Welcome to the latest update to the MMA Fighting pound-for-pound rankings, where every month our esteemed panel sort through the noise to answer one question: Who are the best overall male and female MMA fighters in the world?

To say that the events of UFC 300 had an impact on the rankings would be an understatement. So where did some of Saturday night’s biggest winners and losers land on our lists?

MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

Alex Pereira is pretty much responsible for breaking the pound-for-pound rankings, so it’s only fitting that he’s this close to conquering them.

Following his first-round knockout of Jamahal Hill in Saturday’s main event, Pereira climbs two spots to the No. 2 spot. He’s well behind Islam Makhachev on points (the UFC lightweight champion is still our unanimous No. 1 pick), but far ahead of schedule when you consider his dearth of pro MMA experience.

We don’t need to rehash the absurdity of Pereira’s run to two UFC titles (and now his first successful defense); simply put, there is no equivalent to what “Poatan” has done just eight fights into his UFC career. Normally, a climb like this up the pound-for-pound charts requires a champion putting together a lengthy title reign. Instead, we have Pereira carving out his own path by hammering high-level competition in two weight classes and now threatening a third if his suggestion of a move to heavyweight comes to fruition.

It’s unlikely that Pereira ever becomes the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but then again, everything about his rise to prominence has been unlikely.

Brazil’s light heavyweight king isn’t our only major mover this month, as fan favorite Max Holloway soars up seven spots to land at No. 11, and Arman Tsarukyan makes his debut at No. 14.

Holloway’s return to the cusp of the top 10 should come as no surprise as he scored the most memorable win not just of UFC 300, but his entire glorious career, flattening Justin Gaethje with one second remaining in their fight in the midst of a breathless flurry. The “BMF” championship win all but guarantees Holloway a shot at either the lightweight or featherweight titles, so we could see the former UFC champion further accelerate his climb back up the ladder.

As for Tsarukyan, he cemented himself as the best young talent at 155 pounds, winning a hard-fought split decision over Charles Oliveira. A rematch with Makhachev looms, once the best fighter in the world settles his business with Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 on June 1.

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 4 Alex Pereira def. Jamahal Hill, Arman Tsarukyan def. No. 6 Charles Oliveira, No. 18 (tied) Max Holloway def. No. 14 (tied) Justin Gaethje, No. 18 (tied) Aljamain Sterling def. Calvin Kattar

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier (UFC 302, June 1), No. 6 Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg (UFC 301, May 4), No. 13 Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov (Bellator Champions Series: Paris, May 17), No. 17 Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa (UFC 302, June 1), No. 19 Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker (UFC Fight Night, June 22)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Anatoly Malykhin (3), Shavkat Rakhmonov (3), Johnny Eblen (2), Justin Gaethje (2), Patricio Pitbull (2), Dustin Poirier (2), Kamaru Usman (2), Jan Blachowicz (1), A.J. McKee (1), Belal Muhammad (1), Usman Nurmagomedov (1), Vadim Nemkov (1), Jiri Prochazka (1)

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

She’s baaaaaaaaaaack.

Kayla Harrison’s lofty ranking during her PFL days always felt precarious given the lack of depth in the league’s roster that she ran through on the way to tournament titles in 2019 and 2021. We knew we were seeing a potentially dominant fighter, but it also felt like one loss would provide a serious reality check.

When she suffered her first loss to Larissa Pacheco (after beating Pacheco the previous two times they fought), it wasn’t long before Harrison was sent plummeting down the pound-for-pound list. A lukewarm win over Aspen Ladd did little to restore her buzz.

But wouldn’t you know it, a hop over to the UFC, a cut down to the 135-pound division (which she’d never competed at before), and a win over longtime contender Holly Holm has Harrison right back among the top female fighters in the world. The two-time Olympic judo champion jumps up eight spots, just short of the top 10.

We don’t know how consistently Harrison can hit 135 pounds (or if she even can, considering she needed the non-title one-pound allowance this time around), but if she gets her chance at a belt, it’s hard not to believe that she won’t finish the story and potentially put together a memorable UFC championship run. Where you at, Amanda Nunes?

Outside of UFC 300 (which also saw Zhang Weili hold onto her No. 1 ranking with a win over Yan Xiaonan), flyweight contender Manon Fiorot made the most waves. The Frenchwoman handed blue-chipper Erin Blanchfield her first UFC loss in a fight that wasn’t particularly close, and she can now call herself one of the five best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Zhang Weili def. No. 10 Yan Xiaonan, No. 8 Manon Fiorot def. No. 5 Erin Blanchfield, No. 11 Liz Carmouche def. No. 15 Juliana Velasquez, No. 13 Seika Izawa def. Si Yoon Park, No. 14 Rose Namajunas def. Amanda Ribas, No. 15 Jessica Andrade def. Marina Rodriguez, No. 16 Taila Santos def. Ilara Joanne, No. 19 Kayla Harrison def. No. 20 (tied) Holly Holm

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 20 Stamp Fairtex vs. Denice Zamboanga (ONE 167, June 7)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Maycee Barber (5), Virna Jandiroba (2), Marina Rodriguez (2), Irene Aldana (1), Holly Holm (1), Lauren Murphy (1), Ketlen Vieira (1)

Lastly, a refresher on some ground rules:

• The eight-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Shaun Al-Shatti, Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Steven Marrocco, Damon Martin and Jed Meshew.
• Updates to the rankings will be completed following every UFC pay-per-view. Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout.
• Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice (let’s put it this way: we’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did).

As a reminder, the notion of pound-for-pound supremacy is always going to inherently be subjective. When you’re debating whether someone like Justin Gaethje should be ranked above someone like Max Holloway, there is no true right answer. In other words: It’s not serious business, folks.

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.