Joshua Van is one of the five best fighters in the world. And he’s just getting started.
It sounds absurd, but Van is just a few weeks shy of his 25th birthday, and he just picked up the biggest win of his young career, outworking future Hall of Famer Alexandre Pantoja over five rounds to retain his flyweight title in the UFC 331 main event.
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A case could have been made that Van was already a top 10 fighter following his first fight with Pantoja, having claimed the belt in their first fight this past December that ended swiftly and in disappointing fashion due to Pantoja suffering a severe elbow disclocation. And who knows, that version of Van might not have beaten that version of Pantoja at the time. None of that matters, because these two finally had a proper fight and Van left no doubt that he was the better man Saturday, and now he stands behind only a couple of names in the latest MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings.
Glance below, and you’ll find that Van has soared from No. 11 to No. 3, with living legends Islam Makhachev and Petr Yan ahead of him. Should Yan falter in his trilogy bout against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333, that could open the door for Van to slide into No. 2. And depending how much longer Makhachev plans to compete…
The point is, not only is Van clearly a star and now a champion with two thrilling title defenses under his belt, but if he keeps this up, he could join Demetrious Johnson on the exclusive list of flyweights to be considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.
Again, he’s just turning 25.
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On the other hand, he likely has to deal with Manel Kape next and the former RIZIN star has all the tools to bring a premature end to Van’s reign. If Van shines again, though, there’s no telling how far he can go over over the next decade.
Two other fighters made notable jumps since our last check-in. Arman Tsarukyan impressed at UFC 331 with a first-round knockout over Mauricio Ruffy, making an airtight case for a title shot and perhaps consideration for best lightweight in the world status even before he even fights Justin Gaethje.
Former flyweight champion Alexa Grasso returned to the top 10 after a clear-cut decision win over Manon Fiorot at Noche UFC, her second outstanding performance in a row. With Valentina Shevchenko out of the picture, Grasso could be set for a rematch with Natalia Silva or to be the first challenger for Wang Cong depending on who claims the vacant title at UFC 332.
Check out the post-UFC 331 MMA Fighting Pound-For-Pound Rankings below.
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Islam Makhachev def. Ian Machado Garry, No. 11 Joshua Van def. No. 2 Alexandre Pantoja, No. 14 Dricus du Plessis def. Kamaru Usman, No. 16 Arman Tsarukyan def. Mauricio Ruffy, No. 17 Magomed Ankalaev def. Bogdan Guskov, No. 20 Max Holloway def. Conor McGregor
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Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 2 Petr Yan vs. No. 10 Merab Dvalishvili (UFC 333, Oct. 24), No. 5 Alexander Volkanovski vs. No. 19 Movsar Evloev (UFC 333, oct. 24), No. 18 Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit (UFC 334, Nov. 14)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Michael Morales (1), Aljamain Sterling (1)
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 4 Cris Cyborg def. Ketlen Vieira, No. 10 Alexa Grasso def. No. 5 Manon Fiorot, No. 7 Mackenzie Dern def. Gillian Robertson, No. 11 Dakota Ditcheva def. Denise Kielholtz, Denise Gomes def. No. 18 Yan Xiaonan, No. 19 Liz Carmouche def. Viviane Araujo, Sabrinna de Sousa def. No. 20 Taila Santos
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Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 3 Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes (UFC 334, Nov. 14), No. 6 Natalia Silva vs. Wang Cong (UFC 332, Oct. 3), No. 9 Erin Blanchfield vs. No. 19 Jasmine Jasudavicius (UFC Edmonton, Oct. 17), No. 10 Tatiana Suarez vs. No. 12 Virna Jandiroba (UFC Vegas 124, Nov. 7), No. 14 Liz Carmouche vs. Jena Bishop (PFL Chicago, Oct. 16)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Gillian Robertson (4), Joselyne Edwards (2), Maycee Barber (1), Fatima Kline (1), Taila Santos (1), Alexia Thainara (1), Yan Xiaonan (1)
Falling out of the rankings: No. 9 Larissa Pacheco (inactivity), No. 17 Raquel Pennington (inactivity), No. 18 Yan Xiaonan, No. 20 Taila Santos
A refresher on the ground rules:
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The five-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew.
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Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout in a given weight class. Updates to the rankings are typically completed following each month’s UFC pay-per-view.
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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.)
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Holding a promotion’s title does not guarantee that fighter will be viewed as the best in their promotion. Additionally, fighters who regularly compete or hold titles in multiple weight classes are eligible to be ranked in multiple lists.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.
