There is more talent in the UFC than ever before. There are several seemingly unbeatable champions, elite contenders, generational prospects, and big-name veterans in the promotion. Stars from outside of the UFC have come flocking to the top mixed martial arts promotion in the world, and there are still relevant names who have been prevalent for a long time in Dana White's company.
However, 2025 has been a year of change for the UFC. Seven of the 11 divisions have seen a new champion crowned this year. Furthermore, all-time legends, such as Jon Jones and Dustin Poirier, put the gloves down and retired. Weight classes are drastically being shaken up left and right, so it is time to rerank every UFC weight class from worst to best.
11. Women's strawweight
Women's strawweight had arguably the best female MMA fighter in the world running the division for years. Zhang Weili won the belt at 115 pounds back in 2022. She defended her belt three times and has 10 wins in the UFC to her name. Her only losses in the promotion came against Rose Namajunas.
Neither Weili nor Namajunas is fighting at strawweight anymore, though, and their decisions to leave the division for flyweight have left the 115-pound weight class with a talent deficiency. Mackenzie Dern will fight Virna Jandiroba for the soon-to-be vacant belt at strawweight, but there is a case to be made that neither of them is a championship-level fighter.
Dern has two straight wins, but she'd lost four of her previous six fights before that mini winning streak. Jandiroba has previously lost to Dern, too, although their UFC 256 bout was an epic battle.
The other three fighters in the top five, Tatiana Suarez, Yan Xiaonan, and Amanda Lemos, all already lost championship fights, but perhaps the departure of Weili from strawweight will allow one of them to make a name for themselves.
10. Women's bantamweight
Women's bantamweight, like strawweight, lacks depth. However, there is more star power at 135 pounds. Kayla Harrison seems like the most unbeatable woman in MMA. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo is 19-1 since converting to MMA, and she has yet to lose in the UFC.
Her dominant wrestling style has proven too much for the peers in which she shares a weight class. However, there is hope for the future of the division. Harrison has called out Amanda Nunes, and rumors suggest that the GOAT of women's MMA could return to the sport for a super-fight clash against Harrison.
Nunes returning to the sport isn't a guarantee, though. When it comes to the talent at women's bantamweight outside of Harrison right now, there isn't much to write home about. Harrison won her belt over Juliana Pena, the current No. 1 contender, but Pena has lost two of her last three fights. Her victory over Nunes looks more and more like a fluke each time she steps into the octagon. Raquel Pennington is a former champion, but she lost to Pena as well.
9. Heavyweight
The heavyweight division was already thin before Jon Jones, the greatest UFC fighter of all time, retired. While a return to the sport will likely always be rumored for Jones, as of now, he isn't fighting. While he was on the roster, he was holding up the division by refusing to fight Tom Aspinall.
Aspinall has been promoted to the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion, and he has the potential to become the GOAT of the heavyweight division. He moves way quicker and is way more athletic than anybody his size should be. That has led to nothing but dominance during his UFC career. Aspinall has the shortest average fight time (2:02) in UFC history.
Aspinall is slated to take on Ciryl Gane at UFC 321. Gane is a great striker who also has rare speed for the division, but his ground game has been exposed in the past. Alexander Volkov offers an intriguing reach advantage as a 6-foot-7 fighter; Sergei Pavlovich brings scary knockout power to the table; and Curtis Blaydes is a premier wrestler.
Jailton Almeida, Waldo Cortes-Acosta, and Derrick Lewis are other heavyweights of note, the latter of whom has the knockout power to end anybody's night on any given Saturday.
8. Flyweight
Any conversation about the flyweight division starts and ends with Alexandre Pantoja. The Flyweight Champion looks absolutely unbeatable because he combines an elite ground game with advanced striking, so nobody has been able to find an opening against him as of late.
The 30-5 fighter is on an eight-fight winning streak, which includes five championship bout victories. The UFC has given championship opportunities against him to veterans like Brandon Moreno, Kai Kara-France, and Brandon Royval as well as prospects like Steve Erceg and Kai Asakura.
