MMA pound-for-pound rankings: Is Jon Jones the best in the world?

Jon Jones was the featured attraction for his fight against Stipe Miocic this past Saturday, in what some were calling the biggest heavyweight fight to be held at Madison Square Garden in over 50 years. And guess what? Twenty months away from competition didn’t affect him at all.

Jones’s third-round knockout victory over Miocic not only sets up a monumental unification bout against interim champ Tom Aspinall (finger’s crossed!), it shoots him up a notch in this month’s pound-for-pound rankings.

The panel of Ben Fowlkes, Chuck Mindenhall, Shaheen Al-Shatti, Petesy Carroll, Drake Riggs, Eric Jackman and Conner Burks have ranked both the men’s and women’s pound-for-pound best, one through 10, using a weighted points system to determine the final rankings (being voted No. 1 equals 10 points, No. 2 equals nine points, down to No. 10 equaling one point).

Our only criterion for these monthly rankings is that a fighter has competed within at least a calendar year of the publication date or has at least had a fight booked within that window. If a fighter hasn’t competed in a year and books a fight after that time, he or she is once again eligible to be voted back in. Fighters who retire are no longer eligible for the rankings.

Though most of the best fighters are currently in the UFC, these rankings are not UFC exclusive. We take into consideration all the major promotions, from Bellator/PFL conglomerate to ONE Championship.

Without further ado, let’s dig into the MMA pound-for-pound rankings for November!

(What changed? Here’s a look at October’s MMA pound-for-pound rankings.)

MEN’S

1. Islam Makhachev — UFC lightweight champion

The 14-fight win streak in one of the UFC’s most stacked divisions speaks for itself, but it’s the dominant, unnerving cold in which he goes about wrecking people that has Makhachev atop the field. The wins over Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski and Dustin Poirier were all eye-openers, yet the rematch with Arman Tsarukyan might be his toughest test to date.

2. Alex Pereira — UFC light heavyweight champion

You know you’re the Fighter of the Year when everyone wants a piece of you. Right now Magomed Ankalaev is praying like hell the UFC doesn’t fall in love with the idea of “Poatan” jumping to heavyweight for a superfight with Jones.

3. Ilia Topuria — UFC featherweight champion

Was beating Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway the best back-to-back wins a fighter has ever had to open their title run? Enough time has passed for us to make a judgment on that. And the answer is, yes. Yes it is.

4. Jon Jones — UFC heavyweight Champion (Prev: 5)

Listen man, when Jon Jones comes in there and dominates Stipe Miocic the way he did, you give the man his flowers. And a sizable payday. The UFC needs to make that unification bout with Aspinall at all costs. That’s the definition of a mega-fight.

5. Merab Dvalishvili — UFC bantamweight champion (Prev: 4)

How maniacal is this dude? How relentless and merciless and icy cold? After beating on O’Malley for a round he kissed his head. Sadistic. Totally out of bounds. Eleven wins in a row baby. Hard not to love him.

6. Tom Aspinall — UFC interim heavyweight champion

Ariel Helwani says that over this past week in New York, Jones’ reluctance to fight Tommy Aspinall has turned England’s best into a “baby face.” That’s wrestling parlance for “a lovable guy everyone roots for.” Did you hear that pop he got?

7. Francis Ngannou — PFL super fights heavyweight champion

He crushed Renan Ferreira, so what’s next? That’s anyone’s guess. With Jones successfully defending the heavyweight title at UFC 309, it’s hard to fall back into a game of “what if.” It was cool to see Ngannou give Jones his due on social media.

8. Dricus du Plessis — UFC middleweight champion (Prev. 9)

The good news? South Africa has a legit champion. The bad? Well … you can look down a couple of spots in these here rankings and see there’s a storm moving in, which fight meteorologists have named Hurricane Borz.

9. Belal Muhammad — UFC welterweight champion (Prev: 8)

It’s a bummer that Muhammad was forced out of his UFC 310 title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov, as it was a real chance for him to shut down one of the most feared fights in the division. He’ll be ready for the winner of Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry.

