{"id":290391,"date":"2025-11-18T05:30:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T05:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/290391\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T05:30:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T05:30:19","slug":"mma-pound-for-pound-rankings-nov-2025-ufc-322-triggers-a-sweeping-shakeup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/290391\/","title":{"rendered":"MMA pound-for-pound rankings (Nov. 2025): UFC 322 triggers a sweeping shakeup"},"content":{"rendered":"

It seems that whenever Islam Makhachev fights, he emphatically reclaims the No. 1 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings, and it\u2019s no different this time through. UFC 322 was supposed to be the toughest test to date for Makhachev, who was making the leap to welterweight in an attempt to win a second title \u2014 yet he made the work look easy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Makhachev didn\u2019t just beat now-former champion Jack Della Maddalena, he dominated him from pillar to post for 25 minutes<\/a>. By the end, the welterweight division had a new king. The Dagestani fighter now makes a leap of another kind, this time over his forever rival Ilia Topuria<\/a> in taking over the No. 1 spot on the men\u2019s side of the November pound-for-pound rankings.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, Valentina Shevchenko might be getting better with age. At 37 years old she essentially did the same thing that Makhachev did<\/a> against Zhang Weili in what was being dubbed a \u201csuperfight,\u201d and a \u201cwomen\u2019s fight for the ages.\u201d Shevchenko left no question that she\u2019s not only the best flyweight champion of all time, but she\u2019s the best pound-for-pound women\u2019s fighter going.<\/p>\n

The panel of Ben Fowlkes, Chuck Mindenhall, Shaheen Al-Shatti, Petesy Carroll, Drake Riggs, Eric Jackman and Conner Burks have ranked both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n

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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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Without further ado, the MMA pound-for-pound rankings for November!<\/p>\n

\"NEW<\/p>\n

Poor Jack. Nothing about this looks fun.<\/p>\n

(Ishika Samant via Getty Images)MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND<\/p>\n

1. Islam Makhachev \u2014 UFC welterweight champion (Prev: 2)<\/p>\n

There will be a lot of talk about Makhachev tying Anderson Silva\u2019s mark of 16 straight UFC wins, but the fact that he hit that mark in such dominant fashion as a welterweight makes you wonder if he can run his streak to 20 or 25<\/a>. Who is next? Carlos Prates? Michael Morales? Ian Machado Garry? Belal Muhammad? Any of these would be fine fights. (We\u2019ll present without comment that Makhachev himself has suggested Kamaru Usman be the guy. Ahem.)<\/p>\n

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2. Ilia Topuria \u2014 UFC lightweight champion (Prev: 1)<\/p>\n

Want to talk about unimpressed?<\/a> \u201cJack needs an entire camp dedicated just to wrestling. What a disappointment of a champion. You should go to Georgia to learn something. Islam, you need something you can\u2019t train: emotion. You\u2019re the most boring thing in this game. Every day I\u2019m more certain I put you to sleep.\u201d \u2013 Ilia Topuria on X. Sheesh.<\/p>\n

3. Merab Dvalishvili \u2014 UFC bantamweight champion (Prev: 3)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sign of the times that Merab Dvalishvili can be going for an unprecedented fourth title defense in the year 2025 and still show up third on the men\u2019s pound-for-pound rankings, but here we are. We have that Petr Yan pay-per-view headliner coming up in a few weeks, and then we\u2019ll see if Merab can overtake the Ilias and the Islams of the world.<\/p>\n

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4. Alexandre Pantoja \u2014 UFC flyweight champion (Prev: 4)<\/p>\n

You know, the closer we get to Pantoja\u2019s Dec. 6 title defense against the 24-year-old Joshua Van, the more it stands out as a potential FOTY candidate. Van is already in that conversation after that crossroads he had with Brandon Royval in June, and Pantoja isn\u2019t the kind of champion to protect a lead. They are going to meet in the middle of the cage like a couple of feral cats. Can\u2019t wait!<\/p>\n

5. Khamzat Chimaev \u2014 UFC middleweight champion (Prev: 5)<\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t Makhachev\u2019s dominance against Jack Della Maddalena remind you a little bit of Chimaev\u2019s one-sided beatdown of Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319? Belts are not only changing hands in 2025, but they are also being used to whip those former champs as punishment for masquerading.<\/p>\n

6. Tom Aspinall \u2014 UFC heavyweight champion (Prev: 6)<\/p>\n

Pardon the pun, but that fight with Ciryl Gane was a little rough on the eyes, yet the good news is it gives an obvious direction to things at heavyweight. They have to do the rematch between the two, which will be 10 times more intriguing than when they met at UFC 321. The other good news? Jon Jones is (seemingly) talking himself (maybe) into that looming fight (potentially) with Aspinall.<\/p>\n

