UFC featherweight rankings: Diego Lopes enters top 10 after UFC 303 win

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
RankFighterRecordLast 3 Results
#1Ilia Topuria15-0W-W-W
#2Alexander Volkanovski26-4L-L-W
#3Max Holloway25-7W-W-L
#4Josh Emmett18-4W-L-L
#5Movsar Evloev18-0W-W-W
#6Yair Rodriguez19-5L-L-W
#7Arnold Allen19-3L-L-W
#8Aljamain Sterling23-4W-L-W
#9Brian Ortega16-3W-L-L
#10Diego Lopes25-6W-W-W

The UFC featherweight rankings are a showcase of some of the elite fighters in one of the best weight classes in the entire sport. Where the lightweight was once considered the deepest weight class in the promotion, 145 pounds has caught up and become one of the premier divisions in the MMA world leader.

With that in mind, here is the official Sportsnaut top-10 for the organization’s featherweight class.

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10. Diego Lopes (25-6)

ufc featherweight rankings
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

After making his UFC debut in a very difficult short-notice clash with Movsar Evloev, Diego Lopes has caught fire inside the Octagon. He has won four straight and scored wins over top 15 stalwarts Sodiq Yusuff and most recently Dan Ige at UFC 303. He is a fighter that is dangerous not only on the ground but standing as well.

9. Aljamain Sterling (23-4)

ufc featherweight rankings
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After putting together a championship resume at bantamweight, Aljamain Sterling got off to a strong start in his featherweight debut when he stifled and shut down rankings stalwart Calvin Kattar at UFC 300. While the performance didn’t blow fans away it showed “Aljo” is just as difficult to deal with at 145 pounds as he was at 135.

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8. Brian Ortega (16-3)

ufc featherweight rankings

There is no denying that Brian Ortega is one of the better fighters in the featherweight division over the last decade. However, after losses to Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanvoski, and Yair Rodriguez, there were doubts he could ever be champion.

While he did score a big bounceback win in February over Yair Rodriguez, having just four fights since 2020, and missing weight for his June return drops him in the latest top 10.

7. Arnold Allen (19-3)

ufc featherweight rankings

There are few fighters that have been better than Arnold Allen over the last decade. His recent 11-fight win streak was one of the best in division history and it turned him into one of the United Kingdom’s top fighters. However, his title contender hopes were derailed in April in a decisive loss to Max Holloway.

Now, “Almighty” has the first losing skid of his career as he was unable to halt the hot streak of Russian Movsar Evloev in January. Allen has quickly fallen down our UFC featherweight rankings after such an impressive start to his career.

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6. Yair Rodriguez (19-5)

ufc featherweight rankings

After a period where he battled injuries and some tough losses, there was doubt if Yair Rodriguez would ever reach his potential. He quieted all the uncertainty with massive wins over Brian Ortega and Josh Emmett. The latter made him the new interim champion. He earned a chance to prove he is the best in the world when he faced Volkanovski in July at UFC 290. However, in defeat, he proved he is still a level below the division king when he lost by third-round TKO.

He then followed that up with another decisive loss in his home country to Brian Ortega in February. Now, the former interim king has fallen into the same hole he had to dig himself out of a few years ago.

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5. Movsar Evloev (18-0)

ufc featherweight rankings

Fast-rising star Movsar Evloev has been outstanding to being his UFC career. He has won his first eight inside the Octagon and scored wins over proven featherweight veterans like Hakeem Dawodu and Dan Ige. The biggest knock on him is he has scored zero finishes in the Octagon and only has just seven in his 17 career wins.

While he didn’t get a finish at UFC 297, he got another big notch on his belt when he added Englishman Arnold Allen to his hit list and inched closer to title contention.

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4. Josh Emmett (18-4)

ufc featherweight rankings

Until his disappointing interim title fight loss to Yair Rodriguez in February, Josh Emmett was on the greatest run of his fighting career as he won five straight and scored big wins over Shane Burgos and Calvin Kattar. At 38, the championship clock was already ticking on “CCO.”

In his June return, he again showed his impressive toughness, but he was soundly dominated by rising star Ilia Topuria in the UFC Jacksonville main event. That likely put a final nail in his hopes of ever fighting for UFC gold.

However, he bounced back from that setback at UFC 296 with a thunderous highlight reel KO of Bryce Mitchell. He may never get a title opportunity but he now has a legendary KO that is one of the most memorable in division history.

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3. Max Holloway (25-7)

ufc pound for pound rankings
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Max Holloway will go down as one of the great UFC featherweights of all time. His victories over fighters like Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar solidified that fact. However, he elevated himself to a new level when he stepped out of the division at UFC 300 and took the BMF title off Justin Gaethje in a destructive fashion. A 145-pound title fight is likely in “Blessed’s” future.

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2. Alexander Volkanovski (26-4)

ufc featherweight rankings

Alexander Volkanovski has solidified his place as the best featherweight of all time. However, recent ventures up in weight have led to his only two defeats as a member of the UFC roster. Until now, in February “The Great” was handed his first loss at 145 pounds when Topuria dethroned him at UFC 298. It will be interesting to see where the champ goes next with not much more to prove in the sport.

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1. Ilia Topuria (15-0)

ufc featherweight rankings

After five straight wins to start his UFC career, Ilia Topuria became one of the new rising stars at 145 pounds. Then big wins over Bryce Mitchell and former interim championship challenger Josh Emmett cemented his place as not just an impressive talent but a true world title contender.

In February, he stamped his place in division history when he was able to be the first man to not only hang an L on Alexander Volkanovski at featherweight but also finish him in dramatic fashion. At just 27, Topuria is set up to begin a lengthy and dominant title run of his own over the next few years.

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