UFC fighter rankings: Ben Rothwell, Ryan Bader removed

Two UFC mainstays have been removed from the official rankings, for very different reasons.

The UFC’s latest event in Brazil didn’t cause a major rankings ripple, but a mild upset in the flyweight division caused some upheaval there. Also, Kelvin Gastelum got a bit of a bump from his main event win over Vitor Belfort. Overall though, the main reason for a bunch of ranking changes is due to the removal of two veterans – Ben Rothwell and Ryan Bader.

Check out all the updates below.

P4P – No changes.

Heavyweight – Rothwell had been at number five, but a USADA out-of-competition test issue led the UFC to pull him from the rankings (and presumably his fight with Fabricio Werdum). This allowed Francis Ngannou to move into the top five for the first time, up one spot. Also up one spot were Derrick Lewis, Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski, Travis Browne, Stefan Struve, and Alexander Volkov. They’re ranked six to eleven respectively. Timothy Johnson is up three spots to 12. Aleksei Oliynyk is up one to 13. Marcin Tybura enters the rankings at 14, while Daniel Omielanczuk is the only person to fall, dropping one to 15.

Light Heavyweight – Like Rothwell, Bader was in the five spot. He was dropped due to being an official free agent as of a couple of days ago. This allowed Shogun Rua, who won last weekend, to regain a top-five spot for the first time in a while. Corey Anderson, Volkan Oezdemir, Ovince Saint Preux, Ilir Latifi, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira all moved up one spot, and now sit at 6 to 10 respectively. Misha Cirkunov’s return sees him move up four spots to 11. Patrick Cummins is up one to 12, while Jan Blachowicz is up one to 13. Gian Villante’s loss drops him two to 14. And Tyson Pedro makes his debut on the list at 15.

Middleweight – Gastelum moved up two spots to eight. Derek Brunson dropped one to nine. Krzysztof Jotko entered the top ten, up one spot. And Belfort dropped two to 12.

Welterweight – Jorge Masvidal is up one to five, dropping Neil Magny to six. Santiago Ponzinibbio is also up one to 14, dropping Matt Brown to 15.

Lightweight – Beneil Dariush’s KO loss dropped him one to ten, allowing Dustin Poirier to move to 9. Kevin Lee enters the rankings at 11 after his big win over Francisco Trinaldo, who dropped four spots to 15. Evan Dunham also passed the inactive Gilbert Melendez for the 12 spot.

Featherweight – Chan Sung Jung continues to climb, moving up one spot to six. That dropped Anthony Pettis to seven. Yair Rodriguez is also up one to eight, dropping Charles Oliveira to nine.

Bantamweight – Iuri Alcantara is up one to 14. Joe Soto enters the rankings at 15.

Flyweight – The next title challenger, Wilson Reis, is up one spot to three. Ray Borg’s fun victory over Jussier Formiga moved him up four big spots to four. Formiga dropped two to the five spot, while Sergio Pettis, Ian McCall, and Dustin Ortiz all dropped one (to six, seven, and eight respectively). Tim Elliott moved into a tie for nine with Brandon Moreno.

Women’s Bantamweight – Raquel Pennington jumped a spot to four, bumping Holly Holm to five. Women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie amusingly moved up one spot to nine in a division she may never fight in again, with Bethe Correia dropping to ten despite going to a draw in her fight over the weekend. Jessica Eye dropped from a tie for 13 with Marion Reneau to having 14 on her own.

Women’s Strawweight – Randa Markos moved up one spot to eight, pushing Carla Esparza to nine.

Two UFC mainstays have been removed from the official rankings, for very different reasons.

The UFC’s latest event in Brazil didn’t cause a major rankings ripple, but a mild upset in the flyweight division caused some upheaval there. Also, Kelvin Gastelum got a bit of a bump from his main event win over Vitor Belfort. Overall though, the main reason for a bunch of ranking changes is due to the removal of two veterans – Ben Rothwell and Ryan Bader.

Check out all the updates below.

P4P – No changes.

Heavyweight – Rothwell had been at number five, but a USADA out-of-competition test issue led the UFC to pull him from the rankings (and presumably his fight with Fabricio Werdum). This allowed Francis Ngannou to move into the top five for the first time, up one spot. Also up one spot were Derrick Lewis, Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski, Travis Browne, Stefan Struve, and Alexander Volkov. They’re ranked six to eleven respectively. Timothy Johnson is up three spots to 12. Aleksei Oliynyk is up one to 13. Marcin Tybura enters the rankings at 14, while Daniel Omielanczuk is the only person to fall, dropping one to 15.

Light Heavyweight – Like Rothwell, Bader was in the five spot. He was dropped due to being an official free agent as of a couple of days ago. This allowed Shogun Rua, who won last weekend, to regain a top-five spot for the first time in a while. Corey Anderson, Volkan Oezdemir, Ovince Saint Preux, Ilir Latifi, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira all moved up one spot, and now sit at 6 to 10 respectively. Misha Cirkunov’s return sees him move up four spots to 11. Patrick Cummins is up one to 12, while Jan Blachowicz is up one to 13. Gian Villante’s loss drops him two to 14. And Tyson Pedro makes his debut on the list at 15.

Middleweight – Gastelum moved up two spots to eight. Derek Brunson dropped one to nine. Krzysztof Jotko entered the top ten, up one spot. And Belfort dropped two to 12.

Welterweight – Jorge Masvidal is up one to five, dropping Neil Magny to six. Santiago Ponzinibbio is also up one to 14, dropping Matt Brown to 15.

Lightweight – Beneil Dariush’s KO loss dropped him one to ten, allowing Dustin Poirier to move to 9. Kevin Lee enters the rankings at 11 after his big win over Francisco Trinaldo, who dropped four spots to 15. Evan Dunham also passed the inactive Gilbert Melendez for the 12 spot.

Featherweight – Chan Sung Jung continues to climb, moving up one spot to six. That dropped Anthony Pettis to seven. Yair Rodriguez is also up one to eight, dropping Charles Oliveira to nine.

Bantamweight – Iuri Alcantara is up one to 14. Joe Soto enters the rankings at 15.

Flyweight – The next title challenger, Wilson Reis, is up one spot to three. Ray Borg’s fun victory over Jussier Formiga moved him up four big spots to four. Formiga dropped two to the five spot, while Sergio Pettis, Ian McCall, and Dustin Ortiz all dropped one (to six, seven, and eight respectively). Tim Elliott moved into a tie for nine with Brandon Moreno.

Women’s Bantamweight – Raquel Pennington jumped a spot to four, bumping Holly Holm to five. Women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie amusingly moved up one spot to nine in a division she may never fight in again, with Bethe Correia dropping to ten despite going to a draw in her fight over the weekend. Jessica Eye dropped from a tie for 13 with Marion Reneau to having 14 on her own.

Women’s Strawweight – Randa Markos moved up one spot to eight, pushing Carla Esparza to nine.