Athletes
Rankings Report | Week Of September 19, 2023
See Which Fighters Moved Up And Down In The Latest Edition Of The Rankings
The latest updates to the UFC rankings across all divisions are here. Take a look at which fighters moved up and down in the most recent edition of the UFC rankings.
Five divisions – welterweight, middleweight, heavyweight, women’s strawweight, and women’s flyweight – saw updates to their rankings this week, as did the men’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Men’s Pound-For-Pound
Three fighters shifted in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings. Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley moved up a spot to tie former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at the No. 6 spot.
Former middleweight champion Alex Pereira moved one spot up to No. 11, bumping former featherweight champion Max Holloway down to No. 12.
Welterweight
Noche UFC’s co-main event between Kevin Holland and Jack Della Maddalena was a close fight, but with JDM getting the split decision nod, the Australian maintained his undefeated record in the UFC and moved ahead of Holland in the rankings.
JDM now sits No. 12 in the world, while Holland is at No. 13, and Neil Magny is now No. 14.
Middleweight
The departure of Derek Brunson made for a big shake-up at middleweight. Brunson was at No. 8 in the rankings when he was removed from the UFC roster, moving up every athlete who was currently ranked one spot and adding Anthony Hernandez to the mix at No. 15.
Heavyweight
The only change for the big boys was the addition of Martin Buday to the rankings. The 13-1 heavyweight is 4-0 in the UFC and looks to continue climbing the 265 pound ladder.
Women’s Strawweight
Just about everything changed in the women’s strawweight rankings this week. The only fighters who remained locked into their position were champion Zhang Weili and No. 1 contender Carla Esparza. Everyone else moved up with the departure of Rose Namajunas
Three fighters moved up more than one spot however, with Luana Pinheiro breaking into the top 10 by moving up three spots to No. 9, Tabatha Ricci getting a three-spot bump up to No. 11, and Angela Hill moving up two spots to No. 13.
Loopy Godinez, fresh off her impressive win at Noche UFC, made her way into the rankings at No. 14. Former strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz filled in the No. 15 spot.
Women’s Flyweight
Even with Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko fighting to a highly entertaining split draw, there was some significant movement in the flyweight division.
Manon Fiorot dropped a spot out of her tie at No. 2 with Erin Blanchfield. Amanda Ribas moved up a position to No. 10 in the flyweight rankings (Ribas is also No. 10 in the strawweight rankings) pushing Viviane Araújo down a spot to No. 11.
See What Dana White Said Is Next For The Flyweight Division
Tracy Cortez, whose return to the Octagon at Noche UFC was a successful one, moved up two spots to No 12.
Elsewhere, Natalia Silva moved to No. 13, Casey O’Neill moved to No. 14, and Karine Silva rounded out the top 15 at No. 15.
Looking Forward To Next Week
All three of the featured bouts on UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs Gamrot are ranked vs ranked bouts.
The featured prelim bout pits strawweight contenders Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson-Gomez against each other. Rodriguez is trying to regain her footing after a two-fight skid while Waterson-Gomez is coming off a three-fight losing streak.
The last time Rodriguez and Waterson-Gomez fought it was a short notice main event up a weight class at flyweight. This time it’s a crucial fight to see which of the two can get back on track in their natural weight class.
The co-main event features two all-action featherweights looking to climb into contention. Bryce Mitchell is back against Dan Ige in what should be an interesting clash of styles. Mitchell hasn’t stepped into the Octagon since last December and looks to rebound from his loss to Ilia Topuria. Meanwhile Ige put together back-to-back impressive wins versus Damon Jackson and Nate Landwehr. It’ll be a fun fight with big time implications when it comes to what’s next for these two highly respected featherweights.
Main Event Preview | UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs Gamrot
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Main Event Preview | UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs Gamrot
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The main event between Rafael Fiziev and Mateusz Gamrot promises to keep fans on the edge of their seats. Fiziev enters the fray for the first time since his incredible fight with Justin Gaethje earlier this year. A win for him puts him right back into the title conversation and firmly inside the lightweight top five.
For Gamrot, he bounced-back from his defeat to Beneil Dariush with a hard-fought win over Jalin Turner in March. Beating Fiziev puts Gamrot in the position for a very important lightweight fight the next time he steps into the Octagon.
UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs Shevchenko 2 took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 16, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
