Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Just when it looked like Jason Jackson was ready to cement his position as one of the best welterweights in the world, Ramazan Kuramagomedov showed up.

The Dagestani standout controlled the first 15 minutes of the Bellator Champions Series Dublin headliner, then held off a late surge from Jackson to claim the 170-pound throne on Saturday at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Unbeaten in 13 professional appearances, Kuramagomedov fits the profile of many fighters from his country: a grinding wrestler with fundamentally sound striking skills. That toolbox allows the 27-year-old American Top Team representative to make his Sherdog rankings debut in the divisional poll at No. 5; one spot ahead of the vanquished Jackson, who had an eight-bout winning streak snapped in defeat.

Elsewhere, Alexander Volkov got the better of former training partner Sergei Pavlovich in the UFC on ABC 6 co-main event, picking his fellow Russian apart for three rounds on Saturday at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “Drago” has won his last four Octagon appearances, a run that allows him to climb from sixth to fourth in the latest heavyweight rankings. Pavlovich, on the heels of back-to-back defeats, drops from third to fifth.

Meanwhile, it was business as usual for Robert Whittaker in the UFC on ABC 6 headliner, as he dispatched short-notice foe Ikram Aliskerov in the opening stanza of their middleweight clash. While it might not carry the same weight as a victory over Khamzat Chimaev might have, “Bobby Knuckles” nonetheless maintains his No. 5 ranking at 185 pounds.

In other action, former light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir authored perhaps the most vicious knockout of the weekend with his first-round stoppage of Johnny Walker, and that allows “No Time” to make his return to the divisional rankings at No. 15. At women’s featherweight, Arlene Blencowe improved to 2-0 against Sinead Kavanagh with a submission victory at Bellator Dublin to climb from eighth to 10th in the rankings. On that same card, Michelle Montague improved to 5-0 with a quick finish of Karolina Sobek, a victory that propels the Australian featherweight to her rankings debut at No. 15.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

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HEAVYWEIGHT
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
MIDDLEWEIGHT
WELTERWEIGHT
LIGHTWEIGHT
FEATHERWEIGHT
BANTAMWEIGHT
FLYWEIGHT
WOMEN'S FEATHERWEIGHT
WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT
WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT
WOMEN'S STRAWWEIGHT
WOMEN'S ATOMWEIGHT