Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
Sights Set on Gold
Image: John Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration
For those who see Kayla Harrison as a future champ at bantamweight, all lights are green after UFC 307.
In the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s main card opener on Saturday in Salt Lake City, the two-time Olympic gold medal judoka and two-time Professional Fighters League lightweight tournament winner continued her successful foray into her new weight class and new promotion, dominating Ketlen Vieira on the ground for much of their three-round affair. In so doing, she built on the momentum of her eye-opening destruction of Holly Holm in April and made her case for the next shot at the 135-pound title.
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The main event saw Alex Pereira retain his light heavyweight title and continue to build on one of the most remarkable late bloomer runs in the annals of mixed martial arts, as he withstood a spirited charge from Khalil Rountree to put the challenger away in Round 4 with a brutal salvo of hooks. The win left “Poatan” in firm possession of the 205-pound strap as well as the top spot in Sherdog’s divisional rankings. Meanwhile, Rountree silenced the doubters who questioned his worthiness by giving Pereira a tougher go than any of his other foes so far at light heavyweight, and holds steady at ninth in the poll.
In the top prelim bout of UFC 307, Joaquin Buckley completed his transition from highlight reel freakshow to legitimate welterweight contender, wrecking two-time former title challenger Stephen Thompson with a massive right hand in the third round. The win, Buckley’s fifth in a row, sees him enter the welterweight bubble at No. 15, while “Wonderboy,” who has lost four of his last five, exits the rankings entirely.
In other UFC 307 action, Roman Dolidze holds onto the No. 12 spot at middleweight after his injury-aided TKO win over Kevin Holland; Iasmin Lucindo jumps from 13th to seventh in the strawweight raknings with her narrow win over Marina Rodriguez, who drops to No. 8; and Mario Bautista enters the bantamweight rankings at No. 10 thanks to his seven-fight win streak, none bigger than his razor-close win Saturday over Jose Aldo, who falls to 11th.
Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.
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HEAVYWEIGHT
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MIDDLEWEIGHT
WELTERWEIGHT
LIGHTWEIGHT
FEATHERWEIGHT
BANTAMWEIGHT
FLYWEIGHT
WOMEN'S FEATHERWEIGHT
WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT
WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT
WOMEN'S STRAWWEIGHT
WOMEN'S ATOMWEIGHT
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