Sterling, who was defeated by TKO in the second round, moved from sixth position to ninth, allowing Charles Oliveira and Kamar Usman to move up to sixth and seventh, respectively. In the lightweight division rankings, the former UFC champion moved up to No. 1, where he displaced his friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili.
Another significant change to the UFC’s P4P rankings was the sole leadership of Jon Jones, who no longer shares the top spot with Alexander Volkanovski, who moved to the second position.
The updated rankings were published on the organization’s official website.
The lightweight title fight headlining UFC 292 in Boston ended at the 0:51 mark of the second round after O’Malley sent Sterling into a knockdown with a right jab before finishing the shocked champion in the parterre.
In a post-fight interview, Sean O’Malley said he was ready to make his December defense against Marlon Vera, who had handed him the only defeat of his professional career three years earlier. The Ecuadorian fighter, who defeated Pedro Munoz by unanimous decision in the numbered event, remained in sixth position in the UFC’s lightweight division rankings.