Post-UFC Vegas 99 rankings update: Khamzat Chimaev shoved down a spot, Max Holloway gets into top five lightweight days before Ilia Topuria fight
After an exciting UFC Vegas 99 event last weekend, there's been some movement in the promotion's official rankings. The card was headlined by an Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira middleweight bout, with Rob Font going up against Kyler Phillips in the co-main event.
Hernandez's impressive fifth-round finish over Pereira earned him a bump in the UFC middleweight ranking, replacing Khamzat Chimaev in the No.12 spot, with the Chechen-born grappling savant falling to the No.13 rank. Pereira stays put at the No.14 spot.
At UFC Vegas 99, Font beat Phillips via unanimous decision after three rounds of action. In the aftermath, Font moved one spot up the bantamweight rankings to the No.9 spot, which he shares with Mario Bautista. Meanwhile, Phillips remains in the No.12 place.
In the flyweight division, Asu Almabayev jumped seven spots up to the No.7 spot, and Matheus Nicolau fell three places down to the No.10 rank. Charles Johnson made his debut on the list at No.15, replacing Matt Schnell.
In the lightweight division, Max Holloway jumped three spots up the rankings and now occupies the No.5 spot. Dan Hooker, Michael Chandler, and Beneil Dariush dropped down one rank each and now occupy No.6, No.7 and No.8, respectively.
In the women's pound-for-pound rankings, Maycee Barber made her debut on the list and pipped Amanda Lemos to occupy the No.15 spot. Meanwhile, Kayla Harrison replaced Raquel Pennington at the No.8 rank.
Anthony Hernandez on potential Dricus du Plessis fight after UFC Vegas 99 victory
After beating Michel Pereira at UFC Vegas 99 last weekend, Anthony Hernandez shared his thoughts on a possible Israel Adesanya fight. 'Fluffy' is now on a six-fight win streak, with a professional record of 13-2.
In the UFC Vegas 99 post-fight press conference, Hernandez was asked if there was anybody in the 185-pound division he'd like to face. The 31-year-old named Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya and said:
"I mean, like, I think it would be a great fight, realistically, would be - who I see that mixes it up very well is [Dricus] du Plessis. He mixes it very f**king well, and that's why he's champion right now. You know what I mean? He's a tough motherf**ker, and he goes."
After being reminded that Adesanya needed an opponent for his next fight, Hernandez replied:
"I don't care, I'll fight him."