The UFC is stacked right now from their top-15 rankings all the way to the unranked prospects maybe more than ever before. The sheer amount of talent and different styles makes each division incredible diverse and exciting, but which divisions are most diverse and most talented?
The age old question of which weight class is the pound-for-pound best is tough to answer. While this list can be speculated on by anyone, it is not certain and is definitely going to be wrong in some people's eyes. The top-4 of this list should be pretty concrete, maybe not in the exact order I have them, but there is a definite barrier between them and the rest of the list.
To find out which divisions we've put above the others and which divisions at the bottom, check out the rest of this list.
Honorable Mention #11. Light Heavyweight
Light Heavyweight unfortunately takes the worst spot on this list. While the top-4 or 5 of the list are savages the rest of the top-15 is pretty moderate. There's very little prospects rocketing up the rankings besides what Jamahal Hill and lately has also been lacking the knockouts that used to make it more exciting.
10. Woman's Bantamweight/Woman's Featherweight
These two divisions can be grouped together as they have the same champion in Amanda Nunes and there's also not even a rankings for Featherweight on UFC.com. Nonetheless this takes the last place on our list because even though the greatest female fighter ever is the champion the rest of the division is mostly made up of scrubs. Holly Holm was a fantastic fighter when she beat Ronda Rousey in 2015, but nowadays she is 40 and still the ranked #3 contender which says something.
9. Heavyweight
The kings of the UFC has gotten an upgrade in it's athletes this year and even added some prospects but still is only the #9 division in the UFC. While being held down by Francis Ngannou with top contenders like Stipe Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane, the rest of the division is lackluster. Alexander Romanov looked like he might gain some popularity as the best prospect but he was shut down by Marcin Tybura and the division fell from its graces yet again. If only there was a certain greatest fighter of all time that could add some fresh blood to the top of this division...
8. Flyweight
While the Flyweights are most often these most undervalued fighters at least from the fans perspective (not Dana's), there division is missing a star hyped fighter rising in their rankings. As their division stands right now, the Figueiredo-Moreno rivalry is one of the4 best in the sports history but has already gotten stale. Alexandre Pantoja, Askar Askarov and Kai Kara-France are all good contenders that would make exciting title fights but as for now until we see something new form the division's elite, the Flyweights are going to be towards the bottom of everyone' list.
7. Woman's Flyweight
The home for MMA Complete's #1 ranked pound-for-pound woman in the UFC Valentina Shevchenko, woman's flyweight has an underrated reputation. This division is a good 10 fighters deep and even boasts one of the best prospects in the company Manon Fiorot. This division has even added new blood to the top-15 with young and veteran fighters alike. The division that holds the longest reigning champion in the UFC has gotten very contentious and we would not be surprised if the Queen of the UFC falls from her throne in the upcoming year.
6. Welterweight
Okay okay, we know what you're thinking, Welterweight is one of the best divisions in the sport how could it be ranked so low especially with the title change we just witnessed. The fact of the matter is this division, while housing some absolute killers is in competition with some other great divisions. So what put the other's above Welterweight? Brutal honesty: The amount of ranked fighters that have no chance of winning the title. There is only two fighters outside of the top-4 that even have a chance to hold gold in this division and they're both undefeated and some of the best propsects in the company.
5. Woman's Strawweight
The best woman's division in the sport has been one of the most exciting this year. While home to the most popular woman in the UFC in Thug Rose, it's also seen a knockout of the year candidate, a reclaiming of a title champion 8 years in the making and a retirement by a 1st ballot hall of famer. Not to mention the sheer level of competitiveness in the top-7 is perhaps the strongest of every division regardless of gender. The amount of title changes we will see in the 115-pound division over the next few years will most likely be staggering.
4. Middleweight
The top 4 divisions on our list were all rated 8.5-to-9/out of 10 in our rankings and barely had a difference between them. Middleweight was given the #4 ranking only because while their champion is one of the best fighters the UFC has ever seen, he has frankly made the title scene boring over the last year. 3 fights in the last 14 months with no finish, even though his next fight in November against rival Alex Pereira seems to change that trend. This division is filled with alpha-killers and prospects alike that make the entire top-15 a threat to the throne which is ridiculous.
3. Featherweight
Again, we wished we could have put this division at #1 but sadly some divisions have to get the shaft. Featherweight took MMA Complete's superlative as the best division of 2021 but falls two spots on this list. There was little to no change in the division's star power or competitiveness, just that the top 2 divisions have more. Currnt champion Alexander Volkanovski is the best fighter in the UFC and has even had rumors to chase a second belt in the future. This division is loaded with contenders and fight of the year candidates and will be one of the most exciting divisions for years to come.
2. Lightweight
The only division without a champion is also the division with the best top-5 in the sport and is home to the highest finish rate in the UFC. Uncrowned former champion Charles Oliveira is a contender only because he missed weight by .5 lbs in his last fight and with a superfight between Islam Makhachev coming next month, this division is sure to end the year with fireworks. The division just added several new contenders to it's top-15 rankings this year and is only not #1 because after the top-15 there isn't too much star power. A criticism that should mean nothing, except for the fact that #1 is loaded through almost 35 fighters.
1. Bantamweight
If you haven't guessed by now, yes the Bantamweight division comes in at number 1 on our list of best divisions in the UFC and it's easy to see why. This division is home to almost 35 fighters worthy of a number next to their name, along with a top-10 that is far and away the most competitive in the UFC with every fighter being a threat to the championship. Recent title rivalry between current champ Aljo Sterling and fomrer champ Petr Yan gets another flare as both compete in the next PPV. By the way their opponents are one of the biggest stars of UFC's past T.J. Dillashaw and one of the biggest stars of UFC's future Sean O'Malley. There is a Nurmagomedov that is bullying his way through the current top-15 rankings, two dominant former world champions making late-career surges in the top-10 and more prospects that we could possibly name. This division takes the cake in every box that matters and that is why we have ranked them at the #1 spot on our list.
-Z.D.
