Welcome back to another exciting week of our UFC Power Rankings, after another wild event in Las Vegas. However, this Saturday we have a war at UFC 319 between the Middleweight Champion, Dricus Du Plessis and the wolf himself, Khamzat Chimaev. That means, you’ll want to stay tuned for the Fight Club of Pain which airs live, every Thursday at 7 pm EST, if you want to hear about this fight and many more. Also, remember to check out the Five-tastic Picks and Soup Can of the Week articles which are on the Dr. Roto website. Have a great day, everyone, and may the fights be with you.
1. Ilia Topuria: Ilia Topuria is still the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Since then, a lot of fighters have been running their mouths with one finally getting his wish. On December 13th, in Las Vegas, Topuria will defend his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 323.
2. Islam Makhachev: Islam Makhachev is preparing himself to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the Welterweight Championship. This match is rumored to take place on November 8th at UFC 322, which will be the perfect fight to start the holiday season off.
3. Merab Dvalishvili: Merab Dvalishvili is set to take on Cory Sandhagen in the co-main event at UFC 320, on October 4th, in Las Vegas. With both fighters having similar styles, this could be a fight where both fighters try to stay on their feet but in reality, we know it’s going to hit the ground.
4. Alexandre Pantoja: After Alexandre Pantoja dismantled Kai Kara-France in their title fight, things immediately picked up when Joshua Van entered the ring for a face off. This means we’ll be getting Pantoja vs Van which should happen in December.
5. Dricus Du Plessis: Dricus Du Plessis moves down to the fifth spot while gearing up for his next fight against Khamzat Chimaev. That fight will take place at UFC 319, which is in Chicago on August 16th, this week. We’re all about to witness a bear and a wolf go at it with many feeling this fight should see a finish and a new champion.
6. Alexander Volkanovski: Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski stays ranked as my sixth pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Now that Volk is on this list, let’s talk about what he did to Diego Lopes. As of right now, it looks like Yair Rodriguez may be getting the next title shot so we’ll have to wait and see what Uncle Dana comes up with.
7. Tom Aspinall: Tom Aspinall was interviewed recently and brought up that his next fight contract is already signed. Aspinall’s opponent is Ciryl Gane, who he’ll be fighting at UFC 321 on October 25th. Finally, Aspinall gets to show the world why Jon Jones target would retire rather than fight him.
8. Magomed Ankalaev: Magomed Ankalaev finally has a date set to defend his title against Alex Pereira. That defense is going to take place at UFC 320 in Las Vegas on October 4th. A lot of people have wanted to see this matchup since Pereira lost the belt to Ank back at UFC 313. Ankalaev will be ready and has gone on record saying that this time he’ll be finishing Pereira inside the distance.
9. Jack Della Maddalena: Jack Della Maddalena doesn’t care that Islam Makhachev is coming for him. JDM knows that Makhachev is the complete package and is his toughest opponent yet. There’s a lot of people that want Makhachev to beat JDM so they can see him face Topuria, however between Gaethje and JDM, this may not happen if one of them wins.
10. Alex Pereira: Alex Pereira finally has his rematch with Magomed Ankalaev scheduled for UFC 320. Since losing the title, Pereira has been training like a madman to prove all of his critics wrong. From the videos I have seen, Pereira looks amazing and should be able to win his title back from Ank. However, it’s hard to hang your hat on that since Ank did box with Pereira in their last match leading to him winning a majority of those clashes. CHAMA!
