UFC Rankings: Updates Following UFC Fight Night 64: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2
Gabriel Gonzaga entered UFC Fight Night 64 as a Top 15 UFC heavyweight, but he suffered a third straight loss in his rematch with Mirko Cro Cop. Now, Gonzaga's contender status has been revoked and there's even a chance he may have seen his last bout inside the Octagon.
Only three years ago, Cro Cop left the UFC and looked to be done with MMA. However, he went on to win three out of his next four bouts and returned to the Octagon as a headliner on Saturday. With an upset win over Gonzaga, Cro Cop may even have heavyweight title contention on his mind once again.
Was Cro Cop's win at UFC Fight Night 64 enough to earn him a spot in the Top 15 rankings? Did any other fighters make big moves with their performances over the weekend?
Here are the latest official UFC rankings, per UFC.com, which are voted on by the MMA media.
Pound-for-Pound
1 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| 1 | Jon Jones |
| 2 | Jose Aldo |
| 3 | Demetrious Johnson |
| 4 | Chris Weidman |
| 5 | Cain Velasquez |
| 6 | Ronda Rousey |
| 7 | TJ Dillashaw |
| 8 | Rafael dos Anjos (+1) |
| 9 | Robbie Lawler (-1) |
| 10 | Anderson Silva |
| 11 | Anthony Pettis |
| 12 | Renan Barao |
| 13 | Johny Hendricks |
| 14 | Fabricio Werdum |
| 15 | Vitor Belfort |
Removed: None
Sitting atop the lightweight division since March, Rafael dos Anjos has been elevated above welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.
The Brazilian has won four in a row, most recently dominating Anthony Pettis to become the 155-pound king. Like Lawler, Dos Anjos has not defended his belt, but his championship-clinching win was much more decisive than Lawler's was.
In December, Lawler squeaked by Johny Hendricks via split decision to capture the 170-pound belt. Because a strong argument could be made that Lawler should not be champion right now, it makes sense for him to be ranked below Dos Anjos for the time being.
That could change should Lawler beat Rory MacDonald soundly in July, though.
Heavyweight
2 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Cain Velasquez |
| 1 | Fabricio Werdum (IC) |
| 2 | Junior dos Santos |
| 3 | Travis Browne |
| 4 | Stipe Miocic |
| 5 | Mark Hunt |
| 6 | Josh Barnett |
| 7 | Andrei Arlovski |
| 8 | Alistair Overeem |
| 9 | Ben Rothwell |
| 10 | Frank Mir |
| 11 | Roy Nelson |
| 12 | Antonio Silva |
| 13 | Matt Mitrione |
| 14 | Stefan Struve (+1) |
| 15 | Mirko Cro Cop (NR) |
Removed: Gabriel Gonzaga
Previously ranked No. 14 in the heavyweight division, Gonzaga was removed from the official UFC rankings as a result of his loss to Cro Cop on Saturday. Accordingly, Cro Cop slid into the No. 15 spot, allowing Stefan Struve to move up one position.
Though, even with his upset win over Gonzaga, Cro Cop may not have been the most deserving previously unranked heavyweight to earn a spot in the Top 15 rankings.
For example, Oleksiy Oliynyk defeated Cro Cop prior to joining the UFC roster. Since then, the Russian has gone 2-0 inside the Octagon, so it's hard to see how he belongs outside the rankings, while Cro Cop is being given a Top 15 position.
Light Heavyweight
3 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Jon Jones |
| 1 | Anthony Johnson |
| 2 | Alexander Gustafsson |
| 3 | Daniel Cormier |
| 4 | Rashad Evans |
| 5 | Ryan Bader |
| 6 | Glover Teixeira |
| 7 | Phil Davis |
| 8 | Ovince Saint Preux |
| 9 | Jimi Manuwa |
| 10 | Mauricio Rua |
| 11 | Rafael Cavalcante |
| 12 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira |
| 13 | Patrick Cummins (+2) |
| 14 | Fabio Maldonado (-1) |
| 15 | Dan Henderson (-1) |
Removed: None
Although Jimi Manuwa was the only light heavyweight to pick up a win at UFC Fight Night 64, his bout with Jan Blachowicz did not impact the 205-pound rankings.
Instead, Patrick Cummins was the big mover, despite last competing in December. He's still looking for his first win over a ranked light heavyweight, but Cummins surpassed Fabio Maldonado and Dan Henderson to take the No. 13 spot.
Maldonado is also still in search of his first win over a Top 15 lightweight. Meanwhile, Henderson last competed at 185 pounds and is scheduled to make his next appearance at middleweight as well. So, neither Maldonado nor Henderson really clearly do belong above Cummins right now.