Royval is coming off a potential fight-of-the-year performance that ended in a loss to Joshua Van, the fighter who will be given the next shot against Pantoja. Van is a superb boxer who packs a punch for a 125-pounder. His ground game will be tested against Pantoja, though.
Erceg and Asakura have struggled since their title opportunities, which makes Pantoja's resume look a little more underwhelming in hindsight. Erceg is 1-2 in his last three, and Asakura recently lost to journeyman Tim Elliot. Charles Johnson is the flyweight boogeyman who is capable of beating or losing to just about anybody. Tatsuro Tairo is a talented 25-year-old with tons of potential, and Manel Kape has a high ceiling but struggles with consistency.
7. Light heavyweight
Alex Pereira was on a tear for the ages at light heavyweight before he lost to Magomed Ankalaev. The two will rematch at UFC 320. The rest of the division is filled with intriguing strikers. Jiri Prochazka has an unorthodox karate-like style, Khalil Rountree always goes to war when he steps in the octagon, and Dominick Reyes is in the midst of an epic career comeback. Reyes arguably came closer than anybody else to besting Jon Jones in the UFC outside of Jones' disqualification loss because of 12-6 elbows.
Jan Blachowicz and Jamahal Hill are trending the wrong way. Blachowicz has lost or gone to a draw in four of his last five fights, and Hill has lost three straight since he was the Light Heavyweight Champion. On the other end of the spectrum, Carlos Ulberg has won eight straight.
6. Lightweight
Lightweight was the cream of the crop not long ago. The division still has a lot of big names, but many of the top-ranked fighters have passed their prime or have already failed in title pursuits. Dustin Poirier fit this description before recently retiring, and Islam Makhachev has now moved up to welterweight.
Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler, and Charles Oliveira always put butts in seats, but they are all on the wrong side of 35 years old. Max Holloway brings more talent to the division since his move up to 155 pounds. He is the best MMA boxer ever and has the most significant strikes (3,655) in UFC history. He has also already lost to the lightweight champion, though.
That champion would be Ilia Topuria, and considering he is the No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, he carries a heavy burden for lightweight in these rankings. Topuria is undefeated and has arguably the most complete skill set in the sport. It doesn't look like anybody will be able to beat him unless something really fluky happens. The undefeated star is the face of the sport right now.
Other notable lightweights include Paddy Pimblett, Dan Hooker, Beneil Dariush, Mateusz Gamrot, Rafael Fiziev, Renato Moicano, Benoit Saint Denis, and Mauricio Ruffy. That is a lot of relevant talent, but it is unlikely any of them can beat Topuria within the next two years.
5. Women's flyweight
There is a super fight lined up at women's flyweight, and that isn't something that can be said about the other female UFC divisions. Weili will take on Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322. These are two of the best women's mixed martial artists in history. Women's flyweight also features Alexa Grasso.
The former champion had the makings of a dominant champion, but she has since lost three fights in a row. Natalie Silva hasn't lost in the UFC, and Manon Fiorot's only loss was against Shevchenko. Furthermore, Rose Namajunas, Maycee Barber, and Tracy Cortez are some of the biggest superstars in women's MMA.
4. Bantamweight
Bantamweight is another division where the champion seems invincible. Merab Dvalishvili has won 13 straight fights thanks to unmatched stamina and an elite takedown ability. Despite losing to Dvalishvili twice, Sean O'Malley is still one of the biggest stars in the UFC partly because of his colorful hair but more so because of his elite striking.
Umar Nurmagomedov is the other fighter Dvalishvili bested in a championship bout. The cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov was 18-0 prior to that loss, and he still has championship potential and DNA. Cory Sandhagen is next in line to try and dethrone the champion. Former champions, such as Deiveson Figueiredo, Henry Cejudo, and Petr Yan, all have plenty left in the tank, too.
Vinícius Oliveira is a name to watch out for. The fighter nicknamed LokDog has yet to lose in the UFC, and he has looked special in the process. Payton Talbott is another unranked prospect with star potential.
