Post-UFC Paris rankings update: Renato Moicano furious with zero movement despite win over Benoit Saint Denis, Ailin Perez goes up one spot
Renato Moicano secured a dominant victory at UFC Paris, as did Ailin Perez. Nevertheless, Moicano's ranking remains the same, while Perez moved up in this week's official UFC rankings update.
The UFC's most recent event transpired at the Accor Arena in Paris, France, on Sept. 28, 2024. It was headlined by a lightweight bout between Brazil's Renato Moicano and France's Benoit Saint Denis. Moicano defeated Saint Denis via second-round TKO (doctor's stoppage).
Per John Morgan, the UFC's latest rankings update has Renato Moicano staying put at No. 11 in the lightweight ranks. Benoit Saint Denis also remains unmoved at No. 12. Meanwhile, Moicano put forth a series of tweets, explaining why he deserves to be ranked No. 6.
Renato Moicano explained that he's competed thrice in eight months and is on a six-fight lightweight win streak. It appears that he excluded his March 2022 unanimous decision defeat against Rafael dos Anjos, as that was a 160-pound catchweight bout. Additionally, Moicano noted that five of his past six wins have come via stoppage.
Moicano indicated that the legendary Max Holloway is ranked No. 10 but is fighting for the featherweight belt next. He seemingly believes Holloway deserves to be No. 3 because he beat the current No. 3 Justin Gaethje earlier this year. Apparently, he'd gladly accept the No. 7 spot in that case.
Also, 'Money' indicated that the No. 9-ranked Rafael Fiziev is coming off back-to-back defeats and hasn't competed since September 2023. Meanwhile, the No. 8-ranked Mateusz Gamrot lost to Dan Hooker in August 2024.
Moicano added that the No. 7-ranked Beneil Dariush is coming off defeats against Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan and hasn't fought since December 2023.
Moreover, Moicano addressed his longtime rival, the No. 6-ranked Michael Chandler, insinuating that Chandler's the least deserving of his ranking. 'Money' argued that it's because Chandler is 2-3 in the UFC, lost his last fight in Nov. 2022, had been pursuing a matchup against Conor McGregor since, and only recently pivoted to a rematch against Charles Oliveira.
Furthermore, Moicano has been lobbying for a UFC lightweight title eliminator against Dan Hooker next.
Check out the screenshots of some of Renato Moicano's tweets below:
UFC rankings update: In stark contrast to Renato Moicano's ranking stagnation, Ailin Perez rises
Another notable matchup at UFC Paris witnessed Argentina's Ailin Perez stop Russia-born France-based Darya Zheleznyakova via first-round submission before twerking on her face. Perez had missed weight for the scheduled women's bantamweight bout, which later proceeded at catchweight.
John Morgan reported that Perez is up one spot to No. 14. Meanwhile, Chelsea Chandler dropped one spot, and she's now at No. 15.
Furthermore, as listed on the UFC's official website, three divisions' rankings witnessed changes this week -- namely men's featherweight, men's lightweight, and women's bantamweight (with Perez and Chandler swapping positions).
At featherweight, Movsar Evloev moved up a spot to No. 5, and Brian Ortega dropped a spot to No. 6. Furthermore, BMF champion and the No. 2-ranked featherweight Max Holloway, who's lately competed at featherweight and lightweight, dropped a spot to No. 10 at lightweight.
The pound-for-pound rankings are unchanged. UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is the No. 1-ranked men's pound-for-pound fighter. UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is the No. 1-ranked women's pound-for-pound fighter.