For his first title defense at UFC 299, Sean O’Malley rolled up in Miami like a rock star, casting streaks of neon pink and throwing hands like Leon Spinks. He didn’t just avenge his only UFC loss against Marlon Vera; he pieced him up for five rounds. He sniped him from the outside. Jabbed Vera’s head into a fleshy mess. And at one point, just when there seemed to be a lull in the action, O’Malley hit him with a piston of a knee right to the chops that would’ve floored any other bantamweight on the planet.
Chito’s chin held up for the full 25 minutes, but that was the only silver lining for the Ecuadorian challenger. O’Malley’s performance was next to masterful. It wasn’t entirely flawless, as Chito did catch O’Malley on some flurries in the later rounds that bloodied his nose, and at the very end of the fight doubled “Suga” Sean over with a body shot to the liver.
But it was the kind of star-making performance worthy of the main event. The “Suga Show” is for real. For anybody who questioned O’Malley’s chin and durability, he answered with perhaps his best performance to date. And that he did it when the spotlight was hottest confirms the hunch that O’Malley shines brightest when the pressure builds up around him.
That means that O’Malley continues his northbound trek up the men’s pound-for-pound rankings, and that an enormous fight against Merab Dvalishvili sits on the not-so-distant horizon.
As always, the panel of Chuck Mindenhall, Ariel Helwani, Petesy Carroll and producer Troy Farkas—known as 3PAC on the Ringer MMA Show—have ranked both the men’s and women’s P4P best, one through 10.
Our only criterion for these monthly rankings is that a fighter has competed within a calendar year of the publication date, or has at least had a fight booked within that window. If a fighter hasn’t competed in a year and books a fight after that time, he or she is once again eligible to be voted back in.
Fighters who retire are no longer eligible for the rankings.
Though most of the best fighters are currently in the UFC, these rankings are not UFC-exclusive. We take into consideration all the major promotions, from the Bellator/PFL conglomerate to ONE Championship.
Without further ado, the Ringer MMA P4P Rankings for March.
Men’s Pound-for-Pound Rankings
1. Islam Makhachev
UFC Lightweight Champion
Last month: no. 1
With Ramadan underway, we won’t likely see Makhachev back in the Octagon until the summer. The question of who will be standing opposite him is still very much up in the air, as the candidates are all strong. Can Justin Gaethje be denied if he beats Max Holloway at UFC 300 in his BMF title bout? Can we look past Charles Oliveira if he gets past the mighty Arman Tsarukyan on that same card? And vice versa, won’t Tsarukyan be the guy if he bulldozes Oliveira, setting up a rematch of his 2019 fight with Makhachev? And to clutter the pool of candidates even further, Islam’s manager is lobbying for the champion to fight Dustin Poirier, who just gutted out a victory over Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299. The Islam fight is a sweepstakes!
2. Leon Edwards
UFC Welterweight Champion
Last month: no. 3
If you cast a casual eye over all the weight classes in the UFC men’s ranks, you’ll see that Edwards sits atop the most stacked, hyper-competitive division. He’s already squared up business with the old guard in having taken out Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman, yet the swarming young fighters have their eyes on him. There’s Shavkat Rakhmonov, the deadliest assassin in the ranks. Ian Machado Garry and Sean Brady are both rolling. And there’s Jack Della Maddalena, who is fresh off an impressive victory over Gilbert Burns at UFC 299. If that weren’t all, poor Belal Muhammad outranks them all, yet the UFC doesn’t seem overeager to give him the next shot.
3. Jon Jones
UFC Heavyweight Champion
Last month: no. 2
Today’s Jon Jones is more of a cameo star than anything else. Lately, he’s been popping up at various ports worldwide, most recently seen tackling select Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs rugby team members down in Australia and sporting a keffiyeh at the PFL’s debut card in Saudi Arabia. The latter was telling, as Jones is a UFC fighter who is one of their biggest draws. Would Jones love to see some of that money that the Saudis paid his counterpart Francis Ngannou? Of course! But right now, he’s locked into a UFC contract, and it looks like he’s equally locked into a legacy fight with Stipe Miocic at some unknown date in the future.
4. Alex Pereira
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Last month: no. 4
We’ve mentioned it in these rankings before, but it bears repeating: The meteoric rise of Alex Pereira is nothing short of amazing. This dude lost his middleweight title to Israel Adesanya 11 months ago, yet he is a bigger, more formidable star today after moving up to light heavyweight and scoring victories over Jan Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka. How big? Big enough to headline UFC 300 against Jamahal Hill. When the UFC flashed “Poatan” in attendance at UFC 299 in Miami, he got a bigger pop than Joe Burrow. He neither smiled nor waved a friendly hand. He is the very definition of Easter Island cool.
5. Ilia Topuria
UFC Featherweight Champion
Last month: no. 6
It’s been one hell of a victory lap for new 145-pound champion Topuria, who has graced the cover of Spain’s MARCA magazine and celebrated with his countrymen by performing the ceremonial kickoff for Real Madrid’s game against Sevilla. What’s been promised for Topuria’s first title defense is a fight in Spain—who knows, maybe even at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium—which would be massive. But don’t count on O’Malley being the opponent. Though “Suga” Sean lobbied for the superfight after beating Chito Vera at UFC 299, there are worthwhile contenders at both bantamweight and featherweight to keep everyone busy.
