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FightIQ · FightIQ Rankings · Light Heavyweight
FightIQ Rankings: our data, not the UFC's

FightIQ Light Heavyweight Rankings

36 fighters are eligible. Here are our top 13, with the UFC's official and Meta rankings beside them. These are FightIQ's own data rankings, not the UFC's: see the UFC's official Light Heavyweight rankings.

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.

Champion
Carlos Ulberg

Our data: #1 · 10-1 in the UFC, 7-0 since 2023; 11 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Jiri Prochazka (then-#2 at Light Heavyweight, 2026) and Jan Blachowicz (then-#3 at Light Heavyweight, 2025); 10-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.

  1. 1
    Magomed Ankalaev
    Official #1 =Meta #2 ▲1

    Why #1: 13-2 in the UFC, 4-1 since 2023; 15 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Alex Pereira (champion at Light Heavyweight, 2025) and Aleksandar Rakic (then-#5 at Light Heavyweight, 2024)

    Best wins: Alex Pereira (champion at Light Heavyweight, 2025); Aleksandar Rakic (then-#5 at Light Heavyweight, 2024); Johnny Walker (then-#7 at Light Heavyweight, 2024)

    Score 1.150Range 1.150 to 2.656
  2. 2
    Navajo StirlingprovisionalBig gap vs UFC
    Official #5 ▲3Meta #6 ▲4

    Why #2: 6-0 in the UFC, 6-0 since 2023; 6 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Jan Blachowicz (then-#4 at Light Heavyweight, 2026); 6-fight win streak

    Provisional (thin evidence: the record is short or old, so the rating is uncertain).

    Where we differ from the UFC: We rank him 3 places higher than the UFC does (#5). Our data credits his best win, Jan Blachowicz (then-#4 at Light Heavyweight, 2026); he has 6 UFC fights at this weight.

    Best wins: Jan Blachowicz (then-#4 at Light Heavyweight, 2026)

    Score 0.759Range 0.759 to 2.784
  3. 3
    Jiri Prochazka
    Official #2 ▼1Meta #3 =

    Why #3: 6-3 in the UFC, 3-3 since 2023; 9 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Jamahal Hill (then-#3 at Light Heavyweight, 2025) and Khalil Rountree Jr. (then-#4 at Light Heavyweight, 2025); lost last fight to Carlos Ulberg

    Best wins: Jamahal Hill (then-#3 at Light Heavyweight, 2025); Khalil Rountree Jr. (then-#4 at Light Heavyweight, 2025); Aleksandar Rakic (then-#5 at Light Heavyweight, 2024)

    Score 0.240Range 0.240 to 1.754
  4. 4
    Volkan Oezdemir
    Official: unrankedMeta: unranked

    Why #4: 9-7 in the UFC, 3-1 since 2023; 16 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Johnny Walker (then-#7 at Light Heavyweight, 2024) and Alonzo Menifield (then-#14 at Light Heavyweight, 2025)

    Best wins: Johnny Walker (then-#7 at Light Heavyweight, 2024); Alonzo Menifield (then-#14 at Light Heavyweight, 2025)

    Score -0.019Range -0.019 to 1.621
  5. 5
    Bogdan GuskovBig gap vs UFC
    Official #10 ▲5Meta #11 ▲6

    Why #5: 4-2 in the UFC, 4-2 since 2023; 6 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Nikita Krylov (then-#10 at Light Heavyweight, 2025) and Ryan Spann (then-#11 at Light Heavyweight, 2024); lost last fight to Magomed Ankalaev

    Where we differ from the UFC: We rank him 5 places higher than the UFC does (#10). Our data credits his best win, Nikita Krylov (then-#10 at Light Heavyweight, 2025); he has 6 UFC fights at this weight.

    Best wins: Nikita Krylov (then-#10 at Light Heavyweight, 2025); Ryan Spann (then-#11 at Light Heavyweight, 2024)

    Score -0.055Range -0.055 to 1.665
  6. 6
    Robert WhittakerprovisionalBig gap vs UFC
    Official #11 ▲5Meta #12 ▲6

    Why #6: 18-7 in the UFC, 3-3 since 2023; 1 UFC fight at Light Heavyweight; best wins Nikita Krylov (then-#12 at Light Heavyweight, 2026)

    Provisional (fewer than 3 UFC fights at this weight).

