UFC weight class power rankings -- Breaking down the biggest UFC divisional storylines - ESPN

With the UFC schedule midway through 2023, there is plenty to discuss and break down in every division.

So far this year, the UFC has seen arguably its most dominant champion, Amanda Nunes, hang up her gloves. It's also seen one of its most dominant champs, Valentina Shevchenko, lose her title in a massive upset.

Israel Adesanya evened the score in a big way against Alex Pereira at middleweight. Kamaru Usman, the sport's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in 2022, has now suffered consecutive losses. Alexander Volkanovski gave Islam Makhachev a run for his money at lightweight. Jon Jones is finally a heavyweight, and a UFC heavyweight champion to boot.

There has been plenty of change in 2023 — including how the divisions fall in the latest ESPN weight class power rankings, with a tie for the No. 1 spot. Here are some burning divisional questions moving forward.

Note: Our panel ranks all 12 weight classes from top to bottom, taking stock of which divisions are performing the best now and which have the best pound-for-pound fighters. ESPN's panel includes Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, Jeff Wagenheim, Megan Anderson, Ian Parker, Reed Kuhn, Andres Waters, Andrew Feldman and Eddie Maisonet.

I've been a big proponent of bantamweight for a long time. It has depth. The fights are always action-packed. There are a ton of contenders, young and old. But it's time to give the division that has been the best in the UFC for a very long time its flowers yet again.

Just in the past several weeks, there have been excellent performances at lightweight by contenders Charles Oliveira, Arman Tsarukyan and Matt Frevola. Islam Makhachev, the UFC lightweight champion, is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Oliveira is one of the