Ranking UFC champions from most to least beatable

A lot has changed at the highest level of mixed martial arts in the 15 months since we last ranked UFC champions based on their vulnerability.

Alex Pereira emerged as one of the sport's top pound-for-pound fighters and biggest stars after moving up to the light heavyweight division. Sean O'Malley broke through by knocking out Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title. The middleweight belt changed hands twice. The Alexander Volkanovski era ended at 145 pounds. And perhaps most important of all was Amanda Nunes' retirement as a two-division champion.

Without further ado, here's our updated list of the current UFC champions ranked from most to least beatable.

(Note: These rankings consider each champion's overall skill level and well-roundedness, plus the strength of their division/potential challengers. They only apply to how each champion fares within their division. So, for instance, a champion moving up and losing to another champion in a heavier weight class is largely irrelevant.)

11. Raquel Pennington, women's bantamweight

Everyone knew it'd be tough for Nunes' successor to stand out as the real champion after "The Lioness" retired from MMA in 2023. And so far, Pennington has yet to do that. A relatively lackluster decision win over Mayra Bueno Silva in January gave her the UFC belt, but not much of a boost in stock. In fact, few consider Pennington the top women's bantamweight even with Nunes gone. Kayla Harrison, the former two-time PFL champion who had a successful UFC debut earlier this year, would be a heavy betting favorite against Pennington. Julianna Pena might be, too. As it stands, no champion is more beatable than Pennington.

10. Alexandre Pantoja, flyweight

Pantoja has defended his title twice since dethroning Brandon Moreno last July, yet he still seems vulnerable when he steps into the Octagon. His trilogy bout against Moreno was very competitive and one of the best of 2023. Pantoja's most recent win over Steve Erceg at UFC 301 in May came down to the fifth round, and there were several points when it seemed like Erceg would pull off the upset. The Brazilian takes a decent amount of punishment on the feet and has questionable cardiovascular endurance. It's worked for him so far, but Pantoja's skill set is far from bulletproof.

9. Dricus Du Plessis, middleweight

Du Plessis will answer a lot of questions when he defends his title for the first time against former champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on Aug. 17 in Perth, Australia. If he beats Adesanya - especially with ease - Du Plessis will shoot up this list like a rocket. But just months removed from a split-decision championship win over Sean Strickland that could've gone either way, Du Plessis is one of the more vulnerable UFC champions. His awkward fighting style - in which he sometimes looks great and other times mediocre - has gotten him a title, but it's difficult to trust Du Plessis to lead the middleweight division for a long time.

8. Alexa Grasso, women's flyweight

Grasso's inaugural title defense against former champion Valentina Shevchenko last September ended in a split draw. It's pretty hard to rank her any higher than this after one judge thought Shevchenko beat Grasso. Still, Grasso has shown significant improvements in her March 2023 submission win over Shevchenko and their draw in the rematch. It'll take a special kind of talent at 125 pounds - like Shevchenko or Manon Fiorot - to topple Grasso from the throne.

7. Sean O'Malley, bantamweight

There's an argument to be made that O'Malley should be ranked higher than No. 7, especially after his first title defense against Marlon "Chito" Vera. O'Malley put on a striking clinic at UFC 299 in March and showed he was a level above the No. 4-ranked bantamweight. That said, O'Malley has yet to prove he can deal with the stylistic challenge presented by his presumed next opponent, Merab Dvalishvili. Dvalishvili is a cardio and wrestling machine. If O'Malley gets past him, expect a move up in the next rankings. But for now, O'Malley's place atop the division isn't entirely secure.

6. Leon Edwards, welterweight

The longest-reigning UFC champion further cemented himself as the promotion's best welterweight with a lopsided win over Colby Covington at UFC 296 last December. But Edwards will likely never find himself at the top of our rankings with the way he fights. His striking is technical and crisp, and he's demonstrated an improved ability to defend and get up from takedowns in his last two bouts against Covington and Kamaru Usman. But Edwards is a fairly timid fighter. His lack of finishing instinct may leave him susceptible to a heavy hitter on the feet.

5. Zhang Weili, strawweight

Zhang has plateaued a bit since a banner 2022 in which she knocked out Joanna Jedrzejczyk in vicious fashion and then regained the strawweight title with a submission of Carla Esparza. Her most recent performances against Amanda Lemos and Yan Xiaonan were still impressive, but less so. Still, Zhang is quite clearly the least beatable women's UFC champion. Outside of Tatiana Suarez, it's hard to see how any of the current strawweight contenders could give her a run for her money.

4. Ilia Topuria, featherweight

Topuria has yet to defend the 145-pound throne since ending Volkanovski's reign with a devastating knockout at UFC 298 in February, but he made a big enough splash that he's already one of the UFC's four least vulnerable champions. His incredible power, boxing skills, and takedown defense make him a nightmare matchup for most featherweights. Though the likes of Volkanovski and Max Holloway could compete with Topuria in future bouts, it wouldn't be shocking if the Spain-based fighter reigns supreme for a while.

3. Alex Pereira, light heavyweight

No one's stock has gone up more in the past few months than Pereira's. His second knockout of former champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 on June 29 made it clearer than ever that Pereira will be very tough to beat in the light heavyweight division. The former UFC middleweight champ made his second-round finish of Prochazka look even easier than the first one back in November thanks to some nice adjustments. Of course, there are still some question marks as to how Pereira can handle the wrestling attack of someone like Magomed Ankalaev. But it might not matter - Pereira's unreal knockout power gives him such an edge against anyone he steps into the Octagon with.

2. Jon Jones, heavyweight

It's tough to appropriately rank Jones since he's only fought once since February 2020. Some will say he should be considerably lower than No. 2. But we have to go off what we've seen, even if it's just two minutes of cage time. Jones steamrolled top-ranked contender Ciryl Gane in his heavyweight debut to capture the vacant title in March 2023. The Jones who showed up against Gane looked like he'd beat most of the contenders in the heavyweight division. Jones is a former longtime light heavyweight champion, one of the greatest to ever do it, and he's never suffered a true defeat in MMA. It doesn't get much more unbeatable than that.

1. Islam Makhachev, lightweight

Makhachev was our second-least beatable UFC champion in April 2023. Now he's our least - by quite a mile. The Dagestani has continued to level up, knocking out Volkanovski before outstriking and then submitting Dustin Poirier. Not only is Makhachev a gifted and talented wrestler, but he's also one of the most dangerous strikers in the lightweight division. Makhachev's next fight, a likely rematch with Arman Tsarukyan, could be a sizable test. But ultimately, Makhachev will be quite heavily favored against anyone he faces at 155 pounds for the foreseeable future.