Khamzat Chimaev makes big jump in UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings after UFC 319

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has made a big leap up in the pound-for-pound rankings after UFC 319.

Last Saturday night, Khamzat Chimaev finally reached the top of the mountain in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He defeated Dricus du Plessis in dominant fashion to become UFC middleweight champion, and in doing so, he achieved a goal that many always expected him to achieve ever since he first debuted in the promotion.

RELATED: Khamzat Chimaev compared to Georges St-Pierre amid dominant, yet ‘boring’ UFC 319 win

Now, of course, many are already wondering what kind of reign he’s going to have with the gold. Chimaev is a great fighter and we all know that to be true, but he isn’t particularly consistent when it comes to how often he competes. Despite that, his body of work thus far is pretty impressive.

In addition to all of that, Chimaev has also made his way up through the men’s pound-for-pound rankings, causing a bit of controversy in the process.

🚨 The UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings have been updated following #UFC319

Khamzat Chimaev moves up ten spots to #4, Dricus du Plessis moves down seven spots to #1, and Shavkat Rakhmonov replaces Charles Oliveira at #15 pic.twitter.com/PLP6kMXd94

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 19, 2025

Chimaev rockets up into top 5 of UFC P4P rankings

1. Ilia Topuria
2. Islam Makhachev
3. Merab Dvalishvili
4. Khamzat Chimaev (+10)
5. Alexandre Pantoja (-1)
6. Alexander Volkanovski
7. Magomed Ankalaev
8. Jack Della Maddalena
9. Tom Aspinall
10. Alex Pereira
11. Dricus du Plessis
12. Max Holloway
13. Belal Muhammad
14. Arman Tsarukyan
15. Shavkat Rakhmonov (NR)

Many believe that Pantoja shouldn’t have wound up dropping below Khamzat, but such is the nature of the opinion-based rankings.

Where would you put Khamzat Chimaev in your men’s pound-for-pound rankings? Does he have a shot at claiming the number one spot in the future? Let us know your thoughts on this and his career as a whole, BJPENN Nation!