Rankings Report | Week Of September 5, 2023
See Which Fighters Have Moved Up And Down In The Latest Edition Of The Rankings
The latest updates to the UFC rankings across all divisions are here. Take a look at which fighters have moved up and down in the most recent edition of the UFC rankings.
How To Watch UFC 293: Adesanya vs Strickland
Two divisions – featherweight and heavyweight – saw updates to their rankings this week, as well as the women’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Women’s Pound-For-Pound
Manon Fiorot’s impressive win over former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas proved that she is ready to compete for the flyweight title. Her unanimous decision victory pushed her up four spots to No. 6 in the pound-for-pound rankings. Namajunas dropped four spots to No. 8 with the defeat.
Those two moves pushed Julianna Peña and Erin Blanchfield each up a spot to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Tatiana Suarez dropped two spots to No. 10. And finally, Zhang Weili moved out of her tie with Alexa Grasso to the No. 2 spot.
Featherweight
With The Korean Zombie officially retiring, each featherweight ranked 10 and lower bumped up a spot. Bryce Mitchell, Sodiq Yusuff, Dan Ige, Edson Barboza, Alex Caceres, and Lerone Murphy (previously unranked) now sit in spots 10-15.
Heavyweight
Ciryl Gane’s lights out performance versus Serghei Spivac in the UFC Paris main event helped him reestablish his spot as the top contender at heavyweight.
Gane is now tied with Sergei Pavlovich at No. 1, and Serghei Spivac (No. 8) dropped a single position, giving way to Alexander Volkov at No. 7.
Looking Forward To Next Week
Ranked flyweight Manel Kape is back in action this weekend, after a handful of fight cancellations forced him to the sidelines. He’s back to face short notice replacement Felipe dos Santos, who is stepping in for an injured Kai Kara-France.
Kape is the 10th ranked flyweight contender and there isn’t much to gain for him at UFC 293, but it’s a massive opportunity for dos Santos to make a quick name for himself in the Octagon.
The UFC 293 co-main event is a heavyweight banger between No. 6 and No. 7. Tai Tuivasa, who made his UFC debut six years ago in Sydney, faces Alexander Volkov. The winner likely puts themselves in position for an important fight next time out, with an opportunity to insert their name into the title shot conversation
UFC 293’s main event features one of MMA’s biggest stars and one of the sport’s most controversial personalities, as UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya defends his title versus Sean Strickland.
Strickland is currently the fifth-ranked contender, and beating one of the pound-for-pound top fighters in the world would be the perfect way to capture his first UFC title. For Adesanya, beating Strickland helps him maintain his place on the middleweight throne and notches another spot on his legacy as he looks to become one of the all-time greats.
