New UFC Lightweight Rankings After UFC 326: Oliveira Rises After Dominating Holloway
· Yahoo Sports
On Saturday night at UFC 326, the UFC BMF title was on the line when champion Max Holloway defended his belt against fellow legend Charles Oliveira. The champ entered the fight as a solid favorite. However, “Do Bronx” used his world-class grappling to absolutely dominate his foe and score a unanimous decision victory.
Let’s look at how the UFC 326 main event altered the UFC lightweight rankings.
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10. Mauricio Ruffy (13-2)
Per Haljestam-Imagn ImagesBrazil’s Mauricio Ruffy has been very impressive during his time competing in the Octagon. Two years ago, he earned his way into the company with a KO on the Contender’s Series and won his first three bouts in the UFC. In 2025, he suffered his second career loss when he hit the French wall known as Benoit Saint-Denis.
However, to begin 2026, he bounced back from the setback in a big way at UFC 325 by scoring a highlight reel KO over one of the best strikers the division has seen over the last decade, Rafael Fiziev. That win leaps him into our latest UFC lightweight top 10.
9. Renato Moicano (20-7-1)
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesRenato Moicano has suffered a few losses in the UFC, but he remains one of the most entertaining fighters in the division and is improving later in his career. No matter who he faces, he is never an easy out and has become a must-see fighter at 155 pounds any time he competes. That is why he lands in our latest UFC lightweight rankings.
8. Manuel Torres (17-3)
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesOutside of a big knockout loss to Ignacio Bahamondes in 2024, Manuel Torres has been outstanding during his short career. After earning a UFC contract with a Round 1 knockout on the Contender Series in 2021, he has gone 5-1 in the company, with all of his victories being first-round finishes.
His most recent came in December when he earned another KO, this time over talented UFC vet Grant Dawson. The win solidified his place as worthy of a spot in our top 10.
7. Paddy Pimblett (23-4)
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesPaddy Pimblett has his doubters, but you can’t deny starting a UFC career by winning seven straight, including over some future Hall of Famers. Sure, he didn’t get Tony Ferguson or Michael Chandler in their prime, but a wins a win, and the victories earned him a title fight at UFC 324.
While he didn’t get the W against Justin Gaethje, “The Baddy” showed a massive amount of heart and went to war with the MMA legend. Despite the setback, he doesn’t drop in our UFC lightweight rankings.
6. Benoit Saint-Denis (17-3)
Per Haljestam-Imagn ImagesBenoit Saint-Denis has had a very nice 12-fight run in the UFC. While he has hit some bumps in the road and been on the wrong side of stoppage losses to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano, he has still posted a 9-3 record inside the Octagon.
Since those setbacks, the Frenchman has again caught fire. Winning four straight, with the last two coming over a pair of rankings stalwarts over the last decade, Beneil Dariush and Dan Hooker. Both wins were knockouts.
5. Max Holloway (27-9)
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesMax Holloway will go down as one of the greatest UFC featherweights of all time. However, all good things come to an end, and after a pair of clear losses to the best at 145, he made the jump to lightweight in 2024 and quickly added the BMF title to his trophy case and scored two huge wins over future Hall of Famers Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
In March, he returned to defend the title for a second time against another legend, Charles Oliveira. However, his title reign came to an end when the BJJ ace completely dominated him with his grappling. It will be interesting to see where the Hawaiian goes from here.
4. Charles Oliveira (36-11)
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesCharles Oliveria owns several UFC records and will go down as one of the greatest Brazilian MMA fighters of all time. There is a lot to love about his fight style, and his resume is stacked with big wins. But age catches up with everyone, and it has affected “Do Bronx” over the last few years as he’s split his last four fights.
Since he is far out of the title pictures, the former lightweight king instead chose to go after the BMF title in March. At UFC 326, Oliveira delivered one of the best performances of his career as he completely dominated fellow future Hall of Famer Max Holloway to win his second championship in the company.
3. Justin Gaethje (27-5) – Interim Champion
Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesJustin Gaethje is one of the best lightweight fighters of his generation because he has earned a legion of fans for being one of the most durable and violent athletes in the division’s history. While he has had some tough losses, he has also had some iconic wins.
He got another in January at UFC 324 when he took on Paddy Pimblett for the lightweight title. While the Englishman gave him a tough fight, Gaethje won interim gold for the second time and further cemented his place as one of the weight class’s all-time greats.
2. Arman Tsarukyan (23-3)
Credit: USA Today SportsArman Tsarukyan has developed into one of the very best 155-pounders on earth. During his run in the UFC, he has won many fights, and his only losses have come to the former division king, Islam Makhachev, and fellow ranked star Mateusz Gamrot. However, he has overcome those setbacks, and his impressive victories over Charles Oliveira and Dan Hooker have solidified his place as the undisputed No. 1 contender at lightweight.
1. Ilia Topuria (17-0) – Champion
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn ImagesIlia Topuria will go down as one of the great featherweights of all time. But instead of building on his 145-pound resume, “El Matador” made the move up to lightweight in search of history. Well, he achieved that in June by becoming just the 10th fighter to win gold in two divisions. Crushing former 155-pound champ Charles Oliveria and adding him to his hit list of legends.
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