UFC fighter rankings: Cody Garbrandt cracks top 5 of P4P list

UFC 207 caused some major shakeups in the rankings of many divisions.

The last event of 2016 sent a major ripple through the official UFC rankings. With one new champion, two former champions getting defeated, and some other goings on, only one division remained untouched in the aftermath. The mythical pound-for-pound division saw some upheaval as well, with Cody Garbrandt jumping straight into the top five after his win over Dominick Cruz.

Here’s how it all went down.

P4P – Cruz’s title loss dropped him a big five spots from three to eight. This allowed Jose Aldo to move to three and Daniel Cormier to move to four. Garbrandt enters the list at five, as mentioned. Tyron Woodley and Michael Bisping both drop a spot, to nine and ten respectively. Max Holloway drops two spots to 12. Luke Rockhold re-enters the list at 15.

Heavyweight – Josh Barnett’s USADA issues led to his removal from the list. He had been in the six spot, so nearly everyone below him moved up a spot. Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski, Derrick Lewis, Travis Browne, and Stefan Struve are now ranked six to ten. Alexander Volkov is up one to 12, Daniel Omielanczuk is up one to 13, and Tim Johnson is up one to 14. Luis Henrique enters the list at 15.

Light Heavyweight – Gian Villante and Patrick Cummins flip-flopped the 13 and 14 spots.

Middleweight – Vitor Belfort drops from a tie for eighth to have nine on his own. Tim Kennedy moved back up a spot to 11, bumping Kyzysztof Jotko to 12. Tim Boetsch is up one to 14, dropping Thales Leites to 15.

Welterweight – Johny Hendricks’ loss (and the fact that he couldn’t make weight again) dropped the former champ five spots to 11. Free agent Lorenz Larkin is up one to six, with controversial UFC 207 winner Dong Hyun Kim up two to seven. Despite his win, Neil Magny stayed put at eight. Rick Story and Gunnar Nelson are up one to nine and ten respectively. Tarec Saffiedience’s close loss to Kim dropped him one spot to 13, allowing Jorge Masvidal to take the 12 spot. Finally, Matt Brown is up one to 14, dropping Jake Ellenberger to 15.

Lightweight – No changes.

Featherweight – Dennis Bermudez was tied with Charlies Oliveira for seven, but he drops to take eight on his own. Darren Elkins, who will fight Mirsad Bektic next, coincidentally passed him for the 12 spot.

Bantamweight – Garbrandt moves up from the middle of the pack to the champ. Cruz is now the number one contender, with T.J. Dillashaw dropping one spot to two despite his big win over John Lineker. Lineker’s down one to three, while Assuncao is also down one to four. Bryan Caraway actually moves up one to five. Jimmie Rivera drops two to six. Eddie Wineland is up two spots to 11. Pedro Munhoz is up one to 13, Rani Yahya is up one to 15, and Erik Perez re-enters the list at 15.

Flyweight – Ray Borg’s big win over Louis Smolka moves him up three spots to ten. Brandon Moreno, Zach Makovsky, and Smolka all drop one respectively to 11, 12, and 13. Tim Elliott is up one to 14, sending Sergio Pettis down to 15.

Women’s Bantamweight – The revolving door of contenders continues. Ronda Rousey’s loss dropped her from the number one contender to number four. This allowed Valentina Shevchenko to take over the number one contender slot, with next opponent Julianna Pena right behind her at two. Holly Holm is up one spot to three, despite her apparent move to featherweight. The other featherweight title combatant, Germaine de Randamie, is also up one to ten, while Ashlee Evans-Smith is up one to 11. Alexis Davis is up two to 12. Jessica Eye is up one to 14, and Leslie Smith enters the list at 15.

Women’s Strawweight – Paige VanZant drops from a tie for nine down to ten. Alexa Grasso is up two to 12. Jessica Penne is down one to 13. Juliana Lima is up one to 14. Former title challenger Valerie Letourneau is down two to 15.

