Jon Jones is back. And as always, he’s both dominant and divisive.
Jones retained his UFC heavyweight championship on the grand stage of Madison Square Garden late Saturday in the main event of UFC 309, thrashing former champ Stipe Miocic by third-round TKO. Miocic, returning to the cage at age 42 after an absence of 3½ years, was never in the fight.
As a result, Jones returns to the ESPN pound-for-pound men’s rankings, after being ineligible because of inactivity. This past weekend’s fight in New York was his first since winning the title in March 2023 in his heavyweight debut, and that win over Ciryl Gane was Jones’ first fight in over three years.
So we haven’t seen a lot of Jones in recent times, but the ESPN voting panel saw enough on Saturday to add him back into the top 10, where he had been a mainstay for years. Five of our seven voters had Jones ranked in their top two, in fact, and a couple of them slotted him at No. 1, including Ian Parker.
“The only reason Jones wasn’t on the list prior was due to inactivity,” said Parker, ESPN’s betting expert. “He came back and dominated Stipe. Until someone beats Jones or he retires, he’s No. 1.”
Our remaining two voters, however, slotted Jones down at No. 5 and No. 6. Writer/editor Jeff Wagenheim explained why he ranked Jones sixth: “Jon is an all-time great and could be back at No. 1 after another fight. But while he was in full control on Saturday, he looked a bit rusty despite facing a zombie disguised as Stipe Miocic. So right now I can’t rank Jon above Francis Ngannou or Tom Aspinall, both of whom would have sent Stipe into retirement more quickly and violently.”
Where did Jones end up in our top 10? Check out the rankings, where you’ll notice that four fighters got votes for No. 1.
For the ESPN divisional MMA rankings, click here.
Note: Results are current; rankings as of Nov. 19. To be eligible for the rankings, a fighter must have competed over the past 12 months or must have an upcoming fight booked. Fighters who have been dropped for inactivity can be reinstated only after they compete.
Men’s pound-for-pound rankings
1. Islam Makhachev 
UFC lightweight champion
Record: 26-1
Last: W (Sub5) vs. Dustin Poirier, June 1, 2024
Next: TBD
2. Alex Pereira
UFC light heavyweight champion
Record: 12-2
Last: W (TKO4) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr., Oct. 5, 2024
Next: TBD
3. Jon Jones 
UFC heavyweight champion
Previous ranking: Unranked
Record: 28-1, 1 NC
Last: W (TKO3) vs. Stipe Miocic, Nov. 16, 2024
Next: TBD
4. Ilia Topuria 
UFC featherweight champion
Previous ranking: 3
Record: 16-0
Last: W (KO3) vs. Max Holloway, Oct. 26, 2024
Next: TBD
5. Alexandre Pantoja
UFC flyweight champion
Previous ranking: 4
Record: 28-5
Last: W (UD) vs. Steve Erceg, May 4, 2024
Next: Dec. 7 vs. Kai Asakura
6. Tom Aspinall
UFC heavyweight interim champion
Previous ranking: 5
Record: 15-3
Last: W (TKO1) vs. Curtis Blaydes, July 27, 2024
Next: TBD
7. Francis Ngannou
PFL heavyweight Super Fights champion
Previous ranking: 6
Record: 18-3
Last: W (KO1) vs. Renan Ferreira, Oct. 19, 2024
Next: TBD
8. Merab Dvalishvili
UFC bantamweight champion
Previous ranking: 7
Record: 18-4
Last: W (UD) vs. Sean O’Malley, Sept.14, 2024
Next: TBD
9. Belal Muhammad
UFC welterweight champion
Previous ranking: 8
Record: 24-3, 1 NC
Last: W (UD) vs. Leon Edwards, July 27, 2024
Next: TBD
10. Dricus Du Plessis
UFC middleweight champion
Previous ranking: 9
Record: 22-2
Last: W (Sub4) vs. Israel Adesanya, Aug.17, 2024
Next: TBD
Other fighters receiving votes: Alexander Volkanovski, Khamzat Chimaev, Leon Edwards and Max Holloway.
How our panel voted
Brett Okamoto: 1. Ilia Topuria; 2. Islam Makhachev; 3. Alex Pereira; 4. Tom Aspinall; 5. Jon Jones; 6. Alexandre Pantoja; 7. Belal Muhammad; 8. Merab Dvalishvili; 9. Alexander Volkanovski; 10. Dricus Du Plessis.
Andreas Hale: 1. Makhachev; 2. Jones; 3. Pereira; 4. Topuria; 5. Aspinall; 6. Dvalishvili; 7. Muhammad; 8. Francis Ngannou; 9. Pantoja; 10. Volkanovski.
