Following UFC Vegas 27, the UFC’s rankings have been updated, with Jack Hermansson and Carla Esparza among the fighters moving up the ranks.
Hermansson opened up the main card with a unanimous decision win over Edmen Shahbazyan. The UFC rankings panelists were impressed by what Hermansson did in the fight and he has moved up the promotion’s official rankings as a result, as “The Joker” is now ranked at No. 6 at middleweight, with Darren Till dropping down to the No. 7 spot.
In addition to Jack Hermansson, another big mover this week was Esparza, who smashed Yan Xiaonan in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 27 to put a stamp on earning a rematch against UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Esparza moved up one spot to No. 3 overall in the division, with Xiaonan dropping to No. 4. In addition, Marina Rodriguez moved up to No. 5 and Mackenzie Dern dropped down to No. 6 at 115lbs.
In the men’s lightweight division, Islam Makhachev moved up two spots to No. 9 overall, with Gregor Gillespie moving up to No. 10. Paul Felder dropped to No. 11 overall, but after he announced his retirement this past weekend, he will likely be taken out of the rankings altogether in short order, which means that the No. 16 ranked fighter would take his spot.
There was also a change at men’s bantamweight, where Jose Aldo moved up to No. 4 overall and Cody Garbrandt dropped to No. 5 after losing a unanimous decision to Rob Font. And finally, in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings, Esparza moved up four spots to No. 9, with Aspen Ladd dropping to No. 11, Xiaonan dropping to No. 13, and Claudia Gadelha dropping down to No. 15. In addition, Julianna Pena has entered the women’s pound-for-pound rankings as the No. 14 ranked P4P fighter in the UFC.
What do you think about the updated UFC rankings following UFC Vegas 27?