Sean Strickland left UFC 293 as a dominant figure in the world of mixed martial arts. Last Saturday in Australia, the American fighter surprised everyone by defeating Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision, thus capturing the middleweight title (84 kg). As expected, Strickland received a significant boost in the weekly ranking update released by the organization the following Tuesday.
With this impressive victory, Strickland automatically became the leader in the UFC middleweight division, surpassing names like Israel Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis, Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier, and Marvin Vettori. Furthermore, his flawless performance against the Nigerian also earned him a spot in the company’s pound-for-pound rankings, now occupying the eighth position among the organization’s top fighters.
On the other hand, Adesanya suffered a significant drop due to the defeat. He received criticism from Dana White, fans, and as a result, lost positions in the UFC rankings. In the middleweight division, the former champion now holds the second position, below Strickland. In the pound-for-pound rankings, ‘The Last Stylebender’ fell from fifth to ninth place.
This devaluation of Adesanya in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings benefited Charles do Bronx, Kamaru Usman, and Sean O’Malley, who each moved up one spot. Now, these fighters hold the fifth, sixth, and seventh positions, respectively. On the other hand, Strickland’s entry into the organization’s elite group caused Alexandre Pantoja to drop from ninth to tenth place.
In addition to these changes, Alexander Volkov and Manel Kape also had standout performances at UFC 293 and climbed the ranks in their respective divisions. Volkov moved up to the sixth position in the heavyweight rankings after finishing Tai Tuivasa in the second round, while Tuivasa dropped from sixth to eighth place. In the flyweight division (57 kg), ‘Starboy’ defeated Felipe dos Santos, earned the ‘Fight of the Night’ award, and moved up two positions, now occupying the eighth spot in his category.
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