UFC Rankings update: Alex Pereira breaks into P4P top-5, Stipe Miocic falls down heavyweight ranks following Tom Aspinall's interim title win
UFC 295 is in the books and the event results have shaken up the UFC rankings. The recently concluded fight card saw the crowning of Alex Pereira and Tom Aspinall as divisional champions while many rising contenders like Benoit Saint-Denis and Diego Lopes raised their stock with phenomenal performances.
It’s Tuesday again and the UFC’s official rankings have undergone some major changes. The highlight of the UFC rankings update is Alex Pereira’s surging entry into the pound-for-pound top five.
The former middleweight king occupied the tenth spot in the rankings prior to the event. However, his knockout win over former 205 lbs champion Jiri Prochazka has catapulted Alex Pereira to the fifth spot.
Jiri Prochazka slid down two spots and is now the P4P 15th-ranked fighter. In the light heavyweight rankings, Jamahall Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Magomed Ankalaev dropped one spot each and are now the top three ranked fighters.
Tom Aspinall became the third British fighter in history to win a UFC title when he defeated knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich via a vicious first-round knockout in the UFC 295 co-main event. Aspinall is now the Interim UFC heavyweight champion. While there is still uncertainty about a title unification bout with Jon Jones, Aspinall has definitely proven to be one of the absolute elite fighters on the UFC roster right now.
The UFC rankings update puts him at the 14th place in the pound-for-pound rankings. His rise to interim champion status has also resulted in Ciryl Gane, Sergei Pavlovich and Stipe Miocic dropping down one spot each in the UFC heavyweight rankings. They now occupy spots 2-4.
UFC rankings update: Benoit Saint-Denis and Loopy Godinez top gainers
Apart from the main and co-main event fighters, Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis and Mexican fighter Loopy Godinez made significant gains in terms of rankings after UFC 295.
Ex-serviceman Benoit Saint-Denis has become a major sensation in the lightweight division due to his chaotic, uber aggressive and violent fighting style. At UFC 295, Saint-Denis made quick work of Matt Frevola on the main card, winning the fight via a vicious head kick knockout in the first round. The win catapulted him into the top fifteen of the UFC lightweight division. Saint-Denis entered the rankings as the 11th ranked lightweight.
Meanwhile, Loopy Godinez proved to be a superior fighter when she faced surging Tabatha Ricci on the preliminary card, winning the fight via split decision. Godinez took a two-spot jump in the updated UFC rankings. She is now the 11th ranked strawweight fighter. Her gain was Tabatha Ricci’s loss as she dropped to the 12th spot.
See the complete updated UFC rankings here.