UFC Rankings See Shifts: Aspinall and Chimaev Gain Ground

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) rankings have been updated, resulting in significant movements for several fighters. Jon Jones, a long-standing presence at the top of the pound-for-pound (P4P) list, has been removed following recent developments.

Jones’s retirement was confirmed by UFC CEO Dana White after a recent fight night event in Azerbaijan. Consequently, Tom Aspinall has been officially declared the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion.

Prior to his departure, Jones held the third position in the pound-for-pound rankings.

This change has created an opportunity for Khamzat Chimaev, an emerging middleweight title contender, who enters the rankings at number 15. Aspinall, the newly crowned heavyweight champion, has also climbed three places to secure the eighth spot. Ilia Topuria, a contender for the vacant lightweight title, now holds the third position, taking Jones’s former place.

Topuria is scheduled to face Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in the main event, where they will compete for the vacant 155-pound title.

Islam Makhachev remains at the top of the rankings, with UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili following closely in second place.

Dricus Du Plessis, Magomed Ankalaev, and Alexander Volkanovski have each moved up one spot to claim the fourth, fifth, and sixth positions, respectively.

Du Plessis is set to defend his middleweight title against Chimaev at UFC 319 in August. This marks Chimaev’s first entry into the top 15 rankings.

Welterweight champion Della Maddalena, following his victory over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 last month, has advanced to seventh place.

The remaining spots in the rankings are occupied by Alex Pereira, Alexandre Pantoja, Max Holloway, Muhammad, Oliveira, Arman Tsarukyan, and Chimaev.