The UFC is known as the pinnacle organization for the sport of MMA, and rightly so. With the best fighters from all over the world coming into the organization. For fun, purposes are going to rank the UFC’s weight divisions from worst to best. The way we rank these divisions is simple, the fighter’s reputation, the depth of talent in the division and the chances of an entertaining fight.
Disagree? as always, here at Combat Sports UK, we’d LOVE to hear your views in the comment section below.
Number 8 – Flyweight
When talking about the weakest men’s division in the UFC, we all can probably agree this is it. Largely down to the lack of competition. For a prime example, we have Brandon Moreno vs Deiveson Figueiredo 4. That’s right 4, they have fought each other multiple times, and there’s a strong chance that won’t be changing soon. Their fights are great, but again the only reason they are getting constant reruns is due to the lack of quality depth in this division.
Number 7 – Light Heavyweight
Another division that lacks depth. The light heavyweight division in the early 2000’s up to 2010 was arguably UFC’s most entertaining and well-known division. Unfortunately for the gents in the 205 weight class, a young man at the time in the name of Jon Jones hit the scene. Jon (who many claims is the GOAT) cleaned the division out, from the legends to the up-and-comers. This took its toll on the light heavyweight division as it was hard to get excited about opponents that would have to face Jon. It was almost like you knew the outcome. Due to problems outside the UFC, Jon would relinquish the belt to focus his attention on the heavyweight division. In this current era, Jiri Prochazka was the current champion, with a veteran Glover Teixeira on his tracks. However, now Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev will compete for the vacant title. Overall not much to get excited about as the top ten seem in a stalemate of rematches and a lack of entertaining fights.
Number 6 – Middleweight
What a breath of fresh air the current champion Alex Pereira has been since joining the UFC. Until Pereira’s appearance in the UFC, the ex-UFC champion Israel Adesanya was on a roll. During his time as champion Adesanya convincingly defended his strap against the very best. Until recently, he was almost a victim of his own demise due to his outstanding fighting abilities, which in turn made him easily dismantle his opponents. This division, for a few years now, has been a two-horse race between Israel and Robert Whittaker. Although Pereira is champion, you still cant help but feel like this is still a two, maybe three-horse race.
Number 5 – Heavyweight
The “Big boys” at heavyweight are always fascinating to watch. There’s something about a 6ft 6inch 250lbs human swinging leather that just catches all the eyes. The belief in knowing one clean shot in this division is all that’s needed. The heavyweight division is as exciting now as its been for years. With characters like Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis, it’s hard not to be captivated by this division. The current champion is Francis Ngannou, perhaps the hardest puncher in the world. Don’t take my word for it. Go watch that man’s highlights, scary stuff. This division also has young talent, such as Tom Aspinall, Cyril Gane and Sergei Pavlovich, which are in the top 10. So all of this included Jon Jones (hopefully) due to make a heavyweight debut soon. It’s an exciting division with a lot of potential.
Number 4 – Featherweight
Tough pickings from here and below. Featherweight is our number 4 pick. This division is arguably the most talented. Most of the guys in featherweight have the perfect attributes, from speed and power to grappling and striking. We really cant praise this division enough. It always has at least one candidate for the fight of the year when this award goes out. The depth in this division is so deep any of the top ten could become champion. Unfortunately for the top ten, the champion is the current P4P number one fighter in the world. Alexander Volkanovski is the sole reason we stuck featherweight at number 4. He just seems so ahead of the pack in this division, which is crazy to think, considering the likes of Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez, and Brian Ortega are all down here. But until one of them in that 145lbs shark tank can dethrone Volk, it will stay number 4.
Number 3 – Welterweight
The welterweight division has serious talent. This division has dangerous opponents that possess great skills. The top 10 of this division displays some of the best grappling, best striking, best trash talking and two of the hottest prospects in the whole UFC roster. As far as the top ten goes, this division has it all. Edwards recently defeated the reigning defending champion, Usman, with perhaps the best head kick in UFC history. These two will run it back for the rematch at some point in the year 2023. For us fans, life in the welterweight division will not stop there. Stars like Masvidal, Covington, Belal, Rakhmonov and Chimaev will be sure to keep us entertained. Whilst the ex-pound for pound and the current champion duke it out once again. Who knows, McGregor may even show up at one point.
Number 2 – Bantamweight
This division has had a huge resurge in life over the last three years. Bantamweight is absolutely thriving at the moment, and it’s easy to see why. The ‘heel’ turn of current champion Aljamain Sterling has been a delight to watch. Every division needs a ‘bad guy’. The top 15 of this division is stacked with, Legends and up-and-comers. Sterling, Cruz, Vera, Nurmagomedov (Umar), Sandhagen, TJ Dillashaw, Merab, Yan and O’Malley. That lineup is ridiculous! The fights and finishes these bantamweights have been producing lately is the reason they take the number two spot.
Number 1 – Lightweight
The men’s Lightweight division in UFC is the number one division to tune in for. Anytime a fight in the top 20 gets made in this division, fans are clamouring for it. This division is crazily stacked, the fights are always super entertaining, and there are many MMA fan favourites here. From top to bottom, you have straight-up killers. KO’s, submissions, round of the year, fight of the year and fighter of the year usually all come from this division. The talent is so good and deep that keeping the championship for a year is almost impossible. This, in turn, for our fans, is great because you never know what is going to happen in this division. So far this year, we’ve seen the strap change hands. Tony Ferguson is on the wrong side of what is likely to be KO of the year from Michael Chandler via front kick. Poirier vs Chandler is putting on a back-and-fourth bloody masterpiece. Makhachev submitted the highest ‘submission win artist’ in UFC history in Charles Oliveira. Moicano is delivering the best post-speech ever. All of this without a year of McGregor is not bad going.
Featured image credits to Getty Images
