Max Holloway has taken a lot of pride in his claims of being the best boxer in the UFC. This past Saturday night, Holloway had to rely on more than his boxing to survive a five-round war with Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Fight Night. Holloway, the former featherweight champion, won a unanimous decision in one of the best fights of the year.
With the win, Holloway remains No. 2 at featherweight in the CBS Sports UFC Divisional Rankings, one spot behind champion Alexander Volkanovski. That said, Holloway seemed to suggest during his post-fight interview that he had more interest in facing Dustin Poirier or Conor McGregor than pursuing a third fight with Volkanovski, who won both of their prior meetings by close decision.
Rodriguez’s impressive performance meant he did not slip in the rankings. In fact, he moved up one spot to No. 4, a result of Zabit Magomedsharipov’s inactivity. Magomedsharipov has not fought in more than two years and his MMA future is uncertain due to health concerns, as a result, he has been removed from the rankings.
Saturday’s UFC Fight Night features two fights featuring CBS Sports ranked fighters.
- Women’s bantamweight: No. 9 Ketlen Vieira vs. No. 10 Miesha Tate
- Welterweight: No. 8 Michael Chiesa vs. Sean Brady
Rankings are compiled following the submission of ballots by Brent Brookhouse, Brian Campbell and Brandon Wise. Without further ado, here’s where things stand ahead of Saturday’s card.
For Brian Campbell’s updated Pound for Pound Rankings, click here.
Flyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Brandon Moreno (c) |
19-5-2 |
|
2. Deiveson Figueiredo |
20-2-1 |
|
3. Askar Askarov |
14-0-1 |
|
4. Matt Schnell |
15-6 |
|
5. Alexandre Pantoja |
23-5 |
|
6. Kai Kara-France |
22-9 |
|
7. Joseph Benavidez |
28-8 |
|
8. Alex Perez |
24-6 |
|
9. Brandon Royval |
12-6 |
|
10. Jussier Formiga |
23-8 |
Bantamweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Petr Yan |
16-2 |
|
2. Aljamain Sterling (c) |
19-4 |
|
3. TJ Dillashaw |
17-4 |
|
4. Rob Font |
19-4 |
|
5. Cory Sandhagen |
14-4 |
|
6. Jose Aldo |
30-7 |
|
7. Merab Dvalishvili |
14-4 |
|
8. Pedro Munhoz |
19-6 |
|
T9. Cody Garbrandt |
12-4 |
|
T9. Jimmie Rivera |
23-5 |
Featherweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Alexander Volkanovski (c) |
22-1 |
|
2. Max Holloway |
23-6 |
|
3. Brian Ortega |
15-2 |
|
4. Yair Rodriguez |
13-3 |
|
5. Giga Chikadze |
14-2 |
|
6. Korean Zombie |
17-6 |
|
7. Calvin Kattar |
22-5 |
|
8. Edson Barboza |
22-10 |
|
T9. Josh Emmett |
16-2 |
|
T9. Shane Burgos |
14-3 |
Lightweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Dustin Poirier |
28-6 |
|
2. Charles Oliveira (c) |
31-8 |
|
3. Justin Gaethje |
23-3 |
|
4. Islam Makhachev |
21-1 |
|
5. Beneil Dariush |
21-4-1 |
|
6. Rafael dos Anjos |
30-13 |
|
7. Michael Chandler |
22-7 |
|
8. Dan Hooker |
20-11 |
|
9. Gregor Gillespie |
14-1 |
|
10. Tony Ferguson |
25-6 |
Welterweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Kamaru Usman (c) |
20-1 |
|
2. Leon Edwards |
19-3 |
|
3. Colby Covington |
16-3 |
|
4. Gilbert Burns |
20-4 |
|
5. Vicente Luque |
21-7-1 |
|
6. Stephen Thompson |
16-5-1 |
|
7. Jorge Masvidal |
35-15 |
|
8. Michael Chiesa |
18-5 |
|
T9. Neil Magny |
25-8 |
|
T9. Khamzat Chimaev |
10-0 |
Middleweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Israel Adesanya (c) |
21-1 |
|
2. Robert Whittaker |
23-5 |
|
3. Marvin Vettori |
18-5-1 |
|
4. Derek Brunson |
23-7 |
|
5. Jared Cannonier |
14-5 |
|
6. Paulo Costa |
13-2 |
|
7. Jack Hermansson |
22-6 |
|
8. Sean Strickland |
24-3 |
|
9. Kelvin Gastelum |
16-8 |
|
10. Darren Till |
18-4-1 |
Light heavyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Glover Teixeira (c) |
33-7 |
|
2. Jiri Prochazka |
28-3-1 |
|
3. Jan Blachowicz |
28-9 |
|
4. Aleksandar Rakic |
14-2 |
|
5. Anthony Smith |
36-16 |
|
6. Thiago Santos |
22-9 |
|
7. Magomed Ankalaev |
15-1 |
|
8. Dominick Reyes |
12-3 |
|
9. Johnny Walker |
18-6 |
|
10. Nikita Krylov |
26-8 |
Heavyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Francis Ngannou (c) |
16-3 |
|
2. Stipe Miocic |
20-4 |
|
3. Ciryl Gane |
10-0 |
|
4. Curtis Blaydes |
15-3 |
|
5. Derrick Lewis |
25-8 |
|
6. Alexander Volkov |
34-9 |
|
7. Marcin Tybura |
22-7 |
|
8. Chris Daukaus |
12-3 |
|
9. Jairzinho Rozenstruik |
12-3 |
|
10. Tai Tuivasa |
12-3 |
Women’s strawweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Rose Namajunas (c) |
11-4 |
|
2. Weili Zhang |
21-3 |
|
3. Carla Esparza |
18-6 |
|
4. Marina Rodriguez |
14-1-2 |
|
T5. Yan Xiaonan |
13-2 |
|
T5. Joanna Jedrzejczyk |
16-4 |
|
T7. Mackenzie Dern |
11-1 |
|
T7. Tatiana Suarez |
8-0 |
|
9. Amanda Ribas |
11-2 |
|
10. Jessica Andrade |
22-9 |
Women’s flyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Valentina Shevchenko (c) |
22-3 |
|
2. Jessica Andrade |
22-9 |
|
3. Jennifer Maia |
19-7-1 |
|
4. Lauren Murphy |
15-5 |
|
5. Maycee Barber |
9-2 |
Women’s bantamweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Amanda Nunes (c) |
21-4 |
|
2. Germaine de Randamie |
10-4 |
|
3. Holly Holm |
14-5 |
|
4. Julianna Pena |
10-4 |
|
5. Irene Aldana |
13-6 |
|
6. Aspen Ladd |
9-2 |
|
7. Yana Kunitskaya |
14-6 |
|
8. Julia Avila |
9-2 |
|
9. Ketlen Vieira |
11-2 |
|
10. Miesha Tate |
19-7 |
