UFC Rankings Update: Miesha Tate Drops 9 Spots, McGregor #2 P4P
UFC Rankings Update: Miesha Tate Drops 9 Spots, McGregor #2 P4P
This past weekend’s historic UFC 205 fight card resulted in major changes in the most recent polling of UFC rankings. Get a full look at the UFC rankings update here.
Rankings were generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members are asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.
So Who Made The Biggest Impact?
After defeating UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez to claim his second UFC title, Conor McGregor jumps up two spots in the pound-for-pound (P4P) sector, passing the likes of bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. McGregor sits behind flyweight champion Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson.
Also, on the P4P list, champions Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Tyron Woodley each climb one spot after their UFC 205 performances. Middleweight champion Michel Bisping rose one position although he did not defend on the card.
A surprising leap was Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino who jumped four spots on the P4P list. Also, with a dominating UFC 205 performance over Michael Johnson, Khabib Nurmagomedov enters the P4P list for the first time at #15.
Lightweight Change Up
There were not many changes in the lighter weight divisions for men in the most recent UFC rankings update except Sergio Pettis being added as #15 in the flyweight division.
In the lightweight division, Nurmagomedov moved up to the number one spot…. but what will that mean? Does he get the title shot against Conor McGregor?
Every other lightweight in the rankings shifted down one spot except for Alvarez who with the title loss dropped three spots to number three.
Wonderboy States His Case
After fighting to a draw with welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson now sits atop the division at number one. Former champion Robbie Lawler drops one spot to number two.
Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone gained a point event after his fight with Kelvin Gastelum was cancelled, and the aforementioned Gastellum drops three spots to number eight after not making weight.
Yoel Romero
In the middleweight division, wrestling standout Yoel Romero moves to the number one spot. Romero advanced three positions after battering and bloodying the former champion Chris Weidman at UFC 205. Weidman drops two spots to number four.
Women’s Bantamweight
The UFC women’s bantamweight division saw major changes after former champion Miesha Tate was dominated by Raquel Pennington in the opening bout of the UFC 205 pay-per-view. What surprised many and maybe even overshadowed Rocky’s impressive win, was Tate’s announcement to retire from the sport immediately following the loss. As a result, Tate who was the division champion just five months ago drops nine spots to number 10.
Behind Tate now sits Ashlee Evans-Smith who move from number 12 to 11.
With her win over Tate, Pennington moves three spots up to number five. Former champion Holly Holm still sits at four, while Julianna Pena moves two spots up to three, Valentina Shevchenko and Ronda Rousey each move one spot up to numbers two and one.
Rousey of course will look to regain the title she once held at UFC 207 on December 30.
Those are your UFC rankings updates for the week. Tune in next week for more changes.