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Middleweight
4 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Chris Weidman |
| 1 | Ronaldo Souza |
| 2 | Lyoto Machida |
| 3 | Vitor Belfort |
| 4 | Luke Rockhold |
| 5 | Anderson Silva |
| 6 | Yoel Romero |
| 7 | Gegard Mousasi |
| 8 | Tim Kennedy |
| 9 | Thales Leites (+1) |
| 10 | Michael Bisping (-1) |
| 11 | C.B. Dollaway |
| 12 | Costas Philippou |
| 13 | Tim Boetsch |
| 14 | Brad Tavares |
| 15 | Roan Carneiro |
Removed: None
Promotional newcomer Bartosz Fabinski was the only middleweight to pick up a win over the weekend. So, it's no surprise that UFC Fight Night 64 didn't directly cause movement in the 185-pound rankings.
That said, Thales Leites did take the No. 9 position from Michael Bisping.
With eight straight wins, including a 5-0 record since returning to the UFC roster, Leites has once again proven he's a contender in the middleweight class. On the other end of the spectrum, Bisping hasn't won consecutive bouts since December 2011 and doesn't own a win over a currently ranked middleweight.
Bisping could turn things around quickly with an impressive win over C.B. Dollaway, but he deserves to be ranked below Leites at the present moment.
Welterweight
5 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Robbie Lawler |
| 1 | Johny Hendricks |
| 2 | Rory MacDonald |
| 3 | Tyron Woodley |
| 4 | Carlos Condit |
| 5 | Matt Brown |
| 6 | Demian Maia |
| 7 | Tarec Saffiedine (+1) |
| 8 | Dong Hyun Kim (+1) |
| 9 | Kelvin Gastelum (+1) |
| 10 | Jake Ellenberger (+1) |
| 11 | Rick Story (+1) |
| 12 | Thiago Alves (+1) |
| 13 | Gunnar Nelson (+1) |
| 14 | Ryan LaFlare (+1) |
| 15 | Neil Magny (NR) |
Removed: Hector Lombard
On the heels of his failed drug test, Hector Lombard has been removed from the welterweight rankings.
It's hard to find fault with that decision. However, with all previously ranked 170-pounders below Lombard moving up, Neil Magny was inserted into the Top 15, and I'm not so sure that was the right decision by the rankings panel.
Yes, Magny is on an impressive winning streak spanning six bouts. However, none of those wins came against opponents anywhere near the Top 15 rankings. Nonetheless, Magny was given the nod over proven welterweights like Erick Silva and Jordan Mein.
Either one of those two individuals would have been a better choice than Magny for the No. 15 position.
Lightweight
6 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Rafael dos Anjos |
| 1 | Anthony Pettis |
| 2 | Khabib Nurmagomedov |
| 3 | Donald Cerrone |
| 4 | Gilbert Melendez |
| 5 | Benson Henderson |
| 6 | Michael Johnson |
| 7 | Edson Barboza |
| 8 | Myles Jury |
| 9 | Eddie Alvarez (+1) |
| 10 | Josh Thomson (-1) |
| 11 | Bobby Green |
| 12 | Jim Miller (+1) |
| 13 | Tony Ferguson (-1) |
| 14 | Al Iaquinta |
| 15 | Jorge Masvidal |
Removed: None
Stevie Ray, a UFC newcomer, was the only lightweight to win at UFC Fight Night 64. Still, a couple of changes were made to the division's rankings.
First, former Bellator MMA champion Eddie Alvarez surpassed former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson. Both competitors are really still finding their places in the UFC lightweight division, but the move does place Thomson closer to Bobby Green, whom he is coming off a loss to. So, the change was a good one from that point of view.
In another change unrelated to UFC Fight Night 64, Tony Ferguson fell behind Jim Miller. El Cucuy has won five in a row, most recently beating Gleison Tibau. Since Miller hasn't won in nearly 12 months and because Tibau also accounts for one of his biggest wins, it's a bit surprising that he'd be moving above Ferguson right now.
Featherweight
7 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Jose Aldo |
| 1 | Chad Mendes |
| 2 | Frankie Edgar |
| 3 | Conor McGregor |
| 4 | Ricardo Lamas |
| 5 | Cub Swanson |
| 6 | Dennis Bermudez |
| 7 | Nik Lentz |
| 8 | Charles Oliveira |
| 9 | Max Holloway |
| 10 | Clay Guida |
| 11 | Jeremy Stephens |
| 12 | Dennis Siver |
| 13 | Dustin Poirier |
| 14 | Darren Elkins |
| 15 | Hacran Dias |
Removed: None
Yaotzin Meza and Taylor Lapilus accounted for the featherweight victories on Saturday, but neither is nearing the Top 15 at this stage in his career.
As a result, no changes were made to the 145-pound rankings. These rankings may not stay as they are for long, though.
This coming weekend, at UFC on Fox 15, No. 5 Cub Swanson and No. 9 Max Holloway will meet in a bout that could significantly shake up the featherweight rankings.
