Updated UFC Pound for Pound and Media Rankings π Comment below thoughts π
The UFC has refreshed its pound-for-pound and media rankings, with Islam Makhachev holding the No. 1 spot and Yan climbing to No. 3.
Makhachev, the welterweight champion, sits at 29-1 and is 35 years old. The Russian, who trains with Eagles MMA, is a southpaw who stands five-foot-ten with a 70-inch reach. His most recent recorded fight came on August 15, 2026, when he beat Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision over five rounds at UFC 330 in a title bout.
That result extended a run of three straight recorded title-fight wins. Before Machado Garry, Makhachev took a unanimous decision over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 on November 15, 2025, and submitted Renato Moicano in the first round at UFC 311 on January 18, 2025.
His numbers explain the standing. Makhachev lands 2.27 significant strikes per minute at 58 percent accuracy, an efficient rate rather than a high-volume one. His grappling is the bigger separator: he averages 3.22 takedowns per 15 minutes and attempts 0.9 submissions in the same span.
The update arrived as a social media post from the UFC asking fans to weigh in, and it did not spell out the full list or what drove Yan's move up the board.
Why it matters
- Makhachev stays at the top of the sport's unofficial hierarchy after back-to-back five-round decisions in title fights, a sign of how consistently he controls long bouts.
- Yan's rise to No. 3 shows how quickly the upper tiers of the list can shift between updates.
- Pound-for-pound rankings influence the debate over who is the sport's best fighter, even though they carry no formal weight in matchmaking.
The 35-year-old Makhachev's place at No. 1 rests on both his record and his recent form: a 29-1 mark and three consecutive title-fight wins across roughly 19 months.
