Category: MMA Rankings

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Oct. 13: Cory Sandhagen win makes things clear

Cory Sandhagen’s second-round TKO of Marlon Moraes caused the new bantamweight rankings to fall neatly into place.

Sometimes, putting together the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings is like trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle. Other times, though, the moves are obvious.

Such was the case in the men’s bantamweight division after this past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 37.

Consensus seemed to be that Aljamain Sterling was next in line to fight champion Petr Yan, but there was one remaining question: Whether Marlon Moraes, who had a memorable knockout of Sterling, could sneak into the spot.

But Moraes was finished by [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] in the main event, and everything neatly fell into line.

Sterling is No. 2 in the new edition of the rankings, his top contender spot secure. Sandhagen (13-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who was finished by Sterling when they fought at UFC 250, goes into the No. 3 spot. Moraes drops to No. 4 after losing to Sandhagen.

UFC on ESPN+ 37 had plenty of fights with implications in the rankings, so to see where your favorite — or least favorite — fighter places this week, go to the drop-down menu above and select a division.

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Sept. 1: Aleksander Rakic makes his move

Light heavyweight has become an interesting division in recent months, and Aleksander Rakic is an interesting fighter.

In case there was any doubt heading into UFC on ESPN+ 33, there was none coming out of it: [autotag]Aleksander Rakic[/autotag] is a force to be reckoned with in the light heavyweight division.

Saturday night in Las Vegas, Rakic (13-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) took on one of the most well-respected names at 205 pounds in Anthony Smith (32-16 MMA, 8-4 UFC), and he stated his case as a contender on the rise with a convincing unanimous decision victory.

That’s good enough to put Rakic into the top 10 of a division which has gotten mighty interesting in recent months, as he jumps five spots from No. 14 to No. 9.

That wasn’t the only fight of note UFC on ESPN+ 33, as there were noteworthy results up and down the card. So to see where the evenings winners and losers placed — or to check out where your favorite or least-favorite fighters currently stand, check out the latest USA Today Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, sorted by division in the drop-down menu above.

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Aug. 11: Dariush, Kunitskaya making moves

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA rankings ahead of this week’s big UFC 252 event.

There was plenty of major MMA action this past Friday and Saturday, which meant plenty of potential for climbs up or down the rankings ladder.

Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis (24-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) picked up a big knockout win over Aleksei Oleinik (59-14-1 MMA, 8-5 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN+ 32 main event. And former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman (15-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) got back on track with a win over Omari Akhmedov (20-5-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC). But was there room for either of them to move up in the rankings?

What about UFC winners Yana Kunitskaya (13-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and Beneil Dariush (19-4-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC), as well as Bellator 243 winners Michael Chandler (21-5 MMA, 18-5 BMMA) and Timothy Johnson (14-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA)? Did they find themselves moving up or entering the charts?

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Check out all the movement in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie in the drop-down menus above ahead of another big opportunity for ladder movement Saturday with UFC 252.

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Aug. 4: Did Derek Brunson make a leap?

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA rankings ahead of this week’s UFC on ESPN+ 32 and Bellator 243 events.

[autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] was a sizable underdog in his UFC on ESPN+ 31 main event this past Saturday.

Brunson was at +300 against Edman Shahbazyan, who was a 4-1 favorite and widely expected to continue his unbeaten ascension in the UFC’s middleweight division after a 4-0 start in the UFC with three straight first-round finishes.

But Brunson put Shahbazyan’s rise to an end with a stunning third-round TKO in the headliner. But how far could Brunson climb in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings?

This week, we have the UFC back in Las Vegas again with heavyweights atop the card. And Bellator returns, as well, with a key lightweight matchup between a former promotional champ in Michael Chandler and a former UFC and WEC champ in Benson Henderson. So there could be lots of room for movement next week.

But for now, check out all of our latest rankings in the drop-downs above heading into this weekend’s action.

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, July 21: Deiveson vs. Demetrious

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings coming out of UFC on ESPN 13 and UFC on ESPN+ 30.

Two more UFC events are in the books – and the promotion has a new champion.

[autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] went from contender to champion, finishing [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] in his second straight fight. Unlike the first meeting, however, Figueiredo was able to claim championship gold, having made weight pre-fight.

His UFC on ESPN+ 30 performance was impressive, but was it enough to notch him at No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie’s official rankings over longtime top dog [autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag]?

Check out all the moves to come out of UFC on ESPN 13 and UFC on ESPN+ 30 in the dropdown above.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, July 14: Pound-for-pound movement after UFC 251

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings coming out of UFC 251.

UFC 251 was stacked with big fights, two of which resulted in a shakeup within the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie pound-for-pound rankings for both men and women.

