There are currently 12 total weight divisions in the UFC, 8 contested by male fighters and 4 contested by female fighters, when you consider that just 10 years ago, the UFC had only 5 weight classes, and zero female fighters on their roster, the promotion and the sport has reached a height that few thought possible.
With the growth of mixed martial arts as a regulated and respected sport, there has been more of a focus than ever on the UFC’s rankings, both as a conduit for judging any given fighter against their peers and for fans to attempt to determine who is the worthy next contender for a championship.
This article will look to evaluate which divisions have the most exciting fights to look forward to and which are in serious need of fresh faces at the top of their rankings.
#12. Men’s Flyweight
During Demetrious Johnson’s incredible streak of 11 consecutive title defences after winning the inaugural flyweight championship, many fans saw the division as under-appreciated.
When Henry Cejudo finally toppled Johnson for the championship at UFC 227, leaving the two fighters 1-1 against each other, many fans hoped for a trilogy fight that could finally give the division a defining feud to build around.
Two years later and Demetrious Johnson is now fighting in ONE Championship, after being traded for ONE’s then-welterweight champion Ben Askren, a regrettable move following Askren’s disappointing tenure and subsequent retirement and Cejudo looks to be done with the flyweight division, having vacated the belt while injured to focus on the Bantamweight division, of which he is also champion.
The UFC looked to crown a new champion at UFC Fight Night 169 between the man that ‘Mighty Mouse’ beat for the inaugural championship, Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo, but when Figueiredo weighed in at 2.5 pounds over the flyweight limit, leaving him ineligible to officially win the championship but still went on to defeat Benavidez by KO in the second round, the flyweight division was still left and remains, without a champion.
While Figueiredo looks to have a decent next challenger in Brandon Moreno and a rematch with Benavidez could also be booked to finally crown the third ever champion of the division, the flyweight division is in desperate need to establish its next kingpin after the departures of Johnson and Cejudo before any anticipation can be built for the future.
#11. Women’s Featherweight
The women’s featherweight division has had a rough introduction to UFC fans, the inaugural champion was crowned when Germaine de Randamie defeated Holly Holm by unanimous decision at UFC 208, a decision that many disagreed with as many media outlets and UFC president Dana White himself weighed in on what they believed to be bad officiating during the fight, namely in the lack of penalisation for ‘GDR’ hitting Holm after the bell two rounds in a row.
De Randamie would not reign for long, as she was stripped of the title after refusing to fight Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino. ‘Cyborg’ would then defeat Tonya Evinger for the vacant championship. She would defend the belt twice before losing to Amanda Nunes.
Many fight fans thought that this would be the beginning of a legendary series of fights between arguably the two most feared female fighters of all time, but while attempting to negotiate a second fight between ‘Cyborg’ and Nunes, Dana White announced that the UFC was releasing Justino from her contract, accusing ‘Cyborg’ of not taking the fight with Nunes because she was ‘afraid to lose again’.
After ‘Cyborg’ announced that she was signing with Bellator, there were questions if the women’s featherweight division would even continue, de Randamie and Holm had both moved down to bantamweight and the UFC doesn’t even have any rankings for the division on their official website.
What keeps the women’s featherweight division from sitting at the bottom of this list by default is the fact that Nunes has two clear contenders for her crown, Felicia Spencer, and Megan Anderson. Both women won their respective fights at UFC Fight Night 169 and called out ‘The Lioness’. It has already been announced that Spencer will face Nunes at UFC 250 in early May if the event goes ahead.
However, this does not change the fact that the UFC desperately needs to invest in new talent for this division, if Nunes continues her dominance and dispatches of both Spencer and Anderson, Dana White may be left with no one in the division to feed to ‘The Lioness’.
#10. Light-Heavyweight
This placement will likely upset a lot of fans as in the 2010s, the light-heavyweight division was arguably the most exciting in the UFC, home to Jon Jones becoming the youngest UFC champion in history, Jones’ brutal standing guillotine win over Lyoto Machida, the legendary rivalry between Jones and Daniel Cormier and Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson being a human highlight reel with his series of explosive knockouts.
As the UFC ushers in a new decade, it almost seems as if the light-heavyweight division has been left behind. Cormier has moved up to heavyweight and a third fight between him and Jon Jones at 205 pounds looks increasingly less likely, ‘Rumble’ has retired and all speculation surrounding his return points towards the Georgia native returning at heavyweight, and Machida is 41 and fighting in Bellator.
