UFC Rankings Update: Rory MacDonald & Tyron Woodley Overtake Johny Hendricks
With several ranked fighters participating at this past Saturday’s (October 3, 2015) UFC 192 pay-per-view (PPV) from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, the official rankings have not surprisingly received a significant shakeup today.
Nothing happened in the pound-for-pound ranks, but two-time flyweight title contender Joseph Benavidez did overtake John Dodson for the division’s top spot after his hard-fought decision win over Ali Bagautinov. Despite the loss, Bagautinov id rise one spot to No. 13, and Sergio Pettis made his rankings debut at No. 15 after his win over Chris Cariaso, who for some reason only fell two spots to No. 12, three spots above the man who just beat him.
The next division to see the most noteworthy change was obviously welterweight, where former champion Johny Hendricks fell two spots to No. 3 after jaw-droppingly being rushed to the emergency room after a badly failed attempt to make weight. His scheduled opponent Tyron Woodley rose up one spot to No. 2 as a result, and Rory MacDonald understandably overtook the top spot.
The division to experience the most change was of course the light heavyweight landscape. Despite losing by split decision in a grueling classic five-round war with champion Daniel Cormier in the main event, Alexander Gustafsson held fast at No. 2. Ryan Bader moved up one spot to No. 3 after defeating Rashad Evans, forcing Glover Teixeira down to No. 4. “Suga” moved one slot down to No. 6 as a result.
As for the women, Rose Namajunas moved up one spot to No. 3 on the strawweight rankings after submitting Angela Hill in the opening round. At bantamweight, Sara McMann moved up one spot to No. 6 despite mostly losing this year, while Julianna Pena moved up five spots after her victory over Jessica Eye, “Evil’s” second straight. She moved three spots to No. 9. Recent title challenger Bethe Correia fell one spot to No. 10, while Liz Carmouche and Marion Reneau also dropped a spot to Nos. 11 and 12, respectively.
These rankings will stay intact until October 24, when Dustin Poirier vs. Joseph Duffy headlines UFC Fight Night 76 from Dublin. Check out the full updated rankings courtesy of UFC.com:
POUND-FOR-POUND
1 Jose Aldo
2 Demetrious Johnson
3 Chris Weidman
4 Ronda Rousey
5 TJ Dillashaw
6 Robbie Lawler
7 Fabricio Werdum
8 Rafael dos Anjos
9 Daniel Cormier
10 Cain Velasquez
11 Conor McGregor
12 Anthony Pettis
13 Frankie Edgar
14 Joanna Jedrzejczyk
15 Johny Hendricks
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Demetrious Johnson
1 Joseph Benavidez
2 John Dodson -1
3 Jussier Formiga
4 Ian McCall
5 Henry Cejudo
6 John Moraga
7 Kyoji Horiguchi
8 Zach Makovsky
9 Dustin Ortiz
10 Ray Borg +1
11 Wilson Reis +1
12 Chris Cariaso -2
13 Ali Bagautinov +1
14 Chico Camus -1
15 Sergio Pettis *NR
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: TJ Dillashaw
1 Dominick Cruz
2 Renan Barao
3 Raphael Assuncao
4 Urijah Faber
5 Michael McDonald
6 Aljamain Sterling
7 Bryan Caraway
8 Takeya Mizugaki
9 Thomas Almeida
10 Johnny Eduardo
11 Eddie Wineland
12 John Lineker
13 Francisco Rivera +1
14 Frankie Saenz -1
15 Iuri Alcantara
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Jose Aldo
1 Conor McGregor (Interim Champion)
2 Frankie Edgar
3 Chad Mendes
4 Ricardo Lamas
5 Max Holloway
6 Cub Swanson
7 Charles Oliveira
8 Jeremy Stephens
9 Dennis Bermudez
10 Nik Lentz
11 Clay Guida
12 Hacran Dias
13 Tatsuya Kawajiri
14 Darren Elkins
15 Dennis Siver
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Rafael dos Anjos
1 Anthony Pettis
2 Donald Cerrone
3 Khabib Nurmagomedov
4 Eddie Alvarez
5 Michael Johnson
6 Benson Henderson
7 Edson Barboza
8 Tony Ferguson
9 Myles Jury
10 Beneil Dariush
11 Al Iaquinta
12 Bobby Green
13 Dustin Poirier
14 Nate Diaz
15 Jim Miller
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Robbie Lawler
1 Rory MacDonald +1
2 Tyron Woodley +1
3 Johny Hendricks -2
4 Carlos Condit
5 Matt Brown
6 Demian Maia
7 Dong Hyun Kim
8 Stephen Thompson
9 Tarec Saffiedine
10 Rick Story
11 Gunnar Nelson
12 Neil Magny
13 Thiago Alves
14 Jake Ellenberger
15 Kelvin Gastelum
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Chris Weidman
1 Luke Rockhold
2 Jacare Souza
3 Yoel Romero
4 Vitor Belfort
5 Lyoto Machida
6 Tim Kennedy
7 Michael Bisping
8 Gegard Mousasi
9 Thales Leites
10 Uriah Hall
11 CB Dollaway
12 Dan Henderson
13 Derek Brunson
14 Robert Whittaker
15 Roan Carneiro
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Anthony Johnson
2 Alexander Gustafsson
3 Ryan Bader +1
4 Glover Teixeira -1
5 Ovince Saint Preux +1
6 Rashad Evans -1
7 Mauricio Rua
8 Jimi Manuwa
9 Patrick Cummins
10 Rampage Jackson
11 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
12 Fabio Maldonado
13 Rafael Cavalcante
14 Corey Anderson
15 Jan Blachowicz *NR
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Fabricio Werdum
1 Cain Velasquez
2 Junior Dos Santos
3 Stipe Miocic
4 Andrei Arlovski
5 Travis Browne
6 Josh Barnett
7 Ben Rothwell
8 Mark Hunt
9 Alistair Overeem
10 Frank Mir
11 Antonio Silva
12 Roy Nelson
13 Matt Mitrione
14 Stefan Struve
15 Alexey Oliynyk
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Joanna Jedrzejczyk
1 Claudia Gadelha
2 Carla Esparza
3 Jessica Penne
3 Rose Namajunas +1
5 Tecia Torres
6 Paige VanZant
7 Randa Markos
8 Joanne Calderwood
9 Valerie Letourneau
10 Maryna Moroz
11 Michelle Waterson
12 Jessica Aguilar
13 Felice Herrig
14 Juliana Lima
15 Aisling Daly
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Ronda Rousey
1 Miesha Tate
2 Cat Zingano
3 Alexis Davis
4 Amanda Nunes
5 Sarah Kaufman
6 Sara McMann +1
7 Julianna Pena +5
8 Holly Holm
9 Jessica Eye -3
10 Bethe Correia -1
11 Liz Carmouche -1
12 Marion Reneau -1
13 Raquel Pennington
14 Germaine de Randamie
15 Jessica Andrade
