Topuria becomes UFC pound-for-pound king after Oliveira win
New UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria is also the new pound-for-pound king.
Topuria moved into the No. 1 spot in the men's rankings Tuesday, three days after capturing the vacant 155-pound title with a first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in Las Vegas. Topuria surpassed former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili, who are now Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.
Here's a look at the updated rankings:
| UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings |
|---|
| 1. Ilia Topuria (+2) |
| 2. Islam Makhachev (-1) |
| 3. Merab Dvalishvili (-1) |
| 4. Dricus Du Plessis |
| 5. Alexandre Pantoja (+4) |
| 6. Alexander Volkanovski |
| 7. Magomed Ankalaev (-2) |
| 8. Jack Della Maddalena (-1) |
| 9. Tom Aspinall (-1) |
| 10. Alex Pereira (-1) |
| 11. Max Holloway |
| 12. Belal Muhammad |
| 13. Arman Tsarukyan (+1) |
| 14. Khamzat Chimaev (+1) |
| 15. Charles Oliveira (-2) |
Topuria became the 10th two-division champion and first undefeated two-division champion in UFC history with the win over Oliveira. The 28-year-old Georgian-Spaniard captured the featherweight title in February 2024, defended it once, and then announced in December that he was vacating the belt to move up to the lightweight division.
The UFC booked the vacant title fight between Topuria and Oliveira after Makhachev, one of the most dominant champions in the promotion, said he was moving to welterweight to challenge for a second title.
Topuria is in the midst of one of the greatest runs in UFC history. He's knocked out future Hall of Famers Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Oliveira in his past three Octagon appearances. Topuria is 9-0 in the promotion and 17-0 as a professional.
Topuria's next matchup hasn't been set, though he's expressed interest in a superfight with Makhachev and a lightweight title defense against Paddy Pimblett.
Makhachev had been the UFC's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter since November 2023, a month after he knocked out Volkanovski in a rematch at UFC 294. The Dagestani is expected to face 170-pound champion Jack Della Maddalena later this year.