Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Fighter Photo: Rizin FF | Illustration: John Brannigan/Sherdog.com

Seika Izawa and Si Woo Park have a date with destiny.

With the UFC on hiatus for a weekend, the atomweights took center stage at Rizin 38, with Izawa and Park advancing to the finals of the Japanese promotion’s grand prix. The top-ranked Izawa remained unbeaten with a submission of Anastasiya Svetkivska in one half of the bracket, while Park jumped from sixth to second in the divisional rankings with a convincing decision victory over former pound-for-pound stalwart Ayaka Hamasaki in the other semifinal. That sets up a rematch in the grand prix final, with Park looking to avenge an October 2021 defeat to Izawa that occurred under the Deep banner.

Elsewhere, Kyoji Horiguchi rebounded from back-to-back defeats in Bellator MMA with a second-round submission victory against Yuto Hokamura at Rizin 38 to maintain his No. 15 position at 135 pounds, while Leah McCourt ascended to No. 12 in the women’s featherweight poll on the strength off a three-round verdict against Dayana Silva at Bellator 285.

While the UFC enjoyed a rare bye week, the long-term inactivity of one of its athletes resulted in a shift in the heavyweight rankings. Former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic hasn’t fought since relinquishing his belt to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 on March 27, 2021, which results in his removal from the poll. As a result, Sergey Spivak, who has won five of his last six UFC appearances and has a high-profile matchup with Derrick Lewis on tap for November, joins Sherdog’s big man rankings at No. 15.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

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