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UFC Rankings: Belal Muhammad Edges Closer to Jon Jones, Topuria in P4P List

UFC WW champ Belal Muhammad toppled Sean O'Malley in the latest P4P change.

Mathew Riddle

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

UFC Abu Dhabi has concluded, and with it, some major changes have been made to the official UFC rankings, some controversial and some not expected.

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Let's dive into all of the major changes, all of which can be found on the official UFC website.

Belal Muhammad Breaks Top-5 Pound-for-Pound

The men's pound-for-pound rankings saw one change: Belal Muhammad is now the No. 5 spot, moving Sean O'Malley down to No. 6. Muhammad now sits one spot below Ilia Topuria and two below Jon Jones. This might come as a shock to fans, seeing as O'Malley has defended his title with only one injury-based blemish on his record.

It's worth mentioning that the rankings are decided by a voting panel made up of media members.

Umar Nurmagomedov Reaches Top-2, Deiveson Figueiredo Makes Top-5 Bantamweight

Umar Nurmagomedov scored a hard-fought victory against Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, and now he's reaping the rewards. Rising eight spots, he is no No. 2 at bantamweight and will surely face the winner of O'Malley-Dvalishvili later this year. Sandhagen drops two spots to No. 4.

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Also at bantamweight, Deiveson Figueiredo has risen one spot to No. 5, pushing Marlon Vera down three spots to No. 7 in the process.

New Blood at Light Heavyweight

Following his impressive knockout victory over Alonzo Menifield, Azamat Murzakanov has jumped three spots to No. 11 in the light heavyweight rankings. Also, with no real correlation, Roman Dolidze is newly ranked at No. 15, and Volkan Oezdemir is now tied at No. 6 with Nikita Krylov.

Mackenzie Dern Moves Down Despite Winning

Mackenzie Dern fought tooth and nail to steal a decision against Lupita Godinez. Despite her winning effort, she has been moved down one spot to No. 8 in the strawweight rankings. Overtaking Dern is Amanda Ribas, who lost to Rose Namajunas in March.

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Mathew Riddle
MATHEW RIDDLE

Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist, graphic designer, and SEO expert with over five years of experience in digital marketing and a dedicated four-year track record in MMA journalism. He joined MMAKO in 2023. Mathew's insights have been featured on The Fight Fanatic, Heavy on UFC, Fansided, and Sportskeeda. Reach him at mr@thefightfanatic.com.

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