pacheco in 2024. That was a legitimate matchup -- and many within the industry were predicting Cyborg's downfall. Instead, she took out the PFL's two-weight champion, upending all of Pacheco's momentum. One of the original pioneers of women's MMA is somehow still going strong, and now she's once again a champion after getting her second career submission at PFL Lyon. -- Okamoto
UFC flyweight
Previous ranking: 5
Record: 20-5-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Rose Namajunas, Jan. 24
Next: TBA
Silva is looking every bit the part of a future UFC champion following a dominant display against Alexa Grasso at UFC 315 and a victory over Namajunas at UFC 324. Silva's stick-and-move style has frustrated even the highest level of opponent, and she's got youth on her side as she won't turn 30 until 2027. -- Okamoto
5. Manon Fiorot
UFC flyweight
Previous ranking: 6
Record: 13-2
Last: W (TKO1) vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius, Oct. 18, 2025
Next: TBA
Fiorot fell short in her challenge of Valentina Shevchenko, the champ, at UFC 315. But by knocking off Rose Namajunas and Erin Blanchfield in her previous two fights, Fiorot has shown she has the tools to become champion. -- Hale
UFC strawweight champion
Previous ranking: 7
Record: 16-5
Last: W (UD) vs. Virna Jandiroba, Oct. 25, 2025
Next: Aug. 15 vs. Gillian Robertson
Dern's rise to the 115-pound throne was truly a changing of the guard. She is the division's first first-time champion since 2019, because the previous three champs -- Zhang Weili, Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas -- all were in their second reigns. Dern, nearly a decade into her MMA career after multiple jiu-jitsu world championships, has won three fights in a row. Her first defense is against another grappling-heavy fighter, Robertson, this summer in Philadelphia. -- Wagenheim
PFL flyweight
Previous ranking: 8
Record: 14-0
Last: W (UD) vs. Sumiko Inaba, July 19, 2025
Next: July 31 vs Denise Kielholtz
Not only did Ditcheva win the PFL's flyweight season in 2024, but she did so in spectacular fashion -- a TKO finish over Taila Santos, who once challenged for a UFC title. Ditcheva fought only once in 2025, dominating Inaba in the co-main event of the first PFL Champions Series card in Cape Town, South Africa. She was scheduled to open 2026 with a matchup with fellow kickboxer Denise Kielholtz, but Ditcheva withdrew with an injury. Now they will meet in the summer. -- Okamoto
UFC flyweight
Previous ranking: 9
Record: 14-2
Last: W (Sub2) vs. Tracy Cortez, Nov. 15, 2025
Next: Aug. 15 vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
Blanchfield avenged her 2019 loss to Cortez in emphatic fashion at UFC 322, submitting her in the second round of their rematch. Still only 26, Blanchfield continues to evolve with improved striking and suffocating grappling. She will have to wait her turn for a title opportunity, with Natalia Silva likely up next. Blanchfield next faces fellow top-10 flyweight Jasudavisius. -- Hale
UFC strawweight
Previous ranking: Tied for 10
Record: 12-1
Last: W (Sub2) vs. Loopy Godínez, April 11
Next: TBA
If Suarez is still feeling the effects of last year's humbling defeat to Zhang Weili in a title challenge, she certainly didn't show it at UFC 327, overcoming early adversity to thrash Godinez, a fellow top-10 strawweight. Suarez is going to be a tough out for anyone at 115 pounds. -- Wagenheim
10. Alexa Grasso
UFC flyweight
Record: 17-5-1
Last: W (KO) vs. Maycee Barber, March 28
Next: TBA
Grasso went nearly three years without winning a fight, but her 2023 win right before the skid was a huge one, a submission of Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC title. What followed were two more fights with Shevchenko -- a draw, then a loss -- and then a loss to Natalia Silva. That made the fight with Barber a must-win, and Grasso came through explosively. -- Wagenheim
Other fighter receiving votes: Virna Jandiroba.
How our panel voted
Brett Okamoto: 1. Valentina Shevchenko; 2. Zhang Weili; 3. Cris Cyborg; 4. Manon Fiorot; 5. Mackenzie Dern; 6. Dakota Ditcheva; 7. Natalia Silva; 8. Erin Blanchfield; 9. Tatiana Suarez; 10. Virna Jandiroba.
Andreas Hale: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Zhang; 3. Cyborg; 4. Silva; 5. Fiorot; 6. Blanchfield; 7. Ditcheva; 8. Dern; 9. Alexa Grasso; 10. Suarez.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Cyborg; 3. Zhang; 4. Ditcheva; 5. Dern; 6. Silva; 7. Grasso; 8. Suarez; 9. Fiorot; 10. Blanchfield.
Andrew Davis: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Zhang; 3. Cyborg; 4. Dern; 5. Silva; 6. Fiorot; 7. Blanchfield; 8. Ditcheva; 9. Suarez; 10. Jandiroba.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Zhang; 3. Cyborg; 4. Fiorot; 5. Silva; 6. Blanchfield; 7. Dern; 8. Suarez; 9. Ditcheva; 10. Grasso.