The UFC took their Octagon to Minneapolis last weekend for a big ESPN show, and while there was a lot of action in the cage, there wasn’t a ton when it came to rankings changes in the aftermath. With that being said, there are two new top contenders in the lower weight classes - though both of them have occupied that spot before.
Joseph Benavidez once again proved that he is an elite flyweight by taking out Jussier Formiga on the main card. That got him his number-one contender spot back, and a possible date with Henry Cejudo when he heals up. Over at women’s bantamweight, Germaine de Randamie didn’t fall out of the top spot for long despite Holly Holm getting the title shot this weekend.
Here’s a look at all the changes coming out of UFC on ESPN 3.
P4P - Stipe Miocic fell two spots to 11. Conor McGregor and Robert Whittaker are up one each to nine and ten respectively.
Heavyweight - Alistair Overeem fell from a tie for six to take over the seven spot on his own.
Light Heavyweight - Dominick Reyes is up one spot to four. Recently-retired Alexander Gustafsson slips one to five.
Middleweight - Due to his pending light heavyweight fight this weekend, Luke Rockhold was prematurely pulled from the 185-pound rankings. He was the number two contender, so basically everyone else just moved up a spot. Uriah Hall is the only outlier, moving up two to 12 while Antonio Carlos Junior stands pat at 13. Anderson Silva re-entered the rankings at 15.
Welterweight - No changes.
Lightweight - No changes.
Featherweight - Jeremy Stephens moves up one to seven, pushing Yair Rodriguez to eight. Josh Emmett is up one to nine, bumping Renato Moicano another spot down to ten.
Bantamweight - No changes.
Flyweight - As mentioned, Benavidez is the new top contender after taking out Formiga. Formiga drops one spot to two.
Women’s Bantamweight - For whatever reason, De Randamie has regained her number-one contender status, moving up two spots. Holm and Ketlen Vieira drop a spot each to two and three respectively. Irene Aldana and Sara McMann flip-flopped the nine and ten spots again.
Women’s Flyweight - Jojo Calderwood is up one spot into a tie for five with Roxy Modafferi.
Women’s Strawweight - Claudia Gadelha is back in the top five, bouncing next title challenger Weili Zhang to six. Alexa Grasso is back up to 11, dropping Felice Herrig to 12.
