Top performers, rising stars, and trending fighters
Quick Jump
A historical look at how competitive each UFC division was in a given year, based on the top fighters active at that time.
| Rank | Division | Year | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Middleweight (M) | 2017 | Georges St-Pierre | 1351 | 1303 | |
| #2 | Welterweight (M) | 2025 | Islam Makhachev | 1349 | 1327 | |
| #3 | Welterweight (M) | 2022 | Leon Edwards | 1346 | 1268 |
| # | Year | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 2026 | Welterweight (M) | Islam Makhachev | 1335 | 1276 | |
| #2 | 2025 | Welterweight (M) | Islam Makhachev | 1349 | 1327 | |
| #3 | 2024 | Featherweight (M) | Ilia Topuria | 1334 | 1270 |
| Rank | Division | Years in Top 3 | Years at #1 | Avg Rank | Years Tracked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | 21 | 13 | 1 | 21 |
| #2 | Lightweight (M) | 15 | 2 | 3 | 20 |
| #3 | Middleweight (M) | 11 | 2 | 3 | 21 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Islam Makhachev | 1335 | 1276 | |
| #2 | Lightweight (M) | Justin Gaethje | 1330 | 1304 | |
| #3 | Middleweight (M) | Sean Strickland | 1326 | 1367 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Islam Makhachev | 1349 | 1327 | |
| #2 | Lightweight (M) | Ilia Topuria | 1335 | 1306 | |
| #3 | Middleweight (M) | Khamzat Chimaev | 1332 | 1334 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Featherweight (M) | Ilia Topuria | 1334 | 1270 | |
| #2 | Welterweight (M) | Belal Muhammad | 1333 | 1240 | |
| #3 | Middleweight (M) | Dricus Du Plessis | 1321 | 1278 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Lightweight (M) | Islam Makhachev | 1336 | 1262 | |
| #2 | Welterweight (M) | Leon Edwards | 1315 | 1269 | |
| #3 | Bantamweight (M) | Sean O'Malley | 1286 | 1292 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Leon Edwards | 1346 | 1268 | |
| #2 | Lightweight (M) | Islam Makhachev | 1292 | 1259 | |
| #3 | Middleweight (M) | Alex Pereira | 1278 | 1207 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Kamaru Usman | 1316 | 1302 | |
| #2 | Heavyweight (M) | Francis Ngannou | 1296 | 1292 | |
| #3 | Lightweight (M) | Charles Oliveira | 1286 | 1306 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Kamaru Usman | 1325 | 1337 | |
| #2 | Heavyweight (M) | Stipe Miocic | 1313 | 1272 | |
| #3 | Lightweight (M) | Conor McGregor | 1303 | 1379 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Kamaru Usman | 1313 | 1354 | |
| #2 | Lightweight (M) | Khabib Nurmagomedov | 1295 | 1262 | |
| #3 | Heavyweight (M) | Stipe Miocic | 1283 | 1223 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Middleweight (M) | Georges St-Pierre | 1298 | 1376 | |
| #2 | Welterweight (M) | Tyron Woodley | 1297 | 1328 | |
| #3 | Lightweight (M) | Khabib Nurmagomedov | 1269 | 1208 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Middleweight (M) | Georges St-Pierre | 1351 | 1303 | |
| #2 | Welterweight (M) | Tyron Woodley | 1301 | 1349 | |
| #3 | Lightweight (M) | Conor McGregor | 1273 | 1261 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Tyron Woodley | 1294 | 1281 | |
| #2 | Middleweight (M) | Michael Bisping | 1289 | 1285 | |
| #3 | Light Heavyweight (M) | Daniel Cormier | 1262 | 1248 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Robbie Lawler | 1280 | 1266 | |
| #2 | Middleweight (M) | Luke Rockhold | 1264 | 1234 | |
| #3 | Lightweight (M) | Rafael Dos Anjos | 1228 | 1225 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Lightweight (M) | Anthony Pettis | 1250 | 1264 | |
| #2 | Middleweight (M) | Chris Weidman | 1248 | 1242 | |
| #3 | Welterweight (M) | Robbie Lawler | 1243 | 1206 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Light Heavyweight (M) | Jon Jones | 1247 | 1273 | |
| #2 | Welterweight (M) | Georges St-Pierre | 1234 | 1226 | |
| #3 | Lightweight (M) | Anthony Pettis | 1222 | 1196 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Georges St-Pierre | 1239 | 1208 | |
| #2 | Light Heavyweight (M) | Jon Jones | 1226 | 1192 | |
| #3 | Lightweight (M) | Benson Henderson | 1211 | 1192 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Light Heavyweight (M) | Jon Jones | 1248 | 1201 | |
| #2 | Welterweight (M) | Georges St-Pierre | 1243 | 1255 | |
| #3 | Middleweight (M) | Anderson Silva | 1213 | 1209 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Georges St-Pierre | 1250 | 1189 | |
| #2 | Light Heavyweight (M) | Mauricio Rua | 1218 | 1290 | |
| #3 | Lightweight (M) | Frankie Edgar | 1204 | 1204 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Light Heavyweight (M) | Lyoto Machida | 1218 | 1251 | |
| #2 | Welterweight (M) | Georges St-Pierre | 1208 | 1358 | |
| #3 | Lightweight (M) | BJ Penn | 1187 | 1198 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Georges St-Pierre | 1215 | 1223 | |
| #2 | Light Heavyweight (M) | Rashad Evans | 1178 | 1328 | |
| #3 | Heavyweight (M) | Brock Lesnar | 1174 | 1237 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Matt Serra | 1207 | 1169 | |
| #2 | Light Heavyweight (M) | Quinton Jackson | 1189 | 1373 | |
| #3 | Heavyweight (M) | Randy Couture | 1132 | 1140 |
| Rank | Division | Champion | Avg C-ELO | Median C-ELO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Welterweight (M) | Georges St-Pierre | 1172 | 1118 | |
| #2 | Light Heavyweight (M) | Chuck Liddell | 1161 | 1122 | |
| #3 | Middleweight (M) | Anderson Silva | 1144 | 1103 |