The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 238 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.
With his third-round finish of Marlon Moraes in the UFC 238 headliner, Henry Cejudo became the fourth fighter in promotion history to hold belts in two different weight classes at the same time. In claiming the title vacated by T.J. Dillashaw, “The Messenger” appropriately assumes the No. 1 position in our 135-pound rankings, as well. Moraes, who had authored an impressive four-fight winning streak prior to Saturday night, checks in at No. 2.
Elsewhere, Valentina Shevchenko solidified her place atop the women’s flyweight division by walloping bubble lister Jessica Eye with a head kick in the second round of the UFC 238 co-feature. It looks as though it could be a while before her No. 1 ranking is threatened.
Second-ranked lightweight Tony Ferguson pushed his winning streak to 12 at UFC 238, with a doctor-stoppage victory over the surging Donald Cerrone. Until he gets a deserved shot at lightweight gold, “El Cucuy” can’t go anywhere in our poll. He’ll be an interested observer when Khabib Nurmagomedov defends his lightweight crown against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 in September. Cerrone, who saw a three-bout winning streak snapped, remains No. 4 at 155 pounds.
UFC 238 also featured a bantamweight tournament of sorts with Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan earning impressive triumphs against Pedro Muhnoz and Jimmie Rivera, respectively. With the emergence of Cejudo, Sterling actually falls one spot from third to fourth, but Yan makes a significant leap, moving from No. 10 to No. 6. Rivera falls from fourth to ninth, while Muhnoz goes from eighth to 10th.
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