A certain someone will be looking for a title fight with Nicco Montano in the near future.
Valentina Shevchenko is back in a prime position. After losing two razor-close fights to UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, she was able to drop to her natural weight class with the formation of the UFC women’s flyweight division. And at UFC Belem, she absolutely bludgeoned her outmatched opponent Priscila Cachoeira.
This gave her the automatic number one contender spot at 125, and she would appear to be on a course to fight new champion Nicco Montano.
Here’s a look at all the other changes coming out of UFC Belem. Spoiler – there aren’t many.
P4P – Max Holloway dropped from a tie for four with Stipe Miocic to having the five spot on his own.
Heavyweight – Timothy Johnson moved up two spots to 13 with his grinding win in Belem. Junior Albini fell one to 14, and Shamil Abdurakhimov re-entered the rankings at 15.
Light Heavyweight – No changes.
Middleweight – Thiago Santos’ big win over Anthony Smith moved him up four big spots to 11. For some reason, he changed spots with Brad Tavares, who dropped four to 15. In between, Lyoto Machida moved up one to 12 with his headlining victory, while Krzysztof Jotko fell one to 13.
Welterweight – No changes.
Lightweight – No changes.
Featherweight – No changes.
Bantamweight – No changes.
Flyweight – No changes.
Women’s Bantamweight – Unlike the division below, everyone moved up a single spot with the elimination of Shevchenko from the division. Holly Holm is the new number one contender again. I’m not going to write everyone else out, you know who they are. Ashlee Evans-Smith is the newcomer at 15.
Women’s Flyweight – As mentioned, Shevchenko is the new top contender. And that means everyone else dropped. Sijara Eubanks, Lauren Murphy, Alexis Davis, Roxanne Modafferi, and Barb Honchak are now two through six. Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian, Jessica-Rose Clark, Jessica Eye, and Montana De La Rosa are seven through eleven. Rachael Ostovich actually stayed still at 12, while Mara Romero Borella fell two to 13. Paige VanZant is at 14, and Shana Dobson is at 15.
Women’s Strawweight – No changes.