Alexander Volkov and Jan Blachowicz made major moves in the UFC rankings this week.
Going into UFC London, there weren’t many people that thought the rankings were going to get shaken up based on the card. The heavyweight fight on top had some intrigue, but Fabricio Werdum was a healthy favorite over Alexander Volkov. And the co-main seemed like an altogether unnecessary rematch between Jimi Manuwa and Jan Blachowicz.
But as usual in MMA, crazy things happen. Volkov won. Blachowicz won. And they were definitely rewarded by the rankers, each moving up a bunch of spots in their respective divisions.
Here’s a look at all of the changes coming out of last weekend’s London event.
P4P – For some reason that makes absolutely no sense, Georges St-Pierre moved up three spots to take over number three on the list. Daniel Cormier dropped one to a tie for four with Stipe Miocic. Max Holloway is down one to six. Amanda Nunes is up three to 11. Robert Whittaker and Cody Garbrandt dropped one each to 12 and 13 respectively. Khabib Nurmagomedov dropped two to 14.
Heavyweight – Volkov’s huge win moved him up five spots, and he is now the number three contender. Curtis Blaydes is also up one to four. Werdum fell two spots to five. With Cain Velasquez removed from the rankings due to not fighting, there was a litany of other activity. Marcin Tybura, Andrei Arlovski, Aleksei Oleinik, and Stefan Struve are all up a spot each, to 8, 9, 10, and 11. Shamil Abdurakhimov randomly re-enters the rankings at 12. Tai Tuivasa is up two to 13. Justin Ledet is now ranked at 15. Yikes.
Light Heavyweight – Ilir Latifi is up one spot to four. Blachowicz is up a huge six spots to five after beating Manuwa. Manuwa drops two to six. Ovince Saint Preux is down two to eight. Misha Cirkunov, Corey Anderson, and Patrick Cummins all drop one to 9, 10, and 11 respectively.
Middleweight – Vitor Belfort oddly moved up one spot to nine, bumping Uriah Hall to ten.
Welterweight – Kamaru Usman moves up into a tie for seven with Darren Till. Leon Edwards’ win in London helped him move up one spot to 14, bumping Dong Hyun Kim to 15.
Lightweight – James Vick is up one to ten, dropping Al Iaquinta to 11.
Featherweight – Myles Jury is up one spot to 14, dropping Doo Ho Choi to 15.
Bantamweight – Bryan Caraway moves into a tie for eight with Aljamain Sterling. Cody Stamann passes Rob Font for the 11 spot.
Flyweight – Alexandre Pantoja is up two spots to 11, dropping Matheus Nicolau to 12 and Tim Elliott to 13.
Women’s Bantamweight – Cynthia Calvillo’s suspension led her to be removed from the rankings, which changed up the bottom half. Alexa Grasso, Cortney Casey, and Randa Markos are all up one, taking over 9-11 respectively. Tatiana Suarez is up two to 12. Nina Ansaroff is up one to 14. Angela Hill cracks the rankings at 15.
Women’s Flyweight – Mara Romero Borella and Rachael Ostovich flip-flop the 12 and 13 spots.
Women’s Strawweight – Leslie Smith is up one to nine, dropping Bethe Correia to ten. Ronda Rousey’s removal (finally) saw Irene Aldana and Sarah Moras move up one to 13 and 14. Lina Lansberg enters the rankings at 15.