Bleacher Report MMA Rankings for July 2016

Steven Rondina

Jul 16, 2016

So...crazy month for MMA and the UFC, huh? Big fights happened, big fights didn't happen and a half-dozen big events have come and gone.

In the month since the last installment of the Bleacher Report MMA rankings, we've seen three major titles change hands, one vacant title filled, one interim title created and one interim title (presumably) dissolved. Obviously, that led to massive shakeups in almost every division.

The complete rules can be found here, the full rankings for each individual member of the panel can be found here and the notes for this month are as follows:

TOP NEWS

UFC 332: Silva v Wang - Ceremonial Weigh-in

Jon Jones and Chad Mendes, like Lyoto Machida, will remain on the rankings until receiving an official suspension from either USADA or a state athletic commission for their failed drug tests.
Brock Lesnar will not be included in the rankings due to the uncertainty surrounding his return (which, in part, is due to his own drug-test issues).
Donald Cerrone has been moved up into the welterweight rankings pool.
Valerie Letourneau and Joanne Calderwood remain in the strawweight rankings pool.

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Strawweight

No. 1—Joanna Jedrzejczyk (40 Points)
No. 2—Claudia Gadelha (36)
No. 3—Rose Namajunas (29)
No. 4—Tecia Torres (25)
No. 5—Jessica Aguilar (22)
No. 6—Carla Esparza (18)
No. 7—Karolina Kowalkiewicz (13)
No. 8—Jessica Andrade (10)
No. 8—Joanne Calderwood (10)
No. 10—Angela Hill (5)
No. 10—Valerie Letourneau (5)

There was a double-whammy of women's strawweight (more or less) action at UFC Fight Night 89. Joanne Calderwood scored an impressive and important win over Valerie Letourneau, knocking out the Canadian in the third round, working her potent striking game. Also on the card, Randa Markos scored a unanimous- decision win over Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger, working her grappling skills en route to victory.

More importantly, Joanna Jedrzejczyk defended her title from Claudia Gadelha in a gutsy effort. Naturally, the win preserved Jedrzejczyk's standing in the division but didn't hurt Gadelha one bit. There is a strong chance they remain the No. 1 and No. 2 at 115 pounds for a very long time.

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Flyweight

No. 1—Demetrious Johnson (40)
No. 2—Joseph Benavidez (36)
No. 3—Kyoji Horiguchi (29)
No. 4—Henry Cejudo (28)
No. 5—Jussier da Silva (23)
No. 6—Ian McCall (16)
No. 7—Ali Bagautinov (11)
No. 7—Zach Makovsky (11)
No. 9—Louis Smolka (9)
No. 10—Wilson Reis (8)

Ali Bagautinov reasserted himself as one of the world's best flyweights at UFC Fight Night 89, putting a beating on Geane Herrera in a lopsided fight. On the flip side, top-10 staple John Moraga was booted off the rankings due to a loss to the unknown Matheus Nicolau.

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 09: An overhead view of the Octagon as TJ Dillashaw (top) kicks Raphael Assuncao of Brazil during the UFC 200 event on July 9, 2016 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Men's Bantamweight

No. 1—Dominick Cruz (40)
No. 2—TJ Dillashaw (36)
No. 3—Raphael Assuncao (26)
No. 4—Renan Barao (22)
No. 5—Brian Caraway (20)
No. 6—Marlon Moraes (18)
No. 7—Urijah Faber (11)
No. 8—John Lineker (10)
No. 9—Aljamain Sterling (10)
No. 10—Cody Garbrandt (9)

It was an incredibly active month in the bantamweight division, with 10 fights taking place in major MMA promotions.

In the Octagon, TJ Dillashaw got back in the win column and took some revenge on Raphael Assuncao (who previously beat him in 2013). A few days later, John Lineker punched his way into the rankings by destroying Michael McDonald at UFC Fight Night 91.

In Bellator, Eduardo Dantas recaptured the Bellator bantamweight title from Marcos Galvao with a lopsided unanimous-decision win. Injuries and misfortune have repeatedly robbed Dantas of the opportunity to shine in Bellator, but he might just be poised to cement himself as an elite bantamweight.

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Women's Bantamweight

No. 1—Amanda Nunes (37)
No. 2—Holly Holm (34)
No. 3—Ronda Rousey (34)
No. 4—Miesha Tate (31)
No. 5—Julianna Pena (23)
No. 6—Alexis Davis (15)
No. 7—Cat Zingano (14)
No. 8—Tonya Evinger (10)
No. 8—Sara McMann (10)
No. 10—Valentina Shevchenko (5)

For the third time in eight months, the women's bantamweight title changed hands. The new UFC champion? Amanda Nunes, who took the title off Miesha Tate with an impressive first-round knockout. Nunes further muddies the top of the women's bantamweight division, which went from being a rock-paper-scissors situation to being a full-on game of Monopoly involving the top 10 fighters.

The only woman excluded from that mess is Julianna Pena. The Ultimate Fighter 18 winner has been electric thus far and posted a huge, impressive win over Cat Zingano at UFC 200. She could easily be the next in line for a shot at the title...and could be the next to win it.

