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It may be an understatement to say the UFC has some questionable rankings. You’d count on rankings to be questionable as they’re subjective; nevertheless, on this column, I’ll level out rankings that I believe are obvious errors. I will even analyze vital motion within the rankings that I agree with.
Editorial Commentary by Peter Parsons
The UFC rankings had a number of motion this week after a stacked UFC 276, a card that was filled with ranked fighters. The middleweight division noticed probably the most motion with Alex Pereira main the best way as he went from unranked to No. 6 within the UFC’s 185-pound division. Andre Muniz and Dricus Du Plessis additionally noticed vital motion with victories over increased ranked opponents at middleweight.
Alex Pereira ranked No. 6 at middleweight
Alex Pereira defeated earlier No. 4 ranked Sean Strickland by first spherical KO on Saturday night time. This was simply the third UFC battle and the seventh MMA battle for the previous Glory kickboxing two division world champ. Not usually you see a fighter go from unranked to No. 6 ranked within the UFC. I believe Pereira must be one spot increased forward of his Brazilian countryman, No. 5 ranked Paulo Costa.
The No. 5 ranked Costa has not been very lively, having solely fought annually for the previous 5 years. His final victory got here towards Yoel Romero in August of 2019. In fact, he has fought high competitors, shedding to Israel Adesanya in a title battle in September of 2020. His final battle was a loss to Marvin Vettori in October of 2021. Costa had the controversial weight points going into the Vettori battle which was initially scheduled at middleweight. After negotiating for a catchweight battle, the battle ended up being at mild heavyweight. Costa hasn’t competed at middleweight in practically two years.
Since Costa’s final battle, Pereira has fought thrice within the UFC. He made his UFC debut in November with a efficiency of the night time, flying knee knockout over Andreas Michailidis. He returned in March with a unanimous resolution victory over Bruno Silva who was 3-0 with three KO’s within the UFC. Sean Strickland was 5-0 within the UFC middleweight division and was coming off back-to-back, 5 spherical, fundamental occasion victories over Uriah Corridor and Jack Hermansson, respectively.
Given their latest our bodies of labor, I really feel that Pereira must be ranked forward of Costa within the UFC middleweight division. Costa has an opportunity to solidify his rating and maybe transfer up within the UFC rankings when he faces former champ Luke Rockhold subsequent month at UFC 278.
Andre Muniz ranked No. 10 at middleweight
Andre Muniz entered the UFC middleweight high 10, rising three spots from No. 13, along with his unanimous resolution over Uriah Corridor on Saturday night time. In my view, Muniz must be ranked one spot increased, forward of No. 9 ranked Darren Until.
Until has solely received one battle at middleweight and that was in November of 2019. Until defeated then No. 4 ranked Kelvin Gastelum who has since fallen to No. 11 at middleweight. Until misplaced a really aggressive resolution towards former champ and No. 1 ranked Robert Whitaker in July of 2020. The previous UFC welterweight title challenger misplaced by rear bare choke to Derek Brunson in his final battle which places the English fighter at 1-2 within the UFC middleweight division.
Muniz made his UFC debut two weeks after Until made his UFC middleweight debut in November of 2019. The Brazilian is 5-0 since getting into the UFC. Muniz had three straight first spherical submission victories going into the Uriah Corridor battle. His most notable victory was over legend Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, a battle during which he broke Jacare’s arm. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt dominated Uriah Corridor by unanimous resolution, 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards. Corridor was ranked No. 9 going into the battle.
I don’t really feel like Until’s victory over Gastelum in 2019 ought to maintain as much as have him ranked forward of Muniz. The Brazilian has gone 5-0 within the UFC throughout the identical timeframe that Until went 1-2 at middleweight.
Until will get an opportunity to maneuver up within the rankings when he faces No. 8 ranked Jack Hermansson on July 23 on his dwelling turf in London, England.
Dricus Du Plessis ranked No. 14 at middleweight
Dricus Du Plessis defeated earlier No. 12 ranked Brad Tavares within the opening bout on the ABC portion of the UFC 276 prelims on Saturday. The 28-year-old South African is now 3-0 within the UFC and 17-2 general. I agree with Du Plessis’ No. 14 rating.
You could have heard on the UFC broadcast that together with being Du Plessis’ third UFC opponent, Tavares was additionally champion Israel Adesanya’s third UFC opponent.
Will these rising middleweight contenders problem Israel Adesanya for the title?
We all know that Alex Pereira is all however assured for the subsequent shot at Adesanya’s gold, barring damage. With their kickboxing historical past, Adesanya vs. Pereira has the makings for a giant promoting and entertaining battle.
Andre Muniz may very well be a pair wins away from a title shot and Dricus Du Plesis may very well be three or 4 wins away from a title shot.
Though they’re coming off losses, the winner of Darren Until and Jack Hermansson may very well be a win or two away from a title shot.
There was discuss of Adesnaya having cleaned out the middleweight division. I believe he has removed from cleaned out the division and there at all times appears to be new contenders rising like Pereira, Muniz and Du Plessis.
Upcoming Notable UFC Middleweight Fights
Jul 9 – Caio Borralho vs. Armen Petrosyan
Jul 23 – (9) Darren Until vs. (8) Jack Hermansson
Aug 13 – Bruno Silva vs. Gerald Meerschaert
Sep 3 – (2) Marvin Vettori vs. (1) Robert Whitaker
My rankings would look totally different than some other author or fan who follows the game intently. That is to be anticipated, as rankings are subjective. Rankings must be based mostly totally on outcomes and never perceived potential or reputation.
Some folks assume rankings don’t matter. Rankings do matter. They matter with regards to matchmaking. They matter with regards to contract negotiations.
Let’s preserve the rankings dialog going. Do you agree or disagree with the above Rating Evaluation? Express your thoughts in the comments below.
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