Kayla Harrison and Merab Dvalishvili are coming for that No. 1 spot.
MMA Pound-for-Pound Rankings: Kayla Harrison, Merab Dvalishvili state their case to be No. 1
Alexander K. Lee is an editor for MMA Fighting who has been covering combat sports since 2014.
That might be as cliché a phrase as there is, but how else to describe the statements the two bantamweight champions made Saturday at UFC 316, where Harrison ascended to the throne and Dvalishvili kept an iron grip on his. Both were already leaders of their respective divisions in our rankings even before their latest conquests, and now they’ve strengthened their case to be No. 1 on the Pound-for-Pound charts.
Most would agree there’s still work to be done there, but in this update of the MMA Fighting rankings, Harrison and Dvalishvili climb up to the top 3 (with Dvalishvili sharing his spot with UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja). Amusingly, the fighters have opposite problems when it comes to moving up any further.
For Harrison, she already has a superfight with a returning Amanda Nunes on the docket, but should she conquer that challenge, there’s not many other intriguing names at 135 pounds. Nunes managed to climb to No. 1 on the strength of a legendary win streak and the benefit of the UFC also booking her in featherweight championship bouts, but Harrison may not feel compelled to hang around long enough to truly challenge Zhang Weili or Valentina Shevchenko for Pound-for-Pound supremacy.
Dvalishvili sits only behind Islam Makachev and Ilia Topuria on the men’s list and he has looked nigh-unbeatable for the past seven years. However, he also competes in one of the deepest divisions in MMA and even if he beats presumptive No. 1 contender Cory Sandhagen in his next defense, it feels like it’s only a matter of time until a talented bantamweight has his number.
What do you think? Will we see Harrison or Dvalishvili at No. 1 on a Pound-for-Pound list before it’s all said and done?
Check out the latest MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings, leave us a comment, and vote in the poll below.
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 4 Kayla Harrison def. No. 13 Julianna Peña
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 8 Dakota Ditcheva vs. Sumiko Inaba (PFL Africa, July 26), No. 13 Rose Namajunas vs. Miranda Maverick (UFC Atlanta, June 14), No. 14 Seika Izawa vs. Yu Jin Shin (Super RIZIN 4, July 27), No. 20 Liz Carmouche vs. Elora Dana (PFL 6, June 20)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Norma Dumont (3), Jessica Andrade (2), Maycee Barber (2), Macy Chiasson (1), Amanda Lemos (1), Gillian Robertson (1)
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 4 Merab Dvalishvili def. No. 19 Sean O’Malley, Mario Bautista def. No. 16 Patchy Mix
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 2 Ilia Topuria vs. No. 17 Charles Oliveira (UFC 317, June 28), No. 3 (tied) Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France (UFC 317, June 28), No. 5 Dricus du Plessis vs. No. 14 Khamzat Chimaev (UFC 319, Aug. 16), No. 11 Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier (UFC 318, July 19)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Sean Brady (4), Jiri Prochazka (3), Movsar Evloev (2), Francis Ngannou (2), Brandon Moreno (1), Sean O’Malley (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 16 Patchy Mix, No. 19 Sean O’Malley
