In the ever-shifting MMA landscape, ranking the world’s greatest fighters might seem like a fool’s errand, but that’s exactly we’ve set out to do with the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. Here, our esteemed panel sorts out the movers and shakers from every division to provide you with the most definitive list of the best fighters on the planet.

Let’s take a look at the biggest rankings storylines from this past cycle (May 8 - July 9).

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A new middleweight powerhouse

The 185-pound division suddenly looks very, very different.

More than half of MMA Fighting’s middleweight top 15 was active over the past two months, but no result was more consequential than the stunner that went down at UFC 290. By becoming the first middleweight not named Israel Adesanya to defeat Robert Whittaker since 2014 (and doing so in thunderous, absurdly decisive fashion), Dricus Du Plessis officially announced that he is a force to be reckoned with at 185 pounds.

The South African fighter made one of the biggest leaps of this past rankings cycle, vaulting all the way up from No. 8 to No. 2. A showdown with Adesanya now awaits — and if UFC 290’s post-fight faceoff was any indication, this is a rivalry that could get very, very ugly.

Flyweights chaos

No men’s division over the past few years has been more volatile than the flyweights, and that held true once again. Alexandre Pantoja’s electrifying win over Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 marked the fourth consecutive time the UFC’s 125-pound title has changed hands without a single successful title defense, headlining a cycle of upheaval that also saw Amir Albazi shoot to contention with a controversial win over Kai Kara-France and UFC newcomer Stephen Erceg topple longtime veteran David Dvorak out of the rankings entirely.

So where did all that chaos leave us? Yes, old faithful Demetrious Johnson once again claimed the top spot, reclaiming his crown as MMA Fighting’s No. 1 flyweight in light of Moreno’s loss. How long can “Mighty Mouse” hold the throne this time around?

Dawn of a new women’s bantamweight era

The retirement of the women’s GOAT has left the 135-pound division in a state of disarray.

With Amanda Nunes sipping Mai Tais and counting her titles out there on some Florida beach, none among our eight-person voting panel seemingly knew what to do with women’s bantamweight. That led to three different contenders drawing consideration for the new crown: Former champs Julianna Pena (5 votes) and Holly Holm (2 votes), and one-time title challenger Raquel Pennington (1 vote) all recieved first-place ballots.

When will that change? Until the UFC plots it out its next move for its inaugural female division, we may just be staring at the new normal in this strange post-Nunes world.

Check out the complete July rankings update below.

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Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Heavyweight

MMA Fighting

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 9 Jailton Almeida def. No. 13 Jairzinho Rozenstruik, No. 12 LHW Anatoly Malykhin def. Arjan Bhullar

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 8 Tom Aspinall vs. No. 12 Marcin Tybura (UFC London, July 22)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Phil De Fries (5), Derrick Lewis (2), Alexandr Romanov (2)

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Light Heavyweight

MMA Fighting

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 2 Vadim Nemkov def. Yoel Romero, No. 6 Corey Anderson def. No. 9 Phil Davis, No. 11 Johnny Walker def. No. 8 Anthony Smith

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 5 Jan Blachowicz vs. No. 3 MW Alex Pereira (UFC 291, July 29)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Paul Craig (3), Azamat Murzakanov (1), Yoel Romero (1), Thiago Santos (1), Antonio Carlos Junior (1), Khalil Rountree (1), Kennedy Nzhechukwu (1)

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Middleweight

MMA Fighting

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 8 Dricus Du Plessis def. No. 2 Robert Whittaker, No. 6 Jared Cannonier def. No. 5 Marvin Vettori, Fabian Edwards def. No. 7 Gegard Mousasi, No. 10 Sean Strickland def. Abus Magomedov, No. 13 Brendan Allen def. Bruno Silva, No. 15 Nassourdine Imavov vs. Chris Curtis ends in no contest

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 5 LHW Jan Blachowicz vs. No. 3 Alex Pereira (UFC 291, July 29), No. 8 Paulo Costa vs. Ikram Aliskerov (UFC 291, July 29)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Gegard Mousasi (4), Andre Muniz (3), Kelvin Gastelum (1), Jack Hermansson (1), Kelvin Gastelum (1), Anatoly Tokov (1), Bo Nickal (1), Ikram Aliskerov (1)

