MMA pound-for-pound rankings – Two ex-champs stake their places in men’s and women’s top 10 – ESPN

Israel Adesanya is back on track. Three months after suffering his first loss in a bid to add the UFC light heavyweight championship to the middleweight title he already owned, Adesanya successfully defended his 185-pound belt against Marvin Vettori over the weekend.

It was a dominant performance. The champ won all five rounds on the scorecards of all three judges. He successfully fended off 10 of his challenger's takedown attempts. And when he got taken to the canvas, Adesanya was able to quickly get back to standing or reverse position on the mat. Vettori was unable to do anything against him.

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Despite all of that, Adesanya does not rise in the latest ESPN men's pound-for-pound rankings. It's tough being stuck behind Kamaru Usman and Jon Jones. Adesanya remains at No. 3.

Both the men's and women's rankings do have new faces down at No. 10.

In the case of the men's top 10, the new entry is actually a familiar face. Former featherweight champion Max Holloway, who had a masterful performance against Calvin Kattar in January, moved back into the rankings after Deiveson Figueiredo -- who lost his flyweight belt on Saturday -- vacated his spot in the top 10. New 125-pound champ Brandon Moreno did receive voters from a couple of panelists but not enough to crack the top 10.

The new women's rankings also added a former champion: Carla Esparza, who in 2014 became the inaugural UFC strawwweight champ. Esparza has won five in a row, most recently a second-round TKO of Yan Xiaonan in May.

Note: Results are current; rankings as of June 15.

1. Kamaru Usman

UFC welterweight championRecord: 19-1Last: W (KO2) Jorge Masvidal, April 24, 2021Next: TBD vs. Colby Covington

2. Jon Jones

UFC light heavyweight/announced move to heavyweightRecord: 26-1, 1 NCLast: W (UD) Dominick Reyes, Feb. 8, 2020Next: TBD

3. Israel Adesanya

UFC middleweight championRecord: 21-1Last: W (UD) Marvin Vettori, June 12, 2021Next: TBD

4. Francis Ngannou

UFC heavyweight championRecord: 16-3Last: W (KO2) Stipe Miocic, March 27, 2021Next: TBD vs. Derrick Lewis

5. Alexander Volkanovski

UFC featherweight championRecord: 22-1Last: W (SD) Max Holloway, July 11, 2020Next: TBD vs. Brian Ortega

T-6. Jan Blachowicz

UFC light heavyweight championRecord: 28-8Last: W (UD) Israel Adesanya, March 6, 2021Next: Sept. 4 vs. Glover Teixeira

T-6. Dustin Poirier

UFC lightweightRecord: 27-6, 1 NCLast: W (TKO2) Conor McGregor, Jan. 23, 2021Next: July 10 vs. Conor McGregor

8. Stipe Miocic

UFC heavyweightPrevious ranking: 9Record: 20-4Last: L (KO2) Francis Ngannou, March 27, 2021Next: TBD

9. Charles Oliveira

UFC lightweight championPrevious ranking: 10Record: 31-8, 1 NCLast: W (TKO2) Michael Chandler, May 15, 2021Next: TBD

10. Max Holloway

UFC featherweightPrevious ranking: UnrankedRecord: 22-6Last: W (UD) Calvin Kattar, Jan. 16, 2021Next: TBD

Other fighters receiving votes: Brandon Moreno, Robert Whittaker and Petr Yan

Ariel Helwani1. Kamaru Usman2. Jon Jones3. Israel Adesanya4. Alexander Volkanovski5. Francis Ngannou6. Charles Oliveira7. Dustin Poirier8. Max Holloway9. Jan Blachowicz10. Brandon Moreno

Brett Okamoto1. Kamaru Usman2. Jon Jones3. Israel Adesanya4. Alexander Volkanovski5. Jan Blachowicz6. Dustin Poirier7. Max Holloway8. Francis Ngannou9. Petr Yan10. Charles Oliveira

Marc Raimondi1. Kamaru Usman2. Jon Jones3. Israel Adesanya4. Francis Ngannou5. Stipe Miocic6. Alexander Volkanovski7. Dustin Poirier8. Jan Blachowicz9. Charles Oliveira10. Robert Whittaker

Jeff Wagenheim1. Jon Jones2. Francis Ngannou3. Kamaru Usman4. Israel Adesanya5. Stipe Miocic6. Jan Blachowicz7. Alexander Volkanovski8. Dustin Poirier9. Charles Oliveira10. Brandon Moreno

1. Amanda Nunes

UFC bantamweight/featherweight championRecord: 21-4Last: W (Sub1) Megan Anderson, March 6, 2021Next: Aug. 7 vs. Julianna Pea

2. Valentina Shevchenko

UFC flyweight championRecord: 21-3Last: W (TKO2) Jessica Andrade, April 24, 2021Next: TBD

3. Cris Cyborg

Bellator featherweight championRecord: 24-2, 1 NCLast: W (TKO5) Leslie Smith, May 21, 2021Next: TBD

4. Rose Namajunas

UFC strawweight championRecord: 10-4Last: W (KO1) Zhang Weili, April 24, 2021Next: TBD

5. Zhang Weili

UFC strawweightRecord: 21-2Last: L (KO1) Rose Namajunas, April 24, 2020Next: TBD

6. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

UFC strawweightRecord: 16-4Last: L (SD) Zhang Weili, March 7, 2020Next: TBD

7. Jessica Andrade

UFC flyweightRecord: 21-9Last: L (TKO2) Valentina Shevchenko, April 24, 2021Next: TBD

8. Germaine de Randamie

UFC bantamweightRecord: 10-4Last: W (TechSub3) Julianna Pea, Oct. 3, 2020Next: TBD

9. Holly Holm

UFC bantamweightRecord: 14-5Last: W (UD) Irene Aldana, Oct. 3, 2020Next: TBD

10. Carla Esparza

UFC strawweightPrevious ranking: UnrankedRecord: 18-6Last: W (TKO2) Yan Xiaonan, May 22, 2021Next: TBD

Other fighter receiving votes: Katlyn Chookagian

Ariel Helwani1. Amanda Nunes2. Valentina Shevchenko3. Cris Cyborg4. Rose Namajunas5. Zhang Weili6. Joanna Jedrzejczyk7. Jessica Andrade8. Germaine de Randamie9. Holly Holm10. Katlyn Chookagian

Brett Okamoto1. Amanda Nunes2. Valentina Shevchenko3. Rose Namajunas4. Cris Cyborg5. Zhang Weili6. Joanna Jedrzejczyk7. Germaine de Randamie8. Jessica Andrade9. Carla Esparza10. Katlyn Chookagian

Marc Raimondi1. Amanda Nunes2. Valentina Shevchenko3. Cris Cyborg4. Rose Namajunas5. Zhang Weili6. Joanna Jedrzejczyk7. Jessica Andrade8. Germaine de Randamie9. Holly Holm10. Carla Esparza

Jeff Wagenheim1. Amanda Nunes2. Valentina Shevchenko3. Cris Cyborg4. Rose Namajunas5. Zhang Weili6. Joanna Jedrzejczyk7. Jessica Andrade8. Germaine de Randamie9. Holly Holm10. Carla Esparza

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MMA pound-for-pound rankings - Two ex-champs stake their places in men's and women's top 10 - ESPN

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