MMA pound-for-pound rankings: Can Alex Pereira be No. 1?

Welcome to the latest edition of MMA Fighting's Pound-for-Pound Rankings. Every month, our esteemed judges cut through the noise and answer one question: “Overall, who are the best male and female MMA fighters in the world?”

Let's see what the situation is like after a week of chaos. UFC 303.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Mixed Martial Arts

Alex Pereira continues to carry the UFC on his back.

MMA's ultimate anomaly saved the day once again at UFC 303, parachuting in with no prior notice and sending Jiri Prochazka into the land of wind and ghosts to defend his UFC light heavyweight title, salvaging what could have been a disastrous weekend for the sport's leader. Pereira has accomplished the feat twice in the past three months, repeating the feat at UFC 300, and his one-of-a-kind resume is starting to look pretty ridiculous.

With his latest win, Pereira further solidified his No. 2 spot on the pound-for-pound list, taking the No. 1 vote from Islam Makhachev, who is no longer unanimous at the top. But is there a path for the former two-division GLORY champion to the top of the list? It might be difficult at light heavyweight, but if Pereira (and Joe Rogan) can convince UFC CEO Dana White to approve a move to heavyweight and “Poitan” can make history by becoming UFC's first three-division champion, Pereira's case for the No. 1 spot might suddenly become much more solid.

Looking ahead, all eyes will be on UFC 304 in Manchester this July, where No. 3-ranked Leon Edwards and No. 12-ranked Tom Aspinall will be defending their places at the British fisticuffs extravaganza in rematches against tough unranked opponents Belal Muhammad and Curtis Blaydes, respectively.

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): #2 Alex Pereira defeats Jiri Prochazka

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad (UFC 304, July 27); No. 12 Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes (UFC 304, July 27)

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Khamzat Chimaev (3), Anatoly Malikin (2), Belal Muhammad (2), Kamaru Usman (2), Patricio Pitbull (2), AJ McKee (1), Dustin Poirier (1), Jonny Eblen (1), Justin Gaethje (1), Kyoji Horiguchi (1), Usman Nurmagomedov (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): No. 19 Khamzat Chimaev

Photo: Ian Mole/Getty Images

Mixed Martial Arts

Welcome to the Pound for Pound list, Macy Chiasson!

of TUF28 The Queen scored her biggest win to date on Saturday at UFC 303, when she left recent title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva with a horror-movie-like gash on her forehead. Chiasson had struggled to break through against elite opponents in the past, but her bloody TKO victory over Silva was just what the doctor prescribed, catapulting her to No. 19 on the pound-for-pound rankings and putting her on the brink of a title shot in a highly-anticipated UFC women's bantamweight division.

Looking ahead, the two biggest women's bouts in July will be back-to-back UFC headliners, with No. 15-ranked Rose Namajunas taking on Tracy Cortez in the main event of UFC Denver, followed by No. 16-ranked Amanda Lemos taking on Virna Jandiroba at UFC Vegas 94.

Recent results for ranked fighters (view previous rankings): #13 Liz Carmouche beat Kana Watanabe, #16 Mayra Bueno Silva beat #19 Tayra Santos beat Jenna Bishop

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 15 Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez (UFC Denver, July 13), No. 16 Amanda Lemos vs. Virna Jandiroba (UFC Vegas 94, July 20)

Fighters who received votes (number of votes shown): Macy Barber (6), Virna Jandiroba (2), Natalia Silva (2), Marina Rodrigues (1), Irene Aldana (1), Lauren Murphy (1), Ketlen Vieira (1)

Dropped from the rankings (view previous rankings): No. 20 Macy Barber

Finally, let's review some ground rules:

• The seven-person voting panel is comprised of MMA Fighting Staff's Sean Al-Shatti, Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Damon Martin and Jed Meshoe.
• Rankings updates occur after each UFC pay-per-view. Fighters who have not competed within 18 months of their last bout will be removed from the rankings.
• 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 that position until further notice (let's say this: Khabib Nurmagomedov They dropped out of the rankings much quicker than UFC.

To be clear, the concept of pound-for-pound dominance has always been subjective in nature. Max HollowayThere is no real answer, in other words, this is not a serious problem.

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