Are ex-champs Sean O’Malley, Alexa Grasso still top-10 fighters?

When a champion is dethroned, it always shakes up the rankings. When two champs go down on the same night, look out below.

That was the case over the weekend at UFC 306, where both the men’s bantamweight and women’s flyweight divisions saw new champs crowned.

Saturday’s main event at Sphere in Las Vegas provided the most volatile repercussion, as one of the biggest stars in MMA, Sean O’Malley, was dominated on his way to losing the 135-pound title to Merab Dvalishvili. As a result, Dvalishvili makes his debut in the ESPN pound-for-pound men’s rankings at No. 6, and O’Malley, who previously was ranked fourth, drops out of the top 10 altogether.

The women’s rankings produced a smaller shift. Valentina Shevchenko moves up one spot to No. 2 after putting on a commanding performance to take back the flyweight title from Alexa Grasso, who drops to third in the rankings.

Why just a small descent for Grasso but a free fall for O’Malley, after both took a beating? Grasso lost to a fighter who was just one rung lower than her in the top three, while O’Malley fell to an unranked opponent.

For the ESPN divisional MMA rankings, click here.

Note: Results are current; rankings as of Sept. 17. To be eligible for the rankings, a fighter must have competed over the past 12 months or must have an upcoming fight booked. Fighters who have been dropped for inactivity can be reinstated only after they compete.

Men’s pound-for-pound rankings

1. Islam Makhachev  

UFC lightweight champion
Record: 26-1
Last: W (Sub5) vs. Dustin Poirier, June 1, 2024
Next: TBD

2. Alex Pereira  

UFC light heavyweight champion
Record: 11-2
Last: W (TKO2) vs. Jirí Procházka, June 29, 2024
Next: Oct. 5 vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.

3. Ilia Topuria  

UFC featherweight champion
Record: 15-0
Last: W (KO2) vs. Alexander Volkanovski, Feb. 17, 2024
Next: Oct. 26 vs. Max Holloway

4. Alexandre Pantoja  

UFC flyweight champion
Previous ranking: 6
Record: 28-5
Last: W (UD) vs. Steve Erceg, May 4, 2024
Next: TBD

5. Tom Aspinall  

UFC heavyweight interim champion
Record: 15-3
Last: W (TKO1) vs. Curtis Blaydes, July 27, 2024
Next: TBD

6. Merab Dvalishvili  

UFC bantamweight champion
Previous ranking: Unranked
Record: 18-4
Last: W (UD) vs. Sean O’Malley, Sept.14, 2024
Next: TBD

7. Belal Muhammad  

UFC welterweight champion
Previous ranking: 8
Record: 24-3, 1 NC
Last: W (UD) vs. Leon Edwards, July 27, 2024
Next: TBD

8. Alexander Volkanovski  

UFC featherweight
Previous ranking: 7
Record: 26-4
Last: L (KO2) vs. Ilia Topuria, Feb. 17, 2024
Next: TBD

9. Dricus Du Plessis  

UFC middleweight champion
Previous ranking: Unranked
Record: 22-2
Last: W (Sub4) vs. Israel Adesanya, Aug.17, 2024
Next: TBD

10. Max Holloway  

UFC featherweight
Previous ranking: Tied for 9
Record: 26-7
Last: W (KO5) vs. Justin Gaethje, April 13, 2024
Next: Oct. 26 vs. Ilia Topuria

Other fighters receiving votes: Leon Edwards, Sean O’Malley and Sean Strickland.

How our panel voted

Brett Okamoto: 1. Islam Makhachev; 2. Alex Pereira; 3. Ilia Topuria; 4. Tom Aspinall; 5. Alexandre Pantoja; 6. Belal Muhammad; 7. Merab Dvalishvili; 8. Alexander Volkanovski; 9. Max Holloway; 10. Dricus Du Plessis.

Andreas Hale: 1. Makhachev; 2. Pereira; 3. Topuria; 4. Aspinall; 5. Dvalishvili; 6. Muhammad; 7. Pantoja; 8. Volkanovski; 9. Holloway; 10. Du Plessis.

Megan Anderson: 1. Makhachev; 2. Pereira; 3. Aspinall; 4. Topuria; 5. Volkanovski; 6. Du Plessis; 7. Pantoja; 8. Muhammad; 9. Dvalishvili; 10. Sean O’Malley.

Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Makhachev; 2. Pereira; 3. Topuria; 4. Du Plessis; 5. Pantoja; 6. Dvalishvili; 7. Muhammad; 8. Aspinall; 9. O’Malley; 10. Leon Edwards.

Ian Parker: 1. Pereira; 2. Makhachev; 3. Topuria; 4. Dvalishvili; 5. Holloway; 6. Du Plessis; 7. Pantoja; 8. Muhammad; 9. Aspinall; 10. Sean Strickland.

Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Makhachev; 2. Pereira; 3. Pantoja; 4. Volkanovski; 5. Topuria; 6. Muhammad; 7. Edwards; 8. Holloway; 9. Aspinall; 10. O’Malley.

Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Pereira; 2. Makhachev; 3. Topuria; 4. Aspinall; 5. Pantoja; 6. Dvalishvili; 7. Holloway; 8. Volkanovski; 9. Muhammad; 10. Du Plessis.

Women’s pound-for-pound rankings

1. Zhang Weili  

UFC strawweight champion
Record: 25-3
Last: W (UD) vs. Yan Xiaonan, April 13, 2024
Next: TBD

2. Valentina Shevchenko  

UFC flyweight champion
Previous ranking: 3
Record: 23-4-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Alexa Grasso, Sept. 14, 2024
Next: TBD

3. Alexa Grasso  

UFC flyweight
Previous ranking: 2
Record: 16-4-1
Last: L (UD) vs. Valentina Shevchenko, Sept. 14, 2024
Next: TBD

4. Cris Cyborg  

Bellator featherweight champion
Record: 27-2, 1 NC
Last: W (TKO1) vs. Cat Zingano, Oct. 7, 2023
Next: Oct. 19 vs. Larissa Pacheco

5. Manon Fiorot  

UFC flyweight
Record: 12-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Erin Blanchfield, March 30, 2024
Next: TBD

6. Kayla Harrison  

UFC bantamweight
Previous ranking: Tied for 5
Record: 17-1
Last: W (Sub2) vs. Holly Holm, April 13, 2024
Next: Oct. 5 vs. Ketlen Vieira

7. Raquel Pennington  

UFC bantamweight champion
Record: 16-8
Last: W (UD) vs. Mayra Bueno Silva, Jan. 20, 2024
Next: Oct. 5 vs. Julianna Peña

8. Larissa Pacheco  

PFL featherweight champion
Record: 23-4
Last: W (UD) vs. Marina Mokhnatkina, Nov. 24, 2023
Next: Oct. 19 vs. Cris Cyborg

9. Erin Blanchfield  

UFC flyweight
Record: 12-2
Last: L (UD) vs. Manon Fiorot, March 30, 2024
Next: Nov. 2 vs. Rose Namajunas

10. Yan Xiaonan  

UFC strawweight
Record: 17-4, 1 NC
Last: L (UD) vs. Zhang Weili, April 13, 2024
Next: TBD

Other fighters receiving votes: Rose Namajunas, Seika Izawa, Amanda Lemos and Julianna Peña.

How our panel voted

Brett Okamoto: 1. Zhang Weili; 2. Valentina Shevchenko; 3. Alexa Grasso; 4. Manon Fiorot; 5. Cris Cyborg. 6. Rose Namajunas; 7. Erin Blanchfield; 8. Kayla Harrison; 9. Larissa Pacheco; 10. Yan Xiaonan.

Andreas Hale: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Grasso; 4. Cyborg; 5. Fiorot; 6. Harrison; 7. Raquel Pennington; 8. Pacheco; 9. Namajunas; 10. Blanchfield.

Megan Anderson: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Grasso; 5. Fiorot; 6. Pennington; 7. Harrison; 8. Yan; 9. Blanchfield; 10. Julianna Peña.

Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Zhang; 3. Grasso; 4. Harrison; 5. Cyborg; 6. Pennington; 7. Pacheco; 8. Fiorot; 9. Blanchfield; 10. Namajunas.

Ian Parker: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Harrison; 5. Grasso; 6. Yan; 7. Pennington; 8. Pacheco; 9. Fiorot; 10. Namajunas.

Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Grasso; 4. Pacheco; 5. Cyborg; 6. Harrison; 7. Fiorot; 8. Blanchfield; 9. Amanda Lemos; 10. Seika Izawa.

Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Fiorot; 5. Grasso; 6. Pennington; 7. Yan; 8. Harrison; 9. Blanchfield; 10. Izawa.

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