Check out the rankings ramifications coming out of the final UFC event of 2021.
UFC Vegas 45 looked to have a sneaky good main card on paper, and in fact the whole card delivered in the cage. Derrick Lewis maintained his standing at heavyweight with a nice KO in the headliner. Ricky Simon and Mateusz Gamrot took over rankings spots with big wins. But the night belonged to Belal Muhammad.
“Remember The Name” picked up undoubtedly the biggest win of his career, shutting out former welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson with a stellar performance. The ranking panel seemed to agree, as Muhammad cracked the top five for the first time.
Here’s a look at the rest of the changes this week.
Men’s P4P – No changes.
Heavyweight – No changes.
Light Heavyweight – No changes.
Middleweight – Kevin Holland and Chris Weidman flip-flop 14 and 15 again.
Welterweight – Muhammad moves up five spots to five. Wonderboy is down two to seven. Neil Magny, Sean Brady, and Michael Chiesa fall one each to eight through ten.
Lightweight – Mateusz Gamrot enters at 12 following his win over Diego Ferreira. Ferreira falls three to 15.
Featherweight – No changes.
Bantamweight – Sean O’Malley is up one to 12. Ricky Simon re-enters at 13. Raphael Assuncao falls three to 15.
Flyweight – Amir Albazi is up two to 12. Tim Elliott and Sumudaerji fall one each to 13 and 14.
Women’s P4P – Lauren Murphy and Mackenzie Dern flip-flop 13 and 14.
Women’s Bantamweight – Raquel Pennington and Miesha Tate flipped the seven and eight slots.
Women’s Flyweight – Viviane Araujo takes Jojo Wood’s six spot, dropping her to seven. Jessica Eye is up one to nine, dropping Cynthia Calvillo to ten.
Women’s Strawweight – Gadelha’s retirement allowed a few fighters to move up. Tecia Torres, Michelle Waterson, Amanda Ribas, and Vegas 45 winner Amanda Lemos rise one each to seven through ten. Virna Jandiroba is up two to 11. Jessica Penne and Brianna Van Buren move up one to 13 and 14. Luana Pinheiro enters at 15.