Curtis Blaydes entered his UFC Fight Night battle with Alexander Volkov with no possibility to improve his standing in the heavyweight division, though the potential did exist for him to tumble in the rankings. Blaydes ultimately dominated Volkov, winning a five-round decision and keeping himself locked in the No. 4 spot at heavyweight. Volkov, however, slipped one spot from No. 7 to No. 8 with the loss.
The biggest mover in the rankings coming out of the event was Josh Emmett. Emmett came into his fight with Shane Burgos ranked No. 10 at featherweight and gutted through a badly damaged knee to pick up a decision victory. With the win, Emmett rose to No. 7 while Burgos fell from No. 7 to No. 10.
The upcoming weekend is highlighted by a major lightweight showdown with No. 4-ranked Dustin Poirier taking on No. 5 Dan Hooker.
At Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event, the Poirier vs. Hooker main event is the only fight involving CBS Sports ranked fighters:
- Lightweight: No. 4 Dustin Poirier vs. No. 5 Dan Hooker
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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 ahead of Saturday’s card.
For Brian Campbell’s updated Pound for Pound Rankings, click here.
Flyweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Deivieson Figueiredo |
17-1 |
2. Joseph Benavidez |
28-6 |
3. Brandon Moreno |
17-5 |
4. Alexandre Pantoja |
21-4 |
5. Matt Schnell |
14-4 |
6. Kai Kara-France |
21-8 |
7. Askar Askarov |
11-0-1 |
8. Alex Perez |
24-5 |
9. Jussier Formiga |
23-8 |
10. Raulian Paiva |
19-3 |
Bantamweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Petr Yan |
14-1 |
2. Aljamain Sterling |
19-3 |
3. Marlon Moraes |
23-6-1 |
T4. Cody Garbrandt |
12-3 |
T4. Cory Sandhagen |
12-2 |
T4. Pedro Munhoz |
18-4 |
7. Jimmie Rivera |
22-4 |
T8. Jose Aldo |
28-6 |
T8. Raphael Assuncao |
27-8 |
10. Sean O’Malley |
12-0 |
Featherweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Alexander Volkanovski (c) |
22-1 |
2. Max Holloway |
21-5 |
T3. Korean Zombie |
16-5 |
T3. Zabit Magomedsharipov |
18-1 |
5. Brian Ortega |
14-1 |
6. Yair Rodriguez |
12-2 |
7. Josh Emmett |
16-2 |
8. Calvin Kattar |
21-4 |
9. Dan Ige |
14-2 |
10. Shane Burgos |
13-2 |
Lightweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) |
28-0 |
2. Justin Gaethje |
22-2 |
3. Tony Ferguson |
25-4 |
4. Dustin Poirier |
25-6 |
5. Dan Hooker |
20-8 |
6. Conor McGregor |
21-4 |
7. Charles Oliveira |
29-8 |
8. Paul Felder |
17-5 |
9. Al Iaquinta |
14-6-1 |
10. Islam Makhachev |
18-1 |
Welterweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Kamaru Usman (c) |
16-1 |
2. Jorge Masvidal |
35-13 |
3. Leon Edwards |
18-3 |
4. Colby Covington |
15-2 |
5. Gilbert Burns |
19-3 |
6. Stephen Thompson |
15-4-1 |
7. Tyron Woodley |
19-5-1 |
8. Geoff Neal |
13-2 |
9. Santiago Ponzinibbio |
27-3 |
10. Michael Chiesa |
17-4 |
Middleweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Israel Adesanya (c) |
19-0 |
2. Paulo Costa |
13-0 |
3. Robert Whittaker |
20-5 |
4. Jared Cannonier |
13-4 |
5. Yoel Romero |
13-5 |
6. Derek Brunson |
20-7 |
7. Kelvin Gastelum |
15-5 |
8. Jack Hermansson |
20-5 |
9. Darren Till |
18-2-1 |
10. Uriah Hall |
15-9 |
Light heavyweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Jon Jones (c) |
26-1 |
2. Jan Blachowicz |
26-8 |
3. Dominick Reyes |
12-1 |
4. Thiago Santos |
21-7 |
5. Corey Anderson |
13-5 |
6. Glover Teixeira |
31-7 |
7. Volkan Oezdemir |
17-4 |
8. Anthony Smith |
32-15 |
9. Aleksandr Rakic |
12-2 |
10. Nikita Krylov |
26-7 |
Heavyweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Stipe Miocic (c) |
19-3 |
2. Daniel Cormier |
22-2 |
3. Francis Ngannou |
15-3 |
4. Curtis Blaydes |
14-2 |
5. Junior dos Santos |
21-7 |
6. Derrick Lewis |
23-7 |
7. Alistair Overeem |
46-18 |
8. Alexander Volkov |
31-8 |
9. Walt Harris |
13-8 |
10. Jairzinho Rozenstruik |
10-1 |
Women’s strawweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Weili Zhang (c) |
21-1 |
T2. Jessica Andrade |
20-7 |
T2. Tatiana Suarez |
8-0 |
T2. Joanna Jedzejczyk |
16-4 |
5. Claudia Gadelha |
18-4 |
6. Nina Ansaroff |
10-6 |
7. Carla Esparza |
15-6 |
8. Michelle Waterson |
17-8 |
9. Rose Namajunas |
8-4 |
10. Angela Hill |
12-8 |
Women’s flyweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Valentina Shevchenko (c) |
19-3 |
2. Joanne Calderwood |
14-4 |
3. Katlyn Chookagian |
12-3 |
4. Cynthia Calvillo |
9-1-1 |
5. Lauren Murphy |
13-4 |
Women’s bantamweight
Fighter |
Record |
1. Amanda Nunes (c) |
19-4 |
2. Aspen Ladd |
9-1 |
3. Germaine de Randamie |
9-4 |
4. Irene Aldana |
11-5 |
5. Holly Holm |
12-5 |
6. Julianna Pena |
9-3 |
7. Ketlen Vieira |
10-1 |
8. Yana Kunitskaya |
12-5 |
9. Raquel Pennington |
11-8 |
10. Sara McMann |
11-5 |