Megan Anderson: 1. Jones; 2. Makhachev; 3. Pereira; 4. Ngannou; 5. Topuria; 6. Aspinall; 7. Volkanovski; 8. Du Plessis; 9. Pantoja; 10. Muhammad.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Makhachev; 2. Jones; 3. Pereira; 4. Topuria; 5. Du Plessis; 6. Pantoja; 7. Dvalishvili; 8. Ngannou; 9. Muhammad; 10. Aspinall.
Ian Parker: 1. Jones; 2. Pereira; 3. Makhachev; 4. Topuria; 5. Dvalishvili; 6. Du Plessis; 7. Pantoja; 8. Muhammad; 9. Aspinall; 10. Khamzat Chimaev.
Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Makhachev; 2. Jones; 3. Pereira; 4. Pantoja; 5. Topuria; 6. Ngannou; 7. Volkanovski; 8. Muhammad; 9. Leon Edwards; 10. Max Holloway.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Pereira; 2. Makhachev; 3. Topuria; 4. Ngannou; 5. Aspinall; 6. Jones; 7. Pantoja; 8. Dvalishvili; 9. Volkanovski; 10. Chimaev.
Women’s pound-for-pound rankings
1. Zhang Weili
UFC strawweight champion
Record: 25-3
Last: W (UD) vs. Yan Xiaonan, April 13, 2024
Next: TBD
2. Valentina Shevchenko
UFC flyweight champion
Record: 23-4-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Alexa Grasso, Sept. 14, 2024
Next: TBD
3. Cris Cyborg
Bellator featherweight and PFL Super Fights champion
Record: 28-2, 1 NC
Last: W (UD) vs. Larissa Pacheco, Oct. 19, 2024
Next: TBD
4. Alexa Grasso
UFC flyweight
Record: 16-4-1
Last: L (UD) vs. Valentina Shevchenko, Sept. 14, 2024
Next: TBD
5. Kayla Harrison
UFC bantamweight
Record: 18-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Ketlen Vieira, Oct. 5, 2024
Next: TBD
6. Manon Fiorot
UFC flyweight
Record: 12-1
Last: W (UD) vs. Erin Blanchfield, March 30, 2024
Next: TBD
7. Larissa Pacheco
PFL featherweight champion
Record: 23-5
Last: L (UD) vs. Cris Cyborg, Oct. 19, 2024
Next: TBD
8. Julianna Peña
UFC bantamweight champion
Record: 12-5
Last: W (SD) vs. Raquel Pennington, Oct. 5, 2024
Next: TBD
9. Erin Blanchfield
UFC flyweight
Record: 13-2
Last: W (UD) vs. Rose Namajunas, Nov. 2, 2024
Next: TBD
10. Yan Xiaonan
UFC strawweight
Record: 17-4, 1 NC
Last: L (UD) vs. Zhang Weili, April 13, 2024
Next: TBD
Other fighters receiving votes: Rose Namajunas, Raquel Pennington, Seika Izawa and Amanda Lemos.
How our panel voted
Brett Okamoto: 1. Zhang Weili; 2. Valentina Shevchenko; 3. Cris Cyborg; 4. Alexa Grasso; 5. Manon Fiorot; 6. Rose Namajunas; 7. Erin Blanchfield; 8. Kayla Harrison; 9. Larissa Pacheco; 10. Yan Xiaonan.
Andreas Hale: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Grasso; 4. Cyborg; 5. Fiorot; 6. Harrison; 7. Pacheco; 8. Namajunas; 9. Peña; 10. Blanchfield.
Megan Anderson: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Grasso; 5. Fiorot; 6. Harrison; 7. Peña; 8. Yan; 9. Pacheco; 10. Blanchfield.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Shevchenko; 2. Zhang; 3. Grasso; 4. Cyborg; 5. Harrison; 6. Peña; 7. Raquel Pennington; 8. Pacheco; 9. Fiorot; 10. Blanchfield.
Ian Parker: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Harrison; 5. Grasso; 6. Yan; 7. Peña; 8. Pacheco; 9. Fiorot; 10. Namajunas.
Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Grasso; 4. Cyborg; 5. Pacheco; 6. Harrison; 7. Peña; 8. Fiorot; 9. Blanchfield; 10. Amanda Lemos.
Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Zhang; 2. Shevchenko; 3. Cyborg; 4. Fiorot; 5. Grasso; 6. Pacheco; 7. Harrison; 8. Yan; 9. Blanchfield; 10. Seika Izawa.