10. Khamzat Chimaev — UFC middleweight contender

The monster known as “Borz” shot in on Whittaker early, took him down, battered him, then broke his jaw with a creature-like squeeze that dislodged a row of teeth. That aura that people thought was missing? Yeah, it’s beaming again.

(Others receiving votes: Alexandre Pantoja, Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway)

WOMEN’S

1. Valentina Shevchenko — UFC flyweight champion

The Alexa Grasso trilogy is over, and what we saw was vintage Valentina. Just a marauding, wrestling, suffocating, pressuring menace that had Grasso spinning around like she was caught in a tempest for 25 minutes. Manon Fiorot next?

2. Zhang Weili — UFC strawweight champion

There is a little bit of Georges St-Pierre’s mojo to Zhang’s second wind as a champion. You get the sense that those losses taught her to never get complacent again, as evidenced in her dominance over Carla Esparza, Amanda Lemos and Yan Xiaonan.

3. Cris Cyborg — PFL super fights featherweight champion/Bellator featherweight champion

There were bad omens to be found for her fight with Larissa Pacheco, if you were looking. Yet Cyborg withstood some early damage to prevail like the Thanos of the women’s ranks. Her post-fight speech should’ve been three words before a mic drop: Y’all must’ve forgot.

4. Kayla Harrison — UFC bantamweight challenger

She didn’t rag-doll Ketlen Vieira like she did Holly Holm, but she got some solid work in as she prepares for a showdown against Julianna Peña. Does she feel as invincible as she once did? Let’s put it this way, so long as she makes weight, we’re not betting against her.

5. Alexa Grasso — UFC flyweight contender

It was a tough loss in what was staged to be a legacy-defining fight on a night when the UFC was celebrating Mexican Independence Day, but all is not lost. At 31 years old, there’s plenty of fight left in Guadalajara’s finest. The second act could be epic.

6. Julianna Peña — UFC bantamweight champion

After so many injuries and setbacks and sudden retirements to her most hated enemies, Pena now gets to show off her shiny title. Amanda Nunes looks like she’s coming back, but Pena will need to clear the hurdle of Harrison in order to get to her. In other words, have yourself a day while you can, Julianna!

7. Manon Fiorot — UFC flyweight contender

It went relatively unsung, but that was some serious OG ish that Fiorot pulled back in March. She went into Erin Blanchfield’s backyard and not only went toe-to-toe with an undefeated contender, she shut her down entirely. Now it’s title or bust!

8. Larissa Pacheco — PFL featherweight contender

She didn’t beat her, but she made Cyborg feel her power early and often. It’s unlikely Cyborg wants to play it back (in fact, it’s guaranteed), but if they did you get the sense that the 30-year-old Pacheco would be dialed in. Big things are still on the horizon.

9. Tatiana Suarez — UFC flyweight contender

It’s been one setback after another for Suarez. At 33 years old, the clock does tick louder in her ear each passing year. Since her debut in 2014, Tatiana is 10-0 as a professional fighter, meaning she has averaged just one win a year. Ladies and gentlemen, start your “what ifs.”

10. Seika Izawa — RIZIN super atomweight champion, Jewels strawweight and atomweight champion

They call her the “Supernova,” and that’s what the 26-year-old phenom been in Japan — a kind of celestial event that boggles people’s minds. Since winning the interim strawweight title in 2021, Izawa has been a beast, blasting through RIZIN and Jewels’ best like they were offerings from the gods.

