Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

---

Bantamweight

1. Henry Cejudo (16-2)

After a shaky first round, Cejudo turned up the heat on Marlon Moraes in the UFC 238 main event, winning via third-round technical knockout to become the fourth simultaneous two-division champion in the history of the Las Vegas-based promotion. It’s difficult to deny the Olympic gold medalist as one of the sport’s pound-for-pound best given recent wins over Demetrious Johnson, T.J. Dillashaw and Moraes. “The Messenger” plans on defending on both his flyweight and bantamweight belts – and he even has designs on making an eventual move to 145 pounds. All those plans will likely have to wait until 2020 as Cejudo recovers from shoulder surgery.

2. Marlon Moraes (22-6-1)

The former World Series of Fighting champion looked well on his way to capturing UFC gold after battering Henry Cejudo with leg kicks in the opening stanza of their UFC 238 title clash. However, as Cejudo picked up the pace, Moraes faded and eventually succumbed to ground-and-pound at the 4:51 mark of the third frame. That ended a four-fight winning streak for the man known as “Magic,” whose run included impressive finishes of Aljamain Sterling, Jimmie Rivera and Raphael Assuncao.

3. Raphael Assuncao (27-6)

Winning 11 of 12 bouts didn’t get Assuncao a title shot, and after a devastating first-round submission defeat to Marlon Moraes in the UFC Fortaleza headliner, the Ascension MMA product is even further down the pecking order. Assuncao edged Moraes via contentious split decision in their first meeting in June 2017, but the former World Series of Fighting titlist rocked him with a pair of overhand rights before eliciting a tapout with a mounted guillotine just 3:17 into round one. Assuncao is still a difficult style matchup for much of the division, and he’ll attempt to slow the rise of Cory Sandhagen at UFC 241 on Aug. 17.

4. Aljamain Sterling (18-3)

Sterling put forth perhaps the most complete performance of his career to date at UFC 238, as he relied on speed, movement and a varied striking arsenal to take a unanimous verdict over Pedro Munhoz in a pivotal matchup of bantamweight contenders. “Funk Master” has won four straight at 135 pounds, and after back-to-back wins over Top 10 contenders in Muhnoz and Jimmie Rivera, looks poised to challenge for UFC gold in the near future.

5. Kyoji Horiguchi (27-2)

Horiguchi became a two-promotion bantamweight champ at Bellator 222, as he outlasted Darrion Caldwell to claim the California-based organization’s 135-pound strap. Also the Rizin champ, Horiguchi extended his winning streak to 13, a run that includes victories over Caldwell in both a ring and a cage. The American Top Team representative hasn’t tasted defeat since succumbing to a fifth-round armbar against Demetrious Johnson in a flyweight championship clash at UFC 186 in April 2015. Horiguchi will look to add to his winning streak when he faces young Japanese prospect Kai Asakura in a non-title tilt at Rizin 18.

6. Petr Yan (13-1)

Yan continues to justify the hype that has grown around him since he entered the UFC. The 26-year-old Russian garnered his fifth straight Octagon triumph at UFC 238, taking a hard-fought division over Jimmie Rivera. In a closely contested battle, Yan landed the more memorable offense, dropping his opponent on two different occasions and landing other shots that might have dropped a lesser man. In a crowded and talented division, Yan believes he is deserving of the next title shot.

7. Cory Sandhagen (11-1)

Sandhagen’s finishing streak came to an end at UFC Fort Lauderdale, but the lanky Elevation Fight Team representative picked up the biggest win of his career to date in the form of a split verdict over John Lineker. Sandhagen was able to withstand the offensive onslaught from the body-punching Brazilian, a trial by fire that solidifies him as a talent to watch in the bantamweight division. Prior to going the distance against Lineker, Sandhagen had scored stoppages of Austin Arnett, Yuri Alcantara and Mario Bautista in his first three Octagon appearances. He’ll face an even more difficult task at UFC 241, when he squares off against Brazilian veteran Raphael Assuncao.

8. John Lineker (31-9)

Lineker had a good showing against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Fort Lauderdale – 10 of 17 judges tracked by MMADecisions.com awarded the bout to “Hands of Stone” – but it wasn’t quite enough to earn the nod from the cageside judges, as the hard-hitting Brazilian dropped a close split decision. After complaining about a lack of activity in recent years, Lineker was supposed to step in on short notice to face Rob Font in a rematch at UFC Greenville on June 22. Unfortunately, Lineker suffered a cut above his eyebrow during a workout and had to withdraw from the booking. He was released from his UFC contract shortly thereafter and has since signed with Singapore-based promotion One Championship.

9. Jimmie Rivera (22-4)

Rivera’s slump continued at UFC 238, as he dropped a unanimous decision to surging Russian contender Petr Yan. While it was Rivera’s third loss in his last four outings, he looked better than he had in previous defeats, even outlanding his opponent by a 73-to-56 count in significant strikes. However, two knockdowns for Yan were a major deciding factor in demise of the Team Tiger Schulmann member.

10. Urijah Faber (35-10)

It was almost as though Faber never took a two-and-a-half-year hiatus from the sport, as “The California Kid” walloped Ricky Simon with his trademark overhand right and sealed the deal with ground-and-pound in a triumphant return in the UFC Sacramento co-headliner. At the very least, the 40-year-old Team Alpha Male founder appears primed to resume his role as one of the promotion’s toughest gatekeepers. At best, he could find himself in yet another title bout down the road, as he has drawn the interest of current 135-pound champ Henry Cejudo.

Other Contenders: Pedro Munhoz, Darrion Caldwell, Cody Garbrandt, Rob Font, Manny Bermudez.

Continue Reading » Flyweight