For the second consecutive week, championship gold was on the line inside the UFC Octagon, as fans at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena witnessed Alexander Volkanovski successfully defend his featherweight title against Diego Lopes. The card also featured several matchups between ranked contenders and rising stars, resulting in notable movement in the latest updated UFC rankings.
Volkanovski Cements Status Among the Greats
After equalling José Aldo’s record for the most victories in UFC featherweight title fights (eight), Alexander Volkanovski (28-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) climbs one spot to fourth in the pound-for-pound rankings, swapping places with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Diego Lopes (27-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) remains at No. 2 in the featherweight rankings, while Lerone Murphy (17-0-1 MMA, 9-0-1 UFC) moves up to No. 3, overtaking Yair Rodriguez.
Big Changes at 155 Pounds
There were two clear winners in the lightweight rankings following Saturday’s main card. Benoit Saint-Denis (17-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) jumps three places to break into the top five after his dominant win over Dan Hooker, pushing Paddy Pimblett down one spot to sixth.
Mauricio Ruffy (13-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) makes a significant leap, climbing five places to replace the man he defeated on Saturday, Rafael Fiziev, at No. 9.
Teixeira Continues to Climb
After handing Tai Tuivasa his sixth consecutive defeat in Saturday’s main card opener, Tallison Teixeira (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) rises four places to No. 11 in the heavyweight rankings, while Tuivasa slides to fifteenth.
Rakhmonov Removed
Following news that he has re-injured the knee that sidelined him for the entirety of 2025, Shavkat Rakhmonov (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was not included in the eligible pool of athletes for this week’s ranking cycle and has therefore been removed from the welterweight rankings, where he had been sitting in second place.
Michael “Venom” Page (24-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) returns from a stint at 185 pounds to claim fifteenth place in the welterweight top 15.
