The landscape of MMA changes rapidly.
Every year new champions are crowned and new contenders emerge. Some veterans compete to maintain their spot among the elite while others decide to hang up the gloves.
Each week throughout the year, the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie global rankings reflect the ever-changing landscape as each division and pound-for-pound rankings shift. Check out all of the moves across each division below, along with the biggest rises and falls from the first rankings release in January to the final update in December.
Men’s Pound for Pound
Men’s pound-for-pound biggest rise: Ilia Topuria
Topuria, MMA Junkie’s Male Fighter of the Year for 2024, went 2-0 in 2024. He claimed the UFC featherweight title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski and then defended his throne by knocking out Max Holloway.
Men’s pound-for-pound biggest fall: Demetrious Johnson
Johnson naturally fell from No. 5 to out of the pound-for-pound rankings due to retirement.
Men’s pound-for-pound movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Jon Jones – 2. Alex Pereira +53. Islam Makhachev -14. Ilia Topuria UR5. Alexandre Pantoja +86. Francis Ngannou +87. Alexander Volkanovski -48. Dricus Du Plessis UR9. Belal Muhammad UR10. Leon Edwards -611. Tom Aspinall UR12. Merab Dvalishvili UR13. Sean O’Malley -314. Magomed Ankalaev UR15. Khamzat Chimaev URFighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Demetrious Johnson (started No. 5)- Sean Strickland (started No. 8)- Israel Adesanya (started No. 9)- Patricio Freire (started No. 12)- Jamahal Hill (started No. 15)
Heavyweight
Heavyweight biggest rise: Jailton Almeida
Almeida climbed four spots after a 1-1 year, losing to Curtis Blaydes and defeating Alexandr Romanov.
Heavyweight biggest fall: Stipe Miocic
Miocic went 0-1 in 2024, losing to Jon Jones in his first fight since 2021. Miocic also announced his retirement.
Heavyweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Francis Ngannou – 2. Tom Aspinall +13. Jon Jones -14. Ciryl Gane +15. Alexander Volkov +36. Sergei Pavlovich -27. Curtis Blaydes –8. Jailton Almeida +49. Serghei Spivac +210. Marcin Tybura –11. Derrick Lewis +212. Renan Ferreira UR13. Jairzinho Rozenstruik UR14. Tai Tuivasa -515. Alexandr Romanov –
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Stipe Miocic (started No. 6)- Ryan Bader (started No. 14)
Light Heavyweight
Light heavyweight biggest rise: Carlos Ulberg
Ulberg rose from unranked to No. 10 following a 2-0 year where he defeated Alonzo Menifield and Volkan Oezdemir.
Light heavyweight biggest fall: Aleksandar Rakic
Rakic fell from No. 8 to No. 12 following an 0-2 year where he lost to Jiri Prochazka and Magomed Ankalaev.
Light heavyweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Alex Pereira – 2. Magomed Ankalaev +23. Jiri Prochazka –4. Jamahal Hill -25. Corey Anderson +16. Vadim Nemkov -17. Jan Blachowicz –8. Nikita Krylov +19. Khalil Rountree +210. Carlos Ulberg UR11. Volkan Oezdemir UR12. Aleksandar Rakic -413. Johnny Walker -314. Dominick Reyes –15. Anthony Smith -3
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Ryan Spann (started No. 13)- Alonzo Menifield (started No. 15)
Middleweight
Middleweight biggest rise: Caio Borralho
Borralho began the year unranked and ended at No. 7 following a 2-0 year which included a stoppage of Paul Craig and a decision win in his first UFC main event over former title challenger Jared Cannonier.
Middleweight biggest fall: Alex Pereira
Pereira’s removal from the middleweight rankings was simply due to his permanent move to light heavyweight, where he currently holds the division’s title.
Middleweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Dricus Du Plessis +3 2. Sean Strickland -13. Israel Adesanya -14. Khamzat Chimaev +55. Robert Whittaker –6. Johnny Eblen +17. Caio Borralho UR8. Nassourdine Imavov UR9. Jared Cannonier -310. Marvin Vettori -211. Brendan Allen +212. Gregory Rodrigues UR13. Anthony Hernandez UR14. Roman Dolidze -215. Shara Magomedov UR
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Alex Pereira (started No. 3)- Derek Brunson (started No. 10)- Paulo Costa (started No. 11)- Jack Hermansson (started No. 14)- Kelvin Gastelum (started No. 15)
Welterweight
Welterweight biggest rise: Joaquin Buckley
Buckley began the year unranked and ended at No. 5 following a 4-0 year which included wins over Vicente Luque, Nursulton Ruziboev, Stephen Thompson and Colby Covington.
Welterweight biggest fall: Jason Jackson
Jackson fell six spots from No. 8 to No. 14 following a 1-1 year where he lost the Bellator welterweight title to Ramazan Kuramagomedov.
Welterweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Belal Muhammad +2 2. Leon Edwards -13. Shavkat Rakhmonov +14. Kamaru Usman -25. Joaquin Buckley UR6. Jack Della Maddalena +97. Sean Brady +28. Gilbert Burns -29. Ian Machado Garry +510. Colby Covington -511. Stephen Thompson -412. Ramazan Kuramagomedov UR13. Shamil Musaev UR14. Jason Jackson -615. Michael Morales UR
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Khamzat Chimaev (started No. 10)- Yaroslav Amosov (started No. 11)- Geoff Neal (started No. 12)- Vicente Luque (started No. 13)
Lightweight
Lightweight biggest rise: Dan Hooker
Hooker jumped five spots from No. 14 to No. 9 following a 1-0 year with a split decision win over Mateusz Gamrot.
Lightweight biggest fall: Mateusz Gamrot
Gamrot fell three spots from No. 7 to No. 10 after a 1-1 year which included a unanimous decision win over Rafael dos Anjos and a split decision loss to Hooker.
Lightweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Islam Makhachev – 2. Arman Tsarukyan +33. Charles Oliveira -14. Justin Gaethje -15. Dustin Poirier -16. Usman Nurmagomedov +27. Beneil Dariush -18. Grant Dawson +19. Dan Hooker +510. Mateusz Gamrot -311. Rafael Fiziev –12. Renato Moicano UR13. Olivier Aubin-Mercier -314. Michael Chandler -215. Benoit Saint Denis -2
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Jared Gordon (started No. 15)
Featherweight
Featherweight biggest rise: Diego Lopes
Lopes began the year unranked and ended at No. 7 following a 3-0 year which included wins over Sodiq Yusuff, Dan Ige and Brian Ortega.
Featherweight biggest fall: Patricio Freire
Patricio Freire began the year at No. 3, but fell to No. 11 after a 1-0 year which included a title defense against Jeremy Kennedy in March. The fall was primarily due to inactivity, which Freire recently voiced his frustrations about.
Featherweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Ilia Topuria +3 2. Alexander Volkanovski -13. Max Holloway -14. Movsar Evloev +45. Yair Rodriguez –6. Josh Emmett –7. Diego Lopes UR8. Brian Ortega +49. Arnold Allen -210. Bryce Mitchell –11. Patricio Freire -812. Lerone Murphy +313. Aljamain Sterling UR14. Calvin Kattar -315. Giga Chikadze -2
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– A.J. McKee (started No. 9)- Dan Ige (started No. 14)
Bantamweight
Bantamweight biggest rise: Umar Nurmagomedov
Nurmagomedov vaulted from No. 15 to No. 5 following a 2-0 year, which included wins over Bekzat Almakhan and Cory Sandhagen. He is also set for a title shot in the first pay-per-view of 2025 against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311.
Bantamweight biggest fall: Aljamain Sterling
Sterling’s fall from No. 3 to out of the rankings was simply due to switching to the featherweight division.
Bantamweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Merab Dvalishvili +1 2. Sean O’Malley -13. Patchy Mix +14. Petr Yan +35. Umar Nurmagomedov +106. Cory Sandhagen -17. Mario Bautista +48. Jose Aldo UR9. Henry Cejudo –10. Song Yadong -211. Deiveson Figueiredo +212. Raufeon Stots -213. Marlon Vera -714. Vinicius Oliveira UR15. Rob Font -1
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Aljamain Sterling (started No. 3)- Ricky Simon (started No. 12)
Flyweight
Flyweight biggest rise: Brandon Royval
Royval jumped from No. 8 to No. 2 following a 2-0 year which included split decision wins over Brandon Moreno and Tatsuro Taira.
Flyweight biggest fall: Demetrious Johnson
Johnson’s fall from No. 1 to out of the rankings was due to retirement.
Flyweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Alexandre Pantoja +1 2. Brandon Royval +63. Brandon Moreno –4. Amir Albazi +25. Muhammad Mokaev +26. Manel Kape +67. Tatsuro Taira +68. Kai Kara-France +29. Steve Erceg +510. Kai Asakura UR11. Alex Perez +412. Jafel Filho UR13. Bruno Silva UR14. Asu Almabayev UR15. Charles Johnson UR
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Demetrious Johnson (started No. 1)- Deiveson Figueiredo (started No. 4)- Askar Askarov (started No. 5)- Adriano Moraes (started No. 9)- Matheus Nicolau (started No. 11)
Women’s Pound for Pound
Women’s pound for pound biggest rise: Julianna Peña
Peña started the year unranked and finished No. 7 following a 1-0 year which included her first fight since 2022 to reclaim the women’s bantamweight title by defeating Raquel Pennington.
Women’s pound for pound biggest fall: Liz Carmouche
Carmouche fell from No. 6 to out of the rankings following a 2-1 year which included wins over Juliana Velasquez and Kana Watanabe but also a loss to Taila Santos.
