The UFC flyweight division is “suddenly thriving” thanks to Manel Kape.
“Starboy” won his third straight by annihilating Brandon Royval atop the UFC Vegas 112 fight card last weekend at APEX in Las Vegas, which also accounted for his 14th knockout victory. As a result, Kape takes over the No. 2 slot in the official flyweight rankings and puts himself in line for a possible title shot in 2026.
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Also making some noise at UFC Vegas 112 was featherweight phenom Kevin Vallejos, who improved to 17-1 by smoking Giga Chikadze in the 145-pound co-main event. “El Chino” debuted at No. 13 in the division rankings while “Ninja” falls off the chart altogether and goes back to being “sad” about it.
Here’s how the rankings are compiled, at least until AI takes over:
Rankings are generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.
Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Islam Makhachev
2. Ilia Topuria
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Alex Pereira
5. Alexander Volkanovski
6. Petr Yan
7. Merab Dvalishvili +1
8. Tom Aspinall -1
9. Alexandre Pantoja
10. Max Holloway
11. Dricus Du Plessis +1
12. Joshua Van -1
13. Magomed Ankalaev
14. Jack Della Maddalena
15. Arman Tsarukyan
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FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Joshua Van
1. Alexandre Pantoja
2. Manel Kape +4
3. Tatsuro Taira
4. Brandon Royval -2
5. Brandon Moreno -1
6. Amir Albazi -1
7. Asu Almabayev
8. Kyoji Horiguchi
9. Tim Elliott
10. Steve Erceg
11. Alex Perez
12. Tagir Ulanbekov
13. Charles Johnson
14. Bruno Silva
15. Lone’er Kavanagh
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Petr Yan
1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. Umar Nurmagomedov
3. Sean O’Malley
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Song Yadong
6. Deiveson Figueiredo
7. Aiemann Zahabi
8. Marlon Vera
9. Mario Bautista
10. David Martinez
11. Payton Talbott +1
12. Rob Font -1
13. Vinicius Oliveira -1
14. Kyler Phillips
15. Montel Jackson *NR
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FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
1. Movsar Evloev
2. Diego Lopes
3. Yair Rodriguez
4. Lerone Murphy
5. Aljamain Sterling
6. Arnold Allen
7. Youssef Zalal
8. Steve Garcia
9. Brian Ortega
10. Jean Silva +1
11. Josh Emmett -1
12. Patricio Pitbull
13. Kevin Vallejos *NR
14. Dan Ige -1
15. David Onama -1
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Ilia Topuria
1. Arman Tsarukyan
2. Charles Oliveira
3. Max Holloway
4. Justin Gaethje
5. Paddy Pimblett
6. Dan Hooker
7. Mateusz Gamrot
8. Benoit Saint Denis
9. Rafael Fiziev
10. Renato Moicano
11. Beneil Dariush
12. Michael Chandler
13. Manuel Torres
14. Mauricio Ruffy
15. Fares Ziam
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WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Jack Della Maddalena
2. Shavkat Rakhmonov +1
3. Ian Machado Garry -1
4. Michael Morales
5. Belal Muhammed
6. Carlos Prates
7. Sean Brady
8. Kamaru Usman
9. Leon Edwards
10. Joaquin Buckley
11. Gabriel Bonfim
12. Gilbert Burns
13. Geoff Neal +1
14. Colby Covington -1
15. Daniel Rodriguez
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Khamzat Chimaev
1. Dricus Du Plessis
2. Nassourdine Imavov
3. Sean Strickland
4. Anthony Hernandez
5. Brendan Allen
6. Israel Adesanya
7. Caio Borralho
8. Reinier De Ridder
9. Robert Whittaker
10. (T) Michael Page
10. (T) Jared Cannonier
12. Roman Dolidze
13. Paulo Costa
14. Gregory Rodrigues
15. Joe Pyfer
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LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. (T) Magomed Ankalaev
1. (T) Jiri Prochazka
3. Carlos Ulberg
4. Khalil Rountree
5. Jan Blachowicz
6. Azamat Murzakanov
7. Jamahal Hill
8. Volkan Oezdemir
9. Dominick Reyes
10. Bogdan Guskov
11. Aleksandar Rakic
12. Johnny Walker
13. Nikita Krylov
14. Zhang Mingyang
15. Alonzo Menifield
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Tom Aspinall
1. Ciryl Gane
2. Alexander Volkov
3. Sergei Pavlovich
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Waldo Cortes Acosta
6. Jailton Almeida
7. Serghei Spivac
8. Derrick Lewis
9. Marcin Tybura
10. Ante Delija
11. Shamil Gaziev
12. Tai Tuivasa
13. Mick Parkin
14. Valter Walker
15. Tallison Teixeira
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WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Kayla Harrison
3. Zhang Weili
4. Natalia Silva
5. Mackenzie Dern
6. Manon Fiorot
7. Erin Blanchfield
8. Julianna Pena
9. Alexa Grasso
10. Virna Jandiroba
11. Raquel Pennington
12. Tatiana Suarez
13. Rose Namajunas
14. Yan Xiaonan
15. Maycee Barber
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Mackenzie Dern
1. Zhang Weili
2. Tatiana Suarez
3. Virna Jandiroba
4. Yan Xiaonan
5. Amanda Lemos
6. Loopy Godinez
7. Iasmin Lucindo
8. Tabatha Ricci
9. Jessica Andrade
10. Gillian Robertson
11. Amanda Ribas
12. Fatima Klein
13. Denise Gomes
14. Angela Hill
15. Alexia Thainara
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WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Manon Fiorot
2. Natalia Silva
3. (T) Alexa Grasso
3. (T) Erin Blanchfield +1
5. Maycee Barber
6. Rose Namajunas
7. Jasmine Jasudavicius
8. Tracy Cortez
9. (T) Karine Silva
9. (T) Miranda Maverick +1
11. Casey O’Neill
12. Wang Cong
13. Eduarda Moura
14. JJ Aldrich
15. Gabriella Fernandes
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Kayla Harrison
1. Julianna Pena
2. Raquel Pennington
3. Norma Dumont
4. Ketlen Vieira
5. Yana Santos
6. Irene Aldana
7. Macy Chiasson
8. Ailin Perez
9. Karol Rosa
10. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
11. Mayra Bueno Silva
12. Nora Cornolle
13. Miesha Tate
14. Joselyne Edwards
15. Luana Santos
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You can expect these rankings to remain (mostly) the same for the next couple of weeks, since the promotion will not be returning to action until the UFC 324: “Gaethje vs. Pimblett” mixed martial arts (MMA) event on Paramount+, scheduled for Sat., Jan. 24, 2026 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.
