Welcome to the latest update to the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, where our esteemed panel of experts team up to sort out the movers and shakers of an ever-shifting MMA landscape.
The MMA Fighting Global Ranking’s wait for no one.
With an extended six-week ranking cycle this month (July 4 holiday weekend pushed everything back), you’d be correct in assuming that there were some serious shakeups. There is a new No. 1 at light heavyweight and a slew of new contenders in the middleweight and lightweight divisions. All in all, it was an outstanding cycle for fresh faces in both the UFC and Bellator, and a not-so-outstanding cycle for some of the old guard.
So who rose up in the ranks to set themselves up for future greatness, and who plummeted from the heights possibly never to be seen with a number next to their name again?
Check out the Global Rankings this week for answers. Feel free to comment below with your views.
Don’t forget to listen to the newest episode of the MMA Fighting Rankings Show below, where the panel debated the MVP of the past six weeks and tried to make sense of the chaos at middleweight, the new three-man race for the men’s No. 1 pound-for-pound spot, the changing of the guard happening in the lightweight division, and much more.
A quick reminder of some ground rules before we start
And with that, let’s dive in.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Let us know your concerns in the comments section below.
*This month’s ranking update was postponed due to July 4 holiday weekend, so this cycle includes the first two UFC events of July (UFC 276 and UFC Vegas 58)
The heavyweight division remained mostly at a standstill this month, with only Jairzinho Rozenstruik taking a slight dip after a quick TKO loss to Alexander Volkov at UFC Vegas 56. Rozenstruik has now lost three of his past four and could see an exit from the top 10 altogether if this poor stretch continues.
Undisputed heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is still in the UFC’s staring bout with him. That said, July brings a couple of pivotal bouts for heavys looking to make major moves up the ladder, as Derrick Lewis defends his spot against hulking Russian Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 277 and Curtis Blaydes takes on British fan favorite Tom Aspinall in London.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 8 Alexander Volkov def. No. 9 Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 5 Curtis Blaydes vs. No. 7 Tom Aspinall (UFC London, July 23), No. 6 Derrick Lewis vs. Sergei Pavlovich (UFC 277, July 30)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Sergei Pavlovich (5), Phil De Fries (3), Fedor Emelianenko (2), Arjan Bhullar (1), Junior dos Santos (1), Linton Vassell (1)
Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images
Jiri Prochazka called his shot — and he is now officially the man to beat at 205 pounds.
Since coming over as RIZIN champion, Prochazka made it clear he had his sights set on the title, and his actions backed up his words as he ran through former title challengers Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir. Prochazka won the Cinderalla title fight to win the light heavyweight belt against Jan Blachowicz.
The bout itself was anything but a no-doubter as Prochazka and Teixeira put on one of the best fights in UFC history, a rollicking back-and-forth affair that showed the best and the worst of both men. Prochazka, the winner of two consecutive career submissions, submitted Teixeira (the feared Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Pedigree) to end his entertaining and entertaining UFC journey.
Though he was not unanimously voted for in our rankings (someone slipped in a vote to top Bellator light-heavyweight Corey Anderson), he still has time to secure his place in the future. He could face Teixeira or Magomed Ankalaev at a European stadium, either against him or the former champion Jan Blachowicz. A win against Teixeira would be a huge boost and further cement his position as the No. 1 contender.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 3 Jiri Prochazka def. No. 1 Glover Teixeira
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 7 Magomed Ankalaev vs. No. 8 Anthony Smith (UFC 277, July 30), No. 12 Paul Craig vs. No. 15 Volkan Oezdemir (UFC London, July 23)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Antonio Carlos Junior (6), Nikita Krylov (3), Yoel Romero (3), Tomasz Narkun (1), Ryan Spann (1)
You want to see movement in the rankings. This month’s Middleweight is our first division to see the departure of an old guard in favour of new and exciting contenders.
Bellator’s new 185-pound champ Johnny Eblen leads the way, soaring all the way from unranked to No. 5 with a commanding decision win over Gegard Mousasi. “The Dreamcatcher” has been holding down our No. 3 spot since we started compiling these rankings a year ago, and it seemed inevitable that one of Bellator’s homegrown challengers would eventually take it from him. Sure enough, Eblen seized the opportunity with gusto and now finds himself ahead of some major names.
That includes fellow risers Alex Pereira and Andre Muniz, who rode big wins at UFC 276 to place themselves at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively. Pereira will now face Israel Adesanya, the champion of kickboxing, in the third meeting. Pereira has already defeated “The Last Stylebender” twice, and Muniz is just behind him, an impressive grappler who has the potential to be a future champion.
