How these rankings work
We fit one strength rating per fighter from every UFC fight, and older fights count for less (a fight loses half its weight every three years). We rank on the cautious end of that rating, strength minus one unit of uncertainty, so a short record has to show more before it climbs. To appear in the top 15 a fighter needs a win over a ranked opponent, and to sit in the top five a win over a then-top-10 opponent. Read the full method.
Our data: #1 · 11-2 in the UFC, 3-1 since 2023; 13 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Alexander Volkov (then-#3 at Heavyweight, 2024); 3-fight win streak
How to read it. The bar under each name is the plausible strength range; the white tick is our best estimate, and we rank on the left end. A wide bar means thin evidence. provisional entries are ranked where the numbers put them, and the label says the evidence is thin. The arrows show how many places we rank him above (▲) or below (▼) each list; gold means a gap of 3 places or more against the UFC's official rank.
- 1Official #1 =
Why #1: 8-1 in the UFC, 3-0 since 2023; 9 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Sergei Pavlovich (then-#2 at Heavyweight, 2023) and Curtis Blaydes (then-#4 at Heavyweight, 2024); 3-fight win streak; inactive: no decided bout in 26 months
Best wins: Sergei Pavlovich (then-#2 at Heavyweight, 2023); Curtis Blaydes (then-#4 at Heavyweight, 2024)
Score 0.929Range 0.929 to 2.728 - 2Official #4 ▲2
Why #2: 4-0 in the UFC, 4-0 since 2023; 4 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Curtis Blaydes (then-#5 at Heavyweight, 2026) and Derrick Lewis (then-#9 at Heavyweight, 2026); 4-fight win streak
Provisional (thin evidence: the record is short or old, so the rating is uncertain).
Best wins: Curtis Blaydes (then-#5 at Heavyweight, 2026); Derrick Lewis (then-#9 at Heavyweight, 2026)
Score 0.829Range 0.829 to 2.892 - 3Official #2 ▼1
Why #3: 14-5 in the UFC, 5-1 since 2023; 19 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Sergei Pavlovich (then-#3 at Heavyweight, 2024) and Waldo Cortes Acosta (then-#4 at Heavyweight, 2026)
Best wins: Sergei Pavlovich (then-#3 at Heavyweight, 2024); Waldo Cortes Acosta (then-#4 at Heavyweight, 2026); Jailton Almeida (then-#5 at Heavyweight, 2025)
Score 0.736Range 0.736 to 2.260 - 4Official #3 ▼1
Why #4: 9-3 in the UFC, 4-2 since 2023; 12 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Waldo Cortes Acosta (then-#6 at Heavyweight, 2025) and Jairzinho Rozenstruik (then-#9 at Heavyweight, 2025); 3-fight win streak
Best wins: Waldo Cortes Acosta (then-#6 at Heavyweight, 2025); Jairzinho Rozenstruik (then-#9 at Heavyweight, 2025); Tallison Teixeira (then-#15 at Heavyweight, 2026)
Score 0.622Range 0.622 to 2.203 - 5Official #5 =
Why #5: 15-6 in the UFC, 3-3 since 2023; 21 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Waldo Cortes Acosta (then-#5 at Heavyweight, 2026) and Jailton Almeida (then-#7 at Heavyweight, 2024)
Best wins: Waldo Cortes Acosta (then-#5 at Heavyweight, 2026); Jailton Almeida (then-#7 at Heavyweight, 2024)
Score 0.580Range 0.580 to 1.936 - 6Official #8 ▲2
Why #6: 8-2 in the UFC, 8-2 since 2023; 4 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Serghei Spivac (then-#6 at Heavyweight, 2026); 4-fight win streak
Best wins: Serghei Spivac (then-#6 at Heavyweight, 2026)
Score 0.503Range 0.503 to 2.235 - 7Official #6 ▼1
Why #7: 10-4 in the UFC, 8-4 since 2023; 14 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Serghei Spivac (then-#7 at Heavyweight, 2025) and Derrick Lewis (then-#8 at Heavyweight, 2026); lost last fight to Curtis Blaydes
Best wins: Serghei Spivac (then-#7 at Heavyweight, 2025); Derrick Lewis (then-#8 at Heavyweight, 2026); Ante Delija (then-#9 at Heavyweight, 2025)
Score 0.322Range 0.322 to 1.631 - 8Official #7 ▼1
Why #8: 2-1 in the UFC, 2-1 since 2023; 3 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Jailton Almeida (then-#6 at Heavyweight, 2026) and Tyrell Fortune (then-#9 at Heavyweight, 2026)
Provisional (thin evidence: the record is short or old, so the rating is uncertain).
