Khamzat Chimaev fell seven positions in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings following his defeat to Sean Strickland at UFC 328. Chimaev now sits at number 10, tied with Merab Dvalishvili at number 7, while Strickland also entered at number 7. The top ten pound-for-pound rankings are: 1) Islam Makhachev, 2) Ilia Topuria, 3) Alexander Volkanovski, 4) Alex Pereira, 5) Petr Yan, 6) Tom Aspinall, 7) Merab Dvalishvili and Sean Strickland (tied), 9) Joshua Van, and 10) Khamzat Chimaev. The significant drop reflects the impact of Chimaev's first career loss on his standing among the promotion's elite fighters.
Khamzat Chimaev tumbled seven spots in the UFC's official pound-for-pound rankings after suffering his first career defeat, a loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on May 9, 2026. Chimaev now sits at number 10 in the updated standings, a significant fall that underscores how heavily the promotion weights wins and losses when assessing its elite fighters.
Sean Strickland, the reigning middleweight champion, entered the pound-for-pound top ten as a direct result of the victory, slotting in at number seven alongside Merab Dvalishvili. The 35-year-old American, who trains out of Xtreme Couture, carries a record of 31-7-0 and stands six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach. Strickland is one of the most prolific volume strikers in the division, landing 6.04 significant strikes per minute at 42 percent accuracy.
The updated top ten reads: Islam Makhachev at number one, Ilia Topuria at two, Alexander Volkanovski at three, Alex Pereira at four, Petr Yan at five, Tom Aspinall at six, Strickland and Dvalishvili tied at seven, Joshua Van at nine, and Chimaev at ten. Makhachev, the welterweight champion from Russia with a 28-1-0 record, continues to hold the top spot. The 34-year-old southpaw averages 3.2 takedowns per 15 minutes and lands 58 percent of his significant strikes, the highest accuracy figure among the ranked fighters in this update.
Joshua Van, the flyweight champion from Myanmar, checks in at number nine with a 17-2-0 record. At just 24 years old, Van is a remarkable presence in the pound-for-pound conversation, averaging 8.84 significant strikes per minute at 56 percent accuracy.
Why it matters
- Chimaev's first professional loss cost him seven ranking positions, signaling how much undefeated status inflated his previous standing
- Strickland's immediate entry at number seven reflects the weight the UFC places on middleweight title relevance
- Van's presence at number nine highlights the growing recognition of flyweight talent in the broader divisional hierarchy
Merab Dvalishvili vs Petr Yan
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Saturday, May 9, 2026
