USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings review: Biggest movers in 2025

The MMA landscape changes often, and 2025 has seen some big changes.

Every year a new champion is crowned and new contenders emerge. Some veterans compete to retain their place among the elite, while others decide to give up.

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Each week throughout the year, the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie Global Rankings will reflect the changing landscape, with division and pound-for-pound rankings changing as well. Check out all the changes for each division below, along with the biggest movers and droppers from January when the rankings were first published to December’s final update.

Men’s pound for pound

Men’s single pound gains the most: Kamzat Chimaev

Chimaev only appeared once in 2025, but it was significant. At UFC 319, Chimaev captured the middleweight title with a commanding unanimous decision victory over Derikus du Plessis.

Men’s singles fell the most:Jon Jones

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Jones naturally fell from the No. 1 spot to completely eliminated due to his retirement.

Men’s pound-for-pound sports from beginning to end of 2025:

Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Jon Jones (first overall pick)

• Leon Edwards (Starting No. 10)

Heavyweight

Heavyweight stocks gain the most:Waldo Cortez-Acosta

In 2025, Cortez-Acosta was extremely active in five fights, recording a 4-1 record and rising from unranked to the top 5 in the heavyweight division.

Biggest drop in weight class:Jon Jones

Jones naturally dropped out of the rankings from third place due to his retirement.

Heavyweight trends from the beginning to the end of 2025:

Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Jon Jones (Starting No. 3)

• Jairzinho Rozenstruik (starting number 13)

• Tai Tuivasa (Starting No. 14)

• Alexandr Romanov (Starting No. 15)

light heavyweight

Light heavyweight saw the biggest gains: Bogdan Guskov

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Guskov moved up the rankings to No. 9 with wins over Billy Elekana and Nikita Krylov and a draw with former champion Jan Blachowicz with a 2-0-1 record.

Light heavyweights saw the biggest declines: Vadim Nemkov

Nemkov fell from No. 6 to unranked due to his full commitment to the heavyweight division.

Light heavyweight movement from the beginning to the end of 2025:

Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Vadim Nemkov (Starting No. 6)

• Aleksandar Rakic ​​(starting number 12)

• Anthony Smith (Starting No. 15)

middleweight

Middleweight saw biggest gains: Anthony Hernandez

Hernandez went from 13th to 6th with 2-0 wins over Brendan Allen and Roman Dolizer.

Biggest drop in the middleweight class: Johnny Ebron

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Ebron fell from sixth to unknown after making his only appearance of the year, a PFL Championship loss to Costello van Steenis.

The middleweight movement from the beginning to the end of 2025:

Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Johnny Eblen (Starting No. 6)

• Marvin Vettori (Starting No. 10)

• Shara Magomedov (Starting No. 15)

welterweight

Welterweight saw biggest gains:Islam Makhachev

Makhachev went from No. 1 to No. 1 after moving to the division and defeating Jack Della Maddalena for the title.

Biggest drop in the welterweight division:Leon Edwards

Former champion Edwards dropped from second to ninth in 2025 after losing to Sean Brady and Carlos Prates.

Welterweight trends from the beginning to the end of 2025:

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Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Stephen Thompson (starting No. 11)

• Ramazan Kuramagomedov (Starting No. 12)

• Jason Jackson (Starting No. 14)

light

Lightweight has the largest increase: Ilya Topriya

Topria went from No. 1 to No. 1 after moving to the division and defeating Charles Oliveira for the title.

The biggest drop in lightweight:Islam Makhachev

Makhachev was removed from the lightweight rankings (starting this year ranked No. 1) due to a move up to welterweight.

Lightweight movement from the beginning to the end of 2025:

Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Islam Makhachev (No. 1 starter)

• Dustin Poirier (Dustin Poirier, starting No. 5)

• Grant Dawson (starting No. 8)

• Olivier Aubin-Mercier (Starting No. 13)

• Michael Chandler (starting No. 14)

Featherweight

Featherweight’s biggest jump:Jean Silva

Silva rose from unknown to No. 8 with 2 wins and 1 loss, thanks to stoppage wins from Melsik Baghdassaryan and Bryce Mitchell. He suffered a setback against Diego Lopez.

