Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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It wasn’t the way anyone would have planned or wished for, but Cory Sandhagen may have punched his ticket to a title shot.

In the main event of UFC on ESPN 67 on Saturday in Iowa, “The Sandman” was in the driver’s seat against former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo late in the second round when, while settling into the Brazilian’s guard after an awkward exchange of leglock attempts, the left knee of “Deus da Guerra” gave out, leading him to tap out immediately. The unfortunate finish nonetheless represents a rebound for Sandhagen after his loss to Umar Nurmagomedov last summer.

With the win, Sandhagen maintains his No. 6 spot in Sherdog’s bantamweight rankings, and may actually be better positioned than Nurmagomedov to challenge the winner of the Merab Dvalishvili-Sean O'Malley rematch next month at UFC 316: If Dvalishvili defeats O’Malley again, Sandhagen benefits from not having faced him yet, while if O’Malley wins, tying up their series at 1-1, a rubber match is almost certain. Meanwhile, Figueiredo holds onto his No. 10 ranking, but at age 37 and now facing possible shelf time due to Saturday’s injury, earning a shot at two-division glory appears less likely than ever.

UFC Des Moines also saw a massive middleweight upset that scarcely felt like one, as Reinier de Ridder outgrappled and outstruck Bo Nickal for most of two rounds before putting the former Penn State Nittany Lion wrestler away with a brutal salvo of knees to the body and head. After hanging a first career loss on the ultra-hyped prospect, the 34-year-old Dutchman is now 3-0 with three finishes since joining the UFC as a former two-division titleholder in One Championship. While that is a relatively small body of work at 185 pounds, the competition—all solid fighters—and the definitive stoppages are impressive enough to earn “The Dutch Knight” a spot on the middleweight bubble, where he joins at No. 15.

The lone ranked bantamweight woman to see action last weekend, longtime UFC contender Yana Santos, used superior footwork and her customary sturdy clinch game to take two of three rounds from former champ Miesha Tate. The “Foxy” Florida-based Russian holds onto her No. 12 spot.

The strawweight rankings are in flux thanks to a mix of activity and inactivity: Gillian Robertson continued her mid-career resurgence in Des Moines, grounding and pounding No. 9 Marina Rodriguez into a second-round TKO stoppage while notching her fourth straight win. Rodriguez, who has lost five of her last six fights and announced her retirement after the loss to Robertson, exits the rankings entirely.

Meanwhile, No. 10 Stamp Fairtex withdrew from ONE’s upcoming Denver card with an injury, leading the promotion to cancel the event entirely and prompting her removal from the 115-pound rankings, since she has not fought since September of 2023 and has no upcoming bout scheduled. Incidentally, Stamp’s last foe, Seo Hee Ham, has been on the shelf since their meeting as well, and thus relinquishes her No. 12 spot. Their departures allow Lupita Godinez and Tabatha Ricci to rise to ninth and 10th respectively. The vacancies on the strawweight bubble make room for Robertson to join the rankings at No. 13, with Tecia Pennington and Luana Pinheiro returning to round out the list.

On Saturday night in Tokyo, Rizin Fighting Federation “Otoko Matsuri” pushed its audience—and the lineup of fight game legends who participated in the gala—to the limits of their endurance with a 19-fight marathon. Of note from a rankings perspective, the main event saw Rajabali Shaidullaev clobber Kleber Koike Erbst in just 62 seconds to capture the Rizin FF featherweight title. Now 14-0 with a perfect 100% finish rate against increasingly stiff competition, the 24-year-old Kyrgyzstani appears to be the real deal and then some, and he joins 145-pound rankings at No. 15. Clearing the way for Shaidullaev’s ascent, longtime Bellator MMA star Patricio Freire exits the rankings entirely. His No. 10 spot goes to former bubble lister Jean Silva, who has wrecked shop in the UFC over the past couple of years.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

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