(Others receiving votes: Raquel Pennington, Si Woo Park, Erin Blanchfield, Virna Jandiroba, Taila Santos)

Here’s how the Uncrowned team voted:

SHAHEEN AL-SHATTI

MEN

1. Alex Pereira

2. Ilia Topuria

3. Islam Makhachev

4. Francis Ngannou

5. Tom Aspinall

6. Belal Muhammad

7. Alexandre Pantoja

8. Merab Dvalishvili

9. Dricus du Plessis

10. Jon Jones

WOMEN

1. Valentina Shevchenko

2. Zhang Weili

3. Alexa Grasso

4. Kayla Harrison

5. Cris Cyborg

6. Manon Fiorot

7. Larissa Pacheco

8. Seika Izawa

9. Tatiana Suarez

10. Julianna Peña

CONNER BURKS

MEN

1. Islam Makhachev

2. Ilia Topuria

3. Jon Jones

4. Alex Pereira

5. Merab Dvalishvili

6. Tom Aspinall

7. Khamzat Chimaev

8. Dricus Du Plessis

9. Alexandre Pantoja

10. Belal Muhammad

WOMEN

1. Zhang Weili

2. Valentina Shevchenko

3. Cris Cyborg

4. Julianna Peña

5. Kayla Harrison

6. Alexa Grasso

7. Manon Fiorot

8. Larissa Pacheco

9. Tatiana Suarez

10. Erin Blanchfield

PETESY CARROLL

MEN

1. Alex Pereira

2. Islam Makhachev

3. Ilia Topuria

4. Tom Aspinall

5. Jon Jones

6. Francis Ngannou

7. Merab Dvalishvili

8. Dricus Du Plessis

9. Belal Muhammad

10. Khamzat Chimaev

WOMEN

1. Weili Zhang

2. Valentina Shevchenko

3. Cris Cyborg

4. Kayla Harrison

5. Alexa Grasso

6. Julianna Peña

7. Raquel Pennington

8. Manon Fiorot

9. Larissa Pacheco

10. Tatiana Suarez

BEN FOWLKES

MEN

1. Alex Pereira

2. Jon Jones

3. Ilia Topuria

4. Islam Makhachev

5. Merab Dvalishvili

6. Francis Ngannou

7. Alexandre Pantoja

8. Alex Volkanovski

9. Dricus Du Plessis

10. Tom Aspinall

WOMEN

1. Weili Zhang

2. Valentina Shevchenko

3. Cris Cyborg

4. Kayla Harrison

5. Alexa Grasso

6. Raquel Pennington

7. Julianna Peña

8. Manon Fiorot

9. Larissa Pacheco

10. Tatiana Suarez

ERIC JACKMAN

MEN

1. Islam Makhachev

2. Ilia Topuria

3. Alex Pereira

4. Khamzat Chimaev

5. Jon Jones

6. Dricus du Plessis

7. Merab Dvalishvili

8. Belal Muhammad

9. Tom Aspinall

10. Alexandre Pantoja

WOMEN

1. Valentina Shevchenko

2. Cris Cyborg

3. Zhang Weili

4. Kayla Harrison

5. Larissa Pacheco

6. Julianna Peña

7. Tatiana Suarez

8. Manon Fiorot

9. Alexa Grasso

10. Virna Jandiroba

CHUCK MINDENHALL

MEN

1. Alex Pereira

2. Islam Makhachev

3. Ilia Topuria

4. Tom Aspinall

5. Jon Jones

6. Francis Ngannou

7. Khamzat Chimaev

8. Merab Dvalishvili

9. Dricus Du Plessis

10. Belal Muhammad

WOMEN

1. Valentina Shevchenko

2. Zhang Weili

3. Cris Cyborg

4. Kayla Harrison

5. Manon Fiorot

6. Tatiana Suarez

7. Julianna Peña

8. Erin Blanchfield

9. Larissa Pacheco

10. Virna Jandiroba

DRAKE RIGGS

MEN

1. Islam Makhachev

2. Ilia Topuria

3. Merab Dvalishvili

4. Belal Muhammad

5. Alex Pereira

6. Tom Aspinall

7. Dricus Du Plessis

8. Alexandre Pantoja

9. Francis Ngannou

10. Jon Jones

WOMEN

1. Seika Izawa

2. Valentina Shevchenko

3. Zhang Weili

4. Cris Cyborg

5. Alexa Grasso

6. Si Woo Park

7. Larissa Pacheco

8. Kayla Harrison

9. Taila Santos

10. Virna Jandiroba