Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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This version of the PFL Championships, at least as it pertains to Sherdog’s rankings, might have been the deepest end-of-season offering by the promotion to date.

While Dakota Ditcheva undoubtedly stole the show with her shellacking of Taila Santos in the women’s flyweight final, there was plenty of other ranked talent on display on Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. At the forefront of the non-Ditcheva highlights was Shamil Musaev, who kept his unbeaten record intact with a third-round TKO of fellow unbeaten Magomed Umalatov in the welterweight championship. With a campaign that also includes triumphs over Murad Ramazanov (twice) and Logan Storley, the Dagestani makes his Top 10 debut at 170 pounds by surpassing Gilbert Burns, who has lost three straight fights.

Elsewhere, Denis Goltsov entered the Francis Ngannou sweepstakes by ending Oleg Popov’s 17-bout winning streak in the heavyweight final. “The Russian Bogatyr” had previously been a bridesmaid when PFL hardware was handed out in past seasons, but that drought is no more. With victories in nine of his last 10 outings, Goltsov joins the heavyweight poll at No. 15.

In other action, Timur Khiziev solidified his recently earned ranking at featherweight with a lopsided five-round verdict over ex-PFL champ Brendan Loughnane in Friday’s main event. The 29-year-old Dagestani owns a sparkling 18-0 mark, but he’ll need to add some more names to his ledger to climb beyond his current No. 15 position. Meanwhile, Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov dethroned defending 205-pound champ Impa Kasanganay in just 58 seconds, allowing him to climb from 15th to 13th — one spot ahead of his vanquished adversary — in the latest light heavyweight rankings.

And of course, there’s Ditcheva, who is discussed in further detail in the women’s pound-for-pound update. No less significant is her climb at 125 pounds, where she goes from unranked to fifth thanks to her handiwork against a former UFC title challenger.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

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WELTERWEIGHT
LIGHTWEIGHT
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FLYWEIGHT
WOMEN'S FEATHERWEIGHT
WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT
WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT
WOMEN'S STRAWWEIGHT
WOMEN'S ATOMWEIGHT