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On Saturday, a pair of future UFC Hall of Famers added legendary moments to their esteemed resumes.
In the UFC 333 co-main event, Petr Yan once again showed his greatness as he was able to come back from two rounds down to again beat former champ Merab Dvalishvili in a classic trilogy fight. In the show’s headliner, the featherweight icon scored his first knockout win in three years when he outclassed a younger and much larger Movsar Evolev to defend his 145-pound belt.
Following their big wins, get a look at where Yan and Volkanovski land in our latest UFC pound-for-pound rankings after UFC 333.
With Tom Aspinall‘s career still up in the air, the new king at heavyweight, Ciryl Gane, lands a spot in our P4P top 10. And it is well-deserved because he has been an outstanding fighter in the division over the last five years and holds victories over some of the weight class’s best. However, he stamped his place in history at UFC Freedom 250 by scoring a TKO win against one of the best fighters of this generation, Alex Pereira, to become the interim champ for a second time.
Wildman Sean Strickland may not be the flashiest fighter in UFC middleweight history, but he has consistently proven to be a difficult test for the best in the world, which is why he proved many doubters wrong when he won UFC gold in 2023.
While he was knocked off his perch in his first defense two years ago, “Tarzan” battled his way back into a title opportunity in May at UFC 328, and stunned the MMA world when he ended Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant run to become a two-time UFC middleweight champion.
Outside of a stunning knockout loss to Charles Johnson in his fourth UFC bout, Joshua Van is putting together a resume to one day put himself in the conversation as one of the greatest flyweights of all-time. He is now 11-1 inside the Octagon, has scored four knockout wins, and is arguably the division’s most exciting fighter to watch.
His latest win came at UFC 331, when he got the chance to prove his 2025 title win via injury was no fluke. In a main event clash against future Hall of Famer Alexandre Pantoja, Van showed his improved takedown defense and that his boxing is the best in the division as he scored a definitive decision win to stamp his place as the best 125er in the world.
Justin Gaethje will go down as not only one of the best lightweight fighters of all time, but he will forever be remembered in UFC lore for being one of the most must-see fighters the promotion has ever had by taking part in some of the greatest wars in UFC history.
However, in the main event of UFC Freedom 250, he padded his Hall of Fame resume by scoring a dominant upset win over former 155-pound champ Ilia Topuria. The victory lands him a spot in our UFC pound-for-pound rankings for the first time.
Merab Dvalishvili truly is “The Machine.” His relentlessness and wrestling have turned him into the best bantamweight on the planet. If there were any doubters after his 2024 win over Sean O’Malley, he silenced them with an even more decisive rematch victory at UFC 316.
In the follow-up to that fight, the champ put his gold on the line at UFC 320 against fan-favorite Cory Sandhagen, and just like his previous 13 fights, he dominated with his wrestling and cardio. He seems unstoppable at this point.
Alex Pereira’s UFC story is legendary. After nine fights, he became a two-division champion and scored destructive wins over some of the best fighters of this era, at middleweight and light heavyweight. The 38-year-old has been a revelation for the company and connected with the MMA fanbase with an approach to fighting similar to cage-fighting icon Fedor Emelianenko.
However, he took a big risk at UFC Freedom250 when he moved up in weight to try to be the first fighter to ever win UFC gold in three divisions. The risk did not pay off, and he found out there is power, and then there is heavyweight power. Nevertheless, “Poatan” remains one of the best fighters on the planet.
Alexander Volkanovski has solidified his place as the best featherweight of all time. However, trips up in weight for a second title and the rise of Ilia Topuria led to three straight losses for “The Great” and speculation that his best days were behind him.
However, he has quieted the doubters since with three straight impressive performances. The latest came at UFC 333 when, despite a big size difference, he soundly outskilled Movsar Evloev to score his first knockout win in three years (15th overall). At 38, the Aussie is still one of the best fighters in the world.
Three straight losses had many wondering if Petr Yan’s days as a top-five bantamweight were over as he entered 2024. However, in a showcase of what makes MMA such a great sport, the former world champion was able to address his shortcomings and get back to being an elite fighter.
That run culminated with a huge revenge win over champion Merab Dvalishvili in a UFC 323 rematch that made “No Mercy” a two-time 135-pound champion. In October, the equally great Dvalishvili got a rubber match with the new champ, but Yan proved why he is UFC Hall of Famer bound with another decision win.
Ilia Topuria will go down as one of the great featherweights of all time. But instead of building on his 145-pound resume, “El Matador” made the move up to lightweight in search of history in 2025. Well, he achieved that by becoming just the 10th fighter to win gold in two divisions. Crushing former 155-pound champ Charles Oliveira and added him to his hit list of legends.
The champ put his belt on the line for the first time a year later in the main event of UFC Freedom 250 and was a huge favorite over challenger Justin Gaethje. However, he soon found out about the power that made Gaethje a lightweight legend and was handed the first loss of his career. While the debate is now over about who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Topuria’s loss does not drop him in our top 10.
Islam Makhachev has stamped his place as one of the greatest UFC lightweights ever with his wins over Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski (twice), and Charles Oliveira. Not only is he a dominant grappler, but he has one of the most underrated stand-up games in the sport.
At UFC 322, he etched his place in UFC history when he moved up in weight to become the latest fighter to win titles in two divisions, as he became the new welterweight king with a dominant win over Jack Della Maddalena. At UFC 330, he defended the belt for the first time against Ian Machado Garry. And while the Irishman pushed the champ, he held on to his spot as the best welterweight and pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
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