The significance of holding a UFC title has never been greater. For many years, being a UFC champion generally meant being the best in your division, but the existence of other major promotions like PRIDE, Bellator, and ONE Championship allowed for discussions about who was truly the top fighter globally.
Legends like Fedor Emelianenko (heavyweight), Demetrious Johnson (flyweight after leaving UFC), Bellator`s Johnny Eblen, Patchy Mix, and Patricio Pitbull, and women pioneers like Cris Cyborg, Megumi Fujii, and Ronda Rousey (before UFC women`s divisions) showed that elite talent existed and thrived outside the octagon.
Looking at recent rankings, nearly all divisions feature a consensus No. 1 fighter, the only exception being heavyweight. Although former UFC champion Francis Ngannou received a vote, the current champion, Tom Aspinall, seems poised to solidify his top spot with one more successful title defense.
This raises the question: are there compelling arguments for fighters outside the current No. 1 spots? Consider undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov, who missed his welterweight title shot against Belal Muhammad due to injury, now watching Jack Della Maddalena challenge the P4P king, Islam Makhachev.
Or perhaps Movsar Evloev, also undefeated, who seemed overlooked for the vacant featherweight title fight despite his 8-0 UFC record, as Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes were booked instead.
One might even argue Ilia Topuria isn`t the undisputed lightweight king after his stunning knockout win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 317, especially since Arman Tsarukyan also recently defeated Oliveira and has a deeper resume at lightweight.
While the current 11 UFC champions largely hold clear No. 1 positions in their divisions, their reign isn`t guaranteed. Dricus du Plessis faces a major threat from Khamzat Chimaev in August. Kayla Harrison is challenged by the returning legend Amanda Nunes. And Della Maddalena faces a tough test against the formidable Makhachev.
As 2025 progresses, these top spots could remain stable, or we could see significant shifts in the rankings before the year ends.
