After the UFC’s March schedule gifted MMA fans with four straight weeks of exciting fight cards capped by stellar main events, including the much-anticipated return of Jon Jones, the promotion takes a one-week break this weekend. The UFC returns on April 8 will return with another can’t-miss main event as former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya challenges Alex Pereira in a rematch for the 185-pound title.
With a weekend off for the UFC, what better time to look at where each division stands and how they stack up after all the action thus far? Last December, it was the lightweight division that was voted as the best of the bunch. Where did the 155-pounders end up nearly four months later? Did Jones’ return to the Octagon boost interest in the heavyweight division?
ESPN put together a panel to vote on power rankings, which we continually update throughout the year.
Note: Our panel ranks all 12 weight classes from top to bottom, taking stock of which divisions are performing the best now and which have the best pound-for-pound fighters. ESPN’s panel includes Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, Jeff Wagenheim, Ian Parker, Andres Waters, Andrew Feldman and Eddie Maisonet.
1. Men’s bantamweight: 135 pounds
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Which fighter in the division is must-see TV?: Merab Dvalishvili. After seeing what he did to Petr Yan in a five-round fight last month, I can’t wait to see him fight again. I see some complaints about the efficiency of his style, as it’s more about sheer volume than its effective technique. And to that, I say, “So what?” Dvalishvili drowned a former champion and pound-for-pound candidate in a tsunami of activity. That’s not only highly impressive, it’s also entertaining. – Okamoto
2. Lightweight: 155 pounds
UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira goes for his first title defense against former champ Israel Adesanya.
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When Pereira arrived in the UFC in 2021, little was made of his MMA résumé. He was just 3-1, after all. But there was a compelling story surrounding his deeper past as a two-division kickboxing world champion. That was important to UFC fans because two of Pereira’s wins in Glory had come against former UFC middleweight champion Adesanya, one by knockout. Still, the general thinking was that Pereira was in for a reckoning if he should meet “The Last Stylebender” in the Octagon. In November, however, Pereira took the belt away from Adesanya by knockout. They’re scheduled to meet again on April 8, and many people still favor Adesanya over a guy who has now beaten him three times. Do we never learn?
Which fighter in the division is must-see TV?: Robert Whittaker. He’s not “must watch” in that he’s next in line, because that’s not where he sits in the hierarchy. He’s not flashy, as Adesanya sometimes can be. He’s not a one-punch threat, like Pereira. But Whittaker is so damn good that every one of his performances is a joy to watch. Other than in his two losses to Adesanya, Whittaker has been the man to watch at 185 pounds for the better part of a decade. – Wagenheim
7. Women’s flyweight: 125 pounds
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Which fighter in the division is must-see TV?: Procházka. Procházka’s injury was so unfortunate. You never want to see someone hurt, ever. But the timing of the injury was regrettable. This division has been up and down since Jones left. There have now been four different champions since he left in 2020, plus a title fight that ended in a draw and failed to crown a champion. Procházka had a lot of potential as a champion to defend the belt multiple times and put his stamp on it. He’s a unique guy in and out of the cage. Once he’s fully back to health (hopefully sometime this year), he is a must-see, and the UFC has already promised his first fight back will be for a championship. – Okamoto
11. Women’s bantamweight: 135 pounds
Champion: Amanda Nunes
Fighters in ESPN P4P ranking: Nunes (No. 1), Julianna Peña (No. 6)
Biggest upcoming fight: TBD
Amanda Nunes has the title back now after getting shocked by Peña in December 2021. Now, what’s next? Peña could find herself in a trilogy bout, or the UFC could tab Irene Aldana, who has won four of five and finished two straight. It would be interesting if the bout happened in Mexico later this year, along with a title defense from one of the UFC’s two Mexican-born undisputed champions, Moreno and Grasso, the latter a teammate of Aldana’s.
It would be hard to deny Peña a title shot at some point, though. She handed Nunes her first loss in seven years, and even though Nunes beat her last July in the rematch, Peña had moments. Maybe Peña will have to win one more, perhaps against Raquel Pennington, who has quietly won five straight. Then, there’s Holly Holm. She has won three out of four and owns wins over Aldana and Pennington (twice). But Nunes knocked her out in 2019. Peña vs. Holm would be interesting, as well.
Which fighter in the division is must-see TV?: In a division devoid of top prospects – the aforementioned names have all been in the UFC since the dawn of women fighting in the promotion – Mayra Bueno Silva is the closest thing to it. “Sheetara” has won three straight, the past two by submission. She’s an entertaining fighter who isn’t afraid to get into a brawl. And she has charisma on the microphone, as well. She’ll fight Miesha Tate on June 3, and a win there could vault her into a contender position. If so, she’d breathe fresh air in a stagnant weight class. – Raimondi
12. Women’s featherweight: 145 pounds
Champion: Amanda Nunes
Fighters in ESPN P4P ranking: Nunes (No. 1)
Biggest upcoming fight: TBD
Hello! Is anybody home? Hello?
What is there to say about a weight class with barely any fighters or fights, where the champ, Amanda Nunes, has not defended her belt in over two years? There’s nothing to say. The storyline here might be the UFC’s curious choice to allow this division to wither on the vine rather than putting it out of its misery.
Which fighter in the division is must-see TV?: C’mon, now. – Wagenheim
