Stock Up, Stock Down: B/R UFC Rankings After UFC 272

UFC 272 went down Saturday night in Las Vegas, which means it's time for an update to B/R's pound-for-pound UFC rankings.

The pay-per-view was one of a few in UFC history without a championship fight on the bill. Instead, it was topped by a high-stakes welterweight grudge match between former training partners Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.

Covington won the fight by unanimous decision, controlling nearly every moment with his suffocating wrestling and high-volume striking. The win didn't tell us anything new about him, but it cemented his status as one of the sport's top male fighters—and one that should at least be considered for a spot on any pound-for-pound list.

Beyond Covington, the only fighters worthy of pound-for-pound consideration on the UFC 272 bill were top-five strawweight contenders Marina Rodriguez and Yan Xiaonan, who were inexplicably relegated to the undercard. Rodriguez won their fight by split decision. It was a debatable one, but it reaffirmed that she is not only one of the best fighters in her weight class, but in all of women's MMA.

Keep reading to see how our rankings look in the wake of Covington and Rodriguez's victories.

Men: Nos. 10-6

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10. Deiveson Figueiredo

9. Petr Yan

8. Dustin Poirier

7. Charles Oliveira

6. Stipe Miocic

Colby Covington was already worthy of pound-for-pound consideration before UFC 272. His win over Jorge Masvidal—which was pretty predictable—didn't do much to strengthen his case.

It's tempting to add Covington to the back end of our pound-for-pound rankings, but we decided against it for now because his main argument is that he has two competitive losses to our No. 1-ranked fighter, Kamaru Usman. Those performances gave the impression that Covington is a top fighter, but he hasn't done much else to prove it. His only wins since 2019 have been over Robbie Lawler, Tyron Woodley and Masvidal, all of whom were fringe contenders at best when he met them.

Until he picks up a few more high-value wins, he'll remain on the outside looking in.

Men: Nos. 5-1

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5. Francis Ngannou

4. Max Holloway

3. Alexander Volkanovski

2. Israel Adesanya

1. Kamaru Usman

Our men's pound-for-pound rankings have not changed after UFC 272, but they could undergo a facelift soon as our No. 3-ranked fighter, featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, is set to defend his title against "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung at UFC 273 on April 9.

Our No. 1 fighter, welterweight king Kamaru Usman, is also expected to defend his title against streaking Brit Leon Edwards this summer, so the propensity for significant change is ongoing.

Women: Nos. 10-6

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10. Marina Rodriguez

9. Carla Esparza

8. Holly Holm

7. Germaine de Randamie

6. Jessica Andrade

Welcome to B/R's pound-for-pound rankings, Marina Rodriguez.

The Brazilian striker is now our No. 10-ranked female fighter. That's partly because of her competitive decision victory over the underrated Yan Xiaonan at UFC 272 and partly because of forces outside her control.

We have also removed Katlyn Chookagian from our women's pound-for-pound rankings. Formerly ranked No. 8, she's been a free agent since she beat Jennifer Maia in January. We intended to keep her on this list until we knew for sure whether she was staying with the UFC, but it's been almost two months with no news, so we're going to assume she'll be taking her services elsewhere.

Rodriguez might have jumped onto our pound-for-pound rankings either way after beating Yan, but Chookagian's exit guaranteed it.

Women: Nos. 5-1

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5. Zhang Weili

4. Julianna Pena

3. Amanda Nunes

2. Rose Namajunas

1. Valentina Shevchenko

The top five of our women's pound-for-pound rankings is also unchanged, but there could be some big shake-ups on the horizon. Former bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and current champion Julianna Pena are slated to coach the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter and will meet in the Octagon sometime thereafter. That fight could have huge implications for the top half of our women's rankings.

UFC President Dana White also revealed after UFC 272 that the promotion is eyeing a rematch between former strawweight champions Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Zhang, as you can see, is our No. 5-ranked fighter. Jedrzejczyk, meanwhile, was previously ranked inside our top five, but was unfortunately 86ed because of inactivity. A win for either of those women could also cause some changes.