The Kazakhstani, who finished Stephen Thompson with a second-round rear-naked choke at UFC 296 in Las Vegas, was displaced by Colby Covington, who lost a five-round unanimous decision to reigning champion Leon Edwards in the main event.
As a result, Covington finished fifth in the rankings, while Thompson remained in sixth place in the top-15 of the division.
The updated rankings are published on the organization’s official website.
At the moment, Shavkat Rakhmonov and Belal Muhammad, who is one position ahead of “Nomad”, are the main candidates to fight Leon Edwards. The only one who can beat them in the title race is the Russian Islam Makhachev, who has already indicated his desire to share the octagon with the Briton.
Recall that Islam Makhachev, who holds the UFC lightweight title, tops the ranking of the best fighters of the organization regardless of weight category.