After another amazing UFC event, the rankings have not only been shaken up, but I even stirred in a new fighter on this list, who I feel deserves a championship fight next year. We all knew UFC 320 was on the horizon, so I felt like changing these rankings made no sense since we had two major titles up for grabs. I want to congratulate Alex Pereira on winning back his Light Heavyweight Championship against Magomed Ankalaev, who now has fallen off the list. That opened up that opportunity for the fighter I was referring to earlier. Also, you’ll want to remember that the Fight Club of Pain will be live this Thursday, at 7 pm EST, for all of your betting and DFS needs for this card. Have a great day, everyone, and may the fights be with you.
- Ilia Topuria: Ilia Topuria remains the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world, even after UFC 320 this weekend. A lot of fighters have been running their mouths since his win over Charles Oliveira, who happens to be fighting Mateusz Gamrot this weekend. No matter what, Paddy Pimblett, Justin Gaethje, and the rest of the bunch all want a shot at Topuria’s title.
- Islam Makhachev: Islam Makhachev is preparing himself to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the Welterweight Championship. This match is going to take place on November 15th, at Madison Square Garden for UFC 322. This is going to be the perfect fight to start off the holiday season with.
- Merab Dvalishvili: Merab Dvalishvili cemented this weekend why he’s my third on my list. Cory Sandhagen was no pushover and Dvalishvili almost finished him during this fight. As said during the Fight Club, we felt that Sandhagen could survive these attempts and that proved us right but regardless, Dvalishvili still ragdolled him for 20 takedowns, which only proves how dominant Dvalishvili is in the Bantamweight division.
- 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. Since this face-off, it has been talked about that Pantoja should be facing Joshua Van at UFC 323. It hasn’t been officially signed yet, but this is another match that is going to be wild since both fighters fight at a high pace.
- Khamzat Chimaev: Khamzat Chimaev takes over the fifth spot after beating Dricus Du Plessis for the title at UFC 319. With a rematch most likely not happening, the next set of opponents has been set up. Reinier De Ridder is fighting Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez on October 18th at UFC Fight Night in Vancouver. Nassourdine Imavov defeated Caio Borrahlo last weekend, setting up one of two fighters who will have a chance to challenge for Chimaev’s title.
- Alex Pereira: Alex Pereira has been working his tail off since losing to Magomed Ankalaev earlier this year. He listened to everyone’s advice as well as his heart this past weekend by throwing his reverse punch and clocking Ank so bad that his knees buckled immediately, which led to Poatan mounting him and winning by TKO through a ground and pound. However, I’m going out on a limb and saying that the new fighter on the list will be his next opponent. CHAMA!
- Alexander Volkanovski: Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski moves down to sixth as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Next up for Volk will most likely be Lerone Murphy, who remained undefeated after knocking out Aaron Pico. However, after Diego Lopes knocked out Jean Silva, there’s no doubt that these three will be fighting in some shape or form in the future. I could see Murphy getting the shot during the holiday season, while Lopes gets a chance at the winner.
- Tom Aspinall: On October 25th in Abu Dhabi, Tom Aspinall will be defending his Heavyweight Championship against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321. For now, Aspinall moves up to eight after this week’s shake-up. However, Aspinall has been hungry for a fight for a long time, but people think Gane is going to walk him. I don’t see that happening, but the Gane fans can hope.
- 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. With the match now scheduled, you can bet that JDM can’t wait to prove everyone wrong by beating Makhachev on November 15th.
10. Carlos Ulberg: A lot of people are going to disagree with my decision to put Carlos Ulberg on my list over Jiří Procházka. Procházka does deserve this spot after his convincing win over Khalil Roundtree, but he was losing that match headed into the third round before knocking out Roundtree. Ulberg not only knocked out Dominik Reyes, but he did it in the first round with the exact combo we called on the Fight Club of Pain. So, for that, let’s welcome the Black Jag to our elite group of fighters.
