Khamzat Chimaev has never been beaten, and it could be a long time before he ever suffers a loss. But there’s a fine line of contenders waiting to test that theory out.
Middleweight continues to be one of the hottest divisions, and now there’s a new champion to chase following Chimaev’s dominant decision win over Dricus du Plessis to capture the 185-pound belt at UFC 319. Barring inactivity, the undefeated Chimaev has plenty of time to build on his budding legacy, with a quartet of worthy title challengers jockeying for position.
Anthony Hernandez made the most recent and perhaps most emphatic statement with his win over Roman Dolidze in the main event of UFC Vegas 109. “Fluffy” relentlessly worked Dolidze over all around the octagon before bullying him into submission with a vicious choke. Oh, and Hernandez has also won eight straight fights.
Caio Borralho can also claim eight straight UFC wins if he beats Nassourdine Imavov in the UFC Paris headliner on Sept. 6. Doing anything he can to stay front and center in the title picture, Borralho weighed in as the backup for the UFC 319 middleweight championship bout, but he wasn’t needed, and now he resets his focus on Imavov.
Imavov, meanwhile, is on a four-fight winning streak and most recently demolished former champion Israel Adesanya in the second round of their fight in February. In our rankings, only Chimaev and du Plessis are higher than Imavov, and he should be guaranteed a title shot if he steals Borralho’s thunder.
Then there’s Reinier de Ridder, the former two-division ONE Championship titleholder, who just keeps finding ways to win. At UFC Abu Dhabi, de Ridder battled tooth-and-nail with former UFC champion Robert Whittaker, narrowly eking out a split decision to move to 4-0 inside the octagon. He makes a huge jump in our rankings, going from No. 10 to No. 6.
Fortunately, we’re soon to have some clarification on this issue. With Borralho and Imavov already booked for the main event of UFC Paris on Sep. 6, on Tuesday, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Hernandez and de Ridder will face off in the main event of UFC Vancouver on Oct. 18, declaring that Chimaev’s next title challenger will be the winner of one of those two matchups.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 15 (tied) Derrick Lewis def. Tallison Teixeira
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Tom Aspinall vs. No. 4 Ciryl Gane (UFC 321, Oct. 25), No. 3 Alexander Volkov vs. No. 7 Jailton Almeida (UFC 321, Oct. 25), No. 5 Sergei Pavlovich vs. No. 8 Waldo Cortes-Acosta (UFC Shanghai, Aug. 23), No. 12 Marcin Tybura vs. Ante Delija (UFC Paris, Sept. 9)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Reug Reug (4), Anatoly Malykhin (2), Rizvan Kuniev (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 5 Corey Anderson def. Denis Goltsov (heavyweight bout), No. 15 Bogdan Guskov def. No. 13 Nikita Krylov
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Magomed Ankalaev vs. No. 2 Alex Pereira (UFC 320, Oct. 4), No. 3 Jiri Prochazka vs. No. 5 (tied) Khalil Rountree (UFC 320, Oct. 4), No. 4 Carlos Ulberg vs. No. 9 (tied) Dominick Reyes (UFC Perth, Sept. 27), No. 5 (tied) Corey Anderson vs. Dovlet Yagshimuradov (PFL Champions Series, Oct. 3), No. 8 Aleksandar Rakic vs. No. 11, Azamat Murzakanov, No. 15 Johnny Walker vs. Zhang Mingyang (UFC Shanghai, Aug. 23)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Anatoly Malykhin (2), Phil Davis (1), Roman Dolidze (1), Dovlet Yagshimuradov (1), Zhang Mingyang (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 2 Khamzat Chimaev def. No. 1 Dricus du Plessis, No. 10 Reinier de Ridder def. No. 7 Robert Whittaker, No. 8 Anthony Hernandez def. No. 13 Roman Dolidze, Costello van Steenis def. No. 9 Johnny Eblen, Michael Page def. No. 11 Jared Cannonier, No. 12 Brendan Allen def. Marvin Vettori, No. 14 Paulo Costa def. Roman Kopylov
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Nassourdine Imavov vs. No. 7 Caio Borralho (UFC Paris, Sept. 9)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Roman Dolidze (2), Abus Magomedov (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Carlos Prates def. No. 11 Geoff Neal, No. 12 Michael Page def. Jared Cannonier (middleweight bout), No. 14 Thad Jean def. Logan Storley