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Featherweight’s biggest drop: Ilya Topriya

Makhachev was removed from the featherweight rankings (starting this year ranked No. 1) due to a move up to lightweight.

Featherweight campaigns from the beginning to the end of 2025:

Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Ilia Topuria (first starter)

• Max Holloway (Starting No. 3)

• Bryce Mitchell (Starting No. 10)

• Patricio Freire (Starting No. 11)

• Calvin Kattar (Starting No. 14)

• Giga Chikadze (starting number 15)

Bantamweight

Bantamweight saw biggest gains:

Biggest drop in the bantamweight division:

Bantamweight trend from the beginning to the end of 2025:

Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Patchy Mix (starting at No. 3)

• Jose Aldo (starting No. 8)

• Henry Cejudo (Starting No. 9)

• Raufeon Stots (Starting No. 12)

• Rob Font (15th pick in the starting lineup)

flyweight

The flyweight class saw the biggest increase:Joshua Fan

In 2025, Fan became the flyweight champion from no ranking. His 4-0 season included wins over Rei Tsuruya, Bruno Silva, Brandon Royval and Alexander Pantoja.

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Biggest drop in flyweight class:

Flyweight trends from the beginning to the end of 2025:

Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Asakura Fei (starting number 10)

• Alex Perez (Starting No. 11)

• Jafel Filho (starting number 12)

• Bruno Silva (starting number 13)

• Charles Johnson (Starting No. 15)

Women’s pound for pound

Women’s Pounds gain the most against GBP: Mackenzie Dunn

Dunne went from unranked to No. 9 after winning the women’s strawweight title with a 2-0 record. She had wins over Amanda Ribas and Virna Jandiroba this year.

Women’s single pound drops the most: Alex Grasso

Grasso, the former women’s flyweight champion, fell from No. 4 to No. 15 after going 0-1, losing to Natalia Silva.

Women’s GBP/GBP trend from the beginning to the end of 2025:

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Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Taila Santos (Starting No. 14)

Women’s strawweight

Women’s strawweight division sees biggest gains: Mackenzie Dunn

Dunne started the year unranked and went 2-0, winning the women’s strawweight championship and finishing ranked No. 2. She defeated Amanda Ribas that year and then defeated Verna Jandiroba to win the vacant title.

Biggest drop in women’s strawweight division:Marina Rodriguez

Rodriguez dropped from No. 11 to unranked after going 0-1, including a stoppage loss to Jillian Robertson.

Women’s strawweight sport from the beginning to the end of 2025:

Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Marina Rodriguez (Starting No. 11)

• Carla Esparza (Starting No. 13)

• Amanda Ribas (starting No. 14)

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Women’s flyweight

Women’s flyweight sees biggest gains:Natalia Silva

Silva started the year ranked 12th and defeated former champion Alexa Grasso 1-0 to finish fourth.

Biggest drop in women’s flyweight division: Juliana Velazquez

Velázquez started the year ranked eighth but eventually fell out. She ranked first with 1 win and 1 loss in two matches against Ekaterina Shakalova.

Women’s flyweight sports from the beginning to the end of 2025:

Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Juliana Velasquez (Starting No. 8)

• Katlyn Cerminara (Starting No. 15)

Women’s Bantamweight

Women’s bantamweight division sees biggest gains: Erin Perez

Perez started the year ranked 14th and ended up in seventh place, defeating Karol Rosa 1-0.

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Biggest drop in women’s bantamweight division:Holly Holm

Former champion Holm dropped out of the rankings after being ranked No. 9 at the beginning of the year after retiring from the UFC and no longer competing in MMA.

Women’s bantamweight sport from the beginning to the end of 2025:

Warriors that appeared in early 2025 and have been removed:

• Holly Holm (Starting No. 9)

• Julia Avila (starting No. 12)

• Pannie Kianzad (Starting No. 13)

• Jennifer Maia (Starting No. 15)

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie Rankings: Who’s Making the Biggest Moves in 2025?