With those entries, Darren Till, Kelvin Gastelum, and Uriah Hall fall out of the top 15 — and given how this division is heating up (we see you Nassourdine Imavov and Dricus Du Plessis), it could be a long road back for those veterans.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Israel Adesanya def. No. 4 Jared Cannonier, Johnny Eblen def. No. 3 Gegard Mousasi, Alex Pereira def. No. 8 Sean Strickland, No. 10 Andre Muniz def. No. 12 Uriah Hall
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 12 Jack Hermansson vs. Chris Curtis (UFC London, July 23), No. 13 Reiner de Ridder vs. Vitaly Bigdash (ONE Championship 159, July 22)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Chris Curtis (4), Kelvin Gastelum (2), Darren Till (2), Uriah Hall (1), Anatoly Tokov (1), Chris Weidman (1)
The welterweight division saw only one major move but that was one big one.
Obscured by the Khamzat Chimaev hype, the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov has been carving out his own impressive UFC start with four finishes in his first four fights for the promotion. Wins over Carlston Harris, Michel Prazeres, and Alex Oliveira impressed, but seeing him absolutely truck Neil Magny — who is currently tied with Georges St-Pierre for the most UFC welterweight wins at 19 — was truly awe-inspiring. By the way, Rakhmonov’s 16 wins? All via knockout, submission.
Rakhmonov leaps five places to No. 8 this month, but to give you an even better idea of the hype building around him, he was as high as No. 3 on one ballot and received top-10 votes on six others.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 13 (tied) Shavkat Rakhmonov def. No. 12 Neil Magny
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Jorge Masvidal (3), Michael Page (3), Michel Pereira (2), Neil Magny (2), Jake Matthews (2), Jason Jackson (1), Douglas Lima (1), Geoff Neal (1)
Fresh blood is abundant in shark-infested lightwaters — young predators love to eat it.
Moving up the ranks are Rafael Fiziev and Mateusz Gamrot as well as Jalin Turner and Arman Tsarukyan. While the likes and Tony Ferguson and Tony Gillespie and Raush Manfio fall from their high vantage points, the likes and Raush Manfio, Raush Manfio, Raush manfio, Brad Riddell and Tony Ferguson also drop to the bottom of the list. The new wave of 155ers will not be denied.
Fiziev scored an enormous knockout of former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos, Gamrot and Tsarukyan made the most of their first UFC main event opportunity, Ismagulov extended his absurd win streak to 19, and Turner forced a tap from Riddell in just 45 seconds.
But wait, there’s more! Grant Dawson, Claudio Puelles, and Mark O. Madsen are also charging the gates, so the top of the division has been put on notice. Take a snapshot of the current rankings, because a year from now it could be unrecognizable,
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 10 Rafael Fiziev def. No. 7 Rafael dos Anjos, No. 11 (tied) Mateusz Gamrot def. No. 11 (tied) Arman Tsarukyan, Jalin Turner def. No. 13 Brad Riddell, Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. No. 14 (tied) Raush Manfio
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Grant Dawson (4), Olivier Aubin-Mercier (2), Roberto Satoshi (2), Alexander Shabliy (2)
Alexander Volkanovski is the man at 145 pounds. We knew this already.
If there were any doubters remaining following Volkanovski’s second encounter with featherweight great Max Holloway two years ago, they were left without any ammunition after Volkanovski thoroughly decimated Holloway in their trilogy bout at UFC 276. The term “masterclass” is often overused in sports, but that’s exactly what Volkanovski put on in in front of a packed house at T-Mobile Arena.
After 25 minutes of one-sided action, the question wasn’t whether Volkanovski was the best in his division, but maybe the best fighter in any division.
After about 125 minutes of one-sided action, the question was not whether Volkanovski is the best fighter in his division, but where he stands in relation to Kamaru Uman, Israel Adesanya and Francis Ngannou. )
Further down the rankings, Josh Emmett swapped spots with Calvin Kattar after edging out a decision win over him at UFC Austin, and Movsar Evloev improved to 6-0 in the UFC with a dominant win over Dan Ige. Evloev is now No. 11, right on the edge of the top 10.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Alexander Volkanovski def. No. 2 Max Holloway, No. 8 Josh Emmett def. No. 7 Calvin Kattar, No. 14 Movsar Evloev def. No. 13 Dan Ige
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 (tied) Brian Ortega vs. No. 6 Yair Rodriguez (UFC on ABC 3, July 16)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Aaron Pico (4), Edson Barboza (3), Dan Ige (3), Adam Borics (1), Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (1)
Danny Sabatello is knocking on the door of a top 15 ranking, but fell just short this month.
Unbeaten in three Bellator appearances and now 15-1 as a pro after a win over Leandro Higo, “The Italian Gangster” has used a steady diet of wrestling and an even steadier diet of trash talk to make himself one of the most intriguing names in the stacked 135-pound division. He may have gotten carried away to the tune of a $5,000 fine after making a fiery post-fight speech, but that’s a small price to pay for publicity.
The good news for Sabatello is that the bantamweight field in Bellator is wide open and he could be one or two wins away from breaking into the top 10. His path is clearer than that of his UFC peers, with blue-chippers such as Rickie Simon and Umar Nurmagomedov having to convince them to fight him or just wait until they fall.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Danny Sabatello (5), Adrian Yanez (3), Pedro Munhoz (2), Umar Nurmagomedov (2), Juan Archuleta (1), Frankie Edgar (1), Ricky Simon (1)
Ever since Adriano Moraes finished Demetrious Johnson to claim a ONE championship, the title of best flyweight in the world has legitimately been in dispute. The conversation will be further muddied by Brandon Moreno, Kai Kara-France and Kai Kara.