6. Tom Aspinall
UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion
Last month: no. 5
People from Salford to Miami Beach to faraway Rio were paying special attention to the Curtis Blaydes-Jailton Almeida fight at UFC 299, because the winner was likely to get a crack at Aspinall’s interim heavyweight belt. Had Almeida won, there was speculation that Aspinall would take on the Brazilian in the headline spot at UFC 301 in Rio in May. Even though Aspinall was down for it, that’s not what happened. Blaydes emerged as the victor, and it looks more and more likely that Aspinall could end up facing off with Blaydes in the U.K.—which, of course, would be a chance for Aspinall to gain a measure of redemption after his previous fight with Blaydes ended with a blown-out knee just 15 seconds in.
7. Sean O’Malley
UFC Bantamweight Champion
Last month: no. 8
Listen, O’Malley saw all the volleys on social media saying that he was overrated, overhyped, and highly exposable heading into UFC 299. And yes, he heard that the UFC was giving him a soft lob in Chito Vera for his first title defense, because the UFC clearly doesn’t want the “Suga Show” to end so quickly. But maaan. The way O’Malley dismantled Chito on the feet—in the biggest fight of his life—was a thing of absolute beauty. It was clean. Every combo snapped. Every kick he threw hurt. When it was all said and done, Chito looked like he’d been left on tumble-dry for six hours. Next up: A meeting with hype killer Merab Dvalishvili, which might be the biggest bantamweight fight in UFC history.
8. Alexander Volkanovski
Former UFC Featherweight Champion
Last month: no. 7
It’s tough to lose a fight in the UFC, period. But it’s doubly tough to lose back-to-back fights, your featherweight title, and your stranglehold at the top of the P4P list, pretty much all in one crashing heap. The good news for Volkanovski is that he can take some time to get himself set to rights, as Topuria—the man who toppled him—isn’t looking to defend the title until the fall. If you do the math, Volkanovski could be ready for a return around that time and—given that he’s the gold standard by which the entire weight class measures itself—has an immense case for an immediate rematch.
9. Dricus Du Plessis
UFC Middleweight Champion
Last month: no. 9
If Du Plessis had his druthers for his first title defense, he’d fight in June or July in Cape Town, South Africa, against his archnemesis, Israel Adesanya. He might at least get part of that wish. Adesanya is a logical opponent for Du Plessis, and given that both fighters have African birthrights and a feud that stretches into some very uncomfortable terrain because of it, there would be massive interest in seeing it. Can it happen in South Africa? That might be wishful thinking. Though the UFC has flirted with the idea of heading down to Cape Town for years, it’s never come close to fruition.
10. Merab Dvalishvili
UFC Bantamweight Contender
Last month: n/a
Breaking through for the first time in the P4P rankings, Dvalishvili is perhaps the greatest asterisk to anybody’s title run in the UFC. Right now, O’Malley is the bantamweight champion, yet the asterisk beside his name says, “Yeah, but keep in mind—he hasn’t yet fought Dvalishvili.” Something is menacing about Dvalishvili, a Georgian-born protégé of Aljamain Sterling, waiting for his mentor to leave the weight class to make his run. Maybe it’s the 10-fight win streak. Or the seemingly effortless way in which he beat Henry Cejudo and José Aldo. Or that he can fight for 25 minutes without breaking a sweat. He really is a machine, and the fight world is in for a treat when he steps in to challenge “Suga” Sean for the title.
Others receiving votes: Israel Adesanya, Max Holloway
Voting Results
Women’s Pound-for-Pound Rankings
1. Zhang Weili
UFC Strawweight Champion
Last month: no. 1
It’s getting a little buried in the bonanza of UFC 300, but Zhang Weili’s title defense will be significant, not only for the women’s strawweight division but for the Chinese MMA landscape. She and Yan Xiaonan are from China, one of the harder countries for MMA to navigate, and there’s never been a bigger fight between countrywomen. If Zhang prevails, as Vegas oddsmakers think she will, the talks about GOAThood within the women’s ranks must include Weili.
2. Valentina Shevchenko
Former UFC Flyweight Champion
Last month: no. 2
If you follow the UFC long enough, you learn to brace for its announcements of who will coach upcoming seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. Why? Because it means whoever gets selected will be spending a considerable chunk of time coaching a reality TV show rather than fighting. Not that this was a hard decision for the brass to make. Shevchenko, who turned 36 this week, will coach opposite Alexa Grasso on the next season of TUF, and then afterward they can have their trilogy fight to settle all scores. It’s a prolonged build-up to something inevitable.
3. Alexa Grasso
UFC Flyweight Champion
Last month: no. 3
The “threematch” with Shevchenko will have to wait, as Grasso and her rival are going to coach TUF. The good news for Grasso is actually twofold. This is a great chance for America to get to know the soft-spoken Grasso a little better and perhaps see the fiery side of her personality. It’s also a virtual lock now that she’ll be facing Shevchenko at the big Mexican Independence Day show in September, for which the UFC has reserved the Sphere in Las Vegas. Grasso is in a nice little catbird’s seat through the summer here.
