UFC Rankings update: Song Yadong moves up only a spot, Ricky Simon keeps his despite fifth round stoppage
The latest UFC Rankings update has been released after UFC Fight Night: Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon, and one fighter may not be happy with their spot on the ladder.
Song Yadong produced a tremendous performance to defeat Ricky Simon in the weekend’s headline bout. ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ largely outfought his foe in all areas, and finished him via TKO in the fifth round after knocking him down in the fourth.
Ｔｈｅ Ｋｕｎｇ Ｆｕ Ｋｉｄ 
🇨🇳 Ｔｈｅ Ｋｕｎｇ Ｆｕ Ｋｉｄ 🇨🇳
Song Yadong has FINISHED Ricky Simón in the main event! 💪
#UFCVegas72 https://t.co/digNVxI8Y6
The win was Song’s first since March 2022, allowing him to bounce back from his loss to Cory Sandhagen last September. However, given his overall UFC record of 9-2-1, he may have expected to rise higher than one spot.
Instead, ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ has leapfrogged Dominick Cruz into the No.7 spot, while Simon has remained where he was prior to the fight at No.10.
Given that this weekend’s event did not feature many ranked fighters, there have unsurprisingly been a few other movements in this week’s updated rankings.
Caio Borralho would’ve hoped that his win over Michal Oleksiejczuk would earn him a ranking at middleweight, but that hasn’t been the case. Instead, the only movement at 185lbs has seen Chris Curtis leapfrog Andre Muniz into the No.14 spot, with ‘Sergipano’ moving down to No.15.
In the women’s strawweight division, meanwhile, Luana Pinheiro has moved up into the No.13 slot, overtaking veteran Angela Hill.
Strangely, Pinheiro remains ranked below No.12 Michelle Waterson, despite outpointing her in their recent clash at UFC 287.
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Luana Pinheiro does enough to score a split-decision victory at #UFC287 👏 https://t.co/YdlpkW4a9T
The only other change has seen bantamweight Chelsea Chandler move into the No.14 slot at 135lbs, despite not fighting since her win over Julija Stoliarenko last October.
Check out the UFC’s rankings in the link below.
UFC rankings: Song Yadong climbs one spot following weekend win over Ricky Simon (Ultimate Fighting Championship)
mixedmartialarts.com/news/ufc-ranki… https://t.co/QyuJtV4G62
Song Yadong ranking: could ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ face Sean O’Malley next?
Song Yadong picked up a major win over Ricky Simon this past weekend, stopping him with strikes in the fifth round of their headline bout.
The win has seen ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ climb to No.7 in the UFC’s bantamweight rankings, so who could be next in line for the Chinese star?
Following his win, Yadong took to the microphone to call out two possible opponents, naming Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera. Both men are currently ranked above Song, despite 'The Kung Fu Kid’ beating Vera in 2020.
Interestingly, though, despite calling him out, Song has stated he doesn’t expect a fight with O’Malley any time soon.
“(Chito Vera and) Sean O’Malley. But probably they don’t give me Sean O’Malley, UFC protect him.”