UFC rankings report after UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker

Casey O'Neil [Image Courtesy: @ufceurope on Instagram]

UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker generated considerable interest from MMA fans. That was despite it being in the wake of the ridiculously talent-packed UFC 266 pay-per-view card.

Unfortunately, many of the fights at the event were somewhat lackluster and the subsequent post-fight ranking adjustments reflect that. There have only been changes in five weight classes, with neither of the headlining fighters, Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker, moving up or down in the light heavyweight rankings.

The biggest change came for Casey O'Neill, who competed on the UFC Vegas 38 preliminary card. She took on Antonina Shevchenko. O'Neill won in dominant fashion, brutally TKOing Shevchenko in the second round.

Going into the fight, O'Neill was unranked. However, she now sits at No.14 in the women's flyweight rankings. With her having entered the top-15, Montana De La Rosa has exited. Miranda Maverick has also moved down a spot to No.15.

Another fighter to exit the rankings is Misha Cirkunov, who made the move to middleweight to face Krzysztof Jotko. Cirkunov ultimately came up short, losing via split decision. He's now exited the light heavyweight rankings, which means there are no longer any Canadian fighters ranked in the top-15 of any UFC division.

With Misha Cirkunov moving down to the middleweight division, he has been removed from the light heavyweight top-15 and there is no longer a single ranked Canadian fighter in any UFC division.

With Cirkunov dropping out, Paul Craig, Jimmy Crute and Jamahal Hill have all moved up a spot. Ion Cutelaba has also entered the rankings at No.15 and Ryan Spann has dropped to No.12.

At middleweight, Kelvin Gastelum and Brad Tavares have both moved up a place to No.9 and No.12 respectively. Uriah Hall has fallen to No.10, while the injured Chris Weidman has moved down to No.13.

Lastly, Raquel Pennington and Sara McMann have traded places in the women's bantamweight division, with Pennington moving to No.9 and McMann to No.10. Tony Ferguson has also dropped to No.7 at lightweight.

#UFCRankings update 10/5 https://t.co/iqYvbmC4Vm

How did UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker play out?

The recent event's headlining fight between Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker was billed as a matchup between two knockout artists that could only end in a finish. In reality, it was a tedious five-round affair that saw Santos edge out a decision win.

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The co-main event between Kevin Holland and Kyle Daukaus was also a disappointment. Holland ended up on the receiving end of an accidental headbutt, which saw him briefly rendered unconscious. Despite a submission win for Daukaus a few exchanges later, the bout was ruled a no contest.

I didn’t know what happened. I also don’t know how the rules are defined in that situation.
I do know he didn’t take me down. 🤠 yeeeehaw
Run. It. Back. Bucko. https://t.co/W5Ta8Qch42