UFC power rankings following Fight Night 285 in Sacramento

Hello everyone, and welcome back for another week of rankings in the UFC. This weekend was another great card for the UFC as we saw Gregory Rodrigues take apart Anthony Hernandez in the main event. This went with the rest of the card, where we saw some other favorites lose as well.

Next up is UFC Fight Night 286 in Shanghai, China, which features Umar Nurmagomedov versus Yadong Song for the main event. With this card stacked better than last week’s fight card, let’s all get ready to enjoy another weekend of fights. 

That being said, let’s get to this week’s rankings and see who made it. Have a great day, everyone, and may the fights be with you.

MORE: Former NY Jets linebacker making UFC debut in Sacramento

10.  Joshua Van:May 9, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, UNITED STATES; Joshua Van (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Tatsuro Taira (blue gloves) during UFC 328 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

Joshua Van remains at tenth even after his amazing win against Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328. Since then, it’s been quiet, but now the wait is finally over. Van will be facing Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331 on September 19th, in Los Angeles, CA.

After seeing them face to face at UFC 330’s media day, I can’t wait for these two to finally square off in a fair fight with no injuries.

9. Justin Gaethje:

Justin Gaethje defeated Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 to become the sole Lightweight Champion in the world. Gaethje is still ranked ninth, following this huge upset of the god-like Topuria. There are a lot of people deserving of a title shot, so I’m sure we’ll see things play out over the next few weeks. 

8. Max Holloway:

Max Holloway defeated Conor McGregor in under two minutes at UFC 329, after McGregor tried a spinning kick, which resulted in tearing up his knee.

Now that Holloway officially won, he should be looking for either a title shot or another big-name fighter to put to sleep. For now, Holloway can take any match that comes his way since he didn’t even break a sweat against McGregor.

7. Charles Oliveira:

Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira is the new BMF Champion in the world after systematically taking apart Max Holloway at UFC 326. Recently, Oliveira has said he would like to have another rematch with Justin Gaethje, but this time for the title. That could spell doom for Gaethje, since he went to sleep the last time they fought.

6. Alex Pereira:Oct 5, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Alex Pereira (red gloves) reacts after defeating Khalil Rountree Jr. (not pictured) in a light heavyweight title bout during UFC 307 at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Alex Pereira came face to face with UFC history on Sunday at UFC Freedom 250, and ended up coming short in the end. Pereira was looking great until he was caught with a jab that rocked him.

From there, Ciryl Gane kicked it into high gear, and there Pereira was finished. You would think that this spot would belong to Gane, but given Pereira’s history, he only falls to sixth in my list. CHAMA!

5. Ilia Topuria:

Ilia Topuria has slipped to fifth on this list after losing badly to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250. It wasn’t just how he lost, but how his god-like complex got in the way of his goals.

Topuria even changed his status on X to 18-0, which has now been removed. Topuria did look great in this fight and even almost finished Gaethje, only to find out how a human can will himself to beat a God.

4. Merab Dvalishvili:

Merab Dvalishvili is finally done with his wrestling tour, and will be facing Petr Yan at UFC 333 on October 24th. This was exciting to see since all of them have been patiently waiting for Dvalishvili to win back his belt.

That is usually easier said than done, and he’ll have to take Yan down this time if he wants his Bantamweight Championship back. 

3. Sean Strickland:May 9, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, UNITED STATES; Sean Strickland (blue gloves) celebrates after defeating Khamzat Chimaev (red gloves) during UFC 328 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

Sean Strickland remains at the third spot as he continues to enjoy his time as champion. However, after Dricus Du Plessis defeated Kamaru Usman, DDP feels that a third match with Strickland is in order, since he’s already beaten him twice.

I didn’t want to see this rematch at first, but right now, it almost feels right. Until then, either Uncle Dana or Strickland’s mouth will let us know what’s next for our Middleweight Champion.

2. Alexander Volkanovski:

Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski will be fighting Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 in October. This exciting clash will take place as the main event, as we see a battle between an up-and-coming star in Evloev and the greatness we know in Volkanovski.

Stylistically, both are similar in their approach, but with a ton of tricks up the trunks for Volk, he could easily retain. For now, we’ll have to wait, but you can bet that this fight is going to be one for the ages. 

1. Islam Makhachev:

Islam Makhachev is still the number one, pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and there ain’t no doubt about it. After dismantling Ian Machado-Garry at UFC 330, the champ can now sit back and enjoy the rest of the year, with some time off.

I say that because I don’t see Makhachev fighting again till early spring, if we’re lucky. Till then, we get to talk about a bunch of rumors and hope that maybe we’ll see Lord Makhachev sooner rather than later. SMESH!

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