MMA pound-for-pound rankings: Amanda Nunes back in familiar spot after avenging loss to Julianna Peña
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- Amanda NunesBrazilian mixed martial artist
- Valentina ShevchenkoMixed martial artist
Amanda Nunes attributed her loss in a women’s bantamweight title fight to Julianna Peña at UFC 269 to “not being right” physically and not having the right team around her. Nunes had a bout of COVID-19 before the fight and said her knees were injured.
After that loss by second-round rear naked choke in December, Nunes left American Top Team and created a new team. She worked out of a gym she opened. And most importantly, Nunes was healthy when she faced Peña for the rematch on July 30 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Nunes was so dominant — she scored three knockdowns and had six takedowns, as well as a submission attempt — that she leaped from No. 4 back into her familiar spot atop the pound-for-pound rankings.
UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko dropped from first to second to accommodate Nunes’ rise. Peña performed admirably enough despite Nunes’ efforts to hold the No. 3 slot. PFL lightweight Kayla Harrison dropped from No. 2 to No. 4.
There were no changes on the men’s side.
Men’s MMA pound-for-pound rankings as of Aug. 1
Kamaru Usman (20-1, 9 KOs), UFC welterweight champion. Previous Ranking: 1
Alexander Volkanovski (25-1, 12 KOs), UFC featherweight champion. PR: 2
Charles Oliveira (33-8, 9 KOs), UFC lightweight contender. PR: 3
Israel Adesanya (23-1, 15 KOs), UFC middleweight champion. PR: 4
Dustin Poirier (28-7, 14 KOs), UFC lightweight contender. PR: 5
Islam Makhachev (22-1, 4 KOs), UFC lightweight contender. PR: 6
Francis Ngannou (17-3, 12 KOs), UFC heavyweight champion. PR: 7
Jiri Prochazka (29-3, 25 KOs), UFC light heavyweight champion. PR: 8
Deiveson Figueiredo (21-2, 9 KOs), UFC flyweight champion. PR: 9
Colby Covington (17-3, 4 KOs), UFC welterweight contender. PR: 10
Women’s MMA pound-for-pound rankings as of Aug. 1
Amanda Nunes (22-5, 13 KOs), UFC bantamweight/featherweight champion. PR: 4
Valentina Shevchenko (23-3, 8 KOs), UFC flyweight champion. PR: 1
Julianna Peña (12-5, 3 KOs), UFC bantamweight contender. PR: 3
Kayla Harrison (14-0, 6 KOs), PFL lightweight champion: PR: 2
Zhang Weili (22-3, 11 KOs), UFC strawweight contender. PR: 5
Cris Cyborg (26-2, 20 KOs), Bellator featherweight champion. PR: 6
Carla Esparza (19-6, 4 KOs), UFC strawweight champion. PR: 7
Rose Namajunas (11-5, 2 KOs), UFC strawweight contender. PR: 8
Marina Rodriguez (16-1, 6 KOs), UFC strawweight contender. PR: 9
Lupita Godinez (8-2, 1 KO), UFC strawweight contender. PR: 10