Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

John Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration

Ciryl Gane clearly wasn’t dwelling on the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career.

More than seven months removed from his decision defeat to Francis Ngannou, “Bon Gamin” enthralled the home folks with a third-round knockout victory of Tai Tuivasa in the UFC Fight Night 209 headliner at Accor Arena in Paris, France on Saturday. Not only did Gane survive the adversity of a second-round knockdown, but he might have won some new fans following a stretch of fights that included a handful of less-than-enthralling five-round outings. More importantly, he remains a significant player in the heavyweight title picture as he maintains his No. 3 ranking. The fourth-ranked Tuivasa, who became the first person to drop the Frenchman in UFC competition, doesn’t see his stock fall too far in defeat.

Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker remains the 1a. to Israel Adesanya’s No. 1 in the middleweight division following a dominant unanimous verdict over former title challenger Marvin Vettori in the UFC Fight Night 209 co-main event. As long as Adesanya remains champion, Whittaker doesn’t have an obvious path to the belt, but his status as Sherdog’s No. 2 middleweight remains as clear as ever.

Finally, with Kevin Holland engaged in other weight class pursuits, Nassourdine Imavov enters the middleweight poll at No. 15 on the heels of his decision win over Joaquin Buckley at UFC Fight Night 209. The 27-year-old MMA Factory product has won four of five Octagon appearances and nine of his last 10 professional outings overall, making him a prospect to keep an eye on at 185 pounds.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

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