How these rankings work
We fit one strength rating per fighter from every UFC fight, and older fights count for less (a fight loses half its weight every three years). We rank on the cautious end of that rating, strength minus one unit of uncertainty, so a short record has to show more before it climbs. To appear in the top 15 a fighter needs a win over a ranked opponent, and to sit in the top five a win over a then-top-10 opponent. Read the full method.
Our data: top of the division · 18-1 in the UFC, 6-0 since 2023; 2 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Jack Della Maddalena (champion at Welterweight, 2025) and Ian Machado Garry (then-#1 at Welterweight, 2026); 17-fight win streak
How to read it. The bar under each name is the plausible strength range; the white tick is our best estimate, and we rank on the left end. A wide bar means thin evidence. provisional entries are ranked where the numbers put them, and the label says the evidence is thin. The arrows show how many places we rank him above (▲) or below (▼) each list; gold means a gap of 3 places or more against the UFC's official rank.
- 1Official #2 ▲1
Why #1: 7-1 in the UFC, 7-1 since 2023; 8 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Jack Della Maddalena (then-#1 at Welterweight, 2026) and Leon Edwards (then-#4 at Welterweight, 2025); 3-fight win streak
Best wins: Jack Della Maddalena (then-#1 at Welterweight, 2026); Leon Edwards (then-#4 at Welterweight, 2025); Geoff Neal (then-#11 at Welterweight, 2025)
Score 1.162Range 1.162 to 2.722 - 2Official #1 ▼1
Why #2: 10-2 in the UFC, 7-2 since 2023; 12 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Belal Muhammad (then-#2 at Welterweight, 2025) and Geoff Neal (then-#8 at Welterweight, 2024); lost last fight to Islam Makhachev
Best wins: Belal Muhammad (then-#2 at Welterweight, 2025); Geoff Neal (then-#8 at Welterweight, 2024); Carlos Prates (then-#13 at Welterweight, 2025)
Score 1.094Range 1.094 to 2.578 - 3Official #3 =
Why #3: 7-0 in the UFC, 5-0 since 2023; 7 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Sean Brady (then-#2 at Welterweight, 2025) and Gilbert Burns (then-#8 at Welterweight, 2025); 7-fight win streak
Provisional (thin evidence: the record is short or old, so the rating is uncertain).
Best wins: Sean Brady (then-#2 at Welterweight, 2025); Gilbert Burns (then-#8 at Welterweight, 2025); Neil Magny (then-#12 at Welterweight, 2024)
Score 1.075Range 1.075 to 3.072 - 4Official #13 ▲9
Why #4: 8-1 in the UFC, 7-1 since 2023; 9 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Joaquin Buckley (then-#10 at Welterweight, 2026) and Gilbert Burns (then-#11 at Welterweight, 2026); 5-fight win streak
Where we differ from the UFC: We rank him 9 places higher than the UFC does (#13). Our data credits his best win, Joaquin Buckley (then-#10 at Welterweight, 2026); he has 9 UFC fights at this weight.
Best wins: Joaquin Buckley (then-#10 at Welterweight, 2026); Gilbert Burns (then-#11 at Welterweight, 2026); Kevin Holland (then-#15 at Welterweight, 2025)
Score 1.017Range 1.017 to 2.713 - 5Official #5 =
Why #5: 7-1 in the UFC, 7-1 since 2023; 8 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Belal Muhammad (then-#5 at Welterweight, 2026) and Stephen Thompson (then-#12 at Welterweight, 2025); 5-fight win streak
Best wins: Belal Muhammad (then-#5 at Welterweight, 2026); Stephen Thompson (then-#12 at Welterweight, 2025)
Score 0.869Range 0.869 to 2.622 - 6Official #6 =
Why #6: 9-2 in the UFC, 4-1 since 2023; 11 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Leon Edwards (then-#1 at Welterweight, 2025) and Gilbert Burns (then-#6 at Welterweight, 2024)
Best wins: Leon Edwards (then-#1 at Welterweight, 2025); Gilbert Burns (then-#6 at Welterweight, 2024); Joaquin Buckley (then-#9 at Welterweight, 2026)
Score 0.756Range 0.756 to 2.372 - 7Official #12 ▲5
Why #7: 8-3 in the UFC, 6-2 since 2023; 8 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Geoff Neal (then-#12 at Welterweight, 2026) and Daniel Rodriguez (then-#15 at Welterweight, 2026); 4-fight win streak
Where we differ from the UFC: We rank him 5 places higher than the UFC does (#12). Our data credits his best win, Geoff Neal (then-#12 at Welterweight, 2026); he has 8 UFC fights at this weight.
