Eddie Alvarez positioned himself nicely for a potential shot at the lightweight title by beating former champ Anthony Pettis at Fight Night Boston.
In the official UFC rankings release Tuesday, Alvarez’s stock grew even more with a three-spot jump to the No. 1 position in the lightweight division, passing No. 2 Khabib Nurmagomedov and Pettis, who falls two spots to No. 3.
“When I signed with Dana (White) and Lorenzo (Fertitta) I simply told them I would like the best guys that you guys have in the division,” Alvarez said in Boston as the post-fight press conference. “They’ve given me the best guys, and to be honest I don’t know what I deserve. It’s up to the boss man here whoever they give me. Hopefully it’s for the title. I would love, love, love a shot at the title.”
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone dropped to No. 4, but he is set to debut at welterweight in February at Fight Night Pittsburgh against Tim Means.
TJ Dillashaw fell to the No. 1 spot at bantamweight after losing his championship in a close fight against Dominick Cruz.
The Dillashaw loss rocked the foundation of the pound-for-pound rankings, dropping the former champion eight spots all the way down to No. 12. Cruz reappeared on the list at No. 9.
In other movement on the pound-for-pound list, UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler moved up a spot to claim Dillashaw’s No. 4 rankings. Heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum and middleweight champ Luke Rockhold each moved up two spots to the No. 5 and 7 positions, respectively.
Former champions Jose Aldo and Ronda Rousey continue to fall, as Aldo fell a spot to No. 14 and Rousey dropped from the list completely.
In other notable movement, Ilir Latifi, fresh off a 30-second KO win against Sean O’Connell in Boston, made his debut on the rankings at No. 15 in the light heavyweight division.
More from Fight Night Boston: Full results | Post-fight bonus recap | WATCH: Dana White’s final verdict | Talking Points after Boston | #ANDNEW! Cruz beats Dillashaw by split decision | Faber agrees Cruz won; Doesn’t want Dillashaw fight | Alvarez gets close win, Browne and Trinaldo also victorious | Felder delivers when he needs it most | Cote, Hernan get big TKO’s in prelims | Latifi, Rosa among early winners on FIGHT PASS | Watch the FIGHT PASS prelims here | Octagon interviews: Dominick Cruz, Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw, Paul Felder | Backstage interviews: Eddie Alvarez, Travis Browne, Patrick Cote, Ed Herman, Luke Sanders | Best Images from Fight Night Boston