MMA divisional rankings: New UFC champion Mackenzie Dern moves up in strawweight top 10

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Brett OkamotoOct 28, 2025, 09:00 AM ET
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UFC 321 had few highlights and ended anticlimactically, but Saturday’s event in Abu Dhabi did succeed in shuffling the ESPN divisional rankings.

The fighter making the biggest move is the one who was crowned a new champion, Mackenzie Dern. She defeated Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision to capture the strawweight title vacated by Zhang Weili, who goes for the women’s flyweight belt in less than three weeks. Dern moves up four spots to No. 2, right behind Zhang, who remains in the 115-pound rankings until she fights in her new division.

Jandiroba, the previous No. 2, moves down one spot.

The main event was one of two heavyweight bouts at UFC 321, and neither produced a change in the rankings. Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane remain Nos. 1 and 2 after their eye-poke no contest, and Alexander Volkov stays at No. 4 after his split-decision win over Jailton Almeida, who is still No. 6.

At light heavyweight, Azamat Murzakanov enters the rankings at No. 6 after a first-round knockout of Aleksandar Rakic, who drops two spots to No. 8.

Lastly, at men’s bantamweight, Umar Nurmagomedov moves up a spot to No. 3 after winning a unanimous decision over No. 6 Mario Bautista.

Here are the ESPN pound-for-pound MMA rankings and a list of current UFC champions in all weight classes.

Results are current; rankings as of Oct. 28. 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.