Best wins: Geoff Neal (then-#12 at Welterweight, 2026); Daniel Rodriguez (then-#15 at Welterweight, 2026)
Score 0.544Range 0.544 to 2.073 - 8Official #4 ▼4
Why #8: 8-2 in the UFC, 5-2 since 2023; 10 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Belal Muhammad (champion at Welterweight, 2025) and Gilbert Burns (then-#4 at Welterweight, 2024); lost last fight to Carlos Prates
Where we differ from the UFC: We rank him 4 places lower than the UFC does (#4). His best win on our record is Belal Muhammad (champion at Welterweight, 2025).
Best wins: Belal Muhammad (champion at Welterweight, 2025); Gilbert Burns (then-#4 at Welterweight, 2024)
Score 0.383Range 0.383 to 1.999 - 9Official #7 ▼2
Why #9: 15-6 in the UFC, 2-3 since 2023; 21 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Leon Edwards (champion at Welterweight, 2024); lost last fight to Gabriel Bonfim
Best wins: Leon Edwards (champion at Welterweight, 2024)
Score 0.219Range 0.219 to 1.574 - 10Official #8 ▼2
Why #10: 14-5 in the UFC, 2-3 since 2023; 19 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Colby Covington (then-#3 at Welterweight, 2023); lost last fight to Carlos Prates
Best wins: Colby Covington (then-#3 at Welterweight, 2023)
Score 0.034Range 0.034 to 1.544 - 11Official: unranked
Why #11: 16-12 in the UFC, 6-6 since 2023; 12 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Vicente Luque (then-#14 at Welterweight, 2025)
Best wins: Vicente Luque (then-#14 at Welterweight, 2025)
Score -0.022Range -0.022 to 1.249 - 12Official #10 ▼2
Why #12: 11-7 in the UFC, 6-3 since 2023; 9 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Colby Covington (then-#6 at Welterweight, 2024) and Stephen Thompson (then-#9 at Welterweight, 2024); lost last fight to Mike Malott
Best wins: Colby Covington (then-#6 at Welterweight, 2024); Stephen Thompson (then-#9 at Welterweight, 2024); Vicente Luque (then-#11 at Welterweight, 2024)
Score -0.049Range -0.049 to 1.283 - 13Official #14 ▲1
Why #13: 10-5 in the UFC, 3-3 since 2023; 13 UFC fights at Welterweight; best wins Kevin Holland (then-#13 at Welterweight, 2025); lost last fight to Uros Medic
Best wins: Kevin Holland (then-#13 at Welterweight, 2025)
Score -0.218Range -0.218 to 1.270
Official ranks: UFC official rankings. Meta ranks: Meta UFC Rankings, ufc.com.
In their top 15, not in ours
- Kamaru Usman · UFC official rankings #9 · Meta UFC Rankings, ufc.com #12
listed in Middleweight (last fought there) - Yaroslav Amosov · UFC official rankings #11 · Meta UFC Rankings, ufc.com #13
fewer than 3 decided UFC bouts - Neil Magny · UFC official rankings #15
no win in the last 3 years over an opponent then ranked at Welterweight
- Our rankings as of
- Results through
- UFC official rankings as of
- Meta UFC Rankings, ufc.com as of
- Who can be ranked
- at least 3 decided UFC bouts, a UFC bout in the last 18 months, and not listed as Retired or Not Fighting on the fighter's UFC.com athlete page