What a wild week we have had in the UFC. We saw Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo’s match cut short due to an injury to Figueiredo. We now have all the rumors flying about Tom Aspinall moving on from waiting for Jon Jones. The great thing about this week is that UFC 315 is here, and that means we have two championship fights. One that will affect this list if Belal Muhammad loses to Jack Della Maddalena. For now, let’s get to the rankings and see what the rumor mill has going before we get to the giant shake-up next week. Have a great day, everyone, and may the fights be with you.
1. Islam Makhachev:
Islam Makhachev remains the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Now we have speculation that Islam may be moving up, which has Belal Muhammad commenting about it. Right now, with UFC 317 being wide open, it makes you think that Dana White is waiting for this weekend before he makes a decision. Regardless, I know that we all can’t wait for Makhachev’s next fight.
2. Ilia Topuria:
Ilia Topuria said on the X that the camp has begun. From what I have read, there’s talk that it’s going to be for a belt, which would make him a double champ. Regardless, I feel this could finally lead to the super fight we all want to see against Makhachev. The target date for this fight is UFC 317, which gives them a lot of time, but we still don’t have a definitive answer yet.
3. Jon Jones:
Knick, knack, paddy wack, can someone get all of us a bone? That bone would be Jon “Bones” Jones finally getting paid and signing to fight Tom Aspinall. Now, if we could get that announced, that would be great. For now, we all wait, so don’t hold your breath or you might pass out waiting for this duck.
4. Dricus Du Plessis:
Dricus Du Plessis remains in the fourth spot while gearing up for his next fight. The last news I’ve heard from Dana White is that Du Plessis is going to fight Khamzat Chimaev. It still hasn’t been announced as I’m writing this article, but you can bet after this weekend, you’ll hear something from Uncle Dana.
5. Merab Dvalishvili:
Finally, Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2 has been announced for UFC 316 in Jersey on June 7th. After that first fight, I know a lot of us can’t wait to see this matchup go down again. We’re still over a month away from this rematch, so let’s just be excited we have this one signed and on paper. I will say that at least Dvalishvili has kept us all entertained with his social media posts recently.
6. Belal Muhammad:
Belal Muhammad is still set to defend his title against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 this Saturday. This fight has so many implications for the future of the UFC. With all of the rumors surrounding this fight, you can only expect the next few weeks to be one of the most exciting times for all of us UFC fans.
7. Tom Aspinall:
Tom Aspinall has been keeping a secret, apparently, and from what Chael Sonnen is saying, the fight is agreed upon, but no date has been set. Then we have Din Thomas saying that Aspinall will headline UFC 317 against Ciryl Gane. This has become a circus at this point, and seeing everyone making fun of Jones has become downright hilarious. This same rumor has picked up steam this week, which has some people saying that it’s time to strip Jones and let Aspinall be the one true champ, like John Cena.
8. Magomed Ankalaev:
Magomed Ankalaev has since settled into being the champion since defeating Alex Pereira. Ankalaev has said that the contract is all but signed, which I feel is a rematch with Pereira. Once it’s officially announced, you can bet that we’ll all be ready to see if Poatan can bring the pain, this time around. Till then, we all wait for Uncle Dana to give us the word.
9. Alex Pereira:
Alex Pereira looks like he’ll be getting a rematch with Magomed Ankalaev before moving up in weight or any other jazz you may be hearing right now. However, it’s not 100 percent set in stone, but from the rumblings I’m hearing, you can see this fight being announced by Dana White at some point in the near future. One thing I do know is Poatan has been training hard, so once this fight is announced, you can bet it’s going down as soon as possible.
10. Alexandre Pantoja:
Alexandre Pantoja waits in silence as the UFC tries to figure out his next opponent. So, like a lot of other fighters in this list, we’re waiting once again. However, Kyoji Horiguchi recently said that if he came back to the UFC, he would like a shot at Pantoja. Pantoja liked this comment and said it would be a pleasure to fight Horiguchi, who is a teammate of his. The latest rumors I’ve heard is that Pantoja is predicted to be on a card in June or July. That sounds like UFC 316 could be the target date but until we get a confirmation date, we’re all left in the dark.