MMA Rankings: Tom Aspinall solidifies his No. 1 spot in the heavyweight division

In the ever-changing world of mixed martial arts, ranking the best fighters in the world may seem like a foolhardy undertaking, but that's exactly what we aim to do with our Mixed Martial Arts World Rankings, where our esteemed judges sift through the heavyweights in each division to provide you with the most definitive list of the best fighters on the planet.

Updated pound-for-pound rankings can be found here.

There's plenty of headline-grabbing action up and down the weight class, with Belal Muhammad ascending to the top of the welterweight division, Kyoji Horiguchi once again emerging as a threat to become a two-division world champion, Alexander Volkov shaking up the heavyweight rankings with his win over Sergey Pavlovich, Nassouddin Imavov and Macy Chiasson earning top-five spots with breakout performances, and flyweight contenders Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape both somehow falling off the radar following their failed grudge matches at UFC 304.

But it was actually a little under the radar move that most intrigued us this month: Tom Aspinall's 60-second win over Curtis Blaydes, further establishing himself as the best heavyweight boxer on the planet. Forget about the interim tag belt and the vanity fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, Aspinall is the man to beat in the division until proven otherwise.

All seven of our panellists voted Aspinall first, with Jones' remaining fighters finally switching allegiances, meaning that for the first time in the history of our rankings, Jones, who has received so much support in the heavyweight, light heavyweight and men's pound-for-pound charts, has not received a single first-place vote.

Is this really a generational change, does Jones deserve more respect, or does he now have to go through Aspinall to get his footing again?

All eyes are now on Jones, and we can’t wait for his next fight.

See the full July rankings below.

Heavyweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): No. 1 Tom Aspinall def. No. 4 Curtis Blaydes, No. 7 Alexander Volkov def. No. 3 Sergey Pavlovich, No. 14 Phil de Vries def. Augusto Sakai

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Alexander Volkov vs. No. 6 Ciril Gane (UFC 308, Oct. 26), No. 8 Marcin Tybura vs. No. 10 Sergey Spivac (UFC Vegas 95, Aug. 10), No. 9 Tai Tuivasa vs. No. 15 Jairzinho Rozenstruik (UFC 305, Aug. 17), No. 12 Anatoly Malikhin vs. Roig Roig (ONE Fight Night 28, Nov. 8)

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Derrick Lewis (4), Lynton Vassell (4), Ryan Bader (1), Mick Parkin (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): N/A

Light Heavyweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): #1 Alex Pereira beat #2 Jiri Prochazka, #1 Roman Dolidze beat #13 Anthony Smith, #15 Volkan Oezdemir beat #8 Johnny Walker

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 15: Azamat Murzakhanov vs. Alonzo Menifield (UFC Abu Dhabi, August 3)

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Rob Wilkinson (3), Bogdan Guskov (2), Roman Dolidze (2), Alonzo Menifield (1), Dominic Reyes (1), Anthony Smith (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): No. 13 Anthony Smith

Middleweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): No. 4 Robert Whittaker defeated Ikram Aliskerov and No. 11 Nassoordin Imavov defeated No. 5 Jared Cannonier.

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Drix du Plessis vs. No. 3 Israel Adesanya (UFC 305, Aug. 17), No. 5 (tie) Jonny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards (Bellator London, Sept. 14), No. 5 (tie) Nassouddin Imavov vs. No. 9 Brendan Allen (UFC Paris, Sept. 28), No. 13 Michel Pereira vs. No. 15 Anthony Hernandez (UFC Fight Night, Oct. 19)

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Caio Borrallo (3), Jack Hermansson (2), Ikram Aliskerov (1), Chris Curtis (1), Fabian Edwards (1), Impa Kasanganay (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): N/A

Welterweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): No. 4 Belal Muhammad defeated No. 1 Leon Edwards, Ramazan Kuramagomedov defeated No. 7 Jason Jackson and No. 8 Ian Machado-Garry defeated No. 13 (tied) Michael Page.

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 6 Gilbert Burns vs. No. 9 Shawn Brady (UFC Fight Night, Sept. 7)

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Colby Covington (1), Rinat Fakhreddinov (1), Vicente Luque (1), Magomed Magomedkerimov (1), Shamil Musaev (1), Magomed Umalatov (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): No. 15 Vicente Luque

lightweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): N/A

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 7 Usman Nurmagomedov vs. No. 15 Alexander Chabry (Bellator San Diego, Sept. 7), No. 9 Mateusz Gamlot vs. No. 12 Dan Hooker (UFC 305, Aug. 17), No. 11 Renato Moicano vs. No. 13 (tie) Benoit Saint-Denis (UFC Paris, Sept. 28).