In the main event, welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] was mostly dominant through five rounds, en route to a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag], who took the fight on six days’ notice. Usman entered UFC 251 at No. 8 in the men’s pound-for-pound list but climbs after an impressive showing.

Also on the night, [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] defeated [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] in a hard-fought rematch between the former strawweight champions. As a result, Namajunas climbs up from No. 8 on the women’s pound-for-pound list.

You can check out all the moves to come out of UFC 251 in the dropdowns above.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 30: Dustin Poirier on the up (and up)

Check out the latest moves in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings coming out of UFC on ESPN 12.

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] came away with a thrilling victory in an instant classic at UFC on ESPN 12 and, as a result, is moving up on two lists.

In the “Fight of the Night” that is sure to remain a “Fight of the Year” candidate, Poirer earned a gutsy unanimous decision over [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] in this past Saturday’s main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The victory put Poirier (26-6 MMA, 18-5 UFC) back in the win column after he lost to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov last September.

For his efforts, Poirier, who’s won five of his last six fights, has made some major moves in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings. At lightweight, Poirier moves from No. 4 to No. 2, jumping ahead of current interim champ Justin Gaethje, whom he holds a head-to-head victory over. And on the pound-for-pound list, Poirier goes from honorable mention to No. 10, also ahead of Gaethje and dropping Tony Ferguson down to honorable mention status.

You can check out all the moves to come out of UFC on ESPN 12 in the dropdowns above.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 16: Where to rank Cynthia Calvillo after big win?

Cynthia Calvillo’s win over Jessica Eye was impressive, but was it enough to shake up the rankings?

[autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag] sure did make a statement in the UFC women’s flyweight division on Saturday night.

The Sacramento, Calif. native, who had previously fought in the company’s strawweight class, had her first UFC fight one weight class up, and she made it look easy against a former title challenger.

Calvillo got the best of Jessica Eye, who missed weight for the UFC on ESPN 10 matchup at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and showed off all her skills in earning a unanimous decision in the evening’s main event on June 13. Calvillo got a pair of 49-46’s and a 48-47 from the judges at cageside.

That put Calvillo’s current unbeaten streak at four (3-0-1).  But where does it put her in the new division, the one over which Valentina Shevchenko reigns?

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For now, we’ve placed her at No. 15 at 125 pounds, since, as impressive as it was, it was her first fight going up. But, we’re also taking into account her previous impressive run at 115 (where she’s no longer ranked, as she’s indicated the move is permanent, and we feel Calvillo belongs on the women’s pound-for-pound list, as well.

That’s not all that came out of UFC on ESPN 10. So to see where your favorite, or least favorite, fighters rank this week, check out the rankings, sorted by division in the drop-down menu above.

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 9: Take a look at bantamweight, sans Henry Cejudo

“Triple C” insists his fighting days are done, unless he gets a shot at the UFC featherweight title, and our new rankings reflect the move.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] insists his fighting days are done, and after giving him a little cooling off period, the newest edition of the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA rankings reflect his removal from the bantamweight division.

“Triple C” may return at some point if he’s given an opportunity to compete for the UFC’s featherweight title, but for now, he’s elected to step aside, and with all the action happening at bantamweight, we figured it was time to honor his request. That allows former title challenger [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] to ascend to the No. 1 position, with [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag], who picked up a massive win at this past weekend’s UFC 250, to take the No. 2 slot.

Of course, we know that neither of those men will be fighting for Cejudo’s belt next. Instead, that honor falls to No. 3 [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag], as well as [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag], who sits at No. 5 in the featherweight division, where he long served as a UFC champion.

So check out the new look of the bantamweight division, as well as all weight classes in this week’s latest rankings list.

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 2: Gilbert Burns shoots up charts

Check out the latest movement in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings after UFC on ESPN 9.

When you earn the biggest win of your career, big things tend to follow. And that’s the case with [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag].

Burns put on an impressive performance this past Saturday in the UFC on ESPN 9 headliner as he dominated former welterweight champion [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] for five rounds to earn a unanimous decision. The victory made it six in a row for Burns (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC), while Woodley (19-5-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) dropped his second consecutive fight for the first losing streak of his career.

As expected, both men went in opposite directions in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings. Burns, who entered the fight No. 12, climbed all the way to No. 5 with the victory. As for Woodley, he dropped out of the top 5 for the first time in five years, to No. 6, after his second straight lackluster performance in defeat.

Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal and Bellator champion Douglas Lima all benefited from the shakeup near the top.

There was more movement coming out of UFC on ESPN 9 and surely more to come with UFC 250 on Saturday. You can take a look at the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings across all divisions in the dropdowns above.