New Rankings! ‘Bate Estaca’ Returns To Strawweight Top 5

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade made her triumphant return to the Top 5 of the 115-pound division after securing a first-round submission victory over fellow Brazilian bruiser …


UFC Fight Night: Lemos v Andrade
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade made her triumphant return to the Top 5 of the 115-pound division after securing a first-round submission victory over fellow Brazilian bruiser Amanda Lemos atop the UFC Vegas 52 event on April 23 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Get complete UFC Vegas 52 results and play-by-play here.

The move back to strawweight did not come without a price, as “Bate Estaca” will also give up two spots in the 125-pound weight class, falling to No. 3. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before Andrade is removed altogether as she embarks on another strawweight title run.

Here’s how UFC compiles its official rankings:

Rankings were generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.

Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).

MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Kamaru Usman
2. Alexander Volkanovski
3. Israel Adesanya
4. Francis Ngannou
5. Charles Oliveira
6. Max Holloway
7. Dustin Poirier
8. Jon Jones
9. Glover Teixeira
10. Deiveson Figueiredo
11. Aljamain Sterling
12. Stipe Miocic
13. Petr Yan
14. Brandon Moreno
15. Robert Whittaker

FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Deiveson Figueiredo

1. Brandon Moreno
2. Kai Kara France
3. Askar Askarov
4. Alexandre Pantoja
5. Alex Perez
6. Brandon Royval
7. Matheus Nicolau
8. Rogerio Bontorin
9. Matt Schnell
10. David Dvorak
11. Tim Elliott
12. Su Mudaerji
13. Amir Albazi
14. Manel Kape
15. Tagir Ulanbekov

BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Aljamain Sterling

1. Petr Yan (Interim champion)
2. T.J. Dillashaw
3. Jose Aldo
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Rob Font
6. Merab Dvalishvili
7. Dominick Cruz
8. Marlon Vera
9. (T) Pedro Munhoz
9. (T) Song Yadong
11. Frankie Edgar
12. Ricky Simon
13. Sean O’Malley
14. Marlon Moraes
15. Jack Shore *NR

FEATHERWEIGHT

Champion: Alexander Volkanovski

1. Max Holloway
2. Brian Ortega
3. Yair Rodriguez
4. Calvin Kattar
5. Chan Sung Jung
6. Arnold Allen
7. Josh Emmett
8. Giga Chikadze
9. Bryce Mitchell
10. Dan Ige
11. Sodiq Yusuff
12. Edson Barboza
13. Movsar Evloev
14. Shane Burgos
15. Ilia Topuria

LIGHTWEIGHT

Champion: Charles Oliveira

1. (T) Justin Gaethje
1. (T) Dustin Poirier
3. Islam Makhachev
4. Beneil Dariush
5. Michael Chandler
6. Rafael dos Anjos
7. Tony Ferguson
8. Gregor Gillespie
9. Conor McGregor
10. Rafael Fiziev
11. Arman Tsarukyan
12. Mateusz Gamrot
13. Dan Hooker
14. Brad Riddell
15. Diego Ferreira

WELTERWEIGHT

Champion: Kamaru Usman

1. Colby Covington
2. Leon Edwards
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Gilbert Burns
5. Belal Muhammed
6. Vicente Luque
7. Stephen Thompson
8. Jorge Masvidal
9. Sean Brady
10. Neil Magny
11. Michael Chiesa
12. Geoff Neal
13. Li Jingliang
14. Santiago Ponzinibbio
15. Shavkat Rakhmonov

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Champion: Israel Adesanya

1. Robert Whittaker
2. Jared Cannonier
3. Marvin Vettori
4. (T) Derek Brunson
4. (T) Paulo Costa
4. (T) Sean Strickland
7. Jack Hermansson
8. Darren Till
9. Uriah Hall
10. Kelvin Gastelum
11. Nassourdine Imavov
12. Brad Tavares
13. Andre Muniz
14. Chris Weidman
15. Edmen Shahbazyan

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Glover Teixeira

1. Jan Blachowicz
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Aleksandar Rakic
4. Magomed Ankalaev
5. Anthony Smith
6. Thiago Santos
7. Dominick Reyes
8. Paul Craig
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Jamahal Hill
11. Nikita Krylov
12. Johnny Walker
13. Ryan Spann
14. Jim Crute
15. Dustin Jacoby

HEAVYWEIGHT

Champion: Francis Ngannou

1. Ciryl Gane
2. Stipe Miocic
3. Tai Tuivasa
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Derrick Lewis
6. Tom Aspinall
7. Alexander Volkov
8. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
9. (T) Chris Daukaus
9. (T) Marcin Tybura
11. Sergei Pavlovich
12. Shamil Abdurakhimov
13. Augusto Sakai
14. Walt Harris
15. Blagoy Ivanov

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Amanda Nunes
3. Rose Namajunas
4. Julianna Pena
5. Weili Zhang
6. Jessica Andrade
7. Holly Holm
8. Carla Esparza
9. Marina Rodriguez
10. Katlyn Chookagian
11. Yan Xiaonan
12. Irene Aldana +1
13. Mackenzie Dern -1
14. Lauren Murphy
15. Raquel Pennington

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT

Champion: Rose Namajunas

1. Zhang Weili
2. Carla Esparza
3. Marina Rodriguez
4. Mackenzie Dern
5. Jessica Andrade *NR
6. Yan Xiaonan -1
7. Nina Nunes -1
8. Tecia Torres -1
9. Amanda Ribas -1
10. Michelle Waterson -1
11. Amanda Lemos -1
12. Virna Jandiroba -1
13. Angela Hill -1
14. Jessica Penne -1
15. Brianna Van Buren -1

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT

Champion: Valentina Shevchenko

1. Katlyn Chookagian +1
2. Lauren Murphy +1
3. Jessica Andrade -2
4. Talia Santos
5. Alexa Grasso
6. Manon Fiorot
7. Jennifer Maia
8. Viviane Araujo
9. Andrea Lee
10. Joanne Wood
11. Cynthia Calvillo
12. Jessica Eye
13. Casey O’Neill
14. Maycee Barber
15. Erin Blanchfield

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT

Champion: Julianna Pena

1. Amanda Nunes
2. Holly Holm
3. Irene Aldana
4. Raquel Pennington
5. Ketlen Vieira
6. Yana Kunitskaya
7. Aspen Ladd
8. Sara McMann
9. Miesha Tate
10. Pannie Kianzad +2
11. Macy Chiasson -1
12. Lina Lansberg -1
13. Karol Rosa
14. Julia Avila
15. Norma Dumont

There you have it.

You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week following the UFC Vegas 53 mixed martial arts (MMA) card, particularly in the bantamweight division, after event headliners Rob Font (No. 5) and Marlon Vera (No. 8) hook ‘em up for a spot in the crowded 135-pound title chase.

For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.