    Where we differ from the UFC: We rank him 5 places higher than the UFC does (#11). Our data credits his best win, Nikita Krylov (then-#12 at Light Heavyweight, 2026); he has 1 UFC fights at this weight.

    Best wins: Nikita Krylov (then-#12 at Light Heavyweight, 2026)

    Score 0.281Range 0.281 to 2.110
  7. 7
    Paulo Costaprovisional
    Official #6 ▼1Meta #4 ▼3

    Why #7: 8-4 in the UFC, 2-2 since 2023; 2 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Azamat Murzakanov (then-#6 at Light 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: Azamat Murzakanov (then-#6 at Light Heavyweight, 2026)

    Score -0.089Range -0.089 to 1.821
  8. 8
    Azamat Murzakanov
    Official #7 ▼1Meta #9 ▲1

    Why #8: 6-1 in the UFC, 4-1 since 2023; 7 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Aleksandar Rakic (then-#7 at Light Heavyweight, 2025) and Alonzo Menifield (then-#15 at Light Heavyweight, 2024); lost last fight to Paulo Costa

    Best wins: Aleksandar Rakic (then-#7 at Light Heavyweight, 2025); Alonzo Menifield (then-#15 at Light Heavyweight, 2024)

    Score 0.202Range 0.202 to 1.994
  9. 9
    Alonzo MenifieldBig gap vs UFC
    Official #12 ▲3Meta #10 ▲1

    Why #9: 12-6 in the UFC, 6-3 since 2023; 18 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Dustin Jacoby (then-#15 at Light Heavyweight, 2023) and Zhang Mingyang (then-FightIQ #14 at Light Heavyweight, 2026)

    Where we differ from the UFC: We rank him 3 places higher than the UFC does (#12). Our data credits his best win, Dustin Jacoby (then-#15 at Light Heavyweight, 2023); he has 18 UFC fights at this weight.

    Best wins: Dustin Jacoby (then-#15 at Light Heavyweight, 2023); Zhang Mingyang (then-FightIQ #14 at Light Heavyweight, 2026)

    Score 0.051Range 0.051 to 1.454
  10. 10
    Dominick Reyes
    Official #8 ▼2Meta #7 ▼3

    Why #10: 10-5 in the UFC, 4-1 since 2023; 15 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Nikita Krylov (then-#8 at Light Heavyweight, 2025) and Johnny Walker (then-#12 at Light Heavyweight, 2026)

    Best wins: Nikita Krylov (then-#8 at Light Heavyweight, 2025); Johnny Walker (then-#12 at Light Heavyweight, 2026); Anthony Smith (then-#13 at Light Heavyweight, 2024)

    Score -0.069Range -0.069 to 1.490
  11. 11
    Khalil Rountree Jr.Big gap vs UFC
    Official #4 ▼7Meta #5 ▼6

    Why #11: 10-7 in the UFC, 3-2 since 2023; 16 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Jamahal Hill (then-#4 at Light Heavyweight, 2025) and Anthony Smith (then-#8 at Light Heavyweight, 2023); lost last fight to Jiri Prochazka; inactive: no decided bout in 12 months

    Where we differ from the UFC: We rank him 7 places lower than the UFC does (#4). He has had no decided bout for 12 months.

    Best wins: Jamahal Hill (then-#4 at Light Heavyweight, 2025); Anthony Smith (then-#8 at Light Heavyweight, 2023)

    Score -0.120Range -0.120 to 1.402
  12. 12
    Roman Dolidze
    Official: unrankedMeta: unranked

    Why #12: 9-6 in the UFC, 3-5 since 2023; 4 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Anthony Smith (then-#10 at Light Heavyweight, 2024); lost last fight to Reinier de Ridder

    Best wins: Anthony Smith (then-#10 at Light Heavyweight, 2024)

    Score -0.458Range -0.458 to 1.224
  13. 13
    Zhang Mingyang
    Official: unrankedMeta: unranked

    Why #13: 3-2 in the UFC, 3-2 since 2023; 5 UFC fights at Light Heavyweight; best wins Anthony Smith (then-#15 at Light Heavyweight, 2025); lost last fight to Alonzo Menifield

    Best wins: Anthony Smith (then-#15 at Light Heavyweight, 2025)

    Score -0.807Range -0.807 to 0.936

Official ranks: UFC official rankings. Meta ranks: Meta UFC Rankings, ufc.com.

In their top 15, not in ours

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
How the rankings work · Light Heavyweight official rankings · All divisions