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Paddy Pimblett (4), Jalin Turner (1), Matt Frevola (1), Drew Dawber (1), Tofik Musaev (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): N/A

Featherweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): #7 Arnold Allen defeats #13 Giga Chikadze and #14 Diego Lopez defeats Dan Ige (165 lb catchweight bout)

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Movsar Evloev vs. No. 10 Aljamain Sterling (UFC 307, Oct. 5), No. 5 Brian Ortega vs. No. 11 Diego Lopez (UFC 306, Sept. 14), No. 13 Calvin Kattar vs. Kyle Nelson (UFC Fight Night, Sept. 7).

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Lerone Murphy (3), Chihiro Suzuki (2), Movrid Khaibulaev (1), Bryce Mitchell (1), Adam Borix (1), JoAnderson Brito (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): N/A

Bantamweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): No.4 (FLW) Kyoji Horiguchi def. No.7 Sergio Pettis

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Sean O'Malley vs. No. 2 Merab Dvalishvili (UFC 306, Sept. 14), No. 3 Patchy Mix vs. Leandro Higo (Bellator Paris, Nov. 16), No. 4 Cory Sandhagen vs. No. 8 Umar Nurmagomedov (UFC Abu Dhabi, Aug. 3), No. 9 (tie) Deiveson Figueiredo vs. No. 12 Marlon Vera, No. 15 Raufeon Stotts vs. Marcos Breno (UFC San Diego, Sept. 7)

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Magomed Magomedov (2), Jonathan Martinez (2), Kai Asakura (1), Mario Bautista (1), Kyler Phillips (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): No. 15 Magomed Magomedov

Flyweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): No. 4 Kyoji Horiguchi def. Sergio Pettis (Bantamweight bout) No. 13 Tatsuro Taira def. No. 12 Alex Perez, No. 9 (tie) Muhammad Mokaev def. No. 9 (tie) Manel Kape

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 7 (tie) Kai Kara-France vs. No. 11 Steve Erceg (UFC 305, August 17)

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Hiromasa Ogikubo (2), As Almabaev (1), Askar Akhrov (1), Kairat Akhmetov (1), Azamat Kerefov (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): N/A

Women's Bantamweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): No.8 Macy Chiasson def. No.3 Mayra Bueno Silva

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 6 Irene Aldana vs. No. 12 Norma Dumont (UFC 306, Sept. 14), No. 8 Karol Rosa vs. No. 10 Panny Kianzad (UFC Vegas 95, Aug. 10), No. 9 Jana Santos vs. Chelsea Chandler (UFC Vegas 95, Aug. 10), No. 14 Nora Cornoulet vs. Germaine de Randamie (UFC Paris, Sept. 28)

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Taynara Lisboa (2), Melissa Mullins (2), Lucy Pudilova (2), Julia Avila (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): N/A

Women's Flyweight

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): #5 Tayra Santos defeated Jenna Bishop, #6 Liz Carmouche defeated Kana Watanabe and #10 Rose Namajunas defeated Tracy Cortez.

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Alexa Grasso vs. No. 2 Valentina Shevchenko (UFC 306, Sept. 14), No. 5 Tayra Santos vs. No. 6 Liz Carmouche (PFL 7, Aug. 2), No. 10 Natalia Silva vs. No. 14 Jessica Andrade (UFC Fight Night, Sept. 7), No. 15 Jennifer Maia vs. Maira Cantuaria (Invicta FC 56, Aug. 9)

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Karine Silva (4), Ariane da Silva (2), Jena Bishop (1), Kana Watanabe (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): N/A

Straw Weight

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): No. 6 Virna Jandiroba def. 5th Amanda Lemos, 13th Gillian Robertson def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Jessica Andrade vs. Natalia Silva (flyweight bout) (UFC Fight Night, Sept. 7), No. 7 Marina Rodriguez vs. No. 14 Iasmin Lucindo (UFC 307, Oct. 5), No. 8 Mackenzie Dern vs. No. 10 Lupy Godinez (UFC Abu Dhabi, Aug. 3), No. 11 Angela Hill vs. No. 12 Tabatha Ricci (UFC Fight Night, Aug. 24).

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Roma Lookboonmee (4), Karolina Kowalkiewicz (2), Danny McCormack (1), Tecia Pennington (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): N/A

Basic rules refresher:

• The seven-person voting panel is comprised of MMA Fighting staff members Shaheen Al-Shatti, Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Damon Martin and Jed Meshoe.
• A fighter is removed from the rankings if he has not competed within 18 months of his most recent bout. Rankings updates usually occur after the conclusion of each monthly UFC pay-per-view.
• When a fighter announces their retirement, our panel of judges will decide whether to immediately remove the fighter from the rankings or to keep him or her in the rankings until further notice. Khabib Nurmagomedov They dropped out of the rankings much sooner than UFC.
• Holding a promotional title does not necessarily mean that a fighter is considered the best fighter in that promotion. Additionally, fighters who regularly compete or hold titles in multiple weight classes are eligible to be ranked on multiple lists.

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