MMA Weight Ranking – Israel Adesanya reaffirms itself in the top 10 men

Israel Adesanyaback against the wall, both figuratively and literally.

He entered the main event of UFC 287 last Saturday 0-3 against the man he is challenging for the middleweight championship, Alex Pereira. The burly Brazilian took the title by knockout in November, and he beat Adesanya in both times they met as a professional boxer. So this is Adesanya’s fourth shot at Pereira, and possibly his last.

Then, in the second half of the match, Pereira compromised Adesanya’s mobility – always key to his success – with kicks to his dominant foot. Adesanya leaned against the cage, and Pereira followed. As Adesanya covered up, Pereira unleashed left and right blows. Just when things were going badly for Adesanya, he launched a lightning-fast counter attack to the right and that brought the champion to a halt. Another right hand dropped Pereira, and Adesanya charged with a hammer to get the job done.

Suddenly, Adesanya returned to the top of the world.

And fittingly, he edged closer to the top spot in ESPN’s latest pound-for-pound rankings. The rest of the male top 10 kept its order, so did the female rankings.

For the ESPN division MMA rankings, click here.

Note: Results are current; leaderboards as of April 11. To be eligible for the rankings, boxers must have competed in the last 12 months or must book an upcoming match. Boxers who have been disqualified for inactivity can only be reinstated after they compete.

Men’s pound-for-pound rankings

T-1. Islam Makhachev

UFC lightweight champion
Take note: 24-1
Final: W (UD) Alexander VolkanovskiFebruary 11, 2023
Next: TBD

T-1. Alexander Volkanovski

UFC featherweight champion
Take note: 25-2
Final: L (University) Islam MakhachevFebruary 11, 2023
Next: July 8 vs. Yair Rodríguez

3. Jon Jones

UFC Heavyweight Champion
Take note: 27-1, 1 NC
Final: W (Extra1) Ciryl GanesMarch 4, 2023
Next: TBD

4. Israel Adesanya

UFC middleweight champion
Prior ratings: 5
Take note: 24-2
Final: W (TKO2) Alex PereiraApril 8, 2023
Next: TBD

5. Leon Edwards

UFC Welterweight Champion
Prior ratings: 4
Take note: March 21, 1 NC
Final: W (MD) Kamaru UsmanMarch 18, 2023
Next: TBD

6. Charles Oliveira

UFC lightweight
Take note: 33-9, 1 NC
Final: L (Extra2) Islam MakhachevOctober 22, 2022
Next: May 6 vs. Beneil Dariush

7. Kamaru Usman

UFC weight class
Take note: 20-3
Final: L (MD) Leon EdwardsMarch 18, 2023
Next: TBD

8. Brandon Moreno

UFC flyweight champion
Take note: 21-6-2
Final: W (TKO3) Deiveson FigueiredoJanuary 21, 2023
Next: TBD

9. GBP

UFC Heavyweight Champion
Prior ratings: Draw 8
Take note: 22-3
Final: W (TKO2) TJ DillashawOctober 22, 2022
Next: May 6 vs. Henry Cejudo

ten. Robert Whittaker

UFC middleweight
Take note: 24-6
Final: W (UD) Marvin VettoriSeptember 3, 2022
Next: TBD

Other warriors who received votes: Jiri Prochazka, Dustin Poirier And Alex Pereira.

How our panel voted

Brett Okamoto: 1. Muslim Makhachev; 2. Alexander Volkanovski; 3. Jon Jones; 4. Israel Adesanya; 5. Leon Edwards; 6. Robert Whittaker; 7. Charles Oliveira; 8. British Pound Sterling; 9. Brandon Moreno; 10. Kamaru Usman.

Marc Raimondi: 1. Jones; 2. Makhachev; 3. Volkanovski; 4. Adesanya; 5. Edwards; 6. Olives; 7. British Pound; 8. Moreno; 9. User; 10. Jiri Prochazka.