3. Featherweight
Ilia Topuria wreaked havoc at featherweight before abandoning the division to become a double champion. That allowed fan-favorite and featherweight GOAT Alexander Volkanovski to buck the washed allegations and re-establish himself as the 145-pound champion. Volkanovski has seven title-fight wins to his name.
There is also more talent still in possession of their “zero” at featherweight than in any other division. Movsar Evloev is tied for the best undefeated record among UFC fighters at 19-0, and Lerone Murphy is 17-0. An impressive spinning back elbow in his last fight likely earned him a title opportunity.
Aljamain Sterling is making noise at featherweight after a win over triangle choke expert Brian Ortega. Diego Lopes' rise toward the top of the division was swift, and Josh Emmett has scary size and power for a 145-pounder. After Mauricio Ruffy and Caio Borralho suffered recent losses, featherweight Jean Silva now looks like the best hope for the Fighting Nerds.
There are a handful of prospects from other promotions who were viewed as elite who came over to the UFC and suffered losses right away. Kai Asakura (flyweight) and Patchy Mix (bantamweight) fit the bill. So do flyweights Aaron Pico and Patricio Pitbull. Both Bellator legends lost their UFC debuts, but Pitbull did bounce back with a win over Dan Ige, a fighter who will back down to nobody.
2. Welterweight
The welterweight division has a claim as the best weight class in the UFC right now. Jack Della Maddalena combines takedown defense and elite striking perfectly, so he seems like the perfect counter to the wrestling-heavy style that has taken over the sport recently. He will certainly be challenged against Islam Makhachev. The former No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter vacated his 155-pound belt for a chance to become champ-champ.
Makhachev's success at lightweight afforded him a chance to jump the line and secure the next title fight. There are plenty of other worthy contenders, though. Most notably, Shavkat Rakhmonov is 19-0 and had finished all of his UFC opponents before last taking on Ian Machado Garry. Even Machado Garry was undefeated before fighting Rakhmonov.
Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman both had sizable reigns as champions in the division, and Michael Morales is 18-0. Carlos Prates is an entertaining striker who last won via spinning back elbow. The No. 1 and 2-ranked contenders haven't even been mentioned yet, either. Belal Muhammed was on an 11-fighting nonlosing streak before he lost the championship belt to JDM, and Sean Brady's only career loss came against Muhammed.
Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns are past their primes, but they are still relevant welterweights. The 170-pound division also can't be talked about without mentioning Kevin Holland, the ultimate gatekeeper who seemingly fights every other month. Holland already has his fifth fight of the year scheduled, which is a feat he accomplished before, although he won all five of his bouts in 2020.
1. Middleweight
The best weight class in the UFC is middleweight. There is a surplus of championship-caliber fighters at 185 pounds. The current Middleweight Champion is Khamzat Chimaev. The 15-0 fighter has a relentless takedown attack, and his victory over Dricus du Plessis was one of the biggest championship bout blowouts ever.
Du Plessis can still come back strong, though. He is the opposite of technical, and nobody could figure him out before Chimaev. Israel Adesyana is the opposite. Izzy is one of the best middleweights ever because he is patient and willing to pounce at the right moments. Sean Strickland is currently out with a suspension, but when he is back, fans can expect plenty of trash talk and an always forward pressing offensive attack.
The biggest recent fight at middleweight was between Caio Borralho and Nassourdine Imavov. Imavov will likely get the next title shot after walking away victorious in that unofficial No. 1 contender bout. Reiner De Ridder and Anthony Hernandez will be fighting soon, too. Both fighters have unusual styles that work quite well.
Speaking of unique styles, Michael Page's point attack is hard to deal with. The division also features Robert Whittaker, Brendan Allen, Paulo Costa, Roman Dolidze, Marvin Vettori, and Roman Kopylov. Middleweight is both stacked with star talent and deep one through 15. There are even notable unranked fighters, such as former collegiate wrestling champion Bo Nickal.
