MMA pound-for-pound rankings: Did Sean Strickland oust Israel Adesanya from Top 10?

There was talk prior to Israel Adesanya’s title defense on Sept. 9 against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia, that Adesanya had caught up with Anderson Silva as the greatest middleweight in MMA history.

Adesanya closed as nearly a 7-1 favorite, but then was drubbed by Strickland in one of the most shocking upsets in UFC history. Strickland won four of the five rounds and totally shut down Adesanya en route to taking his middleweight championship.

That presented a problem when considering where to put the men in the pound-for-pound rankings. Did they both belong in? Just one of them? Neither? There is a case that could be made for all three scenarios.

Looking at Adesanya first, he was No. 4 in the previous Yahoo Sports rankings. But he’s lost two of his last three and dating back to 2021, he’s barely above break-even at 4-3. Now, he’s fought the best of the best of the best in that span, but given the sheer volume of worthy challengers, does he even deserve to stay in the rankings?

As for Strickland, he’s now won three in a row, but going back just 14 months, he’s also barely above break-even, at 3-2.

Adesanya had the better track record and I believe he still has more significant wins than Strickland. But losing two of the last three, and getting beaten by a significant margin in the most recent one, comes with a penalty.

He barely held onto his spot, as he landed at No. 10. But there are fighters now outside the Top 10 who with good performances in their fights could oust him.

Strickland didn’t quite make the cut. He wasn’t seriously considered for the Top 10 prior to the Adesanya fight, so he made up a lot of ground with his brilliant performance. But Adesanya has been better for longer and it’s not that long ago that he knocked out Alex Pereira.

So while Strickland beat Adesanya and holds the title, Adesanya held him off for a Top 10 spot by the thinnest of margins based upon his résumé over a long period of time.

Men’s MMA pound-for-pound rankings as of Sept. 11

1. Jon Jones (27-1), UFC heavyweight champion. Previous Ranking: 1.
2. Alexander Volkanovski (25-2), UFC featherweight champion. Previous Ranking: 2.
3. Islam Makhachev (24-1), UFC lightweight champion. Previous Ranking: 3.
4. Leon Edwards (21-3), UFC welterweight champion. Previous Ranking: 5.
5. Khamzat Chimaev (12-0) UFC welterweight/middleweight contender. Previous Ranking: 6.
6. Sean O’Malley (17-1) UFC bantamweight champion. Previous Ranking: NR.
7. Kamaru Usman (20-3), former UFC welterweight champion. Previous Ranking: 8.
8. Charles Oliveira (33-9), former UFC lightweight champion. Previous Ranking: 9.
9. Justin Gaethje (25-4), UFC BMF champion. Previous Ranking: 10.
10. Israel Adesanya (24-3), former UFC middleweight champion. Previous Ranking: 4.

Women’s MMA pound-for-pound rankings as of Sept. 11

1. Julianna Peña (12-5), UFC bantamweight contender. Previous Ranking: 1.
2. Alexa Grasso (16-3), UFC flyweight champion. Previous Ranking: 2.
3. Valentina Shevchenko (23-4), former UFC flyweight champion. Previous Ranking: 3.
4. Zhang Weili (24-3), UFC strawweight champion. Previous Ranking: 4.
5. Erin Blanchfield (11-1), UFC flyweight contender. Previous Ranking: 5.
6. Manon Fiorot (11-1), UFC flyweight contender. Previous Ranking: 6.
7. Tatiana Suarez (10-0), UFC strawweight contender. Previous Ranking: NR.
8. Raquel Pennington (15-8), UFC bantamweight contender. Previous Ranking: 9.
9. Larissa Pacheco (21-4), 2022 PFL lightweight champion. Previous Ranking: 10.
10. Rose Namajunas (11-6), former UFC strawweight champion. Previous Ranking: NR.