Anthony Pettis’ big KO win over Stephen Thompson earned him some accolades, but not a higher 170-pound ranking than the man he finished.
Anthony Pettis shocked a lot of people when a Superman punch of his sent Stephen Thompson into unconsciousness. After all, he’s a lightweight that was giving up a lot of size to Wonderboy. But you never know what’s going to happen in the Octagon, and that’s why we watch.
It did leave the rankings panel in a quandary though. Does Showtime’s resume in other divisions along with a big KO of the third-ranked Thompson propel him above former two-time title challenger Wonderboy at 170? In the end it was close, but Pettis came up just short.
In other news, Jennifer Maia is ranked four spots below the opponent she just beat in Alexis Davis, and there’s a few other wacky things too.
Here’s a look at the changes coming out of UFC Nashville.
P4P – It looks like the removal of Georges St-Pierre caused some changes. Kamaru Usman and Conor McGregor both moved up a spot (despite McGregor apparently being retired too) to seven and eight. Robert Whittaker is up two to nine. Tony Ferguson, Tyron Woodley, Rose Namajunas, and Cris Cyborg are all up one to 11 through 14. Valentina Shevchenko enters at 15.
Heavyweight – Marcin Tybura moves up one to 10 after Justin Willis, who was dominated by Curtis Blaydes, fell one to 11. Tai Tuivasa is up one spot to 12.
Light Heavyweight – No changes.
Middleweight – No changes.
Welterweight – As mentioned, career lightweight Pettis blowing up a top-five 170-pounder obviously led to some changes here. Rafael dos Anjos is up one to three. Jorge Masvidal and Ben Askren are up one each to four and five. Darren Till is up one to six. Wonderboy falls four spots to seven. Pettis is in at eight, one spot below Thompson. Santiago Ponzinibbio, Robbie Lawler, Leon Edwards, Demian Maia, Neil Magny, and Elizeu Zaleski all fall a spot each to nine through 14 respectively.
Lightweight – Donald Cerrone is up two spots to seven. Justin Gaethje is down one to eight on the week of his fight. Don’t see that often. With Pettis out at lightweight, three fighters – Paul Felder, Gregor Gillsepie, and Alexander Hernandez – are all up a spot to take over nine through eleven. Charles Oliveira is up three spots to 12. James Vick is up one to 13. Nate Diaz is down one to 14. Francisco Trinaldo re-enters at 15.
Featherweight – No changes.
Bantamweight – No changes.
Flyweight – I guess there are more people they’ve removed from the rankings. Magomed Bibulatov is up one to ten. Ryan Benoit is up two to 11. Jordan Espinosa’s win at UFC Nashville moves him up three spots to 12. Eric Shelton fell one to 13. Casey Kenney enters the rankings at 15.
Women’s Bantamweight – No changes.
Women’s Flyweight – Alexis Davis falls two spots after a UFC Nashville loss to Jennifer Maia. She is down to seven, while Liz Carmouche and Joanne Calderwood are up one each to five and six. Maia enters the rankings at ten. Jessica-Rose Clark is down one to 11. Andrea Lee is down to 12. Montana De La Rosa and Mara Romero Borella are down one each to 13 and 14.
Women’s Strawweight – Randa Markos is up two to 13 after beating Angela Hill. Cortney Casey and Alexa Grasso fall one each to 14 and 15.