UFC fighter rankings: Henry Cejudo removed, bantamweight title vacant
by Tim BurkeWith the UFC being able to pull off a return and stage three exciting events in eight days, things are starting to get back to normal for the organization. One of those things is updating their official rankings.
The biggest change comes in the bantamweight division, which becomes the second weight class where the belt is now vacant. There were also lots of changes at 145 and 205 pounds, along with everyone moving up a spot on the PBP list due to the removal of former two-division champ Henry Cejudo.
Following his TKO win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249, Cejudo stated that he was hanging up his gloves and moving on. Whether that will stick remains to be seen, but it certainly leaves things open at bantamweight.
Here’s a look at all the moving and shaking coming out of Jacksonville.
P4P - As mentioned, everyone below Jon Jones and Khabib Nurmagomedov moved up one spot with Cejudo out of the three spot. This allowed Francis Ngannou to enter the rankings at 15.
Heavyweight - Derrick Lewis moved up one spot into a tie for four with Junior dos Santos for some reason.
Light Heavyweight - Glover Teixeira’s big win over Anthony Smith shook things up. Corey Anderson is up one spot to four. Teixeira is up three spots to five. Smith drops two to six. Volkan Oezdemir and Alexander Gustafsson are down one each to seven and eight. Ryan Spann moves up one spot to 13, dropping Magomed Anakalaev to 14.
Middleweight - Darren Till moves up one spot to four, which is a tie with Yoel Romero. Krzysztof Jotko re-entered the rankings at 15 after defeating Eryk Anders.
Welterweight - No changes.
Lightweight - Justin Gaethje is your new interim champ. Kevin Lee is up one to eight, dropping Al Iaquinta one to nine. Gregor Gillespie is up three to 11. Islam Makhachev is up one to 12. Donald Cerrone drops one to 13. Drew Dober enters the rankings at 14 following a nice win over Alexander Hernandez. Beneil Dariush re-enters at 15.
Featherweight - Calvin Kattar moves up one to six after stopping Jeremy Stephens. Frankie Edgar fell one to seven. Josh Emmett is up one to eight. Stephens fell one to nine. Arnold Allen is up one to 11. Dan Ige rises four spots to a tie for 11 after a close win over Edson Barboza. Jose Aldo falls two to 13. Ryan Hall and Sodiq Yusuff drop one spot each to 14 and 15.
Bantamweight - The title is vacant. Dominick Cruz moved up one spot to 11. Cody Stamann dropped one to 12.
Flyweight - No champ here either. Brandon Moreno moves up one spot to three, dropping Jussier Formiga to four.
Women’s P4P - Claudia Gadelha is up one to 13 after a very close win over Angela Hill. Julianna Pena fell one to 14. Nina Ansaroff is up one into a tie for 14 with Pena.
Women’s Bantamweight - Sijara Eubanks is up one to 14 after a solid victory. Nicco Montano fell one to 15.
Women’s Flyweight - Cortney Casey enters the rankings at 15 following a slick armbar win.
Women’s Strawweight - Alexa Grasso is up one to 13, dropping Felice Herrig to 14. Angela Hill doesn’t re-enter the rankings despite a very competitive fight with Gadelha.