UFC: ADESANYA AND USMAN REMAIN AT THE TOP OF THE NEW RANKINGS

Despite losing their belts in 2022, former UFC champions Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman remain in the top three of the newest UFC pound-for-pound rankings.

The rankings were updated following UFC 282 in Las Vegas, the year’s final pay-per-view.

That is to say, not much has changed since the last update of the rankings, but because this is the final update of the year, it illustrates how the pile is set for 2023.

Deiveson Figueiredo is ranked tenth, Aljamain Sterling is ninth, Alex Pereira is eighth, Charles Oliveira is seventh, Leon Edwards is sixth, Islam Makhachev is fifth, and Francis Ngannou is fourth.

Adesanya has risen to third place in the latest standings, having previously been ranked fifth.

Despite leading on all three scorecards against long-time kickboxing opponent Alex Pereira in first UFC 281 championship defense, Adesanya was stopped in the fifth round for his first loss at middleweight inside the Octagon. Despite the fact that Pereira now has three victories over Adesanya in two combat sports, a rematch is likely.

For the first time since unifying the middleweight title in 2019, Adesanya is no longer atop the category and is officially the No.1 contender. However, he is still ranked first among all middleweight competitors, five spots ahead of Pereira.

Usman is not at the top of the list, having risen from third position.

Usman appeared to be on his way to a sixth title defense and a tie with Anderson Silva for the most straight UFC wins until a remarkable head-kick knockout from Leon Edwards in Round 5 at UFC 278 stunned the world. An immediate trilogy fight appears to be the next step for the 35-year-old, who recorded his first career takedown in the first round.

The next bout between the two is scheduled for March 2023, and the outcome of that fight might see Usman reclaim his number one status.

Alexander Volkanovski, the current pound-for-pound king, is at the top of the heap.