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7. Alex Pereira \u2014 UFC light heavyweight champion (Prev: 7)<\/p>\n

Alex Pereira got in on the Fighting Nerds action by showing up in New York alongside his coach and friend Plinio Cruz in glasses. He got a seismic pop from the crowd, too, as he remains one of the UFC\u2019s biggest stars. Is that fight with Jon Jones in the cards? Well, Dana White spoke to Jon recently<\/a> and \u2026 shoot \u2026 that\u2019s an improvement from where things were six weeks ago.<\/p>\n

8. Alexander Volkanovski \u2014 UFC featherweight champion (Prev: 8)<\/p>\n

UFC 322 served as an interesting reflection on “Volk,” who is the only man in recent memory to make Islam Makhachev sweat in a fight. That came in their first meeting, when “Volk” was turning the tables on the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter late in the championship rounds. Sometimes such silver linings feed nicely into a man\u2019s OG\u2019s status.<\/p>\n

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9T. Dricus du Plessis \u2014 UFC middleweight contender (Prev: NR)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a cruel business, the UFC. You make the most of a situation by beating the pesky Sean Strickland in a rematch to retain gold one minute, the next you\u2019re staring up at the lights at the United Center in Chicago, hoping the Jumbotron doesn\u2019t fall on you as Khamzat Chimaev rams his fist into your forehead. “DDP” is made of tough stuff and will be back. Mark our words.<\/p>\n

9T. Arman Tsarukyan \u2014 UFC lightweight contender (Prev: NR)<\/p>\n

It might seem a little strange for Arman Tsarukyan to break into the pound-for-pound rankings a week before he fights Dan Hooker in Qatar, but he\u2019s been hovering at No. 11 for a while now, and champions losing has bumped him up. It\u2019s a big one coming up in Doha. If he beats Hooker in the main event, he has a very good argument to be next for Topuria, even if Paddy Pimblett might see that as \u201cchatting s***.\u201d<\/p>\n

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(Others receiving votes: Jack Della Maddalena, Magomed Ankalaev)<\/p>\n

\"NEW<\/p>\n

Valentina Shevchenko is still going strong more than two decades into her MMA run.<\/p>\n

(Ishika Samant via Getty Images)WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND<\/p>\n

1. Valentina Shevchenko \u2014 UFC flyweight champion (Prev: 2)<\/p>\n

She wore sunglasses all week, like a terminator with cataracts. In the footage of her training, she seemed to be hurting the air she shadow-boxed, showing how intense she was taking things. And when she finally got her hands on Zhang Weili, hearing as she did all the experts picking the Chinese champion to take her flyweight title, she turned one of the great challenges of her career into a laugher. Kudos, “Bullet.”<\/p>\n

2. Kayla Harrison \u2014 UFC bantamweight champion (Prev: 3)<\/p>\n

All this GOAT talk over the past week in which media dissected Shevchenko’s credentials and put them against those of Amanda Nunes had to rankle Kayla Harrison at least a little bit. Harrison\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is about as impressive as they come, and she didn\u2019t whittle down her frame to 135 pounds (like a yogi) just to play second fiddle. She wants to take Nunes out of the equation, and she\u2019ll get her chance early in 2026.<\/p>\n

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3. Zhang Weili \u2014 Former UFC strawweight champion\/UFC flyweight contender (Prev: 1)<\/p>\n

Best laid plans and all that. You can\u2019t hate on Zhang for shooting her shot against Shevchenko, because what else was she going to do, beat up Mackenzie Dern at 115? Things didn\u2019t go her way, but she doesn\u2019t lose anything in terms of her dominance at strawweight. Our guess here is she goes back where she\u2019s still on top and reminds everyone that she\u2019s a force to be reckoned with (and yes, beats up Mackenzie Dern).<\/p>\n

4. Cris Cyborg \u2014 PFL superfights women\u2019s featherweight champion (Prev: 4)<\/p>\n

The countdown is on for Cyborg\u2019s long-awaited return against Sara Collins in a couple of weeks, and you have to wonder \u2014 might this be it for her? She’s mentioned in the past that she only intends to hang around until she\u2019s 40 years old, and she turned 40 back in July. Would she ride off into the sunset with a big win in France?<\/p>\n

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5. Dakota Ditcheva \u2014 PFL women\u2019s 2024 flyweight tournament champion (Prev: 5)<\/p>\n