With current champion Deiveson Figueiredo still recovering from an injury, and as the new star in dispute over the compensation package, an interim title fight was scheduled between Moreno to Kara-France. Moreno is the former champion whose exciting style and affable personality have made him one of the faces of the division, while Kara-France has arguably been the most exciting fighter at 125 pounds for the past 12 months. They collide at UFC 277.
A contenders bout between Alexandre Pantoja & Alex Perez is also on the card. It feels like it’s going under the radar. Pantoja has long been at the front of the contender’s line, especially considering that he has previously bested Moreno twice. If he can get past the snake-bitten Alex Perez (seriously, Perez hasn’t been able to actually get in a fight since November 2020), then he could be next to fight for either the undisputed or interim strap.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 2 Brandon Moreno vs. No. 4 (tied) Kai Kara-France (UFC 277, July 30), No. 7 Alexandre Pantoja vs. No. 8 Alex Perez (UFC 277, July 30)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Jeff Molina (5), Muhammad Mokaev (2), Matt Schnell (2), Amir Albazi (1), Danny Kingad (1)
The women’s side of 135 remains a barren wasteland of inactivity, though tip of the cap to Julija Stoliarenko for snatching a point with a nasty armbar submission of Jessica-Rose Clark.
The good news is that it won’t be long before we see the two best bantamweights face off once more, as Julianna Pena rematches Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 277 in Dallas in just two short weeks. A second meeting between Pena and Nunes has loomed over the division since Pena emphatically dethroned “The Lioness” this past December, and their coaching rivalry on The Ultimate Fighter has arguably been more noteworthy than any of the recent matchups we’ve seen at 135 pounds.
Most intriguing scenario? Pena defeats Nunes again and can move on to take on a first-time challenger like Ketlen Vieira or Irene Aldana. What’s less intriguing? Nunes regains the title, which sets up a trilogy fight between the two while the rest of the division remains in a perpetual state of limbo.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Julianna Pena vs. No. 2 Amanda Nunes (UFC 277, July 30), No. 10 Miesha Tate vs. No. 6 (WFLW) Lauren Murphy (flyweight bout) (UFC on ABC 3, July 16)
Fighters also receiving votes: Aspen Ladd (2), Julija Stoliarenko (1), Dariya Zheleznyakova (1)
Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images
It isn’t often that fighters make such significant leaps up in rankings after a loss. But that’s what Taila Santos did following her heroic effort against Valentina Schevchenko.
Despite her qualifications, most didn’t see Santos as much more than a mandatory challenger to the indomitable Shevchenko heading into their title fight at UFC 275. The Brazilian Muay Thai specialist was around a +450 underdog, according to DraftKings — better odds than several of Shevchenko’s previous challengers, but hardly a vote of confidence.
However, Santos proved to be Shevchenko’s most difficult challenge yet at 125 pounds, as she went to her jiu-jitsu to put the pressure on “Bullet.” Santos took Shevchenko’s back in Round 1 and had success grappling throughout the fight, but a lack of damaging offense cost her in the end as Shevchenko escaped the contest with a split decision.
Though Shevchenko likely deserved to win the fight, there was no denying that it was a close call and Santos has been given plenty of credit for taking the champion to her limit. In our rankings, that credit manifested itself as a bump from No. 8 all the way up to No. 3.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Valentina Shevchenko def. No. 8 Taila Santos, No. 13 Erin Blanchfield def. JJ Aldrich
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 6 Lauren Murphy vs. No. 10 (BW) Miesha Tate (UFC on ABC 3, July 16)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Tracy Cortez (3), Vanessa Porto (2), Joanne Wood (2), Cynthia Calvillo (1), Justine Kish (1), Amanda Ribas (1), Karina Rodriguez (1)
Zhang Weili feigned her stamp in the two-fight series she had with Joanna Jedrzejczyk. She also made one step closer towards regaining No. 1 strawweight spot in our rankings.
The former champion’s ridiculous spinning backfist knockout of Jedrzejczyk was more than enough to convince one of our panelists to award her with a first-place vote, leaving six for current No. 1 Carla Esparza and one for another former champion Jessica Andrade. As mentioned last month, you can make a strong case for Esparza, Zhang, Andrade, or Rose Namajunas to be called the queen of 115. Imagine if Jedrzejczyk had evened the score with Zhang!
Esparza has given a timetable for her return, targeting a title defense before the end of 2022. It is easy to see Esparza’s reign slowing down with all the names mentioned. Or that Esparza will have the chance to put together an impressive series of defenses.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 3 Zhang Weili def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 10 Michelle Waterson vs. No. 11 Amanda Lemos (UFC on ABC 3, July 16)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Jessica Penne (3), Lupita Godinez (2), Emily Ducote (1), Kanako Murata (1)
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