With Khabib Nurmagomedov seemingly content with his decision to retire from the sport as UFC lightweight champion, the UFC 257 fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, while not a title fight, became something of a battle to crown the top lightweight fighter in the world. While McGregor came out strong, it was Poirier who scored the deciding blows, winning the fight via TKO in the second round.
Porier is now 7-1 at lightweight since 2017, and has locked up the No. 1 ranking in the CBS Sports UFC Divisional Rankings. McGregor, meanwhile, dropped from No. 5 to No. 7 with his loss. McGregor has a lifetime 1-2 record at lightweight in the UFC, with his lone win coming in 2016 when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez to win the lightweight title.
Also at UFC 257, former three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler made his UFC debut against Dan Hooker. Chandler scored a knockout in the first round, earning him a debut spot at No. 4 in the lightweight rankings. Hooker fell from No. 4 to No. 9 with the loss.
The next UFC event is a Feb. 6 UFC Fight Night card, which features one fight involving CBS Sports ranked fighters:
- Heavyweight: No. 6 Alistair Overeem vs. No. 7 Alexander Volkov
Rankings are compiled following the submission of ballots by Brent Brookhouse, Brian Campbell, Jack Crosby and Brandon Wise. Without further ado, here’s where things stand ahead of Saturday’s card.
For Brian Campbell’s updated Pound for Pound Rankings, click here.
Flyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Deivieson Figueiredo |
20-1-1 |
|
2. Brandon Moreno |
18-5-2 |
|
3. Askar Askarov |
12-0-1 |
|
4. Joseph Benavidez |
28-7 |
|
T5. Matt Schnell |
15-4 |
|
T5. Alexandre Pantoja |
21-5 |
|
7. Kai Kara-France |
21-8 |
|
8. Alex Perez |
24-6 |
|
9. Jussier Formiga |
23-8 |
|
10. Raulian Paiva |
19-3 |
Bantamweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Petr Yan (c) |
15-1 |
|
2. Aljamain Sterling |
19-3 |
|
3. Cody Garbrandt |
12-3 |
|
4. Cory Sandhagen |
13-2 |
|
5. Marlon Moraes |
23-7-1 |
|
6. Jimmie Rivera |
23-4 |
|
7. Pedro Munhoz |
18-5 |
|
8. Frankie Edgar |
24-8-1 |
|
9. Raphael Assuncao |
27-8 |
|
10. Merab Dvalishvili |
12-4 |
Featherweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Alexander Volkanovski (c) |
22-1 |
|
2. Max Holloway |
22-6 |
|
3. Brian Ortega |
15-1 |
|
4. Zabit Magomedsharipov |
18-1 |
|
5. Yair Rodriguez |
12-2 |
|
6. Korean Zombie |
16-6 |
|
7. Calvin Kattar |
22-5 |
|
8. Josh Emmett |
16-2 |
|
9. Dan Ige |
14-3 |
|
10. Shane Burgos |
13-2 |
Lightweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Dustin Poirier |
27-6 |
|
T2. Justin Gaethje |
22-3 |
|
T2. Charles Oliveira |
30-8 |
|
4. Michael Chandler |
22-5 |
|
5. Tony Ferguson |
25-5 |
|
6. Rafael dos Anjos |
30-13 |
|
7. Conor McGregor |
22-5 |
|
8. Drew Dober |
23-9 |
|
9. Dan Hooker |
20-10 |
|
10. Paul Felder |
17-6 |
Welterweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Kamaru Usman (c) |
17-1 |
|
2. Gilbert Burns |
19-3 |
|
3. Colby Covington |
16-2 |
|
4. Leon Edwards |
18-3 |
|
5. Jorge Masvidal |
35-14 |
|
6. Stephen Thompson |
16-4-1 |
|
7. Michael Chiesa |
18-4 |
|
8. Geoff Neal |
13-3 |
|
9. Santiago Ponzinibbio |
27-3 |
|
10. Vicente Luque |
19-7-1 |
Middleweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Israel Adesanya (c) |
20-0 |
|
2. Robert Whittaker |
22-5 |
|
3. Paulo Costa |
13-1 |
|
4. Jared Cannonier |
13-5 |
|
5. Derek Brunson |
21-7 |
|
6. Marvin Vettori |
16-4-1 |
|
7. Darren Till |
18-2-1 |
|
8. Kevin Holland |
21-5 |
|
9. Jack Hermansson |
21-6 |
|
10. Edmen Shahbayan |
11-1 |
Light heavyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Jan Blachowicz (c) |
27-8 |
|
2. Dominick Reyes |
12-2 |
|
3. Glover Teixeira |
32-7 |
|
4. Thiago Santos |
21-8 |
|
5. Aleksandar Rakic |
13-2 |
|
6. Anthony Smith |
34-16 |
|
7. Nikita Krylov |
26-7 |
|
8. Jiri Prochazka |
27-3-1 |
|
9. Johnny Walker |
18-5 |
|
10. Misha Cirkunov |
15-5 |
Heavyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Stipe Miocic (c) |
20-3 |
|
2. Francis Ngannou |
15-3 |
|
3. Curtis Blaydes |
14-2 |
|
4. Derrick Lewis |
24-7 |
|
5. Jairzinho Rozenstruik |
11-1 |
|
6. Alistair Overeem |
47-18 |
|
7. Alexander Volkov |
32-8 |
|
8. Aleksei Oleinik |
59-14-1 |
|
T9. Cyril Gane |
7-0 |
|
T9. Walt Harris |
13-9 |
Women’s strawweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Weili Zhang (c) |
21-1 |
|
2. Rose Namajunas |
9-4 |
|
3. Joanna Jedrzejczyk |
16-4 |
|
4. Tatiana Suarez |
8-0 |
|
5. Carla Esparza |
17-6 |
|
6. Yan Xiaonan |
13-1 |
|
7. Jessica Andrade |
21-8 |
|
8. Marina Rodriguez |
13-1-2 |
|
9. Michelle Waterson |
18-8 |
|
10. Amanda Ribas |
10-2 |
Women’s flyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Valentina Shevchenko (c) |
20-3 |
|
2. Jessica Andrade |
21-8 |
|
3. Lauren Murphy |
14-4 |
|
4. Katlyn Chookagian |
15-4 |
|
5. Jennifer Maia |
18-7-1 |
Women’s bantamweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Amanda Nunes (c) |
20-4 |
|
2. Germaine de Randamie |
10-4 |
|
3. Holly Holm |
14-5 |
|
4. Aspen Ladd |
9-1 |
|
5. Irene Aldana |
12-6 |
|
6. Yana Kunitskaya |
13-5 |
|
7. Julianna Pena |
10-4 |
|
8. Ketlen Vieira |
11-1 |
|
9. Julia Avila |
8-2 |
|
10. Sara McMann |
12-6 |