Best wins: Jailton Almeida (then-#6 at Heavyweight, 2026); Tyrell Fortune (then-#9 at Heavyweight, 2026)
Score 0.250Range 0.250 to 2.427 - 9Official: unranked
Why #9: 3-0 in the UFC, 3-0 since 2023; 3 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Shamil Gaziev (then-#14 at Heavyweight, 2026); 3-fight win streak
Provisional (thin evidence: the record is short or old, so the rating is uncertain).
Best wins: Shamil Gaziev (then-#14 at Heavyweight, 2026)
Score 0.106Range 0.106 to 2.389 - 10Official #11 ▲1
Why #10: 5-1 in the UFC, 5-1 since 2023; 6 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Don'Tale Mayes (then-#15 at Heavyweight, 2025); 5-fight win streak
Best wins: Don'Tale Mayes (then-#15 at Heavyweight, 2025)
Score 0.017Range 0.017 to 1.910 - 11Official #13 ▲2
Why #11: 20-12 in the UFC, 3-4 since 2023; 32 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Tallison Teixeira (then-#13 at Heavyweight, 2025) and Rodrigo Nascimento (then-#15 at Heavyweight, 2024); lost last fight to Josh Hokit
Best wins: Tallison Teixeira (then-#13 at Heavyweight, 2025); Rodrigo Nascimento (then-#15 at Heavyweight, 2024)
Score -0.154Range -0.154 to 1.074 - 12Official #9 ▼3
Why #12: 9-7 in the UFC, 3-4 since 2023; 16 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Marcin Tybura (then-#8 at Heavyweight, 2024) and Ante Delija (then-#9 at Heavyweight, 2026); lost last fight to Vitor Petrino
Where we differ from the UFC: We rank him 3 places lower than the UFC does (#9). His best win on our record is Marcin Tybura (then-#8 at Heavyweight, 2024).
Best wins: Marcin Tybura (then-#8 at Heavyweight, 2024); Ante Delija (then-#9 at Heavyweight, 2026)
Score -0.218Range -0.218 to 1.170 - 13Official: unranked
Why #13: 4-3 in the UFC, 4-3 since 2023; 7 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Martin Buday (then-FightIQ #15 at Heavyweight, 2023)
Best wins: Martin Buday (then-FightIQ #15 at Heavyweight, 2023)
Score -0.366Range -0.366 to 1.211 - 14Official #14 =
Why #14: 7-5 in the UFC, 1-3 since 2023; 1 UFC fight at Heavyweight; best wins Marcin Tybura (then-#13 at Heavyweight, 2026)
Provisional (thin evidence: the record is short or old, so the rating is uncertain; fewer than 3 UFC fights at this weight).
Best wins: Marcin Tybura (then-#13 at Heavyweight, 2026)
Score -0.576Range -0.576 to 1.380 - 15Official: unranked
Why #15: 14-11 in the UFC, 4-5 since 2023; 25 UFC fights at Heavyweight; best wins Tai Tuivasa (then-#9 at Heavyweight, 2024) and Mick Parkin (then-#13 at Heavyweight, 2025); lost last fight to Aleksandar Rakic
Best wins: Tai Tuivasa (then-#9 at Heavyweight, 2024); Mick Parkin (then-#13 at Heavyweight, 2025)
Score -0.587Range -0.587 to 0.639
Official ranks: UFC official rankings. Meta ranks: Meta UFC Rankings, ufc.com.
In their top 15, not in ours
- Alex Pereira · Meta UFC Rankings, ufc.com #3
no win in the last 3 years over an opponent then ranked at Heavyweight - Mario Pinto · UFC official rankings #15 · Meta UFC Rankings, ufc.com #10
no win in the last 3 years over an opponent then ranked at Heavyweight - Ante Delija · UFC official rankings #10
outside our top 15 (our position 19) - Tyrell Fortune · UFC official rankings #12
fewer than 3 decided UFC bouts - Johnny Walker · Meta UFC Rankings, ufc.com #12
no win in the last 3 years over an opponent then ranked at Heavyweight - Anthony Wint · Meta UFC Rankings, ufc.com #15
fewer than 3 decided UFC bouts
- Our rankings as of
- Results through
- UFC official rankings as of
- Meta UFC Rankings, ufc.com as of
- Who can be ranked
- at least 3 decided UFC bouts, a UFC bout in the last 18 months, and not listed as Retired or Not Fighting on the fighter's UFC.com athlete page