One thing that has not changed however, is that Jon Jones is still sat comfortably as the division’s champion. Jones’ dominance has unfortunately been a double-edged sword in recent years as multiple arrests and failed drug tests have led to Jones being stripped of the championship multiple times, preventing any of his reigns from reaching the lauded, record-breaking heights of former champions such as Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva or Demetrious Johnson.
Simultaneously, as Jones has aged, his fighting style has become much more conservative, while the Jon Jones of old wowed audiences with dynamic spinning elbows and flying knees, Jones’ last three fights have all gone to a decision.
While Jones’ last two fights with Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes have pushed ‘Bones’ to the brink of defeat, the controversial champion has been able to keep hold of his belt and although some fans may say that Santos and Reyes both deserve rematches against Jones, it seems as if Jones’ position at the top of the division is draining fans of any excitement for future light-heavyweight title bouts.
#9. Women’s Bantamweight
Amanda Nunes’ women’s bantamweight reign currently sits at five consecutive defences, the record for most consecutive title defences by any women’s UFC champion is still held by Ronda Rousey with six. Nunes is already considered by most to be the best female fighter of all time, and with two more title defences, she will be able to say that she is also the most successful.
The question is, who is left to stand in the way of ‘The Lioness’? Nunes’ two most recent defences were against the two women who currently sit at number one and two in the rankings, Germaine de Randamie and Holly Holm, the next logical contender is the woman who sits at number three, 25-year-old Aspen Ladd.
Ladd was beginning to make waves in the bantamweight division after winning her first three fights in the UFC but unfortunately ran into de Randamie, the more experienced fighter finishing Ladd within the first 20 seconds of their fight. However, the 25-year-old has bounced back with a TKO victory over Yana Kunitskaya and could be in line for a shot at Nunes after she defends her featherweight crown.
Alternatively, there have been some fans clamouring to see a third fight between Nunes and another current UFC champion…
#8 Women’s Flyweight
Speaking of, ever since moving to flyweight following a loss to Amanda Nunes at bantamweight, the division has been owned by ‘Bullet’ Valentina Shevchenko. Five wins in a row in the division, including three consecutive title defences have left the flyweight division quickly running out of contenders, the top two women in the rankings, Jessica Eye and Katlyn Chookagian both already hold losses to Shevchenko and ‘Bullet’ already has a fight booked with the number three ranked contender, Joanne Calderwood.
Unfortunately, the matchup between Shevchenko and Calderwood, which was booked to main event UFC 251, looks to be off until at least August as the champion suffered a leg injury in her last defence against Chookagian that she has not yet recovered from, slowing the momentum of her reign.
Another potential contender for the future is the surging 21-year-old, currently ranked ninth in the division, Maycee Barber. After winning her first three fights in the UFC, Barber quickly broke into the top 10 in the division and was already setting her sights on becoming the youngest-ever UFC champion, eclipsing Jon Jones.
Unfortunately for Barber, her momentum came to a screeching halt with an upset loss to Roxanne Modafferi in January, a loss that could be attributed to the fact that Barber tore her ACL early on in the fight. The injury could keep Barber out of action for six to nine months, and with the rankings moving on without her as more fights in the division take place, the fighter who has already dubbed herself ‘The Future’ could be faced with a long road back to title contention.
If it were not for the untimely injuries to both Valentina Shevchenko and Maycee Barber, the women’s flyweight division would likely rank much higher on this list.
#7. Heavyweight
The heavyweight division is in an unusual position at the moment as there is one matchup that is on every fight fan’s mind, but it has yet to be confirmed. That would be the trilogy fight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, the pair’s last fight taking place in August of last year at UFC 241 and neither man has stepped into the octagon since.
The main reason for this delay is that Miocic, who regained the heavyweight championship in the aforementioned rematch with Cormier, suffered an eye injury that he is still recovering from. Recent speculation has hinted towards summer of this year being the timeframe for Miocic’s return. Simultaneously, Cormier has made it apparent that the rubber match with Miocic could be his last and that is the only fight that he is considering.
This has left Dana White and the heavyweight division at a crossroads; the title picture is essentially on hold until this fight is decided and any fights in the division in the interim seem only to decide who is the next contender, such as the proposed fight between the imposing Francis Ngannou and the undefeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik that was originally going to take place at UFC 249, before that event was cancelled.
Dana White has admitted that if Miocic is still not healthy at the end of the year, he will explore options ‘to move the division forward’, whether that is in the form of crowning an interim champion or stripping Miocic of the title, we will see.
While the third fight between Miocic and Cormier promises to be significant as it could feasibly decide who will go down in history as the greatest heavyweight of all time, the longer that fans are made to wait for the title picture to move forward will likely impact their enjoyment of any fight in the division featuring any potential contenders.
The Inbound Observer 