Who's next for the middleweight title?
Champion: Sean Strickland. Most likely next title challenger: Nassourdine Imavov (65%, model estimate), UFC 335, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, 12 Dec (target).
Updated (UAE time) · Percentages are NextSmash model estimates, not facts or betting advice.
Middleweight rankings and next fights
Media Panel board on ufc.com, checked 1 Oct 2026, with the Meta rank alongside. Champion plus Media top 15; risers are flagged inside the top 15. Next re-check: after UFC 332 (3 Oct). Ranks 16–30 are unofficial: a NextSmash formula, not a UFC ranking (see About).
| UFC official rankings · champion + Media panel top 15, from UFC.com | |
| C | Sean Strickland 31-7-0 · United States · next: Nassourdine Imavov 65% |
| 1 | Khamzat Chimaev 15-1-0 · United Arab Emirates · next: Joe Pyfer 25% |
| 2 | Dricus Du Plessis 24-3-0 · South Africa · next: Khamzat Chimaev 17% |
| 3 | Nassourdine Imavov 17-4-0 · France · next: Sean Strickland 65% |
| 4 | Brendan Allen Riser 27-7-0 · Brazil · next: Christian Leroy Duncan 92% |
| 5 | Caio Borralho 18-2-0 · Brazil · next: Yousri Belgaroui 92% |
| 6 | Joe Pyfer Riser 16-3-0 · United States · next: Khamzat Chimaev 25% |
| 7 | Gregory Rodrigues 20-6-0 · Brazil · next: Anthony Hernandez 18% |
| 8 | Anthony Hernandez 15-4-0 · United States · next: Gregory Rodrigues 18% |
| 9 | Israel Adesanya 24-6-0 · Nigeria · next: Retires or steps away first 15% |
| 10 | Christian Leroy Duncan 15-2-0 · England · next: Brendan Allen 92% |
| 11 | Jared Cannonier 18-10-0 · United States · next: Ikram Aliskerov 92% |
| 12 | Abus Magomedov 29-7-1 · Germany · next: Cam Rowston 92% |
| 13 | Ikram Aliskerov 18-2-0 · Russia · next: Jared Cannonier 92% |
| 14 | Bo Nickal 9-1-0 · United States · next: Shara Magomedov 18% |
| 15 | Shara Magomedov 17-1-0 · Russia · next: Bo Nickal 18% |
| NextSmash unofficial ranks 16–30 · our formula, not a UFC ranking · how it works | |
| 16 | Michael Page Unofficial rank 26-3-0 · England · next: Ryan Gandra 15% |
| 17 | Baisangur Susurkaev Riser Unofficial rank 12-0-0 · Russia · next: Donte Johnson 92% |
| 18 | Donte Johnson Riser Unofficial rank 9-0-0 · United States · next: Baisangur Susurkaev 92% |
| 19 | Ateba Gautier Riser Unofficial rank 11-1-0 · Cameroon · next: Roman Kopylov 92% |
| 20 | Ryan Gandra Unofficial rank 11-1-0 · Brazil · next: Michael Page 15% |
| 21 | Cam Rowston Unofficial rank 15-3-0 · Australia · next: Abus Magomedov 92% |
| 22 | Damian Pinas Riser Unofficial rank 10-1-0 · Aruba · next: Andrey Pulyaev 92% |
| 23 | Yousri Belgaroui Unofficial rank 11-3-0 · Netherlands · next: Caio Borralho 92% |
| 24 | Mantas Kondratavičius Riser Unofficial rank 9-1-0 · Lithuania · next: Wes Schultz 92% |
| 25 | Jacob Malkoun Unofficial rank 10-3-0 · Australia · next: Cezary Oleksiejczuk 15% |
| 26 | Cezary Oleksiejczuk Riser Unofficial rank 17-3-0 · Poland · next: Jacob Malkoun 15% |
| 27 | Edmen Shahbazyan Unofficial rank 17-6-0 · United States · next: Jacob Malkoun 10% |
| 28 | Torrez Finney Unofficial rank 11-1-0 · United States · next: Nursulton Ruziboev 10% |
| 29 | Jackson McVey Unofficial rank 8-2-0 · United States · next: Nursulton Ruziboev 11% |
| 30 | Nursulton Ruziboev Unofficial rank 37-10-2 · Uzbekistan · next: Jackson McVey 11% |
Ranked in the Meta top 15 only:
- Edmen Shahbazyan Meta #14 · Unofficial #27 here
Booked middleweight fights
- UFC 332: Silva vs Wang · Sat 3 Oct 2026 · Ateba Gautier vs Roman Kopylov, Damian Pinas vs Andrey Pulyaev, Marvin Vettori vs Ismail Naurdiev
- UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Duncan · Sat 10 Oct 2026 · Brendan Allen vs Christian Leroy Duncan
- UFC Fight Night Edmonton: Buckley vs Malott · Sat 17 Oct 2026 · Marc-Andre Barriault vs Kyle Daukaus, Julien Leblanc vs Gilbert Urbina
- UFC 333: Volkanovski vs Evloev · Sat 24 Oct 2026 · Abus Magomedov vs Cam Rowston
- UFC Vegas 123: Moicano vs Nolan · Sat 31 Oct 2026 · Nick Klein vs Joseph Kropschot, Azamat Bekoev vs Andre Petroski
- UFC Fight Night: Bonfim vs Brady · Sat 7 Nov 2026 · Mantas Kondratavičius vs Wes Schultz
- UFC 334: Gane vs Hokit · Sat 14 Nov 2026 · Caio Borralho vs Yousri Belgaroui, Donte Johnson vs Baisangur Susurkaev
- UFC Fight Night Qatar: Procházka vs Stirling · Sat 21 Nov 2026 · Jared Cannonier vs Ikram Aliskerov
Other divisions
Flyweight · Bantamweight · Featherweight · Lightweight · Welterweight · Light Heavyweight · Heavyweight · Women's Strawweight · Women's Flyweight · Women's Bantamweight