We want to reiterate a story here. A long time ago, the great U.S. president Abraham Lincoln got frustrated with George McCellan\u2019s reluctance to engage his well-trained troops in battle. He wrote, \u201cIf General McClellan is not going to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time.\u201d Kinda feel that way about Ditcheva and the PFL. If they\u2019re not going to fight her \u2026 can the UFC borrow her for a time?<\/p>\n

\"NASHVILLE,<\/p>\n

Where, o where, art thou, Dakota Ditcheva?<\/p>\n

(Cooper Neill via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

6. Natalia Silva \u2014 UFC flyweight contender (Prev: 6)<\/p>\n

She was cageside at UFC 322 in New York, and she was on Valentina Shevchenko\u2019s lips in the post-fight interview after “The Bullet” held court. So is Silva next? She better be. She\u2019s won 13 fights in a row as a pro, and six in the UFC, beginning with Jasmine Jasudavicius and ending with Alexa Grasso. Shevchenko is ready to confront whoever\u2019s next in the meritocracy, and Silva is at the front of the line.<\/p>\n

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7. Manon Fiorot \u2014 UFC flyweight contender (Prev: 7)<\/p>\n

Think about the last three fights Fiorot has had. She went into Atlantic City and beat New Jersey\u2019s own Erin Blanchfield like it was a day in the park, she went to Montreal and gave Shevchenko all she could handle before dropping a decision, and finally she goes to Vancouver and halts the scorching hot Jasmine Jasudavicius in front of a partisan crowd. Beastwork.<\/p>\n

8. Mackenzie Dern \u2014 UFC strawweight champion (Prev: 8)<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re Mackenzie Dern, we’d take as many pictures as we can with the strawweight belt and post them to all social media accounts. Not saying it\u2019s all about to change, but the landlord is coming back. Zhang is done moonlighting as a fly. And Dern holds that title. We all know what fight the UFC has to make next.<\/p>\n

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9. Seika Izawa \u2014 RIZIN super atomweight champion (Prev: 10)<\/p>\n

Did you see Seika Izawa retain the super atomweight title against Saori Oshima at RIZIN Landmark 12 in Kobe, Japan, earlier this month? No? You should really check it out. Another dominant performance, raising young Izawa\u2019s record to a perfect 17-0. As Jimmie Walker used to say on Good Times, she\u2019s \u201cDy-no-mite.\u201d<\/p>\n

10. Erin Blanchfield \u2014 UFC flyweight contender (Prev: NR)<\/p>\n

It was a workwomanlike performance that Blanchfield went at Tracy Cortez with, at least at first \u2014 once she got things into her realm, she tapped Cortez out at UFC 322 and avenged a loss from when she was 19 years old. Now she\u2019s a top contender, but she might have to wait out Natalia Silva\u2019s title bid. If Shevchenko isn\u2019t ready to roll in a timely manner, though, Blanchfield vs. Silva isn\u2019t a bad alternative.<\/p>\n

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(Others receiving votes: Larissa Pacheco, Virna Jandiroba, Julianna Pena, Liz Carmouche)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how we voted:<\/p>\n

SHAHEEN AL-SHATTI<\/p>\n

MEN<\/p>\n

WOMEN<\/p>\n

CONNER BURKS<\/p>\n

MEN<\/p>\n

WOMEN<\/p>\n

PETESY CARROLL<\/p>\n

MEN<\/p>\n

WOMEN<\/p>\n

BEN FOWLKES<\/p>\n

MEN<\/p>\n

WOMEN<\/p>\n

ERIC JACKMAN<\/p>\n

MEN<\/p>\n

WOMEN<\/p>\n

CHUCK MINDENHALL<\/p>\n

MEN<\/p>\n

WOMEN<\/p>\n

DRAKE RIGGS<\/p>\n

MEN<\/p>\n

WOMEN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It seems that whenever Islam Makhachev fights, he emphatically reclaims the No. 1 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[11038,28981,11040,3625,49,48,96416,57507,641,3262,23591,23592,30298,5899,80311,21903,638,82,1972,640,11037,50877],"class_list":{"0":"post-290391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-alex-pereira","9":"tag-alexander-volkanovski","10":"tag-alexandre-pantoja","11":"tag-anderson-silva","12":"tag-ca","13":"tag-canada","14":"tag-cris-cyborg","15":"tag-erin-blanchfield","16":"tag-fighting","17":"tag-ilia-topuria","18":"tag-islam-makhachev","19":"tag-jack-della-maddalena","20":"tag-kayla-harrison","21":"tag-khamzat-chimaev","22":"tag-mackenzie-dern","23":"tag-merab-dvalishvili","24":"tag-mma","25":"tag-sports","26":"tag-tom-aspinall","27":"tag-ufc","28":"tag-valentina-shevchenko","29":"tag-zhang-weili"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}