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Oct 12

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The list · boxing & MMA · updated as the game moves

The 50.

The best fighters alive, one pound-for-pound board across boxing and the cage — ranked by style, skill and completeness, not by belts or hype. Built for argument. Argue with us.

The short answer

Right now our board says: Terence Crawford is the best fighter in the world, with Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue completing the podium — and Islam Makhachev leading the MMA side at №4 overall.

01🇺🇸 Terence CrawfordBoxingThe complete fighter — switch-hitting, adapting, no exploitable hole. →
02🇺🇦 Oleksandr UsykBoxingRing-craft and an engine that makes giants look slow. →
03🇯🇵 Naoya InoueBoxingThe Monster — terrifying precision power at impossible speed. →
04🇷🇺 Islam MakhachevMMAThe Dagestan system perfected — pressure, control, no wasted motion.
05🇪🇸 Ilia TopuriaMMABoxing-sharp hands inside a complete MMA game.
06🇷🇺 Dmitry BivolBoxingDefensive mastery and surgical timing — hit and don't get hit. →
07🇨🇦 Artur BeterbievBoxingRelentless educated pressure with fight-ending power in both hands. →
08🇲🇽 Canelo ÁlvarezBoxingCounter-punching craft and body work — the face of the sport. →
09🇺🇸 Jon JonesMMAThe most creative fight IQ the cage has ever seen.
10🇧🇷 Alex PereiraMMADistance control and the most feared left hook in combat sports.
11🇺🇸 Gervonta DavisBoxingPatient explosiveness — one-shot power in a compact frame. →
12🇺🇸 Jesse RodríguezBoxingSlick two-fisted southpaw speed — the little men's superstar. →
13🇬🇪 Merab DvalishviliMMAA cardio machine that drowns elite athletes in pace.
14🇯🇵 Junto NakataniBoxingTall southpaw with shocking power for the weight. →
15🇺🇸 Shakur StevensonBoxingUntouchable defense — the purest boxing skill of his generation. →
16🇬🇧 Tom AspinallMMAHeavyweight speed that shouldn't exist at that size.
17🇺🇸 David BenavidezBoxingThe Monster's volume — pressure that never stops coming. →
18🇺🇸 Jaron EnnisBoxingSwitch-hitting athleticism with finishing instinct. →
19🇧🇷 Alexandre PantojaMMARelentless flyweight pace with a killer's grappling. →
20🇰🇿 Shavkat RakhmonovMMAA finisher everywhere the fight goes — nobody survives.
21🇺🇸 Devin HaneyBoxingThe controlling jab and slick movement of a pure boxer. →
22🇦🇺 Alexander VolkanovskiMMAFight IQ and adjustments — a master class every round.
23🇺🇦 Vasiliy LomachenkoBoxingThe matrix — footwork as a weapon, angles nobody else sees. →
24🇺🇸 Teofimo LopezBoxingExplosive counter timing with showman's flair.
25🇿🇦 Dricus du PlessisMMAAwkward, relentless, unbreakable — chaos that wins.
26🇺🇸 Sebastian FundoraBoxingImpossible height and reach used like a weapon. →
27🇦🇪 Khamzat ChimaevMMASmothering wrestle-first violence from the first second.
28🇦🇺 Jai OpetaiaBoxingSouthpaw counters with a finisher's cold instinct. →
29🇲🇽 Rafael EspinozaBoxingAn awkward giant of the featherweights with surprising snap. →
30🇦🇲 Arman TsarukyanMMAElite wrestling chained to ever-improving hands.
31🇯🇵 Kenshiro TerajiBoxingExplosive output at the sport's fastest weight. →
32🇩🇪 Agit KabayelBoxingThe body-punching heavyweight nobody wants in front of them. →
33🇺🇸 Belal MuhammadMMARemember-my-name grit — pace, pressure and durability.
34🇬🇧 Daniel DuboisBoxingConcussive heavyweight power looking to end nights early. →
35🇺🇸 Max HollowayMMAVolume, chin and the best boxing in the cage.
36🇺🇸 Brian Norman Jr.BoxingFast, fearless and improving every camp. →
37🇦🇺 Jack Della MaddalenaMMACrisp boxing combinations translated perfectly to MMA.
38🇺🇸 Keyshawn DavisBoxingAthletic, confident, offense-first — the next wave at 135. →
39🇷🇺 Magomed AnkalaevMMAPatient, technical destruction at light heavyweight.
40🇬🇧 Moses ItaumaBoxingThe teenage heavyweight moving like a middleweight. →
41🇷🇺 Movsar EvloevMMAUndefeated pressure-grappling that never gives an inch.
42🇵🇷 Subriel MatíasBoxingNever-stop body punishment — volume as violence. →
43🇺🇸 Sean O'MalleyMMARange, creativity and sniper timing.
44🇰🇿 Janibek AlimkhanulyBoxingKazakh southpaw precision with real finishing power. →
45🇧🇷 Charles OliveiraMMAThe most dangerous submission game ever chained to knockout hands.
46🇲🇽 Gilberto RamírezBoxingTall Mexican pressure with a relentless body attack. →
47🇬🇧 Leon EdwardsMMAComposed, technical striking with headline-making timing.
48🇨🇺 Erislandy LaraBoxingThe Cuban school ageing like wine — untouchable craft. →
49🇬🇧 Fabio WardleyBoxingRaw heavyweight power with a brawler's heart. →
50🇺🇸 Joshua VanMMAThe flyweight future — output, speed and fearlessness. →

How we rank

Completeness beats highlights.

We weigh skill under pressure, adaptability, and how few exploitable holes a fighter shows — the same six dimensions the Fighter Check measures in you. Belts follow completeness; they don't define it.

Where would YOU rank? Run the free checkTrain the styles on this listEvery division, mapped

The arguments

Who is the best fighter in the world right now?+

By our editorial pound-for-pound criteria — completeness, skill under pressure and adaptability across styles — Terence Crawford leads the list, with Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue completing the podium. In MMA, Islam Makhachev tops our cross-sport board.

How is this list ranked?+

Editorially, by style and completeness — not by belts or single results. We weigh skill, adaptability, dominance within a division and how few exploitable holes a fighter shows. It's an opinion built for argument, updated as the landscape shifts.

Why mix boxing and MMA/UFC in one list?+

Because fans of fighting don't live in one silo. Pound-for-pound is a thought experiment about skill, and putting Crawford next to Makhachev makes both bodies of work sharper. Purists can filter each sport in their head — the arguments are the point.

Who are the best UFC fighters right now?+

From our list: Islam Makhachev, Ilia Topuria, Jon Jones, Alex Pereira and Merab Dvalishvili lead the MMA side, with Tom Aspinall, Shavkat Rakhmonov and Alexandre Pantoja right behind.

An editorial opinion, ranked by style and completeness — no records or results are stated, and the board moves as the sport does. Names belong to their owners.