Justin Gaethje inches closer to the top of the rankings at 155, which David Branch collapses right out at 185.
Justin Gaethje and Jack Hermansson made the most of their opportunities at UFC Philadelphia. Both picked up finishes over higher-ranked opponents, and managed to use those wins to propel themselves up the rankings.
In Gaethje’s case, a KO win over Edson Barboza moved him into the top five at lightweight. Hermansson’s quick sub over David Branch saw him debut in the middleweight rankings in the top 10, which Branch tumbled from the top ten all the way off the list.
Here’s a look at all the changes this week, which also saw Michelle Watson make a move at women’s 115.
P4P – No changes.
Heavyweight – Tai Tuivasa falls from a tie for 11 to take 12 on his own.
Light Heavyweight – No changes.
Middleweight – Hermansson’s upset finish of Branch led him to debut in the rankings at ten. Brad Tavares fell one to 11. Branch is nowhere to be seen.
Welterweight – No changes.
Lightweight – Gaethje cracks the top five as mentioned, moving up three spots from eight. Kevin Lee fell one to six. Barboza is down two to eight.
Featherweight – Josh Emmett’s big KO win moved him up two spots to eight. Cub Swanson fell two to ten.
Bantamweight – No changes.
Flyweight – Ray Borg’s move to 135 means a whole new slew of changes. Deiveson Figueiredo, Wilson Reis, and Alexandre Pantoja are all up one each from three to five respectively. Tim Elliott, Rogerio Bontorin, Magomed Bibulatov, Ryan Benoit, and Jordan Espinoza are up two each from six-ten respectively. Kai Kara France is up three to 11. Eric Shelton is up one to 12. Three new fighters entered the rankings (or re-entered) – Louis Smolka, Raulian Paiva, and Jaime Alvarez (who to my knowledge isn’t even in the UFC).
Women’s Bantamweight – No changes.
Women’s Flyweight – Liz Carmouche is up into a tie for four. Jennifer Maia is up one into a tie for nine.
Women’s Strawweight – Nina Ansaroff drops from a tie for three down to four. Weili Zhang is up one to six. Michelle Waterson is up two to seven. Karolina Kowalkiewicz is down three to nine. Alexa Grasso is oddly up two into a tie for 13. Cortney Casey drops one to 15.