UFC 207 caused some major shakeups in the rankings of many divisions.

The last event of 2016 sent a major ripple through the official UFC rankings. With one new champion, two former champions getting defeated, and some other goings on, only one division remained untouched in the aftermath. The mythical pound-for-pound division saw some upheaval as well, with Cody Garbrandt jumping straight into the top five after his win over Dominick Cruz.

Here’s how it all went down.

P4P – Cruz’s title loss dropped him a big five spots from three to eight. This allowed Jose Aldo to move to three and Daniel Cormier to move to four. Garbrandt enters the list at five, as mentioned. Tyron Woodley and Michael Bisping both drop a spot, to nine and ten respectively. Max Holloway drops two spots to 12. Luke Rockhold re-enters the list at 15.

Heavyweight – Josh Barnett’s USADA issues led to his removal from the list. He had been in the six spot, so nearly everyone below him moved up a spot. Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski, Derrick Lewis, Travis Browne, and Stefan Struve are now ranked six to ten. Alexander Volkov is up one to 12, Daniel Omielanczuk is up one to 13, and Tim Johnson is up one to 14. Luis Henrique enters the list at 15.

Light Heavyweight – Gian Villante and Patrick Cummins flip-flopped the 13 and 14 spots.

Middleweight – Vitor Belfort drops from a tie for eighth to have nine on his own. Tim Kennedy moved back up a spot to 11, bumping Kyzysztof Jotko to 12. Tim Boetsch is up one to 14, dropping Thales Leites to 15.

Welterweight – Johny Hendricks’ loss (and the fact that he couldn’t make weight again) dropped the former champ five spots to 11. Free agent Lorenz Larkin is up one to six, with controversial UFC 207 winner Dong Hyun Kim up two to seven. Despite his win, Neil Magny stayed put at eight. Rick Story and Gunnar Nelson are up one to nine and ten respectively. Tarec Saffiedience’s close loss to Kim dropped him one spot to 13, allowing Jorge Masvidal to take the 12 spot. Finally, Matt Brown is up one to 14, dropping Jake Ellenberger to 15.

Lightweight – No changes.

Featherweight – Dennis Bermudez was tied with Charlies Oliveira for seven, but he drops to take eight on his own. Darren Elkins, who will fight Mirsad Bektic next, coincidentally passed him for the 12 spot.

Bantamweight – Garbrandt moves up from the middle of the pack to the champ. Cruz is now the number one contender, with T.J. Dillashaw dropping one spot to two despite his big win over John Lineker. Lineker’s down one to three, while Assuncao is also down one to four. Bryan Caraway actually moves up one to five. Jimmie Rivera drops two to six. Eddie Wineland is up two spots to 11. Pedro Munhoz is up one to 13, Rani Yahya is up one to 15, and Erik Perez re-enters the list at 15.

Flyweight – Ray Borg’s big win over Louis Smolka moves him up three spots to ten. Brandon Moreno, Zach Makovsky, and Smolka all drop one respectively to 11, 12, and 13. Tim Elliott is up one to 14, sending Sergio Pettis down to 15.

Women’s Bantamweight – The revolving door of contenders continues. Ronda Rousey’s loss dropped her from the number one contender to number four. This allowed Valentina Shevchenko to take over the number one contender slot, with next opponent Julianna Pena right behind her at two. Holly Holm is up one spot to three, despite her apparent move to featherweight. The other featherweight title combatant, Germaine de Randamie, is also up one to ten, while Ashlee Evans-Smith is up one to 11. Alexis Davis is up two to 12. Jessica Eye is up one to 14, and Leslie Smith enters the list at 15.

Women’s Strawweight – Paige VanZant drops from a tie for nine down to ten. Alexa Grasso is up two to 12. Jessica Penne is down one to 13. Juliana Lima is up one to 14. Former title challenger Valerie Letourneau is down two to 15.