Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Advertisement

Despite a heavy slate of mixed martial arts over the weekend, there wasn’t a lot of movement to be seen in the divisional rankings as a result of those fights.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk took care of business in impressive fashion against No. 10 Michelle Waterson in the UFC Fight Night 161 headliner in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday, but while that victory puts her back in the thick of title contention at 115 pounds, she remains ranked fourth behind a trio of former champions.

Meanwhile, all the higher-ranked fighters prevailed at Rizin 19, as Kai Asakura (No. 6 men’s bantamweight), Seo Hee Ham (No. 2 women’s atomweight) and Rena Kubota (No. 6 women’s atomweight) were victorious in Osaka, Japan. Of those three, only Ham, who defeated No. 4 Miyuu Yamamoto, topped a ranked opponent. As a result, the status quo will remain in all three cases.

Perhaps the most noteworthy action occurred at flyweight, where Deiveson Figueiredo won for the sixth time in seven Octagon outings with a quick submission of Tim Elliott at UFC Tampa. Figueiredo would have stayed put at No. 6, but second-ranked Demetrious Johnson’s inactivity at 125 pounds — he hasn’t fought at the weight class since August 2018 (One Championship’s flyweight bouts are contested at 135 pounds) — has resulted in his removal from the flyweight rankings. The same goes for the previous No. 7, John Moraga, who appears to be pursuing a boxing career. As a result, Rogerio Bontorin and Jordan Espinosa enter the flyweight Top 10, while Figueiredo jumps up one spot to fifth.

It’s not all bad news for “Mighty Mouse,” however. Thanks to his trio of victories in the One Championship grand prix, Johnson joins the bubble at bantamweight, a division where he once challenged for UFC gold before flyweight was introduced.

Finally, we bid adieu to ex-champ Daniel Cormier at light heavyweight, where he has not competed in the division since a title defense against Volkan Oezdemir in January 2018. That movement allows Swedish powerhouse Ilir Latifi to rejoin the 205-pound rankings.

Continue Reading » Heavyweight