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Welterweight

MMA Fighting

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 13 Jack Della Maddalena vs. Bassil Hafez (UFC Vegas 77, July 15), No. 9 Stephen Thompson vs. Michel Pereira (UFC 291, July 29), No. 14 Lorenz Larkin vs. Andrey Koreshkov (Bellator MMA x RIZIN 2, July 30)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Ian Machado Garry (6), Neil Magny (2), Jason Jackson (1), Michael Page (1), Roberto Soldic (1)

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Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images

Lightweight

MMA Fighting

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 2 Charles Oliveira def. No. 3 (tied) Beneil Dariush, No. 10 Arman Tsarukyan def. Joaquim Silva, Dan Hooker def. No. 11 Jalin Turner, No. 12 Grant Dawson def. Damir Ismagulov, No. 13 Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Anthony Romero

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 (tied) Dustin Poirier vs. No. 3 (tied) Justin Gaethje (UFC 291, July 29), No. 14 A.J. McKee vs. Patricky Pitbull (Bellator MMA x RIZIN 2, July 30)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Renato Moicano (3), Matt Frevola (2), Roberto Satoshi (2), Alexander Shabliy (2), Drew Dober (1), Tony Ferguson (1), Christian Lee (1), Rafael dos Anjos (1)

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Featherweight

MMA Fighting

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Alexander Volkanovski def. No. 3 Yair Rodriguez, No. 11 BW Sergio Pettis def. No. 4 Patricio Freire, No. 8 Ilia Topuria def. No. 7 Josh Emmett, Jesus Pinedo def. No. 14 Brendan Loughnane, No. 15 Movlid Khaybulaev def. Tyler Diamond

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Aaron Pico (4), Brendan Loughnane (1), Adam Borics (1), Jonathan Pearce (1), Sodiq Yusuff (1), Jesus Pinedo (1)

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Bantamweight

MMA Fighting

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 11 Sergio Pettis def. No. 4 FW Patricio Freire

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Danny Sabatello (4), Ricky Simon (3), Juan Archuleta (2), Chris Gutierrez (1), Adrian Yanez (1)

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Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Flyweight

MMA Fighting

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 6 Alexandre Pantoja def. No. 1 Brandon Moreno, No. 13 Amir Albazi def. No. 5 Kai Kara-France, Stephen Erceg def. No. 14 David Dvorak, No. 15 (tied) Tim Elliott def. Victor Altamirano

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Tatsuro Taira (5), Azamat Kerefov (3), Matt Schnell (1), Rogerio Bontorin (1), Danny Kingad (1), Jeff Molina (1), David Dvorak (1)

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Women’s Bantamweight

MMA Fighting

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Amanda Nunes def. No. 6 Irene Aldana, No. 9 Karol Rosa def. No. 7 Yana Santos (featherweight bout)

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Holly Holm vs. No. 10 (tied) Mayra Bueno Silva (UFC Vegas 77, July 15), No. 4 Ketlen Vieira vs. No. 8 Pannie Kianzad (UFC London, July 22)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Joselyne Edwards (4), Melissa Dixon (2), Chelsea Chandler (1), Julija Stoliarenko (1), Tainara Lisboa (1), Darya Zhalelznyakova (1)

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Women’s Flyweight

MMA Fighting

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 15 Maycee Barber def. No. 12 Amanda Ribas

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (2), Jasmine Jasudavicius (1), DeAnna Bennett (1)

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Strawweight

MMA Fighting

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 9 Mackenzie Dern def. No. 13 Angela Hill, No. 15 FLW Maycee Barber def. No. 12 Amanda Ribas (flyweight bout)

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Xiong Jingnan (4), Emily Ducote (4), Michelle Waterson-Gomez (2)

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A refresher on the ground rules:

• Our eight-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Shaun Al-Shatti, Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Steven Marrocco, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew.
• Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout. Updates to the rankings are typically completed following each month’s UFC pay-per-view.
• Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice (let’s put it this way: we’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did).
• Holding a promotion’s title does not guarantee that fighter will be viewed as the best in their promotion. Additionally, fighters who regularly compete or hold titles in multiple weight classes are eligible to be ranked in multiple lists.

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.