Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

If you don’t know about Rajabali Shaidullaev by now, it’s time to get acquainted.

The 25-year-old Kygryz standout added to his list of victims at Rizin “Shiwasu no Cho Tsuwamono Matsuri,” as he overwhelmed Japanese fan favorite Mikuru Asakura en route to a first-round technical knockout victory at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on Dec. 31. The reigning Rizin featherweight champion is 6-0 under the Rizin banner and has finished all of his opponents inside of two rounds. That’s par for the course for Shaidullaev, whose 16-0 career mark includes six KO/TKO victories and 10 submissions. Shaidullaev looks to be one of the best 145-pound talents in the world, regardless of organization, and his sustained excellence results in a Top 10 debut in Sherdog.com’s latest divisional rankings.

Elsewhere, Seika Izawa remains the gold standard at atomweight. The 28-year-old Rizin champion retained her super atomweight belt by surviving some early adversity before rallying to submit ninth-ranked Rena Kubota in the second round of their title bout on New Year’s Eve. Izawa went 3-0 in 2025 to improve her career record to 18-0. Unless some cross promotional bookings are in store for 2026, Izawa seems to be running out of worthwhile challenges in her weight class.

There are also some significant housekeeping matters to attend to within our women’s rankings. Due to a consistent lack of depth and activity at both featherweight and atomweight, we are removing our bubble lists — aka “other contenders” — from those rankings. Moving forward, those two divisions will only feature Top 10 rankings unless something changes regarding the number of athletes actively competing in those weight classes in the months to come. This month at featherweight alone, former Bellator title challengers Arlene Blencowe and Sinead Kavanagh bid farewell to the poll due to inactivity. That clears the way for Zurina Turrey and Riley Martinez to enter the Top 10.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

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