Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

If finishing Jiri Prochazka once wasn’t enough, accomplishing the feat a second time made it crystal clear: Alex Pereira is the undisputed light heavyweight king.

“Poatan” dispatched his Czech foe with a head kick and follow-up punches just 13 seconds into Round 2 of their headlining encounter at UFC 303 on Saturday night. It was the Brazilian’s second successful title defense at 205 pounds and his fourth victory overall since debuting in the weight class last July. While Magomed Ankalaev looms as a potential challenger, Pereira has vanquished virtually everyone else in the UFC — Prochazka, Jamahal Hill and Jan Blachowicz — who is close to him in the rankings. As a result, he maintains a stranglehold on the No. 1 position in Sherdog’s latest divisional poll.

Elsewhere, Macy Chiasson took a significant leap in the women’s bantamweight rankings thanks to a doctor-stoppage triumph against former title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 303. “The Ultimate Fighter 28” winner, who began her career as a featherweight, climbs all the way to No. 3 in the poll and appears to be a top contender in a consistently shallow division.

Meanwhile, it wasn’t necessarily pretty, but Ian Garry continues to rack up welterweight victories. The polarizing Irishman eschewed a stand-up battle in favor of his grappling, which he used to edge Michael Page for his eighth consecutive UFC triumph. Garry’s recent run of wins over Page, Geoff Neal and Neil Magny is difficult to ignore, so he makes his Top 10 debut — nudging out recent callout Colby Covington.

In other action, Anthony Smith’s lackluster loss to Roman Dolidze in a short-notice booking at UFC 303 results in his removal from the light heavyweight bubble. Taking his place is defending Professional Fighters League light heavyweight champ Impa Kasanganay, who has won seven straight at 205 pounds. Talita Bernardo defended her bantamweight crown with a submission of Olga Rubin in Invicta Fighting Championships’ return on Friday. With a five-bout winning streak to her credit, Bernardo moves up to 10th at 135 pounds. Finally, there was an upset in the atomweight division, as the unheralded Andressa Romero outpointed No. 8 Saori Oshima at Invicta FC 55. Romero, who was making her first foray in the division, also makes an appearance in the atomweight rankings at No. 8, one spot ahead of her vanquished opponent.

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