Megan Anderson: 1. Jones; 2. Volkanovski; 3. Makhachev; 4. Adesanya; 5. Edwards; 6. Olives; 7. User; 8. Whittaker; 9. Moreno; 10. Pereira.

Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Volkanovski; 2. Makhachev; 3. Jones; 4. Adesanya; 5. Edwards; 6. Olives; 7. User; 8. Prochazka; 9. Moreno; 10. Pereira.

Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Volkanovski; 2. Makhachev; 3. Adesanya; 4. Jones; 5. Olives; 6. Edwards; 7. Dustin Poirier; 8. User; 9. Moreno; 10. British Pound.

Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Makhachev; 2. Volkanovski; 3. Jones; 4. Adesanya; 5. Edwards; 6. Olives; 7. British Pound; 8. User; 9. Moreno; 10. Prochazka.

first. Amanda Nunes

UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion
Take note: 22-5
Final: W (UD) Julianna PenaJuly 30, 2022
Next: June 10 vs Julianna Peña

2. Truong Ve Ly

UFC Straw Champion
Take note: 23-3
Final: W (Extra 2) carla esparzaNovember 12, 2022
Next: TBD

3. Valentina Shevchenko

UFC flyweight
Take note: 22-4
Final: L (Sub4) Alexa GrassoMarch 4, 2023
Next: TBD

4. Cris Cyborg

Bellator featherweight champion
Take note: 26-2, 1 NC
Final: W (UD) Arlene BlencoweApril 23, 2022
Next: TBD

5. Alexa Grasso

UFC flyweight champion
Take note: 16-3
Final: W (Sub4) Valentina ShevchenkoMarch 4, 2023
Next: TBD

6. Julianna Pena

UFC chicken class
Take note: 11-5
Final: L (University) Amanda NunesJuly 30, 2022
Next: June 10 vs. Amanda Nunes

T-7. Jessica Andrade

UFC flyweight
Take note: 24-10
Final: L (Extra2) Erin BlanchfieldFebruary 18, 2023
Next: May 6 vs. Yan Xiaonan

T-7. Namajuna rose

UFC straw class
Take note: 11-5
Final: L (SD) carla esparzaMay 7, 2022
Next: TBD

9. Erin Blanchfield

UFC flyweight
Take note: 11-1
Final: W (Extra 2) Jessica AndradeFebruary 18, 2023
Next: TBD

ten. carla esparza

UFC straw class
Take note: 19-7
Final: L (Extra2) Truong Ve LyNovember 12, 2022
Next: TBD

Other warriors who received votes: Kayla Harrison, Amanda Lemos And Raquel Pennington.

How our panel voted

Brett Okamoto: 1. Amanda Nunes; 2.Valentina Shevchenko; 3. Truong Ve Loi; 4. Cris Robot; 5. Namajuna rose; 6. Alexa Grasso; 7. Jessica Andrade; 8. Julianna Peña; 9. Kayla Harrison; 10. Erin Blanchfield.

Marc Raimondi: 1. Nunes; 2. Robots; 3. Shevchenko; 4. Truong; 5. Grassho; 6. Peña; 7. Namajuna; 8. Andrade; 9. Blanchfield; 10. Esparza.

Megan Anderson: 1. Nunes; 2.Zhang; 3. Robots; 4. Shevchenko; 5. Grassho; 6. Esparza; 7. Namajuna; 8. Blanchfield; 9. Andrade; 10. Raquel Pennington.

Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Nunes; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Zhang; 4. Robots; 5. Grassho; 6. Peña; 6. Harrison; 7. Esparza; 8. Andrade; 10. Blanchfield.

Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Nunes; 2.Zhang; 3. Grasso; 4. Shevchenko; 5. Peña; 6. Robots; 7. Blanchfield; 8. Andrade; 9. Namajuna; 10. Passion fruit.

Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Nunes; 2.Zhang; 3. Shevchenko; 4. Robots; 5. Grassho; 6. Peña; 7. Blanchfield; 8. Andrade; 9. Esparza; 10. Namajunas.