Rankings Review: Masvidal Drops Two Spots, Plus More Movement from Fighters who Did Not Fight Last Weekend
May 14, 2021
Editorial Commentary by Peter Parsons
Sometimes we see movement in the rankings between fighters who did not fight in the previous week. This begs the question, what changed from the previous week? Could it be a result of new voting panellists? Well, we don’t get to see the UFC ranking voting panellists anymore. Or is it because the current voters changed their minds? Or is it because the fighter who is moving up in the rankings has a high-profile fight coming up?
The UFC Vegas 20 results are in, as the UFC heavyweight division continues to take shape at the top end. Number seven ranked Ciryl Gane is likely to move up in the rankings after putting on a dominant performance against number four ranked Jairzinho Rozenstruik on Saturday night.
UFC Vegas 20 results: Ciryl Gane cruises to victory over Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Gane utilized his reach advantage to successfully and decisively outstrike Rozenstruik from the outside. The Frenchman’s output through five rounds was enough to double a rather gunshy Rozenstruik in both total strikes and significant strikes.
Despite some fans considering the main event as underwhelming, Gane put the heavyweight division on notice. He clearly outstruck an outstanding kickboxer in Rozenstruik, and also showcased his abilities in the clinch along with impressive takedown offense.
Editorial Commentary by Peter Parsons
Yes, you read the first part of the headline right, Khamzat Chimaev moved up in this week’s welterweight rankings. This is the only rankings change that I disagree with in this week’s column. Typically, I write largely about the rankings changes that I disagree with. Two out of the three changes that I highlight this week, I actually agree with, to a certain extent.
Khamzat Chimaev moves up to No. 14 in the rankings?
It was recently announced that Khamzat Chimaev is out of his fight in March with Leon Edwards because of COVID-19 related issues. Fresh off this news, Chimaev moved up one spot to No. 14 in the UFC welterweight rankings ahead of Robbie Lawler.
Editorial Commentary by Peter Parsons
There are times when it makes sense for Fighter A to be ranked ahead of Fighter B even though Fighter A lost to Fighter B. However, this rarely makes sense when the fight in question happened quite recently. When this week’s UFC rankings were released, two examples of this situation stood out to me. In both cases, the movement happened without any of the four fighters having had a recent fight.
Kevin Lee ranked ahead of Al Iaquinta?
In the UFC lightweight division, Al Iaquinta dropped two spots this week to No. 12, beneath the No. 11 ranked Kevin Lee, a fighter whom he has defeated twice.