Image: John Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration

Lightweight

Few gave Gaethje a chance against Ilia Topuria in the UFC White
House headliner, but “The Highlight” defied the odds, as he
battered “El Matador” to force a fourth-round corner stoppage
against the man previously regarded by many as the sport’s top
pound-for-pound fighter. In his third attempt, Gaethje can finally
call himself an undisputed UFC champion after authoring one of hte
biggest upsets in promotion history. While Gaethje hinted that
retirement could be a possibility, nothing is set in stone just
yet. Assuming he decides to defend the belt, he figures to have no
shortage of suitors for his first title defense.
Heading into the UFC White House main event, Topuria seemed to be
on the fast track to a spot on MMA’s figurative Mount Rushmore.
That path may have been permanently altered following his encounter
with Justin Gaethje, where “El Matador” took a tremendous beating
en route to a fourth-round stoppage loss. How Topuria rebounds
after suffering his first career defeat will be interesting to
track, because it had the look of a bout that may change his entire
outlook. Still, with championships in two divisions and finishes
against the likes of Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway and Alexander
Volkanovski, the Georgian-Spaniard remains one of the most
accomplished fighters in the sport today.

After more than a year and a half on the sidelines, Tsarukyan
didn’t miss a beat in the UFC Qatar headliner, where he secured a
second-round submission victory over all-action Kiwi fighter Dan
Hooker. Tsarukyan has won five straight in the Octagon and 10 of
his last 11 UFC outings overall — which would seemingly be enough
to earn him the next title shot against 155-pound kingpin Ilia
Topuria. “Ahalkalakets” made his intentions clear in the aftermath
of his latest triumph. Now it’s just a matter of waiting to see
what the UFC’s next move will be.
More than a decade after an untimely injury ended his first meeting
with Max Holloway, Oliveira exacted his revenge at UFC 326, as he
claimed the BMF crown with a lopsided unanimous decision victory at
the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Do Bronxs” has now earned
back-to-back wins over Holloway and Mateusz Gamrot to reassert
himself as one of the top talents at 155 pounds. As long as Ilia
Topuria remains champion, his path back to championship gold will
be difficult.

Holloway’s inability to remain upright led to his demise against
Charles Oliveira in their rematch at UFC 326. The striking-minded
Hawaiian spent much of the bout with Oliveira attached to his back,
as he his BMF belt in a lopsided unanimous decision defeat. The
setback likely removes Holloway from lightweight championship
consideration for the time being, but the popular ex-featherweight
king remains quite capable of putting on entertaining fights when
presented with the right matchup. “Blessed” will move to 170 pounds
for a headlining showdown against the returning Conor McGregor at
UFC 329.
Poirier fought admirably in his swan song at UFC 318, but a
storybook ending wasn’t meant to be, as “The Diamond” dropped an
entertaining unanimous decision to Max Holloway in a trilogy bout
at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Though the result
certainly wasn’t what he envision, Poirier will go down in history
as one of the sport’s most beloved all-action performers. Assuming
his retirement sticks, Poirier’s rankings eligibility will expire
on July 19, 2026.
St. Denis survived some early adversity, then overwhelmed Dan
Hooker with punches and elbows from top position to earn a
second-round technical knockout victory in the UFC 325 co-main
event on Jan. 31 in Sydney, Australia. The “God of War” has won
four straight outings inside the Octagon — all inside the distance.
That sets him up high-profile matchup in his next promotional
appearance, when he faces Paddy Pimblett in the UFC 329 co-main
event.
Nurmagomedov kept his unbeaten record intact in impressive fashion
at PFL Dubai, where he vanquished 2025 lightweight tournament
winner Alfie Davis with a third-round reverse arm-triangle choke on
Feb. 7. The 27-year-old Dagestani has won titles in both PFL and
Bellator, racking up quality victories against the likes of Davis,
Paul Hughes (twice), Alexander Shabliy, Benson Henderson and
Patricky Freire. A showdown with Archie Colgan at PFL New York is
up next for the reigning lightweight king.
The UFC set Ruffy up with an ideal opportunity to make a statement
and the Brazilian delivered, knocking out former Bellator champ
Michael Chandler with a spinning wheel kick and follow-up punches
at the White House on June 14. While Chandler has seen better days,
is was still a spectacular showing for the former Fighting Nerds
stalwart. The 29-year-old has been victorious in five of six
promotional outings, with his lone defeat coming at the hands of
fellow Top 10 lightweight Benoit St. Denis.10. Dan Hooker
(24-14) UFC [10]
Hooker started well enough against Benoit St. Denis in their UFC
325 co-main event matchup, as he controlled distance and attacked
his foe with rangy strikes. An ill-advised strategic error led to
his demise in the second stanza, as St. Denis battered him on the
ground en route to a technical knockout stoppage. After winning
three straight fights from November 2022 to August 2024, “The
Hangman” has dropped back-to-back contests against St. Denis and
Arman Tsarukyan.

Other Contenders: Mateusz
Gamrot, Paddy
Pimblett, Manuel
Torres, Quillan
Salkilld, Grant
Dawson.

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