UFC Rankings Update: Uriah Hall climbs a spot following win against Anderson Silva
In the wake of UFC Vegas 12 last Saturday, the official rankings were updated on the website of the company. Middleweight Uriah Hall has moved up a spot to the #9 rank in the division, surpassing former rival Chris Weidman.
Uriah Hall defeated UFC veteran Anderson Silva in the main event of the night with a fourth-round TKO to clinch his third win in a row. This was Anderson Silva's last fight in UFC, and the two shared an emotional moment at the end of the bout.
Uriah Hall broke down in front of his idol and inspiration Anderson Silva, thanking him for everything and apologizing for beating him.
'The Spider' reciprocated the sentiment, telling Uriah Hall to keep working hard and that he would be the Champion one day.
How is the Middleweight division shaping up?
Robert Whittaker is the #1 ranked contender in the Middleweight division, and 'The Reaper' has already faced the Champion Israel Adesanya once and lost via knockout. #2 ranked Paulo Costa also fought the Champ in his last UFC outing in September at UFC 253 and faced the same fate.
Robert Whittaker went up against #3 ranked Jared Cannonier last month at UFC 254, which was headlined by the much-anticipated Lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje. Khabib retired after the fight and has been ranked as the #1 pound-for-pound UFC fighter since then.
Whittaker and Cannonier went all three rounds and the former won via unanimous decision. Dana White revealed in the post-event media conference at UFC Vegas 12 that Robert Whittaker was set to get another shot at the title and he was willing to book him for a rematch with Israel Adesanya.
But Whittaker is going to take the rest of the year off to spend time with his family, allowing Israel Adesanya just the opportunity he needed to go up a division and fight Jan Blachowicz instead for the Light Heavyweight title.
Uriah Hall has Kevin Gastelum, Derek Brunson, Darren Till, Yoel Romero, and Jack Hermansson on top of him as well.
Featherweight division saw ranking changes as well
The Featherweight division also went through ranking changes in the latest update. Bryce Mitchell went past Edson Barboza to claim the #14 spot after his decision win over Andre Fili in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 12.
Former Champion Max Holloway is at #1 position in Featherweight division, followed by Brian Ortega, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Yair Rodriguez, and The Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung.