Shavkat Rakhmonov moves ahead of Ian Machado Garry in bizarre first UFC rankings update of 2026

Five divisions have been updated in the first rankings shake up to take place this year.

There is so much to look forward to in 2026, with some of the UFC’s top stars recently naming the matchup that they most want to see take place over the next 12 months.

The leading MMA promotion is set to return from their six-week break on January 24 to kick off their event schedule.

Several firsts have already taken place this year, including the first fighter to complete a drug test.

Now, 2026 has had its first update to the UFC rankings and some of the results are sure to leave some fans scratching their heads.

Pound-for-pound list and welterweight go through strange changes in UFC rankings update

Dana White has been very critical about the UFC rankings and wanting to replace them with a new system on plenty of occasions.

As stated on the promotion’s website, the rankings are generated by a voting panel made up of media members, with a full list of the panel available via UFC.com.

Shavkat Rakhmonov has recently exchanged comments with Ian Machado Garry having not fought since he handed the Irishman his first loss at UFC 310 in 2024.

Despite Islam Makhachev ruling Rakhmonov out of title contention due to his long period of inactivity, ‘Nomad’ has now swapped places with Machado Garry in the latest rankings update to claim the #2 spot.

Manel Kape’s victory over Brandon Royval in the final fight of 2025 has seen him climb spots at flyweight to target the new champion now that he’s the #2-ranked contender.

The man he’s pursuing, Joshua Van (#12), who won the belt at UFC 323 due to Alexandre Pantoja’s shocking injury, has somehow dropped one position in the pound-for-pound rankings in place of Dricus du Plessis (#11).

Another former champion who is coming off of a loss has also gained one spot, with Merab Dvalishvili (#7) exchanging positions with Tom Aspinall (#8).