MMA pound-for-pound rankings (Nov. 2025): UFC 322 triggers a sweeping shakeup

It seems that whenever Islam Makhachev fights, he emphatically reclaims the No. 1 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings, and it’s no different this time through. UFC 322 was supposed to be the toughest test to date for Makhachev, who was making the leap to welterweight in an attempt to win a second title — yet he made the work look easy.

Makhachev didn’t just beat now-former champion Jack Della Maddalena, he dominated him from pillar to post for 25 minutes. By the end, the welterweight division had a new king. The Dagestani fighter now makes a leap of another kind, this time over his forever rival Ilia Topuria in taking over the No. 1 spot on the men’s side of the November pound-for-pound rankings.

Meanwhile, Valentina Shevchenko might be getting better with age. At 37 years old she essentially did the same thing that Makhachev did against Zhang Weili in what was being dubbed a “superfight,” and a “women’s fight for the ages.” Shevchenko left no question that she’s not only the best flyweight champion of all time, but she’s the best pound-for-pound women’s fighter going.

More from Uncrowned

Dana White open to Islam Makhachev on UFCs White House card Its not America vs the world

The panel of Ben Fowlkes, Chuck Mindenhall, Shaheen Al-Shatti, Petesy Carroll, Drake Riggs, Eric Jackman and Conner Burks have ranked both the men’s and women’s pound-for-pound best, one through 10, using a weighted points system to determine the final rankings (being voted No. 1 equals 10 points, No. 2 equals nine points, down to No. 10 equaling one point).

Our only criterion for these monthly rankings is that a fighter has competed within at least 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 Bellator/PFL conglomerate to ONE Championship.

Without further ado, the MMA pound-for-pound rankings for November!

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 15: (L-R) Islam Makhachev fights against Jack Della Maddalena of Australia in a welterweight title bout during UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) — Poor Jack. Nothing about this looks fun.

(Ishika Samant via Getty Images)

MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Islam Makhachev — UFC welterweight champion (Prev: 2)

There will be a lot of talk about Makhachev tying Anderson Silva’s mark of 16 straight UFC wins, but the fact that he hit that mark in such dominant fashion as a welterweight makes you wonder if he can run his streak to 20 or 25. Who is next? Carlos Prates? Michael Morales? Ian Machado Garry? Belal Muhammad? Any of these would be fine fights. (We’ll present without comment that Makhachev himself has suggested Kamaru Usman be the guy. Ahem.)

2. Ilia Topuria — UFC lightweight champion (Prev: 1)

Want to talk about unimpressed? “Jack needs an entire camp dedicated just to wrestling. What a disappointment of a champion. You should go to Georgia to learn something. Islam, you need something you can’t train: emotion. You’re the most boring thing in this game. Every day I’m more certain I put you to sleep.” – Ilia Topuria on X. Sheesh.

3. Merab Dvalishvili — UFC bantamweight champion (Prev: 3)

It’s a sign of the times that Merab Dvalishvili can be going for an unprecedented fourth title defense in the year 2025 and still show up third on the men’s pound-for-pound rankings, but here we are. We have that Petr Yan pay-per-view headliner coming up in a few weeks, and then we’ll see if Merab can overtake the Ilias and the Islams of the world.

4. Alexandre Pantoja — UFC flyweight champion (Prev: 4)

You know, the closer we get to Pantoja’s Dec. 6 title defense against the 24-year-old Joshua Van, the more it stands out as a potential FOTY candidate. Van is already in that conversation after that crossroads he had with Brandon Royval in June, and Pantoja isn’t the kind of champion to protect a lead. They are going to meet in the middle of the cage like a couple of feral cats. Can’t wait!

5. Khamzat Chimaev — UFC middleweight champion (Prev: 5)

Didn’t Makhachev’s dominance against Jack Della Maddalena remind you a little bit of Chimaev’s one-sided beatdown of Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319? Belts are not only changing hands in 2025, but they are also being used to whip those former champs as punishment for masquerading.

[embedded content]

6. Tom Aspinall — UFC heavyweight champion (Prev: 6)

Pardon the pun, but that fight with Ciryl Gane was a little rough on the eyes, yet the good news is it gives an obvious direction to things at heavyweight. They have to do the rematch between the two, which will be 10 times more intriguing than when they met at UFC 321. The other good news? Jon Jones is (seemingly) talking himself (maybe) into that looming fight (potentially) with Aspinall.

7. Alex Pereira — UFC light heavyweight champion (Prev: 7)

Alex Pereira got in on the Fighting Nerds action by showing up in New York alongside his coach and friend Plinio Cruz in glasses. He got a seismic pop from the crowd, too, as he remains one of the UFC’s biggest stars. Is that fight with Jon Jones in the cards? Well, Dana White spoke to Jon recently and … shoot … that’s an improvement from where things were six weeks ago.

8. Alexander Volkanovski — UFC featherweight champion (Prev: 8)

UFC 322 served as an interesting reflection on «Volk,» who is the only man in recent memory to make Islam Makhachev sweat in a fight. That came in their first meeting, when «Volk» was turning the tables on the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter late in the championship rounds. Sometimes such silver linings feed nicely into a man’s OG’s status.

9T. Dricus du Plessis — UFC middleweight contender (Prev: NR)

It’s a cruel business, the UFC. You make the most of a situation by beating the pesky Sean Strickland in a rematch to retain gold one minute, the next you’re staring up at the lights at the United Center in Chicago, hoping the Jumbotron doesn’t fall on you as Khamzat Chimaev rams his fist into your forehead. «DDP» is made of tough stuff and will be back. Mark our words.

