Joshua Van is 25 years old, 18-2-0, and the UFC flyweight champion after beating Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision over five rounds at UFC 331 on 19 September 2026. Since that night the top 15 behind him has not moved a single place.
UFC flyweight champion: Joshua Van
Van, from Myanmar, has a 61 percent finish rate, the lowest among the champion and the four fighters ranked directly behind him. The title win over Pantoja fits that profile: it went the full 5:00 of round 5 and was decided on the scorecards. Pantoja stays at #2 with a 30-7-0 record. At 36 he is, with Kyoji Horiguchi, the oldest man in the rankings.
The man at #1 is Manel Kape, 32, from Portugal, 23-7-0 with an 87 percent finish rate. That is the highest in the top 15 except for Imanol Rodriguez at 88 percent, and it makes Kape the most dangerous finisher in the title picture.
UFC flyweight rankings
These are the rankings as of 13 October 2026. Every fighter is unchanged from the previous update.
| Rank | Fighter | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | Joshua Van | 18-2-0 |
| #1 | Manel Kape | 23-7-0 |
| #2 | Alexandre Pantoja | 30-7-0 |
| #3 | Brandon Royval | 18-9-0 |
| #4 | Tatsuro Taira | 18-2-0 |
| #5 | Asu Almabayev | 24-3-0 |
| #6 | Lone'er Kavanagh | 10-2-0 |
| #7 | Ramazan Temirov | 20-3-0 |
| #8 | Kyoji Horiguchi | 36-6-0, 1 NC |
| #9 | Amir Albazi | 17-3-0 |
| #10 | Brandon Moreno | 24-10-2 |
| #11 | Su Mudaerji | 20-7-0, 1 NC |
| #12 | Mitch Raposo | 11-3-0 |
| #13 | Imanol Rodriguez | 8-0-0 |
| #14 | Rei Tsuruya | 12-1-0 |
| #15 | Charles Johnson | 20-9-0 |
The age split is clear. Van is 25, Rei Tsuruya is 24, Tatsuro Taira is 26 and Lone'er Kavanagh is 27, while Pantoja and Horiguchi are 36, Charles Johnson is 35 and Brandon Royval is 34.
Taira, from Japan, is 18-2-0 with a 78 percent finish rate, the same as Royval. Asu Almabayev, from Kazakhstan, is 24-3-0 at #5 but finishes fewer fights, 58 percent. Amir Albazi, from Iraq, is #9 with an 82 percent finish rate.
How the division has fought over the last 12 months
The flyweights fought 40 times in the past year and 19 of those bouts ended in a finish. That is just under half.
Rodriguez is the only unbeaten fighter in the rankings. The Mexican stopped Alden Coria with a kick in round 1 at UFC 332 on 3 October, at 3:11, and sits at #13 with 8-0-0. Rei Tsuruya, 24, took a rear naked choke win over Kevin Borjas at 4:14 of round 1 on 29 August. He is #14 at 12-1-0.
Higher up, Ramazan Temirov stopped Steve Erceg with punches at 4:21 of round 1 on 25 July. Brandon Royval beat Lone'er Kavanagh by rear naked choke at 3:40 of round 3 at UFC 329 on 11 July. Brandon Moreno, at #10, won a split decision over Joseph Morales on 12 September, and Su Mudaerji beat Alex Perez by unanimous decision on 29 August.
Next UFC flyweight fights
Kavanagh and Temirov, #6 and #7, meet at UFC 333 on 24 October.
Two bouts are booked for 21 November on the Procházka vs. Stirling card, and both feature a ranked fighter: #8 Horiguchi against #5 Almabayev, and #9 Amir Albazi against Alessandro Costa. Before that, Mitch Raposo (#12) fights Marcos Degli on 7 November, and Bilal Hasan, who stopped Nilson Rojas in round 2 on 29 August, faces Luis Gurule at UFC 334 on 14 November.
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This article was generated with AI and may contain errors.