UFC 310: Pantoja Dominates Asakura, But Can't Break Through Pound-for-Pound Rankings

Alexandre Pantoja did not have much trouble getting past Kai Asakura in their men's flyweight title fight at Saturday's UFC 310. But Pantoja is having difficulty getting past four other fighters.

The weekend began with Pantoja at No. 5 in the ESPN men's pound-for-pound MMA rankings, behind Islam Makhachev, Alex Pereira, Jon Jones and Ilia Topuria. The weekend ended the same way, as even a dominant performance and second-round submission in Pantoja's third title defense was not enough to push him past any of those four.

However, Pantoja solidified his position in the top five and was bumped up in the rankings of some on the ESPN voting panel, just not enough to elevate his overall status.

That was the only fight Saturday that impacted these rankings, but its result was not the only championship-related news to come out of the evening, as two ranked champs had fights announced for UFC 312 on Feb. 8. Zhang Weili, the No. 1 fighter in the women's top 10, will defend her strawweight title against undefeated Tatiana Suarez, and No. 10-ranked Dricus Du Plessis will put his middleweight belt on the line against former champion Sean Strickland.

For the ESPN divisional MMA rankings, click here.

Note: Results are current; rankings as of Dec. 10. To be eligible for the rankings, a fighter must have competed over the past 12 months or must have an upcoming fight booked. Fighters who have been dropped for inactivity can be reinstated only after they compete.

Men's pound-for-pound rankings

1. Islam Makhachev (UFC lightweight champion)
2. Alex Pereira (UFC light heavyweight champion)
3. Jon Jones (UFC heavyweight champion)
4. Ilia Topuria (UFC featherweight champion)
5. Alexandre Pantoja (UFC flyweight champion)
6. Tom Aspinall (UFC heavyweight interim champion)
7. Francis Ngannou (PFL heavyweight Super Fights champion)
8. Merab Dvalishvili (UFC bantamweight champion)
9. Belal Muhammad (UFC welterweight champion)
10. Dricus Du Plessis (UFC middleweight champion)

Women's pound-for-pound rankings

1. Zhang Weili (UFC strawweight champion)
2. Valentina Shevchenko (UFC flyweight champion)
3. Cris Cyborg (Bellator featherweight and PFL Super Fights champion)
4. Alexa Grasso (UFC flyweight)
5. Kayla Harrison (UFC bantamweight)
6. Manon Fiorot (UFC flyweight)
7. Larissa Pacheco (PFL featherweight champion)
8. Julianna Peña (UFC bantamweight champion)
9. Erin Blanchfield (UFC flyweight)
10. Yan Xiaonan (UFC strawweight)

How our panel voted

Brett Okamoto: 1. Ilia Topuria; 2. Islam Makhachev; 3. Alex Pereira; 4. Tom Aspinall; 5. Jon Jones; 6. Alexandre Pantoja; 7. Belal Muhammad; 8. Merab Dvalishvili; 9. Alexander Volkanovski; 10. Dricus Du Plessis

Andreas Hale: 1. Makhachev; 2. Jones; 3. Pereira; 4. Topuria; 5. Aspinall; 6. Dvalishvili; 7. Muhammad; 8. Francis Ngannou; 9. Pantoja; 10. Volkanovski

Megan Anderson: 1. Jones; 2. Makhachev; 3. Pereira; 4. Ngannou; 5. Topuria; 6. Pantoja; 7. Volkanovski; 8. Du Plessis; 9. Aspinall; 10. Muhammad

Carlos Contreras Legaspi: 1. Makhachev; 2. Jones; 3. Pereira; 4. Topuria; 5. Pantoja; 6. Du Plessis; 7. Dvalishvili; 8. Ngannou; 9. Muhammad; 10. Aspinall

Ian Parker: 1. Jones; 2. Pereira; 3. Makhachev; 4. Topuria; 5. Dvalishvili; 6. Du Plessis; 7. Pantoja; 8. Muhammad; 9. Aspinall; 10. Khamzat Chimaev

Eddie Maisonet III: 1. Makhachev; 2. Jones; 3. Pereira; 4. Pantoja; 5. Topuria; 6. Ngannou; 7. Volkanovski; 8. Muhammad; 9. Leon Edwards; 10. Max Holloway

Jeff Wagenheim: 1. Pereira; 2. Makhachev; 3. Topuria; 4. Ngannou; 5. Aspinall; 6. Jones; 7. Pantoja; 8. Dvalishvili; 9. Volkanovski; 10. Chimaev