UFC Rankings Update: Henry Cejudo enters bantamweight at #3, Belal Muhammad topples Khamzat Chimaev at 170lbs, more
The latest UFC rankings update is here after UFC 288's main event had a championship on the line and another division's next challenger was decided in the co-main event.
Former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo returned to action after a three-year hiatus and challenged for Aljamain Sterling's strap. Although Cejudo was unsuccessful in his challenge and lost out to a split decision, he returned to the UFC rankings with a bang.
'Triple C' leapfrogged plenty of fighters and slotted in at No.3, just below Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.
Co-main event victor Belal Muhammad continued his steady ascent after agreeing to fight Gilbert Burns on short notice and right after Ramadhan. He put in a clinical striking performance that earned him a decision victory and helped him up to No.3 in the welterweight contenders' rankings.
Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) moves past Khamzat Chimaev into the No. 3 slot in latest official #UFC welterweight rankings.
"Remember the Name" trails Kamaru Usman at No. 1 and Colby Covington at No. 2.
Gilbert Burns stays firm at No. 5.
More: mixedmartialarts.com/news/ufc-ranki… https://t.co/onLUaZywx1
Muhammad's move up saw Khamzat Chimaev bumped down a position to No.4.
In the men's pound-for-pound rankings Alex Pereira continues to lose ground as he fell to No.9,while Max Holloway climbed above Dustin Poirier to No.12.
The women's strawweight division saw the most movement after Yan Xiaonan's upset victory over former champion Jessica Andrade at UFC 288. The first-round knockout propelled Xiaonan three positions up to No.3, with Andrade dropping down to No.5.
Virna Jandiroba's win over Marian Rodriguez earned her a three-position climb too in the strawweight division. She is now ranked No.6 over Rodriguez at No.7 who saw a two-position descent.
Xiaonan's incredible victory saw her enter the women's pound-for-pound rankings at No.10, with Erin Blanchfield also climbing a position to No.8. Andrade's loss pushed her down by a place to No.9. Amanda Lemos also fell down two positions to No.12.
UFC Rankings Update: Belal Muhammad remarks at Colby Covington retaining spot over him in latest rankings
Belal Muhammad's victory over Gilbert Burns in the UFC 288 co-main event cemented his position as a future challenger for the welterweight championship after an impressive run of 10 unbeaten fights.
However, he will have to wait before Colby Covington has a go at Leon Edwards for the title in a still unconfirmed bout. After the UFC rankings did not alter Covington's No.2 status in the division despite him being inactivite for over a year, Muhammad took to Twitter to express his frustrated amusement.
He wrote:
"it’s hilarious that colby is still number 2"
Check out his tweet below:
it’s hilarious that colby is still number 2 twitter.com/johnmorgan_mma…