Curtis Blaydes showcased a different aspect to his game in the UFC Fight Night 166 headliner against Junior dos Santos in Raleigh, N.C., this past Saturday. Unable to land any of his six takedown attempts, “Razor” Blaydes called an audible, as he cracked “Cigano” with an overhand right and finished his reeling foe with follow-up punches and knees 66 seconds into the second round. As a result, Blaydes takes dos Santos’ No. 4 ranking in our heavyweight rankings, while the Brazilian veteran falls to fifth.
Elsewhere, Cristiane Justino won her fourth major championship at Bellator 238 with a fourth-round TKO of Julia Budd at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. While “Cyborg” was impressive in ending Budd’s 11-bout winning streak, she remains entrenched at the No. 2 spot at women’s featherweight behind Amanda Nunes.
The weekend also saw a handful of new entrants into the rankings of their respective weight classes, as Michael Chiesa (No. 7 at welterweight), Alex Perez (No. 8 at flyweight) and Sara McMann (No. 9 at women’s bantamweight) all entered the Top 10 by virtue of victories at UFC Fight Night 166.
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