After the events of UFC 243, two divisions have seen a big shakeup in the CBS Sports UFC divisional rankings, including the crowning of a new middleweight king. With Israel Adesanya’s dispatching of Robert Whittaker to become the undisputed champ at 185 pounds, Adesanya takes over the No. 1 spot while Whittaker drops to No. 3. The apparent next challenge for the new champ is the now No. 2 ranked Paulo Costa.
In addition, Dan Hooker jumped from previously just outside the top 10 to the No. 5 spot at lightweight after easily handling Al Iaquinta. Iaquinta slips from the No. 5 spot to No. 10 after hist third loss in his four most recent fights.
At this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 161 in Tampa, there is only one fight featuring CBS ranked fighters:
- Women’s strawweight: No. 6 Joanna Jedzejczyk vs. No. 7 Michelle Waterson
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Rankings are compiled following the submission of ballots by Brent Brookhouse, Brian Campbell, Jack Crosby and Brandon Wise. Without further ado, here’s where things stand before UFC Fight Night 161 on Saturday night.
For Brian Campbell’s updated Pound for Pound Rankings, click here.
Flyweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Henry Cejudo (c) |
15-2 |
2. Joseph Benavidez |
28-5 |
3. Jussier Formiga |
23-6 |
4. Deivieson Figueiredo |
16-1 |
5. Sergio Pettis |
18-5 |
6. Kai Kara France |
20-7 |
7. Alexandre Pantoja |
21-4 |
8. Matt Schnell |
14-4 |
9. Brandon Moreno |
15-5 |
10. Rogerio Bontorin |
16-1 |
Bantamweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Henry Cejudo (c) |
15-2 |
2. Petr Yan |
13-1 |
3. Aljamain Sterling |
18-3 |
4. Cory Sandhagen |
12-1 |
5. Marlon Moraes |
22-6-1 |
6. Pedro Munhoz |
18-4 |
7. Jimmie Rivera |
22-4 |
8. Raphael Assuncao |
27-7 |
9. TJ Dillashaw |
16-4 |
10. Cody Stamann |
18-2 |
Featherweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Max Holloway (c) |
21-4 |
2. Alexander Volkanovski |
20-1 |
3. Brian Ortega |
14-1 |
4. Zabit Magomedsharipov |
17-1 |
5. Frankie Edgar |
23-7-1 |
6. Jose Aldo |
28-5 |
7. Korean Zombie |
15-5 |
8. Yair Rodriguez |
11-2 |
9. Jeremy Stephens |
28-16 |
10. Josh Emmett |
15-2 |
Lightweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) |
28-0 |
2. Tony Ferguson |
25-3 |
3. Dustin Poirier |
25-6 |
4. Justin Gaethje |
21-2 |
5. Dan Hooker |
19-8 |
6. Gregor Gillespie |
13-0 |
7. Conor McGregor |
21-4 |
8. Donald Cerrone |
36-13 |
9. Paul Felder |
17-4 |
10. Al Iaquinta |
14-6-1 |
Welterweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Kamaru Usman (c) |
15-1 |
2. Colby Covington |
15-1 |
3. Jorge Masvidal |
34-13 |
4. Nate Diaz |
20-11 |
5. Tyron Woodley |
19-4-1 |
6. Leon Edwards |
18-3 |
7. Ben Askren |
19-1 |
8. Santiago Ponzinibbio |
27-3 |
9. Stephen Thompson |
14-4-1 |
10. Rafael dos Anjos |
29-12 |
Middleweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Israel Adesanya (c) |
18-0 |
2. Paulo Costa |
13-0 |
3. Robert Whittaker |
20-5 |
4. Yoel Romero |
13-4 |
5. Kelvin Gastelum |
15-4 |
6. Jared Cannonier |
13-4 |
7. Derek Brunson |
20-7 |
8. Uriah Hall |
15-9 |
9. Jack Hermansson |
20-5 |
10. Brad Tavares |
17-5 |
Light heavyweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Jon Jones (c) |
25-1 |
2. Thiago Santos |
21-7 |
3. Jan Blachowicz |
24-8 |
4. Dominick Reyes |
11-0 |
5. Anthony Smith |
32-14 |
6. Corey Anderson |
12-4 |
7. Glover Teixeira |
30-7 |
8. Johnny Walker |
17-3 |
9. Volkan Oezdemir |
16-4 |
10. Aleksandr Rakic |
12-1 |
Heavyweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Stipe Miocic (c) |
19-3 |
2. Daniel Cormier |
22-2 |
3. Francis Ngannou |
14-3 |
4. Junior dos Santos |
21-6 |
5. Curtis Blaydes |
12-2 |
6. Derrick Lewis |
21-7 |
7. Alistair Overeem |
45-17 |
8. Alexander Volkov |
30-7 |
9. Walt Harris |
13-7 |
10. Blagoy Ivanov |
18-2 |
Women’s strawweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Weili Zhang (c) |
20-1 |
2. Jessica Andrade |
20-7 |
3. Tatiana Suarez |
8-0 |
4. Claudia Gadelha |
17-4 |
5. Nina Ansaroff |
10-6 |
6. Joanna Jedzejczyk |
15-3 |
7. Michelle Waterson |
17-6 |
8. Carla Esparza |
14-6 |
9. Rose Namajunas |
8-4 |
10. Cynthia Carvalho |
8-1 |
Women’s flyweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Valentina Shevchenko (c) |
18-3 |
2. Katlyn Chookagin |
12-2 |
3. Joanne Calderwood |
14-4 |
4. Jessica Eye |
14-7 |
5. Liz Carmouche |
13-7 |
Women’s bantamweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Amanda Nunes (c) |
18-4 |
2. Germaine de Randamie |
9-3 |
3. Ketlen Viera |
10-0 |
4. Aspen Ladd |
8-1 |
5. Holly Holm |
12-5 |
6. Julianna Pena |
9-3 |
7. Yana Kunitskaya |
12-4 |
8. Raquel Pennington |
10-5 |
9. Irene Aldana |
10-5 |
10. Sara McMann |
11-5 |