On Saturday night, the MMA world leaders return to Paramount+ with a new UFC Fight Night card in Houston, Texas. On the main card of the event, Top 15 heavyweights Sergey Spivack and Ante Deliza faced off to advance in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
After a violent and sustained battle Spivack ultimately won in a decision. Let's see how his win changed our latest UFC heavyweight rankings.
Sergei Spivak has been a consistent top-15-tier fighter at heavyweight for the past five years. While he has lost six times inside the Octagon, his most recent failures have come against elite competition such as Tom Aspinall, Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Cyril Gane. However, he has also achieved some big wins against big-name or ranked foes.
He scored another goal in February when he scored in a very hard-fought victory over talented finisher Ante Delija. Their latest win halted a potential losing streak and brings them back into our top 10.
9. Shamil Gaziev (14-2)
Former Brave CF star Shamil Gaziev has had notable performances in the division. Although a doctor's stoppage cost him his first loss in 2024, the Dagestani big man is 3-1 inside the Octagon, including two nasty knockouts. Gaziev is a rising heavyweight fighter to keep an eye on. However, he took a major risk in November when he accepted a short-notice fight with Waldo Cortés Acosta. This decision backfired and he suffered a crushing knockout defeat.
8. Rizvan Kuniev (14-3-1)
PFL and Contender Series veteran Rizwan Kuniev joins our UFC heavyweight rankings after scoring the biggest win of his career with a hard-fought victory over Zelton Almeida in February. While it wasn't great, he proved he could compete with top-10 talent. He'll need a definite W in his next fight if he wants to maintain his spot in our latest rankings.
7. Marcin Tybura (27-9)
Marcin Tubura has quietly been a mainstay of the UFC heavyweight rankings over the past half-decade. Although his record in the company stands at 14-8, he has grown significantly as a fighter over the years. He is 10-3 in his last 12, with his only losses coming to elite talents Alexander Volkov, Sergei Spivak and current interim heavyweight king Tom Aspinall.
In March, he won a hard-fought victory over Mick Parkin, Aspinall's trainer partner and one of the better rising prospects in the division.
6. Sergei Pavlovich (20-3)
Sergei Pavlovich has been an absolute crushing machine during most of his UFC career. After losing to Alistair Overeem in his debut match, he reeled off six consecutive wins and all of those wins came via devastating knockout. However, a string of two-match defeats halted all their momentum. But he has righted the ship in 2025 and has scored two decision wins. The most recent fight was against Waldo Cortés-Acosta in Shanghai.
Dominican legend Waldo Cortes Acosta has quietly become a serious force in the heavyweight division. In his 12 bouts inside the Octagon, he has recorded 10 wins, including wins against some notable talents in the top 15. The latest came against fan-favorite Derrick Lewis at UFC 324 in January.
“Salsa Boy” showed why he is one of the more athletic and polished strikers in the division when he added the two-time challenger to his hit list inside the Octagon.
4.Curtis Blaydes (19-5)
Although Curtis Blaydes has had some very tough losses in his career, he has remained a top-five tier heavyweight for most of the last decade. At UFC 299, he finally got a chance to make up for his big fight mistakes and he did so in a big way when he handed Zelton Almeida his first defeat in the Octagon.
The win moved "Razor" into a UFC 304 title match against Tom Aspinall. Unfortunately, the curse of his big fights returned, and he suffered a TKO loss in Round 1 after a strong start. At UFC Baku, the talented wrestler returned and was able to win in a tough fight over Rizvan Kuniev. But this victory could not make any significant contribution in bringing them back into the title race.
3. Alexander Volkov (39-11)
Alexander Volkov has been a top-tier MMA heavyweight for a long time. Although he has been unable to earn a UFC title shot, he has remained a veteran in the top 10 over the years. For many watching UFC 310, he scored a win against Cyril Gane that should have cost him the title. However, the judges did not judge it his way and he suffered a crushing defeat from the Frenchman.
In October, he bounced back from the setback to get himself back into title contention with a hard-fought split-decision victory over top-five talent Zelton Almeida.
2. Cyril Gane (13-2)
Cyril Gane is a superb athlete and one of the most technical heavyweight strikers in the game. This is the reason why he is constantly in the title discussion. However, his wrestling shortcomings remain a problem, and they were evident again in his UFC 310 bout with Alexander Volkov. Fortunately "Bon Gamin" was able to escape and win the decision.
This victory earned him a title opportunity at UFC 321. However, his good luck ran out against Volkov, and his chance to win UFC gold was halted after just a few minutes when he kicked champion Tom Aspinall in both eyes, ending the fight.
1. Tom Aspinall (14-3)
Englishman Tom Aspinall is the best heavyweight in the UFC. It became official when MMA GOAT Jon Jones decided to step away from the sport earlier this year. The Englishman has defeated many of the best fighters in the division over the past three years and is the undisputed leader in the eyes of most UFC fans.
After definitively avenging the only defeat of his UFC career in the summer of 2024, he made his first defense of the undisputed title in October. Unfortunately, a nasty blow from opponent Cyril Game ended the UFC 321 main event after just a few minutes. An immediate rematch in early 2026 appears likely.