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Featherweight

No. 1—Conor McGregor (40)
No. 2—Jose Aldo (36)
No. 3—Frankie Edgar (31)
No. 4—Max Holloway (29)
No. 5—Chad Mendes (24)
No. 6—Charles Oliveira (11)
No. 6—Daniel Straus (11)
No. 6—Cub Swanson (11)
No. 9—Ricardo Lamas (10)
No. 10—Patricio Freire (4)

Just like that, Jose Aldo is a champion again...kind of. The former featherweight king faced off with Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 in a fight for the interim featherweight title, with Aldo getting back to his low-risk, high-reward striking style. It paid dividends, too, as he took a fairly decisive win over Edgar. Unfortunately, he's still stuck waiting for Conor McGregor to either vacate the real featherweight title or drop back down for the rematch.

Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Lightweight

No. 1—Eddie Alvarez (39)
No. 2—Khabib Nurmagomedov (36)
No. 3—Rafael Dos Anjos (32)
No. 4—Tony Ferguson (27)
No. 5—Will Brooks (24)
No. 6—Nate Diaz (20)
No. 7—Edson Barboza (18)
No. 8—Anthony Pettis (6)
No. 9—Dustin Poirier (5)
No. 10—Michael Chiesa (4)

All three former Bellator champions won in the last 30 days.

Eddie Alvarez provided fans with one of the year's best feel-good stories. After 13 years of fighting for smaller promotions around the globe, the Underground King made his way to the UFC spotlight and made the most of the opportunity by knocking out Rafael Dos Anjos.

Will Brooks, who left Bellator last month with the title in hand, made his UFC debut and defeated respected veteran Ross Pearson. It wasn't an amazing performance, but it was a clean win and could set him up for bigger, better fights.

Finally, Michael Chandler is a champion once again after knocking out Patricky Freire at Dynamite 2.

Tony Ferguson was brought to the brink of defeat by UFC newcomer Lando Vannata before battling back and scoring a second-round submission win. While it's being largely forgotten due to the exciting nature of the fight, it is a bit concerning when it comes to Ferguson's chances of winning the title. He doesn't lose ground here, but his next fight should be watched closely.

Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Welterweight

No. 1—Robbie Lawler (40)
No. 2—Stephen Thompson (36)
No. 3—Rory MacDonald (28)
No. 4—Demian Maia (25)
No. 5—Tyron Woodley (24)
No. 6—Carlos Condit (20)
No. 7—Ben Askren (19)
No. 8—Neil Magny (13)
No. 9—Andrey Koreshkov (9)
No. 10—Kelvin Gastelum (2)
No. 10—Gunnar Nelson (2)

Stephen Thompson took another step forward on his rise to the top at UFC Fight Night 89, scoring a decisive win over former contender Rory MacDonald. While it was something of a coming-out party for Thompson, it leaves MacDonald's future uncertain.

The Canadian discussed his rocky relationship with the UFC before the fight and expressed his intent to explore free agency in an interview with The MMA Hour. The loss could very well force him out the door, and where he goes from there is anyone's guess.

At UFC 200, Johny Hendricks was knocked out of the top 10 by Kelvin Gastelum. The TUF 18 winner had very little difficulty excelling in striking exchanges against Hendricks and won nearly every scramble.

OTTAWA, ON - JUNE 17: Elias Theodorou of Canada steps on the scale during the UFC Fight Night Weigh-in inside the Arena at TD Place on June 17, 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Middleweight

No. 1—Michael Bisping (38)
No. 2—Luke Rockhold (37)
No. 3—Chris Weidman (32)
No. 4—Ronaldo Souza (29)
No. 5—Robert Whittaker (18)
No. 5—Gegard Mousasi (18)
No. 7—Lyoto Machida (16)
No. 8—Vitor Belfort (15)
No. 9—Anderson Silva (6)
No. 9—Derek Brunson (6)

This is the only division where pretty much nothing happened in the cage rankings-wise. Elias Theodorou and Tim Boetsch got back in the win column. Tamdan McCrory and Josh Samman ate tough losses. Fans were simultaneously overjoyed and infuriated by the announcement of Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson 2.

Harry How/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Light Heavyweight

No. 1—Jon Jones (39)
No. 2—Daniel Cormier (37)
No. 3—Anthony Johnson (32)
No. 4—Alexander Gustafsson (26)
No. 5—Phil Davis (20)
No. 6—Ryan Bader (18)
No. 7—Glover Teixeira (17)
No. 8—Liam McGeary (13)
No. 9—Mo Lawal (9)
No. 10—Ovince Saint Preux (7)

What else can be said about the scuttled UFC 200 main event? Jon Jones was pulled off UFC 200 due to a drug-test failure. Anderson Silva stepped in, looking generally terrible as he was taken down by Daniel Cormier with little trouble, and relied on the referee to help him escape.

There was also Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Satoshi Ishii but, well, the less said about that fight, the better.

Harry How/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Heavyweight

No. 1—Stipe Miocic (40)
No. 2—Fabricio Werdum (35)
No. 3—Cain Velasquez (32)
No. 4—Alistair Overeem (28)
No. 5—Junior Dos Santos (24)
No. 6—Ben Rothwell (21)
No. 7—Travis Browne (13)
No. 8—Andrei Arlovski (10)
No. 9—Josh Barnett (6)
No. 10—Derrick Lewis (3)

Cain Velasquez is back! The former heavyweight champion crushed Travis Browne at UFC 200 and looked darn good in the process. He showed off the potent wrestling and brisk pace that helped him twice take the UFC title.

Over in Russia, Vitaly Minakov demolished Peter Graham in what was, more or less, a squash match. He defeated the Australian kickboxer in just 62 seconds, submitting him with an armbar and reasserting himself as, most likely, MMA's best heavyweight outside the UFC.