Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
Cleveland Rocks Again
The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 241 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.
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The Strong Style Fight Team standout avenged last year’s loss to Daniel Cormier in enthralling fashion, rallying to defeat “DC” via fourth-round technical knockout in the UFC 241 headliner in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday. The move is simple here: Miocic and Cormier switch places in our heavyweight rankings. The future is a little more complex. Could a trilogy be in store? Only time will tell, as much depends on whether Cormier elects to continue his MMA career.
At middleweight, Paulo Henrique Costa made a big move, leaping from the bubble to the the third spot following a back-and-forth slugfest with perennial contender Yoel Romero. While Costa won via unanimous decision, media scores were split down the middle for the “Fight of the Night” winning contest. As a result, Romero only falls to fourth at 185 pounds.
Another fighter making a significant leap is Cory Sandhagen, who scored the biggest win of his career to date with a three-round verdict over Raphael Assuncao in a pivotal bantamweight bout at UFC 241. Sandhagen, who has won four straight fights at 135 pounds, moves from No. 7 to No. 3 behind only Henry Cejudo and Marlon Moraes. Assuncao drops to fourth in defeat and is further away from a title shot than ever before. There were more bantamweight shakeups at Rizin 18, where Kai Asakura shockingly knocked out two-promotion champion Kyoji Horiguchi in 68 seconds in the evening’s main event. Unfortunately for Asakura, there was no title at stake, but he does go from unranked to No. 6 at 135 pounds — one spot ahead of the vanquished Horiguchi.
There was no such turmoil for the atomweight women in Japan, as No. 1-ranked ranked Ayaka Hamasaki and No. 5 ranked Kanna Asakura both were victorious at Rizin 18. Lastly, but definitely not least, Nate Diaz returned from a three-year hiatus at UFC 241 and earned himself a spot on the welterweight bubble thanks to a decision victory over Anthony Pettis. If he gets his desired showdown with Jorge Masvidal, there could be even more opportunity for advancement in the very near future.
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