The UFC rankings have been updated, and there are plenty of surprises as to which fighter has overtaken another.
The biggest shock has come from UFC 316 primary event winner, Merab Dvalishvili, who now rises #2 in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings, overtaking Jon Jones and Ilia Topuria.
The Georgian joined some of the most well-known UFC legends when he increased his winning streak to 13.
As well as Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Demetrious Johnson, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Max Holloway are all tied with 13 consecutive victories.
The Rise of The Machine
Dvalishvili had a negative start to the UFC when he suffered defeats to Frankie Saenz and Ricky Simon.
But, since September 2018, when he defeated Terrion Ware by unanimous decision, the Tbilisi-born fighter has been unstoppable.
The current King of the Bantamweights first became a contender just before he was set to face John Dodson at UFC 252.
After defeating Dodson by unanimous decision, Dvalishvili rose to #12 in the 135-pound rankings and made himself an eye-catching prospect.
The Georgian mixed martial artist wouldn’t catch a lot of attention until he faced Marlon Moraes at UFC 266.
Dvalishvili pulled off a sensational comeback win to defeat the Brazilian by second-round TKO, earning his first UFC finish and becoming the #6 Bantamweight contender.
In his subsequent three battles, Dvalishvili defeated three former champions: Jose Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo, all by unanimous decision, before eventually claiming his UFC title shot.
The #1 contender faced Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 and became the champion of the 135-pound division after going the distance with the Montana-born fighter.
The UFC Bantamweight Champion defended his belt against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311, once again winning by unanimous decision and becoming the first to defeat the Russian.
Now, after submitting O’Malley in the rematch in Newark, Dvalishvili is seen as the 2nd greatest UFC fighter, ranking above some of the greatest names in MMA.
Changes in the rankings from the aftermath of UFC 316
Starting in the Flyweight division, Joshua Van has moved up to #10 after his victory against Bruno Silva.
Not only has Silva dropped two places, but so has Tagir Ulanbekov as the Russian moves down to 12, allowing ‘The Fearless’ to enter the top 10.
Mario Bautista has increased his position by one in the Bantamweight division, swapping places with Cejudo as he moves up to #9.
Of course, before his battle with Vicente Luque, Kevin Holland was unranked. After submitting the Brazilian in the Prudential Centre, he has returned to the Welterweight rankings as the #14 contender.
In the Light Heavyweight division, Azamat Murzakanov has swapped places with his original opponent, Johnny Walker, for UFC 316, moving into the #11 spot.
The heaviest division of the UFC has seen plenty of change.
After Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s victory over Serghei Spivac, he moves up to #8 in the Heavyweight rankings.
However, the Moldavian has unexpectedly dropped two places to #9 after Marcin Tybura rose one spot to #7.
The Women’s pound-for-pound rankings have changed drastically.
However, the most significant changes include Kayla Harrison moving up four places to #3, Julianna Pena dropping two places to #5, and Natalia Silva advancing two places to #6.
Finally, in the Women’s 125-pound division, Wang Cong has entered the rankings at #14 after defeating Ariane da Silva, which has pushed the Brazilian down to #15.
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