UFC middleweight rankings: Strickland is champion and Chimaev stays number 1

Sean Strickland is the UFC middleweight champion at 31-7-0, and the top of the rankings did not move after UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Duncan on 10 October 2026. Khamzat Chimaev, 15-1-0, is still ranked number 1, ahead of Dricus Du Plessis and Nassourdine Imavov.

UFC middleweight rankings: champion Strickland and the top 15

Strickland is 35 and the only fighter on the list with an official champion tag. Below him, the top three are unchanged: Chimaev at number 1 with an 80 per cent finish rate, Du Plessis at number 2 with 83 per cent and Imavov at number 3. Finish rate here means the share of a fighter's wins that came by KO, TKO or submission.

Rank	Fighter	Record
Champion	Sean Strickland	31-7-0
1	Khamzat Chimaev	15-1-0
2	Dricus Du Plessis	24-3-0
3	Nassourdine Imavov	17-4-0, 1 NC
4	Brendan Allen	28-7-0
5	Joe Pyfer	16-3-0
6	Caio Borralho	18-2-0, 1 NC
7	Gregory Rodrigues	20-6-0
8	Anthony Hernandez	15-4-0, 1 NC
9	Israel Adesanya	24-6-0
10	Ikram Aliskerov	18-2-0
11	Christian Leroy Duncan	15-3-0
12	Bo Nickal	9-1-0
13	Abusupiyan Magomedov	26-7-0
14	Roman Kopylov	16-5-0
15	Edmen Shahbazyan	17-6-0

What moved after Allen vs. Duncan

Only four names shifted. Brendan Allen rose one place to number 4 after submitting Christian Leroy Duncan with a rear naked choke at 2:46 of round 5 on 10 October. Duncan dropped one place to number 11. Ikram Aliskerov moved up one to number 10, and Joe Pyfer slipped one to number 5.

Everyone else held position, including Roman Kopylov at number 14 after his first-round TKO against Ateba Gautier at UFC 332 on 3 October, and Edmen Shahbazyan at number 15 after a unanimous decision against Brunno Ferreira at UFC 331 on 19 September.

The division over the last 12 months

The middleweight division has produced 70 bouts in the last 12 months, and 38 of them ended in a finish. That is a division that gets its fights finished more often than not.

The ranked names have been part of it. Gregory Rodrigues beat Anthony Hernandez by unanimous decision over five rounds on 22 August, a fight between the number 7 and number 8 fighters in today's rankings. Marvin Vettori lost a unanimous decision to Ismail Naurdiev at UFC 332, and Michael Page beat Nursulton Ruziboev by unanimous decision on 5 September.

The ranked group is also a mix of ages. Edmen Shahbazyan, 28, is the youngest of the 15. Israel Adesanya, 37, is the oldest and sits at number 9. Bo Nickal is at number 12 with a 9-1-0 record, the shortest record on the list, and an 89 per cent finish rate, the highest. Pyfer follows at 88 per cent.

What is booked

The next middleweight action starts on 17 October at UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs. Malott, with Marc-André Barriault against Kyle Daukaus and Julien Leblanc against Nick Galanti.

The ranked name to watch is Abusupiyan Magomedov, number 13, who meets Cameron Rowston at UFC 333: Volkanovski vs. Evloev on 24 October. That card also has Jacob Malkoun against Abubakar Vagaev. On 31 October, UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Nolan has Nick Klein against Joseph Kropschot and Andre Petroski against Azamat Bekoev.