Welcome to the latest update to the MMA Fighting pound-for-pound rankings, where every month our esteemed panel sort through the noise to answer one question: Who are the best overall male and female MMA fighters in the world?
Jon Jones returned. Valentina Shevchenko lost. How did the stunning results of UFC 285‘s two title fights affect the global pound-for-pound landscape? Let’s take a look.
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
Jon Jones is back and maybe better than ever. Is he still the greatest pound-for-pound boxer in the world?
According to the MMA Fighting panel, there’s still work to be done. Three panelists placed Jones at the top of their lists following his absurdly quick submission victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, but it wasn’t enough to move him past Islam Makhachev (two first-place votes) nor Alexander Volkanovski (three first-place votes). The fighter who has dominated the pound for pound rankings for many years must now settle for No. 3 spot.
Rivals Makhachev & Volkanovski were separated by 1 point in the panel’s internal scoring systems, which makes their placement a toss up. But if you’re wondering how Jones ended up behind Volkanovski despite having more first-place votes, it’s because our panelists took an all-or-nothing approach to evaluating Jones’ impressive comeback: He was either No. 1 for voters, or outside of the top three — with one voter placing him as low as No. 7.
Regardless of your feelings about Jones’s placement (universal agreement we are sure), everybody can agree that the “pound-for-pound” list is an absolute show with reigning champs being knocked out left and right in last year. Imagine if Volkanovski faces Yair Rodriguez next and loses an upset or if Makhachev falters in his next title defense? It is possible to scrap all rankings altogether and start again.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Leon Edwards vs. No. 5 Kamaru Usman (UFC 286, March 18)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Vadim Nemkov (4), Johnny Eblen (3), Jamahal Hill (3), Jan Blachowicz (2), Petr Yan (2), Magomed Ankalaev (1), Colby Covington (1), Beneil Dariush (1), Alexandre Pantoja (1), Shavkat Rakhmonov (1), Raufeon Stots (1)
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
Speaking of upsets, we can’t talk about the incredible rise of Alexa Grasso without also talking about what could be the beginning of the end for Valentina Shevchenko.
Heading into UFC 285, Shevchenko had successfully defended her flyweight title seven consecutive times, the longest streak at the time in the UFC. Shevchenko would have tied Jones with eight consecutive title defenses, which is fourth only to Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre. Grasso was expected to be able to overcome the cracks she had shown in her armor during her narrow win over Taila.
Shevchenko got off to a slow start, but was still ahead 29-28 after three rounds according to all three judges. A persistent Grasso kept pace with “Bullet” every step of the way — and when she found an opening to take a spinning Shevchenko’s back, she didn’t give up the position until she had Shevchenko tapping to a rear-naked choke. It was a shocking end to the champ’s indomitable reign.
Shevchenko loses No. 1 pound-for-pound spot to Amanda Nunes, placing “The Lioness” back at the top of our charts for the first time since December 2021, when Nunes suffered an incomprehensible loss to Julianna Pena. Shevchenko could be back at the top if she wins an instant rematch against Grasso, although it is possible that Shevchenko’s era may have ended.
And if so, credit to Grasso who set that all in motion with a career best performance. The Mexican star is undefeated in five UFC fights at 125 pounds and there wasn’t a moment on Saturday where it seemed like she wasn’t on Shevchenko’s level. Grasso rises to No. 2 spot in our rankings — and there’s a case to be made that the flyweight version of Grasso is the best female fighter in the world today.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Alexa Grasso def. No. 1 Valentina Shevchenko, Erin Blanchfield def. No. 5 Jessica Andrade
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 16 Holly Holm vs. Yana Santos (UFC San Antonio, March 25)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Katlyn Chookagian (4), Marina Rodriguez (4), Lauren Murphy (3), Ketlen Vieira (3), Yan Xiaonan (2), Irene Aldana (2), Seo Hee Ham (1), Juliana Velasquez (1)
Lastly, a refresher on some ground rules:
- The eight-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Shaun Al-Shatti, Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Steven Marrocco, Damon Martin and Jed Meshew.
- Updates to the rankings will be completed following every UFC pay-per-view. Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout.
- Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice (let’s put it this way: we’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did).
As a reminder, the notion of pound-for-pound supremacy is always going to inherently be subjective. When you’re debating whether someone like Robert Whittaker should be ranked above someone like Max Holloway, there is no true right answer. This is a serious matter, people.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Let us know your concerns in the comments section below.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/3/7/23627569/mma-pound-for-pound-rankings-valentina-shevchenko-loses-no-1-spot-jon-jones-makes-triumphant-return?rand=96749
