B/R UFC and Boxing Power Rankings for January 2026
The combat sports don't need to be so, well, combative, do they?
We at B/R HQ don't believe it needs to be that way, so we are kicking off 2026 with a set of updated Power Rankings reflecting the blended pound-for-pound family of fighters atop their respective mountains in boxing and the UFC.
Championship status, past successes and recent achievements were taken into account as we put things together, and each fighter was identified by primary weight class and major championships held.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.
10. Devin Haney
1 of 10
Weight Class: 147 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBO
Few boxers had a more transformative 2025 than Haney, who shook off a beatdown by Ryan Garcia (later overturned to a no-contest) in 2024 and not only won both his fights but also picked up a title belt in a third weight class.
And if a discussed match with fellow welterweight claimant Rolly Romero gets made, it's hard to imagine Haney wouldn't enter it as a comfortable favorite.
9. David Benavidez
2 of 10
Weight Class: 175 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBC
If the measuring stick for elite status these days involves chasing greatness, then Benavidez more than warrants a spot at the combined pound-for-pound table.
Still just 29 years old, the unbeaten "Mexican Monster" already had two title reigns at 168 pounds before stepping up and grabbing a slice of the 175-pound pie and defending it once in 2025.
For his next trick, he's already announced a plan to challenge for a belt at 200 pounds on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
8. Valentina Shevchenko
3 of 10
Weight Class: 125 pounds
Major Titles Held: UFC
No one can argue she belongs among the super elites. In fact, the most legitimate discussion to be had here about Shevchenko is whether she ought to be higher.
The skilled 37-year-old added two more lines to her all-time resume in 2025 with title defenses over streaking contender Manon Fiorot and rising strawweight champ Zhang Weili.
All that after she'd lost the belt by upset in 2023 and had to complete a trilogy with Alexa Grasso in 2024 (loss, draw, win) to get it back.
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7. Jesse Rodriguez
4 of 10
Weight Class: 115 pounds
Major Titles Held: WBA/WBC/WBO
If there's a combat fighter aged 25 or younger who's more interesting, accomplished and surging these days than the Texas-born fighter known as "Bam," we haven't seen him.
The frenetic southpaw has already been a boxing champion in two weight classes and he seems to be inching closer each day to a super fight for which we've been banging the drums for awhile now—against 122-pound king Naoya Inoue.
6. Petr Yan
5 of 10
Weight Class: 135 pounds
Major Titles Held: UFC
Just when you thought it was safe to shovel dirt on Yan's title-level future, the 32-year-old got back on top with the best performance of his career in a five-round dismantling of top-tier pound-for-pounder Merab Dvalishvili in December.
The win started the Russian's second reign atop the UFC bantamweight division and positions him for a Dvalishvili trilogy, a Sean O'Malley rematch or a challenge from once-beaten No. 2 contender Umar Nurmagomedov.
5. Alex Pereira
6 of 10
Weight Class: 205 pounds
Major Titles Held: UFC
There aren't as many stars in the UFC sky these days as there used to be, but the popular Brazilian known as "Poatan" is certainly one of them.
A surprise loss to Magomed Ankalaev was an unsightly bump in the road last March, but Pereira greeted the rematch with renewed intensity and ended his rival's reign after just 80 seconds in October.
He's got a series of intriguing foes at light heavyweight alongside a long-discussed climb to heavyweight to chase Jon Jones.
4. Ilia Topuria
7 of 10
Weight Class: 155 pounds
Major Titles Held: UFC
When it comes to three-fight championship runs, it's hard to find one that rivals Topuria's rise to the top of the featherweight ranks with finishes of Alex Volkanovski and Max Holloway, followed by a KO of lightweight champ Charles Oliveira.
In fact, the only thing that's got him as low as No. 4 on the list is the fact that the most recent win came in June. He's voluntarily stepped away from the cage to handle personal issues in the meantime, but he'll have plenty of interesting fights to make upon his return.
3. Oleksandr Usyk
8 of 10
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Major Titles Held: IBF/WBA/WBC
Just when you thought it was time to bid farewell to Usyk and begin debating where he belongs on all-time lists, he changed course and suggested he'll stick around for a couple more years.
Former champ Deontay Wilder seems likely to be next in line for his own bid at a middle-aged heavyweight revival, but we'll keep hoping Usyk eventually decides to throw a title-shot bone to 21-year-old powerhouse Moses Itauma.
2. Naoya Inoue
9 of 10
Weight Class: 122 pounds
Major Titles Held: IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO
The only current four-belt champion in boxing, Inoue has more than lived up to the "Monster" tag first applied to him in 2014 when he won a title at 108 pounds in just his sixth professional fight.
He's since claimed thrones at 115, 118 and 122 pounds, pushed his record to 32-0, and in 2025 became the first fighter recognized by The Ring to make four title defenses in a single year since Larry Holmes in 1983.
1. Islam Makhachev
10 of 10
Weight Class: 170 pounds
Major Titles Held: UFC
It was a tight call for the top spot, but it goes to Makhachev thanks to a comprehensive defeat of Jack Della Maddalena in November that gave him a second UFC championship belt, this time in the welterweight division.
The win was his 16th straight in the Octagon, tying him for the promotion's all-time record with Hall of Famer Anderson Silva and tilling the ground for a possible belt-vs.-belt showdown with lightweight successor Topuria.
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