4. Cris Cyborg
Bellator Featherweight Champion
Last month: no. 4
With the Kayla Harrison fight now a cold campfire, what’s out there for the 38-year-old Cyborg? A fight with Larissa Pacheco would carry some dramatic music, as Pacheco actually beat Harrison in their third fight, shocking a large sector of the fight world. Cyborg has solidified herself as one of the greatest fighters ever to do it, and her legacy is secure. Yet if there’s one thing that will always be brought up, it’s what her legacy doesn’t have. Missing opportunities to face Harrison and Ronda Rousey at the height of Rousey’s run might act like regrets when Cyborg is regaling her grandchildren with conquests of yore.
5. Tatiana Suarez
UFC Strawweight Contender
Last month: no. 5
On the Ringer MMA Show, we’ve debated the biggest “what-ifs” in UFC history. The names Zabit Magomedsharipov and TJ Grant are commonly brought up, as the former looked poised to rule the bantamweight division, and the other was cut down by repeated concussions just as he broke through as a no. 1 contender. The other name? Tatiana Suarez, who has fought just 10 times since debuting in 2014. That’s an average of once a year. It looked like she might be back on track in 2023, as she returned to action and submitted both Jessica Andrade and Montana de La Rosa, but she was forced to withdraw from her fight with Amanda Lemos in February. That one hurt, as she’s hovering just above being in contention—yet contention remains frustratingly out of reach. Will she eventually break through and become a champion? The money here still rides that she will.
6A. Erin Blanchfield
UFC Flyweight Contender
Last month: no. 6A
At the end of March, Blanchfield will take on France’s Manon Fiorot in Atlantic City in what has to be one of the greatest contender fights of the year. Usually, when two significant forces devour opponents and leave a trail of broken pieces behind them, the UFC avoids pairing them to preserve fresh threats to the throne. Blanchfield has won nine straight fights, including all six in the UFC. She gets through Fiorot, and here’s guessing she won’t be denied her title shot.
6B. Manon Fiorot
UFC Flyweight Contender
Last month: no. 6B
It’s been a tough week for French MMA, as the PFL’s Cédric Doumbé lost his big homecoming fight in Paris, Ngannou got knocked out by Anthony Joshua in spectacular fashion, and Benoit Saint Denis had the tables turned on him against Dustin Poirier. Can Fiorot salvage things for the tricolore? It’s a tough ask. The Boardwalk in New Jersey is basically a home game for Blanchfield, and you’re guaranteed to hear some “U-S-A!” chants come March 30. Yet Fiorot just keeps winning. She, too, has won all six of her UFC bouts, so sleep on her at your own peril. The only problem with the Fiorot-Blanchfield bout is that the winner will have to wait an exceedingly long time for the Grasso-Shevchenko trilogy to play out.
8. Yan Xiaonan
UFC Strawweight Contender
Last month: no. 8
It was none other than Jim Morrison who once said, “I like people who shake other people up and make them feel uncomfortable.” That’s what Yan Xiaonan does. Shake people up and make them feel uncomfortable—including matchmakers, who are throwing her in the path of Zhang Weili at UFC 300. If Xiaonan wins, it’s hard to say if the bigger picture—the UFC’s inroads to China—will take a blow. Is Xiaonan a star the way Weili is? Let’s just say that, so far, it’s been a relatively quiet ascent. She overcame back-to-back losses a couple of years ago to beat Mackenzie Dern and Jessica Andrade, the latter of which she blistered with a flurry of punches. In other words, don’t let her quiet nature fool you. She brings heat to the cage.
9. Julianna Peña
Former UFC Bantamweight Champion
Last month: no. 9
Unfortunately, throughout her career, large patches of time have passed by Peña as she recovers from injuries and other life events, but kudos to her for learning to use the microphone so effectively over the years. Peña called out Amanda Nunes with undeniable authority and was granted her wish a couple of years back, then backed up that bold action by beating the brakes off the longtime women’s GOAT. Peña has since lost that title in a rematch with Nunes, lost the chance at a trilogy fight when Nunes retired, lost more time, and with it, the chance to win the vacant bantamweight belt. Not that she wants you to feel sorry for her. Peña is looking like the savior of a division that could use her infusion of attitude and audacity, and she damn well knows it.
10. Raquel Pennington
UFC Bantamweight Champion
Last month: no. 10
Rocky broke through against Mayra Bueno Silva in Toronto at UFC 297, winning the bantamweight title. It’s more impressive than she gets credit for, especially considering the long odds she faced getting there. Pennington started her UFC career fresh off a two-fight losing streak in Invicta over a decade ago. She has since lost five more times in the UFC, enough to leave any long-dreaming contender behind the eight-ball forever. Yet she didn’t give up. Since 2020, Rocky has quietly amassed win after quiet win, leading to her title fight with Silva. She’s now won six in a row, and a fight with Peña sits on her horizon.
Others receiving votes: Rose Namajunas, Larissa Pacheco, Amanda Lemos