Bantamweight
8 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | TJ Dillashaw |
| 1 | Renan Barao |
| 2 | Dominick Cruz |
| 3 | Urijah Faber |
| 4 | Raphael Assuncao |
| 5 | Michael McDonald |
| 6 | Takeya Mizugaki |
| 7 | Eddie Wineland |
| 8 | Johnny Eduardo |
| 9 | Bryan Caraway |
| 10 | Iuri Alcantara |
| 11 | Francisco Rivera |
| 12 | Frankie Saenz |
| 13 | Mitch Gagnon (+1) |
| 14 | Erik Perez (-1) |
| 15 | Alex Caceres |
Removed: None
No bantamweights appeared at UFC Fight Night 64, but a small change was made to the 135-pound rankings.
Despite losing to Renan Barao in his most recent outing, Mitch Gagnon moved up to the No. 13 spot. Meanwhile, Erik Perez fell to No. 14 on the heels of his loss to Bryan Caraway.
Both Gagnon and Perez have been submitted by Caraway. Both also own 4-2 UFC records. So, it's hard to have a huge argument against either man being ranked directly above or below the other.
Flyweight
9 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Demetrious Johnson |
| 1 | John Dodson |
| 2 | Joseph Benavidez |
| 3 | Ian McCall |
| 4 | John Moraga |
| 5 | Jussier Formiga |
| 6 | John Lineker |
| 7 | Zach Makovsky (+2) |
| 8 | Kyoji Horiguchi |
| 9 | Henry Cejudo (+1) |
| 10 | Chris Cariaso (+1) |
| 11 | Dustin Ortiz (+2) |
| 12 | Tim Elliott |
| 13 | Wilson Reis (+1) |
| 14 | Chico Camus (+1) |
| 15 | Brad Pickett (NR) |
Removed: Ali Bagautinov
It's been a while since Ali Bagautinov's failed drug test was revealed, but he's now been removed from the 125-pound rankings as a result. Since Bagautinov was previously ranked No. 7, all flyweights ranked lower than him moved up one slot with a couple of exceptions.
Zach Makovsky leaped over Kyoji Horiguchi to gain two positions. Considering Horiguchi does not own a win over a ranked 125-pounder, that was a good call by the rankings panel.
Also, Dustin Ortiz gained two spots by surpassing Tim Elliott. With a split-decision loss to No. 4 John Moraga, Ortiz is probably closer to being a Top 10 fighter than Elliott is.
Women's Bantamweight
10 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Ronda Rousey |
| 1 | Cat Zingano |
| 2 | Miesha Tate |
| 3 | Alexis Davis |
| 4 | Sara McMann |
| 5 | Sarah Kaufman |
| 6 | Jessica Eye |
| 7 | Bethe Correia |
| 8 | Liz Carmouche (+1) |
| 9 | Amanda Nunes (-1) |
| 10 | Holly Holm |
| 11 | Julianna Pena |
| 12 | Marion Reneau |
| 13 | Jessica Andrade |
| 14 | Germaine de Randamie |
| 15 | Raquel Pennington |
Removed: None
No female bantamweights stepped into the Octagon on Saturday, but one adjustment was made to the division's rankings.
Coming off a win over Lauren Murphy, Liz Carmouche took the No. 8 position. Despite a win over Shayna Baszler in her most recent outing, Amanda Nunes fell to the No. 9 slot.
Considering Carmouche has a stoppage win over No. 13 Jessica Andrade and Nunes' biggest win came against No. 14 Germaine de Randamie, it seems like the rankings panel got it right with this switch.
Women's Strawweight
11 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Joanna Jedrzejczyk |
| 1 | Carla Esparza |
| 2 | Claudia Gadelha |
| 3 | Jessica Penne (+1) |
| 4 | Rose Namajunas (-1) |
| 5 | Tecia Torres |
| 6 | Randa Markos (+1) |
| 7 | Joanne Calderwood (-1) |
| 8 | Felice Herrig |
| 9 | Maryna Moroz (NR) |
| 10 | Aisling Daly (-1) |
| 11 | Heather Clark |
| 12 | Paige VanZant (-2) |
| 13 | Juliana Lima (-1) |
| 14 | Angela Hill (-1) |
| 15 | Seo Hee Ham (-1) |
Removed: Bec Rawlings
With her win over Joanne Calderwood at UFC Fight Night 64, Maryna Moroz shook up the strawweight rankings. Calderwood did fall one spot as a result, but she oddly remains ranked above Moroz, who is now at No. 9 after being previously unranked.
Standouts on The Ultimate Fighter 20, Rose Namajunas and Jessica Penne also switched positions. While Namajunas reached the finale, she was submitted by Carla Esparza, whom Penne went the distance with. It's close, but Penne does deserve to be ranked above Namajunas.
Additionally, Paige VanZant fell two spots, losing ground to Moroz and Heather Clark. Honestly, neither VanZant nor Clark has really proven herself as a legitimate contender. Outside the Top Five or so, it's hard to say for sure where fighters stand in the 115-pound class.
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