Welcome back to another exciting week of our UFC Power Rankings, after another great PPV by the UFC. UFC 319 couldn’t have gone any better, especially for our new Middleweight Champion, Khamzat Chimaev. Not only did he dominate Dricus Du Plessis, he dismantled him especially the way we said he would. That means there are new rankings for this week, giving us a fresh face for this article. Also you’ll want to stay tuned for the Fight Club of Pai,n which airs live, every Thursday at 7 pm EST. Make sure you also check out the Five-tastic Picks and Soup Can of the Week articles, which are only 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. Khamzat Chimaev: Khamzat Chimaev takes over the fifth spot after beating Dricus Du Plessis at Saturday’s UFC 319. With a rematch most likely not happening, I feel that everyone wants to see Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez as his next opponent, but I could see them go with Reinier De Ridder, which would trigger everyone.
6. Alexander Volkanovski: Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski stays ranked as my sixth pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Next up for Volk will most likely be Lerone Murphy, who remained undefeated after Saturday’s win against Aaron Pico, in which he knocked him out. This could mean that the champ’s day could be numbered, but we all know Volkanovski isn’t going down without a fight.
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 who 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!