Women’s pound for pound movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Cris Cyborg – 2. Zhang Weili –3. Valentina Shevchenko +14. Alexa Grasso -15. Larissa Pacheco –6. Julianna Peña UR7. Raquel Pennington UR8. Kayla Harrison +29. Manon Fiorot -110. Erin Blanchfield -311. Tatiana Suarez -212. Rose Namajunas –13. Dakota Ditcheva UR14. Taila Santos UR15. Virna Jandiroba UR
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Liz Carmouche (started No. 6)- Carla Esparza (started No. 11)- Jessica Andrade (started No. 13)- Juliana Velasquez (started No. 14)- Holly Holm (started No. 15)
Women’s strawweight
Women’s strawweight biggest rise: Iasmin Lucindo
Lucindo started the year unranked and ended at No. 9 following a 2-0 year, which included decision wins over Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Marina Rodriguez.
Women’s strawweight biggest fall: Rose Namajunas
Namajunas’ fall from No. 5 to unranked was simply due to permanently switching divisions to flyweight.
Women’s strawweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Zhang Weili – 2. Tatiana Suarez –3. Virna Jandiroba +44. Yan Xiaonan +15. Jessica Andrade +46. Amanda Lemos –7. Mackenzie Dern +38. Loopy Godinez +49. Iasmin Lucindo UR10. Tabatha Ricci +411. Marina Rodriguez -312. Tecia Pennington UR13. Carla Esparza -1014. Amanda Ribas -115. Gilian Robertson UR
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Rose Namajunas (started No. 4)- Xion Jing Nan (started No. 11)- Denise Gomes (started No. 15)
Women’s flyweight
Women’s flyweight biggest rise: Dakota Ditcheva
Ditcheva started the year unranked and finished No. 5 following a 4-0 year which included wins over Lisa Muldin, Chelsea Hackett, Jena Bishop, and Taila Santos to win the PFL women’s flyweight championship. Ditcheva was also MMA Junkie’s Female Fighter of the Year for 2024.
Women’s flyweight biggest fall: Jessica Andrade
Andrade’s fall from No. 6 to out of the rankings came after a 1-1 year which included a strawweight win over Marina Rodriguez and a flyweight loss to Natalia Silva.
Women’s flyweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Valentina Shevchenko +1 2. Alexa Grasso -13. Manon Fiorot +24. Erin Blanchfield –5. Dakota Ditcheva UR6. Taila Santos +27. Liz Carmouche -48. Juliana Velasaquez -19. Maycee Barber +310. Rose Namajunas UR11. Tracy Cortez -212. Natalia Silva UR13. Jasmin Jasudavicius UR14. Miranda Maverick UR15. Katlyn Cerminara -5
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Jessica Andrade (started No. 6)- Lauren Murphy (started No. 11)- Viviane Araujo (started No. 13)- Jennifer Maia (started No. 14)- Ariane Lipski (started No. 15)
Women’s bantamweight
Women’s bantamweight biggest rise: Kayla Harrison
Harrison began the year unranked and ends at No. 3 following a 2-0 year, which included her bantamweight and UFC debuts. She defeated Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira.
Women’s bantamweight biggest fall: Jennifer Maia
Maia’s fall from No. 10 to No. 15 came after her exit from the UFC, although she put together a 2-0 year with wins over Mayra Cantuaria and Talita Bernardo in Invicta.
Women’s bantamweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Julianna Peña – 2. Raquel Pennington –3. Kayla Harrison UR4. Ketlen Vieira -15. Norma Dumont UR6. Irene Aldana -17. Macy Chiasson UR8. Mayra Bueno Silva -49. Holly Holm -310. Miesha Tate -311. Karol Rosa -112. Julia Avila -413. Pannie Kianzad -414. Ailin Perez UR15. Jennifer Maia -5
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
– Yana Santos (started No. 11)- Joselyne Edwards (started No. 12)- Irina Alekseeva (started No. 13)- Stephanie Egger (started No. 14)- Talita Bernardo (started No. 15)
Women’s featherweight
Women’s featherweight biggest rise: Sara Collins
Collins started the year at No. 12 and ended at No. 4 following a 1-0 year which included a submission win over Leah McCourt.
Women’s featherweight biggest fall: Kayla Harrison
Harrison’s fall from No. 9 to No. 11 was due to inactivity in the division after committing to a move to bantamweight to join the UFC.
Women’s featherweight movement from beginning to end of 2024:
1. Cris Cyborg – 2. Larissa Pacheco –3. Cat Zingano –4. Sara Collins +85. Leah McCourt -16. Sara McMann -17. Arlene Blencowe -18. Norma Dumont -19. Olena Kolesnyk -110. Aspen Ladd –11. Kayla Harrison -212. Julia Budd -113. Sinead Kavanagh –14. Marina Mokhnatkina –15. Pam Sorenson –
Fighters present at beginning of 2024, now removed:
None
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings review: Biggest movers in 2024