9T. Arman Tsarukyan — UFC lightweight contender (Prev: NR)

It might seem a little strange for Arman Tsarukyan to break into the pound-for-pound rankings a week before he fights Dan Hooker in Qatar, but he’s been hovering at No. 11 for a while now, and champions losing has bumped him up. It’s a big one coming up in Doha. If he beats Hooker in the main event, he has a very good argument to be next for Topuria, even if Paddy Pimblett might see that as “chatting s***.”

(Others receiving votes: Jack Della Maddalena, Magomed Ankalaev)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 15: Valentina Shevchenko of Kyrgyzstan (R) kicks Zhang Weili of China during UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) — Valentina Shevchenko is still going strong more than two decades into her MMA run.

(Ishika Samant via Getty Images)

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Valentina Shevchenko — UFC flyweight champion (Prev: 2)

She wore sunglasses all week, like a terminator with cataracts. In the footage of her training, she seemed to be hurting the air she shadow-boxed, showing how intense she was taking things. And when she finally got her hands on Zhang Weili, hearing as she did all the experts picking the Chinese champion to take her flyweight title, she turned one of the great challenges of her career into a laugher. Kudos, «Bullet.»

2. Kayla Harrison — UFC bantamweight champion (Prev: 3)

All this GOAT talk over the past week in which media dissected Shevchenko’s credentials and put them against those of Amanda Nunes had to rankle Kayla Harrison at least a little bit. Harrison’s résumé is about as impressive as they come, and she didn’t whittle down her frame to 135 pounds (like a yogi) just to play second fiddle. She wants to take Nunes out of the equation, and she’ll get her chance early in 2026.

3. Zhang Weili — Former UFC strawweight champion/UFC flyweight contender (Prev: 1)

Best laid plans and all that. You can’t hate on Zhang for shooting her shot against Shevchenko, because what else was she going to do, beat up Mackenzie Dern at 115? Things didn’t go her way, but she doesn’t lose anything in terms of her dominance at strawweight. Our guess here is she goes back where she’s still on top and reminds everyone that she’s a force to be reckoned with (and yes, beats up Mackenzie Dern).

4. Cris Cyborg — PFL superfights women’s featherweight champion (Prev: 4)

The countdown is on for Cyborg’s long-awaited return against Sara Collins in a couple of weeks, and you have to wonder — might this be it for her? She’s mentioned in the past that she only intends to hang around until she’s 40 years old, and she turned 40 back in July. Would she ride off into the sunset with a big win in France?

5. Dakota Ditcheva — PFL women’s 2024 flyweight tournament champion (Prev: 5)

We want to reiterate a story here. A long time ago, the great U.S. president Abraham Lincoln got frustrated with George McCellan’s reluctance to engage his well-trained troops in battle. He wrote, “If General McClellan is not going to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time.” Kinda feel that way about Ditcheva and the PFL. If they’re not going to fight her … can the UFC borrow her for a time?

NASHVILLE, TN - AUGUST 02: Dakota Ditcheva celebrates after defeating Jena Bishop during the PFL 2024 Playoffs at the Municipal Auditorium on August 2, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) — Where, o where, art thou, Dakota Ditcheva?

(Cooper Neill via Getty Images)

6. Natalia Silva — UFC flyweight contender (Prev: 6)

She was cageside at UFC 322 in New York, and she was on Valentina Shevchenko’s lips in the post-fight interview after «The Bullet» held court. So is Silva next? She better be. She’s won 13 fights in a row as a pro, and six in the UFC, beginning with Jasmine Jasudavicius and ending with Alexa Grasso. Shevchenko is ready to confront whoever’s next in the meritocracy, and Silva is at the front of the line.

7. Manon Fiorot — UFC flyweight contender (Prev: 7)

Think about the last three fights Fiorot has had. She went into Atlantic City and beat New Jersey’s own Erin Blanchfield like it was a day in the park, she went to Montreal and gave Shevchenko all she could handle before dropping a decision, and finally she goes to Vancouver and halts the scorching hot Jasmine Jasudavicius in front of a partisan crowd. Beastwork.

8. Mackenzie Dern — UFC strawweight champion (Prev: 8)

If we’re Mackenzie Dern, we’d take as many pictures as we can with the strawweight belt and post them to all social media accounts. Not saying it’s all about to change, but the landlord is coming back. Zhang is done moonlighting as a fly. And Dern holds that title. We all know what fight the UFC has to make next.

9. Seika Izawa — RIZIN super atomweight champion (Prev: 10)

Did you see Seika Izawa retain the super atomweight title against Saori Oshima at RIZIN Landmark 12 in Kobe, Japan, earlier this month? No? You should really check it out. Another dominant performance, raising young Izawa’s record to a perfect 17-0. As Jimmie Walker used to say on Good Times, she’s “Dy-no-mite.”

10. Erin Blanchfield — UFC flyweight contender (Prev: NR)

It was a workwomanlike performance that Blanchfield went at Tracy Cortez with, at least at first — once she got things into her realm, she tapped Cortez out at UFC 322 and avenged a loss from when she was 19 years old. Now she’s a top contender, but she might have to wait out Natalia Silva’s title bid. If Shevchenko isn’t ready to roll in a timely manner, though, Blanchfield vs. Silva isn’t a bad alternative.

(Others receiving votes: Larissa Pacheco, Virna Jandiroba, Julianna Pena, Liz Carmouche)