Which Ranked Fighters Are Competing This Weekend? UFC Fight Night 162 Rankings Tracker

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Singapore as UFC Fight Night 162 takes place Saturday. It’s not a stacked card in terms of ranked fighters with only the headliners being ranked, but let’s take a look at them and the possible implications their fight could have on the rankings nonetheless.

In the main event, Ben Askren meets Demian Maia in a welterweight battle of grapplers. Askren (19-1, 1NC), of course, is coming off the quickest knockout in UFC history after receiving a flying knee from Jorge Masvidal that ended their heated UFC 239 affair in just five seconds. It was Askren’s first-ever professional loss, and he will undoubtedly look to erase memories of it by getting back on the win column.

“Funky” is still rated high despite the setback, mainly because of his promotional debut win against former champion Robbie Lawler. Sherdog rates Askren as the seventh-best welterweight in the world while he is also No. 11 in the UFC rankings. A win on Saturday could move him up the ranks further and put him in position to face a higher-ranked opponent in a potential title eliminator bout. However, it’s also possible that he may need at least two more wins before thinking about a title shot.

On the other hand, Maia (27-9) will be looking to make it three wins in a row by coming away with a victory this weekend. The jiu-jitsu black belt is fresh off a submission win over Lyman Good and a majority decision victory over Anthony Rocco Martin -- and has no plans on retiring anytime soon.

However, because of his three-fight losing run before those wins -- coming against the likes of Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington and current champion Kamaru Usman -- Maia is currently unranked in Sherdog and ESPN’s top 10 welterweights. He is still ranked No. 10 in the UFC rankings, though, and a win over a ranked opponent in Askren could see him move up as well, especially with the No 9-ranked Darren Till having made the move to middleweight. Like Askren, the Brazilian will need a couple more victories if he is to get another title shot and realize his dream of finally becoming a UFC champion.