MMA pound-for-pound rankings Max Holloway moves in Kayla Harrison moves up

The stunning results at UFC 300 on Saturday brought out some animated reactions from fans and fighters alike. And some of those fight outcomes also brought about a shakeup in the ESPN pound-for-pound MMA rankings.

Max Holloway moves into the men's top 10 on the strength of his extraordinary last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje in the BMF title fight. The top five of those rankings remains intact, although light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira inched closer to moving up from No. 3 after a first-round knockout of his challenger, former champ Jamahal Hill. Another former UFC champ who lost Saturday, lightweight Charles Oliveira, dropped out of the rankings.

In the women's rankings, Kayla Harrison was already in the top 10, but after putting on a dominant performance against former bantamweight champion Holly Holm in her UFC debut -- which also was Harrison's debut as a 135-pounder -- she now is ranked in the top five. Manon Fiorot is a new addition to those rankings, based on her March 30 victory over top-10 flyweight Erin Blanchfield.

One other change in these rankings is in the voting panel: Andreas Hale has joined our combat sports team, while Marc Raimondi has moved on to cover the NFL for ESPN.

For the ESPN divisional MMA rankings, click here.

Note: Results are current; rankings as of April 16. 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: 25-1 Last: W (KO1) vs. Alexander Volkanovski, Oct. 21, 2023 Next: June 1 vs. Dustin Poirier

2. Leon Edwards    

UFC welterweight champion Record: 22-3, 1 NC Last: W (UD) vs Colby Covington, Dec. 16, 2023 Next: TBD

3. Alex Pereira    

UFC light heavyweight champion Record: 10-2 Last: W (KO1) vs. Jamahal Hill, April 13, 2024 Next: TBD

4. Ilia Topuria    

UFC featherweight champion Record: 15-0 Last: W (KO2) vs. Alexander Volkanovski, Feb. 17, 2024 Next: TBD

5. Sean O'Malley    

UFC bantamweight champion Record: 18-1, 1 NC Last: W (UD) vs. Marlon Vera, March 9, 2024 Next: TBD

6. Alexandre Pantoja    

UFC flyweight champion Previous ranking: 7 Record: 27-5 Last: W (UD) vs. Brandon Royval, Dec. 16, 2023 Next: May 4 vs. Steve Erceg

7. Alexander Volkanovski    

UFC featherweight Previous ranking: 8 Record: 26-4 Last: L (KO2) vs. Ilia Topuria, Feb. 17, 2024 Next: TBD

8. Israel Adesanya    

UFC middleweight Previous ranking: 9 Record: 24-3 Last: L (UD) vs. Sean Strickland, Sept. 9, 2023 Next: TBD

9. Max Holloway    

UFC featherweight Previous ranking: Unranked Record: 26-7 Last: W (KO5) vs. Justin Gaethje, April 13, 2024 Next: TBD

10. Dricus Du Plessis    

UFC middleweight champion Record: 21-2 Last: W (SD) vs. Sean Strickland, Jan. 20, 2024 Next: TBD

Other fighters receiving votes: Demetrious Johnson, Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling.

How our panel voted

Brett Okamoto: 1. Islam Makhachev; 2. Leon Edwards; 3. Alex Pereira; 4. Israel Adesanya; 5. Ilia Topuria; 6. Alexandre Pantoja; 7. Sean O'Malley; 8. Alexander Volkanovski; 9. Max Holloway; 10. Aljamain Sterling.

Andreas Hale: 1. Makhachev; 2. Pereira; 3. Edwards; 4. Topuria; 5. O'Malley; 6. Pantoja; 7. Volkanovski; 8. Holloway; 9. Adesanya; 10. Dricus Du Plessis.

Megan Anderson: 1. Makhachev; 2. Edwards; 3. Pereira; 4. O'Malley; 5. Volkanovski; 6. Topuria; 7. Holloway; 8. Du Plessis; 9. Adesanya; 10. Pantoja.

Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Makhachev; 2. Edwards; 3. Pereira; 4. Topuria; 5. O'Malley; 6. Adesanya; 7. Volkanovski; 8. Pantoja; 9. Du Plessis; 10. Holloway.

Ian Parker: 1. Makhachev; 2. Pereira; 3. Topuria; 4. Edwards; 5. O'Malley; 6. Holloway; 7. Du Plessis; 8. Demetrious Johnson; 9. Pantoja; 10. Adesanya.

Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Makhachev; 2. Edwards; 3. Pantoja; 4. Adesanya; 5. Pereira; 6. Volkanovski; 7. Topuria; 8. O'Malley; 9. Holloway; 10. Du Plessis.

Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Makhachev; 2. Pereira; 3. Edwards; 4. Topuria; 5. Holloway; 6. O'Malley; 7. Pantoja; 8. Volkanovski; 9. Merab Dvalishvili; 10. Du Plessis.

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. Alexa Grasso    

UFC flyweight champion Record: 16-3-1 Last: Split draw vs. Valentina Shevchenko, Sept. 16, 2023 Next: TBD

3. Valentina Shevchenko    

UFC flyweight Record: 22-4-1 Last: Split draw vs. Alexa Grasso, Sept. 16, 2023 Next: TBD

4. Cris Cyborg    

Bellator featherweight champion Record: 27-2, 1 NC Last: W (TKO1) vs. Cat Zingano, Oct. 7, 2023 Next: TBD

5. Kayla Harrison    

UFC bantamweight Previous ranking: Tied for 9th Record: 17-1 Last: W (Sub2) vs. Holly Holm, April 13, 2024 Next: TBD

6. Manon Fiorot    

UFC flyweight Previous ranking: Unranked Record: 12-1 Last: W (UD) vs. Erin Blanchfield, March 30, 2024 Next: TBD

7. Raquel Pennington    

UFC bantamweight champion Previous ranking: 8 Record: 16-8 Last: W (UD) vs. Mayra Bueno Silva, Jan. 20, 2024 Next: TBD

T-8. Erin Blanchfield    

UFC flyweight Previous ranking: 5 Record: 12-2 Last: L (UD) vs. Manon Fiorot, March 30, 2024 Next: TBD

T-8. Larissa Pacheco    

PFL featherweight champion Previous ranking: Tied for 9th Record: 23-4 Last: W (UD) vs. Marina Mokhnatkina, Nov. 24, 2023 Next: TBD

T-10. Tatiana Suarez    

UFC strawweight Previous ranking: 7 Record: 10-0 Last: W (Sub2) vs. Jessica Andrade, Aug. 5, 2023 Next: TBD

T-10. Yan Xiaonan    

UFC strawweight Previous ranking: 6 Record: 17-4, 1 NC Last: L (UD) vs. Zhang Weili, April 13, 2024 Next: TBD

Other fighters receiving votes: Rose Namajunas, Seika Izawa, Amanda Lemos and Julianna Peña.

How our panel voted

Brett Okamoto: 1. Zhang Weili; 2. Alexa Grasso; 3. Valentina Shevchenko; 4. Manon Fiorot; 5. Cris Cyborg. 6. Tatiana Suarez; 7. Rose Namajunas; 8. Erin Blanchfield; 9. Kayla Harrison; 10. Larissa Pacheco.

Andreas Hale: 1. Zhang; 2. Grasso; 3. Shevchenko; 4. Cyborg; 5. Fiorot; 6. Harrison; 7. Suarez; 8. Raquel Pennington; 9. Pacheco; 10. Namajunas.

Megan Anderson: 1. Zhang; 2. Grasso; 3. Shevchenko; 4. Cyborg; 5. Fiorot; 6. Pennington; 7. Harrison; 8. Yan Xiaonan; 9. Blanchfield; 10. Julianna Peña.

Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Zhang; 2. Grasso; 3. Harrison; 4. Shevchenko; 5. Cyborg; 6. Pennington; 7. Blanchfield; 8. Pacheco; 9. Yan; 10. Suarez.

Ian Parker: 1. Zhang; 2. Grasso; 3. Shevchenko; 4. Cyborg; 5. Harrison; 6. Yan; 7. Suarez; 8. Pennington; 9. Pacheco; 10. Fiorot.

Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Zhang; 2. Grasso; 3. Shevchenko; 4. Pacheco; 5. Cyborg; 6. Harrison; 7. Fiorot; 8. Blanchfield; 9. Amanda Lemos; 10. Seika Izawa.

Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Zhang; 2. Grasso; 3. Cyborg; 4. Shevchenko; 5. Fiorot; 6. Harrison; 7. Yan; 8. Blanchfield; 9. Izawa; 10. Pennington.