On Saturday night at UFC 326, two of the greatest fighters of their generation went head-to-head in the main event as Max Holloway put his UFC BMF belt on the line against Charles Oliveira. Despite being weakened, the Brazilian easily defeated the Hawaiian and won by a dominant decision.
Following his massive win, take a look at where "Du Bronx" ranks in our new UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
10. Tom Aspinall (15-3)
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.
9. Charles Oliveira (36-11)
Charles Oliveria holds several UFC records and is considered one of the greatest Brazilian MMA fighters of all time. There's a lot to like about his fighting style, and his resume is full of big wins. But age catches up with everyone, and it has taken its toll on "Du Bronx" over the years as he has split his last four fights.
Since he is so far out of the title pictures, the former lightweight king chose to go for the BMF title in March instead. At UFC 326, Oliveira had the best performance of his career, as he completely dominated fellow future Hall of Famer Max Holloway to win his second championship in the company.
8. Khamzat Chimaev (15-0)
Khamzat Chimaev has been an absolute destructive machine throughout his career. He has rarely faced serious resistance during his current UFC run. And that was the case at UFC 319 when he reached the top of the middleweight mountain and defeated Draculas du Plessis. Although it's not always pretty, few fighters on the UFC roster are as impressive as "Borz."
7. Alexandre Pantoja (30-6)
Brazil's Alexandre Pantoja had a long, difficult journey to become the UFC flyweight king. He toiled in the division for several years before finally winning a title fight at UFC 290. In his first opportunity to become champion, he performed well by scoring his second (3rd unofficial) victory over division king Brandon Moreno.
He has been a major champion since picking up a win over Brandon Royval and another win against Moreno. However, his reign came to an unfair end at UFC 323 when the fight had to be stopped early in Round 1 due to a non-contact injury to his elbow.
6. Merab Dvalishvili (21-4)
Merab Davlishvili is truly "The Machine". His tenacity and wrestling have turned him into one of the best bantamweights on the planet. If there were any doubts after his 2024 win over Sean O'Malley, he silenced them with an even more decisive rematch victory at UFC 316.
Following that fight, the champ put his gold on the line against fan-favorite Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320, and like his previous 13 fights, he dominated with his wrestling and cardio. He seems invincible at this time.
5.Petr Yan (20-5)
The three consecutive losses led many to wonder if Petr Yan's days as a top five bantamweight were over. However, his recent wins over Yadon Song, Deiveson Figueiredo and Marcus McGhee helped rebuild his title contender status. Earning a title shot at UFC 323.
In a rematch with a man who had defeated him two years earlier, the Russian was the greatest version of himself as he decisively defeated Merab Dvalishvili to become a two-time bantamweight champion. “No Mercy” proved that he is fully back to being an elite fighter in the world.
4. Alexander Volkanovski (28-4)
Alexander Volkanovski has solidified his place as the best featherweight of all time. However, a move up in weight for a second title shot and the rise of Ilya Topuria led to "The Great" suffering three consecutive losses and speculation that his best days were behind him.
However, he has bounced back from those setbacks to establish his dominance at 145 pounds with back-to-back wins over Diego Lopes. Most recently appearing in front of his countrymen at UFC 325. Although he did not get the finish, he once again proved that he is a cut above the Brazilian native.
3. Alex Pereira (12-3)
Alex Pereira's UFC story is legendary. After nine fights, he became a two-division champion and scored devastating victories over some of the best fighters of the era at middleweight and light heavyweight. The 38-year-old has been a revelation for the company and has connected with the MMA fanbase with a fighting approach similar to cage fighting icon Fedor Emelianenko.
After being on the wrong side of a disappointing decision loss in March, the Brazilian returned with a vengeance at UFC 320. He came out of the gate in his rematch with Magomed Ankalev and blew him away in a matter of minutes to regain his place at the top of the division.
2. Ilya Topuria (17-0)
Ilya Topuria will go down as one of the greatest featherweights of all time. But instead of further enhancing his 145-pound resume, "El Matador" moved to lightweight in search of history. Well, he achieved the feat in June by becoming just the 10th fighter to win gold in two divisions. Crushing former 155 pound champion Charles Oliveria and adding him to his hitlist of veterans.
1. Islam Makhachev (28-1)
Islam Makhachev has solidified his place as one of the greatest UFC lightweights of all time with his wins over Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski (twice) and Charles Oliveira. Not only is he a dominant wrestler, but he has one of the most underrated standup games in the game.
At UFC 322, he made his mark in UFC history when he moved up in weight and became the latest fighter to win titles in two divisions, as he became the new welterweight king with a dominant win over Jack Della Maddalena.
