The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) presented its Pound-For-Pound ranks of mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters. This ranking division showcases the top fighters and their weight classes and shows who is the better fighter.
The ranking is made by voting panels consisting of various media members. Without further ado, here’s a list of top men and women fighters in the UFC 2023.
UFC Men’s Rankings 2023
The top five of UFC Pound-For-Pound Men’s rankings present fighters from heavyweight, flyweight, and bantamweight, with Jon Jones in the top rank.
Jon Jones (Heavyweight)
The current Heavyweight champion is Jon “Bones” Jones, who defeated Ciryl Gane in the first round with submission last March 5, 2023. The game didn’t last long, and, in fact, the fight only lasted for two minutes and four seconds. This event showed Jones’s power and why he deserved his position at the top rank.
Throughout his UFC MMA career, he has already made a total of ten knockouts and including his recent fight, seven wins by submission. In total, Jon Jones has accumulated 27 wins and only one loss. Aside from that, he also currently holds the record of over 17 undefeated fights, the longest undefeated UFC win streak. His unfortunate loss was due to disqualification in 2009, a fight against Matt Hamill.
Brandon Moreno (Flyweight)
Next in rank, Brandon “The Assassin Baby” Moreno is in second place. He’s the current champion in the Flyweight class with a stunning 21 wins in his name. He had five wins via knockout, 11 by submission, and eight with first-round finishes.
Moreno’s last fight against Deiveson Figueiredo concluded in the third round with TKO via Doctor’s Stoppage. He delivered 85 strikes in total with zero submission attempts but 48 significant strikes.
This win tasted sweeter than the others because Brandon Moreno had faced his rival Figueiredo twice but lost in both fights until last January 21, 2023, when he fought him for the third time and finally won. As impressive as his recent fight, Moreno has also experienced losses, totaling six and two draws.
Aljamain Sterling (Bantamweight)
Next on this list is the current Bantamweight champion, Aljamain “Funk Master” Sterling. He holds a nine-fight win streak with three wins by knockout and eight wins by submission. Sterling’s fight against Henry Cejudo completed five rounds, unlike the other fighters on the list. The decision was split, presenting how competitive and intense the fight was.
Sterling landed 186 total strikes and four takedowns, which is not much of a gap from his rival’s 143 strikes and three takedowns. If you look at their recorded significant strikes, the fight takes a turn, where Sterling landed 135 and Cejudo with only 99.
Although the decision was split, Sterling is undeniably an obvious winner. So far, Aljamain Sterling has only had three losses and zero draws.
UFC Women’s Rankings 2023
Women in the UFC are as incredible as the men. This list presents champions from bantamweight, flyweight, featherweight, and strawweight.
Amanda Nunes (Bantamweight, Featherweight)
Amanda Nunes is a Brazilian MMA fighter who is the current champion of two different weight classes, bantamweight, and featherweight.
She’s the third fighter in UFC history to simultaneously hold titles in two different weight classes. Aside from that, she’s called The Lioness and has already won 22 fights, with the recent one being for a Women’s Bantamweight title bout against Julianna Pena.
The two fighters are in a series of fights in which Pena initially won the first match at UFC 269, which ended Nunes’ 12 straight fights win streak. However, in their second match for UFC, The Lioness snatched back the title via unanimous decision. So far, they’re tied with one win each, and to finally conclude their series fight, the two fighters are supposed to face each other for UFC 287 on June 10 at Rogers Arena.
The MMA odds for Nunes are relatively good if you look at her stats of 14 first-round finishes, 13 knockouts, and four wins by submission. Throughout her UFC career, she was only defeated five times.
Zhang Weili (Strawweight)
Next on the list in the UFC Women’s Pound-For-Pound ranking, Zhang Weili sits next to Nunes. Zhang “Magnum” Weili is the current Women’s Strawweight division champion.
She won this title last 2019 after winning over Jessica Andrade and then defended it the following year. However, the title was eventually snatched away from her after she lost against Rose Namajunas in 2021, but then she won the title back in 2022 and remained the current champion.
Furthermore, Weili has already participated in 26 fights, winning 23 (11 knockouts, 11 first-round finishes, and eight by submission). Looking at it, you’ll realize that Weili has what it takes to defend the title for a longer time, especially now that she has also improved so much since losing it.
Alexa Grasso (Flyweight)
Last but not least, Alexa Grasso is the third person in the Pound-For-Pound rankings and is the current champion of the Flyweight division in MMA UFC. Compared to all the names in this list, Grasso has the least number of fights so far.
Moreover, Grasso is on a five-fight win streak, with the most recent one last March 4, 2023, against Valentina Shevchenko. She won the fight via submission until the fourth round. Grasso’s performance showcased how excellent of a fighter she is, and if everything goes well, fans can look forward to how she will defend and maintain her win streak.
Unfortunately, there’s no new announcement regarding her next fight anytime soon.
Final Thoughts
MMA is a sport that’s full of surprises and excitement. Watching all the fighters, especially those above mentioned names, defend their titles or snatch them away from the others provides a different exhilaration. So, if you’re a huge fan of MMA, it would be a good time now to watch the top fighters’ recaps so that you’ll know what to look forward to in the future. Use this article as a guide for the top fighters’ names.
