Welcome back to another exciting week of our UFC Power Rankings, after another wild event in Abu Dhabi. Since last week, a lot of fights have been mentioned, and now that we have some dates, let’s prepare ourselves for an amazing fall. You’ll also want to stay tuned for the Fight Club of Pain, which will be airing live, every Thursday at 7 pm EST. You’ll also want to check out the Five-tastic Picks and Soup Can of the Week articles, which are on the Dr. Roto network, as well. 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, Topuria has been running his mouth but choosing his spots when he takes his shots on the X. That has led to Arman Tsarukyan not only trolling Topuria but putting him down and calling him a coward. If or when this fight happens, you can expect a war between these two fighters.
2. Islam Makhachev: Islam Makhachev is preparing himself to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the Welterweight Championship. Since then, Dana White has come out and said that if Makhachev wins the title, a super fight between him and Topuria will most likely happen. However, I don’t think JDM is going to let them walk him like this fall when it’s predicted for them to meet.
3. Merab Dvalishvili: Merab Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley via submission this past weekend at UFC 316. This extended his winning streak to 13 as he broke down Sean easily and cemented his legacy like we talked about in the Fight Club of Pain. That legacy will be tested soon since Cory Sandhagen has stepped up to be the frontrunner for Dvalishvili’s next opponent.
4. Alexandre Pantoja: Alexandre Pantoja dismantled Kai Kara-France within two rounds, giving us those fireworks I talked about for weeks. Not only did Pantoja out-class Kara-France on their feet, he also took him down immediately and held him there for most of the fight. After the fight, Pantoja and Joshua Van had a face-off, which most likely means Van will be the next man up for a total shot.
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 fight is under three weeks away, which means we’re about to get another super fight between two distinctly different styles.
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.
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: Unfortunately for Jack DellaMaddalena, Makhachev is coming for him, so he needs to get ready because Islam is nothing like Muhammed. Makhachev is the complete package, so JDM will be facing his toughest opponent yet. With the rumors of a super fight between Makhachev and Topuria on the horizon, you can bet JDM would love to foil this plan by retaining his championship.
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!
