Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Jailton Almeida’s heavyweight run has been like an avalanche: deliberate and steady at first but picking up frightening momentum as he continues to wipe out everything in his path.

In the main event of UFC on ABC 4 on Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina, “Malhadinho” faced his first ranked opponent in Jairzinho Rozenstruik. While the betting odds reflected the glaring mismatch of Almeida’s elite grappling against Rozenstruik’s known deficiencies on the mat, there is something to be said for going out and doing exactly what was expected with no suspense, especially in a division as dynamic and unpredictable as heavyweight. Almeida grounded Rozenstruik within the first minute, cut through his guard effortlessly and cinched up a rear-naked choke for the tap, all without absorbing a single clean strike from one of the UFC’s most dangerous knockout artists. In four fights since moving up from light heavyweight a year ago, the 31-year-old Brazilian now has four wins, all of them inside the distance, three in the first round. With his effortless destruction of “Bigi Boy,” Almeida debuts in the Sherdog rankings at No. 11, on the doorstep of the heavyweight Top 10. By all appearances, he will not be on the outside looking in for long.

The ”UFC Charlotte” co-main event featured Johnny Walker punishing former title challenger Anthony Smith for three rounds in a clash of ranked light heavyweights. A mostly one-sided win by the massive SBG Ireland export sees him hold steady at No. 12, but Smith’s performance in defeat was listless enough that the rankings panel dropped him from 13th to 14th, with Professional Fighters League champion Rob Wilkinson and his five-year, eight-fight win streak the beneficiary.

Finally, the Bellator 296 main event on Friday in Paris saw perennial multi-divisional standout Gegard Mousasi outworked over the course of 25 minutes by Fabian Edwards. Incredibly, “Bellator Paris” marked the first time over the course of two decades and 60 fights against some of the best fighters in the world that Mousasi had ever lost two in a row. Edwards, the younger brother of UFC welterweight champ Leon Edwards, debuts in the Sherdog middleweight poll at No. 12, bumping “The Dreamcatcher” and the rest of the 185-pound bubble list down a spot.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

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