MMA pound-for-pound rankings — Valentina Shevchenko takes over from Amanda Nunes as No. 1

Valentina Shevchenko has not fought since September, but the UFC women’s flyweight champion nonetheless has moved to the No. 1 spot in the latest ESPN pound-for-pound rankings.

That’s because the previous No. 1, Amanda Nunes, was upset at UFC 269, dropping her bantamweight championship. Nunes still is the featherweight champ, and she did not fall very far in the top 10.

The fighter who dethroned Nunes on Dec. 11, Julianna Peña, makes her debut in the new women’s rankings.

A UFC 269 performance also played a role in changing the men’s top 10, where Charles Oliveira moved up on the strength of his first lightweight title defense, a submission of Dustin Poirier.

Making his rankings debut is Glover Teixeira, who at age 42 won the UFC light heavyweight belt in October.

Departing the rankings were Poirier and Germaine de Randamie, the latter for inactivity. De Randamie has not competed — or even been booked for a fight — in over a year. Coincidentally, her most recent bout, in October 2020, was a submission victory over Peña.

Note: Results are current; rankings as of Dec. 15.

Men’s pound-for-pound rankings

1. Kamaru Usman  

UFC welterweight champion
Record: 20-1
Last: W (UD) Colby Covington, Nov. 6, 2021
Next: TBD

2. Israel Adesanya  

UFC middleweight champion
Record: 21-1
Last: W (UD) Marvin Vettori, June 12, 2021
Next: Feb. 12 vs. Robert Whittaker

3. Alexander Volkanovski  

UFC featherweight champion
Record: 23-1
Last: W (UD) Brian Ortega, Sept. 25, 2021
Next: TBD

T-4. Francis Ngannou  

UFC heavyweight champion
Record: 16-3
Last: W (KO2) Stipe Miocic, March 27, 2021
Next: Jan. 22 vs. Ciryl Gane

T-4. Charles Oliveira  

UFC lightweight champion
Previous ranking: 6
Record: 32-8, 1 NC
Last: W (Sub3) Dustin Poirier, Dec. 11, 2021
Next: TBD

6. Petr Yan  

UFC bantamweight interim champion
Previous ranking: 7
Record: 16-2
Last: W (UD) Cory Sandhagen,…