Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Like it or not, there’s a new king atop the light heavyweight division.

In typical methodical fashion, Magomed Ankalaev outdueled Alex Pereira over five rounds in the UFC 313 headliner to claim 205-pound gold at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. While it wasn’t the most thrilling performance, Ankalaev’s style has led him on a 14-fight unbeaten streak in Ultimate Fighting Championship competition and now, he holds the No. 1 position in Sherdog’s light heavyweight rankings.

In Saturday’s co-main event, Justin Gaethje shook off a brutal knockout loss to Max Holloway last April and improved to 2-0 against Rafael Fiziev in a highly entertaining lightweight rematch. The former World Series of Fighting Champion remains one of the sport’s most consistent action fighters, and retains his No. 5 ranking at 155 pounds. Fiziev, who gave a valiant effort on short notice, appears to have fully recovered from a knee injury he suffered in his last Octagon appearance and doesn’t see his stock drop much in defeat.

While the Top 10 remained intact, there was movement on the lightweight bubble thanks to some entertaining finishes on the UFC 313 main card. Mauricio Ruffy authored a “Knockout of the Year” candidate, stopping Bobby Green with a beautiful spinning wheel kick in the opening frame of their featured contest. Ruffy has won his first three promotional outings and joins the lightweight poll at No. 14. Meanwhile, Ignacio Bahamondes secured his third consecutive first round finish in the Octagon with a submission of the previously 15th-ranked Jalin Turner in another lightweight affair. The Chilean standout is a solid choice to replace “The Tarantula” at the bottom of the bubble.

Finally, No. 6 strawweight Amanda Lemos returned to the win column with a decision triumph over seventh-ranked Iasmin Lucindo in an uneventful fight. Both fighters stay put following a forgettable bout, but the real loser is Lucindo, who entered the matchup on a four-bout winning streak and had the opportunity to make some serious noise in the division.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

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