With UFC 316 in the history books, it’s time to look at the biggest movers and shakers in the UFC rankings.
Merab Dvalishvili
In beating Sean O’Malley for the second time in Saturday’s main event, Merab Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) extended his winning streak to 13, leaving him just one shy of drawing level with Islam Makhachev who has the longest current win streak in the UFC.
Saturday’s victory was also Dvalishvili’s first submission win of his UFC tenure and “The Machine” has now overtaken both Jon Jones and Ilia Topuria in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings to move into second place behind Makhachev.
Kayla Harrison
After just her third UFC appearance, Kayla Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has jumped up four places in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings following her submission over Julianna Pena and now sits in third place just behind Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili.
Mario Bautista
Another fighter riding an impressive winning streak, Mario Bautista (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) jumps one place to reach ninth in the UFC bantamweight rankings after he picked up his eight successive win by outclassing former Bellator champion Patchy Mix on Saturday’s main card. The reshuffle in the division also sees former title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) move up one place to no. 2, one spot below Sean O’Malley.
Kevin Holland
A second consecutive win at 170 pounds for Kevin Holland (28-13 MMA, 15-10 UFC) sees him replace the man he submitted, Vicente Luque, at no. 14 in the welterweight rankings. Luque departs the list.
Joshua Van
Rising flyweight contender Joshua Van (14-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) has gate-crashed the top ten at 125 pounds following his stoppage win over Bruno Silva at UFC 316. Silva, meanwhile, drops two places to no. 14.
Azamat Murzakanov
A fourth stoppage win in five UFC victories see Azamat Murzakanov (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) move up one place to eleventh in the light heavyweight rankings after the Russian finished Brendson Ribeiro on Saturday’s preliminary card.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta
A fifth consecutive win for Waldo Cortes-Acosta (14-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) sees “Salsa Boy” jump three places to eight in the heavyweight rankings, while his vanquished opponent Serghei Spivac drops two places to ninth.
Wang Cong
Following her win over Ariane da Silva on Saturday, Wang Cong (8-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) debuts at no. 14 in the women’s flyweight rankings, dropping da Silva to 15th and pushing JJ Aldrich out of the rankings entirely.