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Carlos Prates (4), Shamil Musaev (3), Gilbert Burns (2), Jason Jackson (2), Gabriel Bonfim (1), Rinat Fakhretdinov (1), Kevin Holland (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 4 Max Holloway def. No. 7 Dustin Poirier, No. 15 A.J. McKee def. Akhmed Magomedov
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Charles Oliveira vs. No. 10 Rafael Fiziev (UFC Rio, Oct. 11), No. 6 Usman Nurmagomedov vs. No. 11 (tied) Paul Hughes (PFL Championship Series, Oct. 3),
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Alfie Davis (3), Grant Dawson (1), Gadzhi Rabadanov (1), Benoit Saint Denis (1), Fares Ziam (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 7 Dustin Poirier (retirement), No. 15 A.J. McKee (return to featherweight)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 9 Lerone Murphy def. No. 10 Aaron Pico, No. 12 Patricio Pitbull def. No. 14 Dan Ige, Movlid Khaybulaev def. No. 15 (tied) Jesus Pinedo
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Diego Lopes vs. No. 8 Jean Silva (Noche UFC, Sept. 13), No. 4 Brian Ortega vs. No. 9 Aljamain Sterling (UFC Shanghai, Aug. 23), No. 11 Patricio Pitbull vs. Losene Keita (UFC Paris, Sept. 6)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): A.J. McKee (2), Razhabali Shaydullaev (2), Dan Ige (1), Calvin Kattar (1), David Onama (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 5 Petr Yan def. Marcus McGhee
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Merab Dvalishvili vs. No. 3 Cory Sandhagen (UFC 320, Oct. 4), N0. 10 Marlon Vera vs. No. 14 Aiemann Zahabi (UFC Vancouver, Oct. 18), No. 11 Sergio Pettis vs. No. 15 Magomed Magomedov (PFL Champions Series, Oct. 3), No. 12 Patchy Mix vs. Jakub Wiklacz (UFC 320, Oct. 4)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Vinicius Oliveira (4), Montel Jackson (2), Marcus McGhee (2), Raufeon Stots (2)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 9 Tatsuro Taira def. Hyun Sung Park, No. 12 Steve Erceg def. Ode Osbourne, No. 13 Asu Almabayev def. Jose Ochoa
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 14 Yuya Wakamatsu vs. Joshua Pacio (ONE 173, Nov. 16)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Tim Elliott (2), Matheus Nicolau (2), Charles Johnson (1), Hiromasa Ougikubo (1), Tagir Ulanbekov (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 10 Karol Rosa def. Nora Cornolle
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Ketlen Vieira vs. No. 5 (tied) Norma Dumont (UFC Vegas 110, Nov. 1), No. 5 (tied) Macy Chiasson vs. No. 12 Yana Santos (UFC 320, Oct. 4)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Joselyne Edwards (5), Nora Cornolle (2)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 5 Dakota Ditcheva def. Sumiko Inaba, No. 8 Liz Carmouche def. Jena Bishop, Tabatha Ricci def. No. 13 Amanda Ribas
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Manon Fiorot vs. No. 11 Jasmine Jasudavicius (UFC Vancouver, Oct. 18),
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Jena Bishop (2), Jessica Andrade (1), Gabriella Fernandes (1), Karine Silva (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 11 Loopy Godinez def. No. 5 Jessica Andrade, No. 8 Iasmin Lucindo def. No. 13 Angela Hill, No. 12 Tabatha Ricci def. No. 10 Amanda Ribas
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Tatiana Suarez vs. No. 5 Amanda Lemos (Noche UFC, Sept. 13), No. 14 Loma Lookboonmee vs. Alexia Thainara (UFC Pert, Sept. 27)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Denise Gomes (2)
A refresher on the ground rules:
- The six-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew.
- Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout in a given weight class. Updates to the rankings are typically completed following each month’s UFC pay-per-view.
- Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice. (Let’s put it this way: We’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did.)
- Holding a promotion’s title does not guarantee that fighter will be viewed as the best in their promotion. Additionally, fighters who regularly compete or hold titles in multiple weight classes are eligible to be ranked in multiple lists.
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