The UFC’s trip to Perth created movement in 3 UFC divisions this weekend. The UFC rankings have been updated and as a result of wins by heavyweights Curtis Blaydes and Tui Tuivasa, the heavyweight division was impacted the most.
Let’s take a look at all 3 divisions impacted by this weekend’s fights:
UFC Heavyweight Division Rankings
Champion: Stipe Miocic
- Francis Ngannou
- Alistair Overeem
- Fabricio Werdum
- Cain Velasquez
- Curtis Blaydes (+4)
- Mark Hunt (-1)
- Derrick Lewis (-1)
- Alexander Volkov (-1)
- Marcin Tybura (-1)
- Stefan Struve
- Aleksei Oleinik
- Andrei Arlovski
- Tim Johnson
- Junior Albini
- Tai Tuivasa (previously unranked)
Curtis Blaydes’ dominate wrestling performance over New Zealand’s Mark Hunt shot him up 4 places in the heavyweight division. Blaydes passed Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov, Derrick Lewis, and his opponent in Perth, Mark Hunt. The 26-year-old now occupies the same #5 spot that Hunt held heading into their clash on Saturday.
Also in the heavyweight division, Tai Tuivasa moved into the rankings for the first time in his career. Tuivasa’s 1st round knockout of Cyril Asker may not have been good enough for a $50K bonus cheque, but it was good enough to land him the #15 spot in the division. The 24-year-old is now 9-0 (2-0 UFC) and has knocked out all his opponents in the 1st round.
UFC Middleweight Rankings
Champion: Robert Whittaker
- Yoel Romero
- Jacare Souza (+1)
- Luke Rockhold (-1)
- Chris Weidman
- Kelvin Gastelum
- Michael Bisping
- Derek Brunson
- David Branch
- Uriah Hall
- Vitor Belfort
- Thiago Santos
- Lyoto Machida
- Krzysztof Jotko
- Paulo Costa
- Brad Tavares
The top of the UFC’s middleweight division was impacted by the main event of UFC 221. Everywhere else in the division stayed the same, however.
Luke Rockhold dropped one spot due to his knockout loss to Yoel Romero on Saturday. Jacare Souza, whose only UFC losses are to Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero, moves into the #2 position. Rockhold once defeated Souza for the Strikeforce championship in 2011. Souza most recently defeated Derek Brunson in the main event of UFC on Fox 27 last month.
UFC Light Heavyweight Rankings
Champion: Daniel Cormier
- Alexander Gustafsson
- Glover Teixeira
- Volkan Oezdemir
- Jimi Manuwa
- Ovince Saint Preux
- Mauricio Rua
- Misha Cirkunov
- Corey Anderson
- Ilir Latifi
- Patrick Cummins
- Jan Blackhowicz
- Tyson Pedro (+1)
- Gadzhimurad Antigulov (-1)
- Gian Villante
- Jared Cannonier
As a result of his victory on Saturday, Australia’s Tyson Pedro moved up one spot in the rankings. The popular prospect submitted Saparbek Safarov in the 1st round at UFC 221, hence his ascension up the rankings.
The only blemish on Pedro’s impressive record so far is his UFC 215 loss to #9 ranked, Ilir Latifi. Pedro couldn’t keep up with Latifi’s wrestling that night and as a result, dropped a unanimous decision.
