Several ranked fights have taken place over the past couple of weeks. Because of this, the divisional rankings continued to fluctuate. With fighters swapping places, huge jumps, and up-and-comers bursting onto the scene. Here are some of the biggest updates to each division.

Flyweight:

The largest change in the flyweight division is Charles Johnson moving from being ranked 15th to being 13th. He skips ahead of Ramazan Temirov and Bruno Silva, who each move down one space. Johnson moved up after a massive knockout against Lone’er Kavanagh this past weekend in Shanghai, China. One of the more interesting developments in the flyweight division continues to be the meteoric rise of Joshua Van. Van was only ranked #14 when he fought Bruno Silva on June 7th, 2025. He would KO Silva just to then fight 3 weeks later against the #1-ranked Brandon Royval. In what may be the fight of the year, Van came out victorious and took Royval’s claim to the number one spot. In just one month, Van went from #14 to #1 and is next in line for a championship opportunity. 

Bantamweight:

There is not much activity going on in the bantamweight rankings; however, the division is in an interesting place. The entire top five rankings, with the exception of Sean O’Malley, are buying in for a title shot. Current champion and #3-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Merab Dvalishvili still reigns supreme, but he may have his work cut out for him as time goes on. He is currently set to fight Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 on October 4th. If he wins, many potential matchups become available. A possible rematch with Umar Nurmagomedov or Petr Yan? Song Yadong is going to win his next fight? The bantamweight division is full of possibilities moving forward, and it will be exciting to see.

Featherweight:

The largest jump in the featherweight division came as the result of this past weekend co-main event. Aljamain Sterling dominated Brian Ortega to a 50-45 unanimous decision win which caused him to move from #7 to #5. A complete swap with Ortega who went from #5 to #7. Featherweight is another division that will see a lot of movement in the rankings soon. Lerone Murphy, Mosvar Evloev, and Aljamain Sterling all have called out the current champion Alexander Volanovski. There is no clear indicator who Volkanovski’s next opponent will be and more and more options continue to present themselves. Jean Silva who is currently ranked #10 will take on #2 Diego Lopez at UFC Noche on September 13th. Silva wants to continue his oncoming superstardom and break into the top 5 with a win over one of the best featherweights in the world in Lopez.

Lightweight:

Lightweight is another division that has not seen much motion as of late. However, the champion Ilia Topuria remains in between three different fighters that many think will be next for the belt. Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan are both seen in fans eyes as the next contenders for the belt. While no fight has yet to be scheduled, it is fairly well established that it will be one of those two. Paddy Pimblet is the superstar that still needs one more fight before he gets a shot at the belt. However, he has a history with Ilia Topuria that is not very positive. This fight would likely be one of the highest grossing fights and is a entertainment goldmine. Not to mind the fact that the matchup is extremely interesting stylistically. Max Holloway has now moved up to lightweight permanently and is winning handedly. He is also someone that could find himself back in a championship setting if he continues his win streak and will try to avenge his loss at the hand of Topuria.

Welterweight:

Little movement has been made in the welterweight division recently. At the moment the division has stalled as no one in the top 15 has a fight scheduled except Kevin Holland who fights on October 18th. A lof of interesting matchups are on the table so within a few months the rankings could look completely different. As of right now however, getting these fights scheduled remains an issue. One person who is looking to move up though is Carlos Prates who is ranked #8. He is coming off of a spectacular spinning back elbow KO against Geoff Neal. Prates has a minor set back in his loss to Ian Machado Garyy but returned in stunning fashion. His next fight will likely be a top 5 opponent as he continues to work his way up the ladder.

Middleweight:

There is a new middleweight champion and his name is Khamzat Chimaev. In a total masterclass of wrestling, Chimaev defeated Dricus Du Plessis to claim middleweight gold. This consequently sends Du Plessis to the #1 ranked spot. Reinier de Ridder has surpassed the division to land at #4 in the rankings and he pushes Israel Adesanya down to #5. Anthony Hernandez and Caio Borallho are ranked #6 and #7 and both have top 5 opponents as their next fights. Hernandez will fight de Ridder and Borallho will take on #2 Nassourdine Imavov. If both win they will likely replace their counterparts and move into the top 5 rankings.

Light Heavyweight:

Light heavyweight is the division with the most movement in the rankings. Johnny Walker moves from #13 to #12 after his TKO win against Zhang Mingyang this past weekend. As a result of the loss, Zhang moves from #14 down to #15. Alonzo Menifield swaps places with Zhang and moves to #14. Nikita Krylov moves down to #13 as Johnny Walker takes his place after his recent win. The top 5 in the division will soon change as #1 Alex Pereira is set to take on champion Magomed Ankalaev to headline UFC 320. In the same card, #2 Jiri Prochazka will face #4 Khalil Rountree Jr. In all likelihood, the top 5 rankings will see rearranging in the weeks to come.

Heavyweight:

This past weekend, #3 ranked Sergei Pavlovich defeated #6 Waldo Cortes-Acosta by unanimous decision. Despite the win, it is yet to be seen whether either man will move up or down as there has not been much activity in the heavyweight division. Current champion Tom Aspinall takes on #1 Ciryl Gane to main event UFC 321 on October 25th. #9 ranked Derrick Lewis is coming off of a round one KO against Tallison Texiera and many fans think he might be next in line for a title shot. He is one of the only ranked heavyweights in the top 10 that has not fought Aspinall yet. If Aspinall wins then Lewis is a likely candidate for the belt in his next few fights.