12uppercut Boxing + MMA Universal Pound-for-Pound Rankings: The Lioness Sleeps Tonight
By Sam Dunn
Aaaand we're back! In November, 12uppercut sought to break down barriers between the respective fandoms of boxing and MMA to determine who's really the best and baddest across the punch-tastic world of combat sports. Now, we present our first official update of our gender-integrated fighter rankings unified across boxing and mixed martial arts (not just UFC!). Let's start with the best of the best!
1. Amanda Nunes: UFC Women’s Featherweight and Bantamweight Champ
Previous Ranking: 1
The Lioness remains the GOAT. Name one person with any legitimate shot at beating her at 135 pounds (because 145 ain't EVER gonna happen.)
LAST FIGHT: Def. Germaine De Randamie (unanimous decision) on 14 December 2019 at UFC 245
2. Canelo Alvarez: Unified Middleweight, WBA Super Middleweight, and WBO Light Heavyweight Champ
Previous Ranking: 2
Canelo just keeps winning, and he's officially entering the all-time conversation. You don't have to like 2019's surefire boxer of the year, but you do have to respect the crown.
LAST FIGHT: Def. Sergey Kovalev (TKO) on 2 November 2019
3. Vasiliy Lomachenko: Unified Lightweight and WBO Junior Lightweight Champ
Previous Ranking: 4
Here we go! You ain't even ready for Hi-Tech's upcoming lightweight unification fight against bang-bang rising star Teofimo Lopez.
LAST FIGHT: Def. Luke Campbell (unanimous decision) on 31 August 2019
4. Jon Jones: UFC Light Heavyweight Champ
Last Ranking: 5
“Jo(h)n Jones / You son of a gun / You call yourself a big, big man / And still you try to kill my hand / Jo(h)n Jones / You son of a gun”
--Rudy Mills, “John Jones” (1968)
LAST FIGHT: Def. Thiago Santos (split decision) on 6 July 2019 at UFC 239
5. Terence Crawford: WBO Welterweight Champ
It’s all about how you finish the fight. And in boxing, there are few as good at it as Bud. ? #CrawfordMachine | @terencecrawford pic.twitter.com/oVWxtjGVmr
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) December 15, 2019
Last Ranking: 3
Bud is a bad, bad man. He's dangerous. But he doesn't have a career-defining victory to make him a legend, and let's be honest, "Mean Machine" should have been awarded a knockdown against him at MSG that was scored otherwise. That'll drop you two spots on our rankings even in victory.
LAST FIGHT: Def. Egidijus Kavaliauskas (TKO ) on 14 December 2019
6. Naoya Inoue: Unified Bantamweight Champ
Last Ranking: 6
Sometimes, deadly things can come in small packages.
LAST FIGHT: Def. Nonito Donaire (unanimous decision) on 7 November 2019
7. Khabib Nurmagomedov: UFC Lightweight Champ
Last Ranking: 7
Has anyone had a better decade than Khabib? Well, our new decade could start out amazingly for the Bad Man From Degestan, too. April 18 against Tony Ferguson at the Barclays Center can't come soon enough.
LAST FIGHT: Def. Dustin Poirier (submission) on 7 September 2019 at UFC 242
8. Henry Cejudo: UFC Bantamweight and Flyweight Champ
Last Ranking: 8
Triple C wants Jose Aldo now? That's just cruel, man. This really is the darkest timeline.
LAST FIGHT: Def. Marlon Moraes (TKO) on 8 June 2019 at UFC 238
9. Errol Spence Jr.: Unified Welterweight Champ
Last Ranking: 9
We sincerely hope that Errol Spence is able to recover from what appeared to be a truly awful car accident this fall. He's simply one of the best there is.
LAST FIGHT: Def. Shawn Porter (split decision) on 28 September 2019
10. Stipe Miocic: UFC Heavyweight Champ
Last Ranking: 10
Stipe hits hard, man.
LAST FIGHT: Def. Daniel Cormier (TKO) on 17 August 2019 at UFC 241
Tier 2
11) Oleksandr Usyk
12) Daniel Cormier
13) Israel Adesanya
14) Kamaru Usman
15) Demetrious Johnson
16) Tony Ferguson
17) Alexander Volkanovski
18) Katie Taylor
19) Gennadiy Golovkin
20) Max Holloway
Tier 3
21) Mikey Garcia
22) Manny Pacquiao
23) Juan Francisco Estrada
24) Valentina Schevchenko
25) Dustin Poirier
26) Deontay Wilder
27) Tyson Fury
28) Artur Beterbiev
29) Cecilia Braekhus
30) Tyron Woodley
Honorable Mentions
Douglas Lima, Colby Covington, Robert Whittaker, Oscar Valdez, Josh Taylor, Jose Ramirez
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How are these rankings actually determined?
A1: There is no panel of voters and there is no mathematical formula. This ranking fully embraces subjectivity for the sake of debate, and mostly considers overall dominance, longevity, and degree of difficulty (for instance, champs who have moved up or down across weight divisions for tougher tests).
Q2: How is it possible to compare, say, a female MMA fighter to a male boxer?
A2: It isn't possible. Next!
Q3: Who gained and fell the most spots since the last rankings?
A3: The biggest fall is Max Holloway, who went from 12th to 20th, but remained in Tier 2. Biggest gainer is the man who beat him at UFC 245, Alexander Volkanovski, who went from unranked to No. 17.
Q4: Are you saying Amanda Nunes could beat up everyone on this list?
A4: *Sips tea*
Q5: How come [FIGHTER X], who is clearly a bucket of suck, is ranked ahead of [FIGHTER Y], who is far and away the GOAT?