Jack Della Maddalena? And new.
Alexander Volkanovski? And again.
Della Maddalena and Volkanovski took care of business in their respective title fights at UFC 315 and UFC 314, with Della Maddalena dethroning welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and Volkanovski claiming a vacant featherweight title to become two-time champion with a hard-fought win over Diego Lopes.
Those results played a part in the shakeup of MMA Fighting’s Men’s Pound-for-Pound rankings for May. Muhammad entered UFC 315 at No. 5 on our list and plummets eight spots to No. 13 after falling short in his first title defense. Meanwhile, Della Maddalena goes all the way from unranked to the No. 9 spot after claiming gold and his 18th straight win. The new champion has not lost a pro bout since starting off 0-2 back in 2016 and has the chance to turn the rankings upside down when he faces Islam Makhachev later this year.
As for Volkanovski, he jumps from No. 13 to No. 8, his highest ranking since July 2024. When Volkanovski was knocked out by Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, he understandably fell several spots and it was assumed the 36-year-old would only continue to drop. Instead, with an inspiring performance against Lopes, “The Great” is not only a UFC champion again, he has the chance to hang around the top 10 for a little while longer.
Also of note, since our most recent update this past March, former champion Leon Edwards suffered a lopsided defeat the hands of Sean Brady. That wasn’t enough to land Brady his own spot just yet (though he received votes on multiple ballots), but it did send Edwards spiraling from No. 12 all the way off the charts. Ouch.
And Jon Jones? He keeps dropping. Fight someone, buddy.
There was also plenty of movement on the women’s side thanks to Natalia Silva and Virna Jandiroba. The Brazilian standouts continue to state their case for putting off a Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili superfight as Silva won a clear-cut decision over former flyweight champion Alexa Grasso at UFC 315 and Jandiroba made it five straight wins with a decision over recent strawweight title challenger Yan Xiaonan at UFC 314.
It’s entirely possible Zhang moves up to fight Shevchenko, but Silva and Jandiroba have done their part to not only be worthy of a championship opportunity, but to rocket up the Pound-for-Pound list. Silva soars 11 spots into a tie at No. 5 with Manon Fiorot, who put on a spirited effort against Shevchenko this past Saturday, and Jandiroba rises seven spots to No. 11.
Check out the updated Pound-for-Pound lists below.
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Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Jack Della Maddalena def. No. 5 Belal Muhammad, No 13 (tied) Alexander Volkanovski def. Diego Lopes, Sean Brady def. No. 12 Leon Edwards
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 2 Ilia Topuria vs. No. 18 Charles Oliveira (UFC 317, June 28), No. 3 Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France (UFC 317, June 28), No. 4 Merab Dvalishvili vs. No. 19 Sean O’Malley (UFC 316, June 7), No. 5 Dricus du Plessis vs. No. 15 Khamzat Chimaev (UFC 319, Aug. 16), No. 12 Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier (UFC 318, July 19)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Sean Brady (4), Movsar Evloev (2), Francis Ngannou (2), Jiri Prochazka (2), Brandon Moreno (1), Usman Nurmagomedov (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 12 Leon Edwards
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Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 2 Valentina Shevchenko def. No. 5 Manon Fiorot, No. 16 Natalia Silva def. No. 3 Alexa Grasso, No. 18 Virna Jandiroba def. No. 11 Yan Xiaonan, Jasmine Jasudavicius def. No. 19 Jessica Andrade, No. 20 Liz Carmouche def. Ilara Joanne
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Kayla Harrison vs. No. 13 Julianna Peña (UFC 316, June 7), No. 7 Erin Blanchfield vs. Maycee Barber (UFC Vegas 107, May 31), No. 8 (tied) Dakota Ditcheva vs. Sumiko Inaba (PFL Africa, July 26), No. 14 Rose Namajunas vs. Miranda Maverick (UFC Atlanta, June 14), No. 19 Liz Carmouche vs. Elora Dana (PFL 6, June 20)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Maycee Barber (3), Jessica Andrade (2), Norma Dumont (2), Macy Chiasson (1), Amanda Lemos (1), Gillian Robertson (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 19 Jessica Andrade
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