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It may be an understatement to say the UFC has some questionable rankings. You’ll anticipate rankings to be questionable as they’re subjective; nonetheless, on this column, I’ll level out rankings that I feel are obvious errors. I may even analyze vital motion within the rankings that I agree with.
Editorial Commentary by Peter Parsons
Ilia Topuria defeated Josh Emmett within the UFC Jacksonville fundamental occasion on ABC on Saturday. With the win, Topuria took Emmett’s No. 5 rating. Ought to Topuria have moved up greater within the UFC rankings after Saturday’s victory?
Ilia Topuria ranked No. 5 in UFC featherweight division
For my part, Topuria ought to have moved as much as No. 3 forward of Brian Ortega after his “Fight of the Night” victory on Saturday. There’s an argument that No. 4 ranked Arnold Allen might be ranked forward of Topuria, however it’s clear that Topuria ought to be ranked forward of Ortega.
The Spaniard by the use of Georgia is now 14-0 general and 6-0 within the UFC since making his UFC debut in October of 2020. In the meantime, Ortega has not received a struggle since October of 2020, the month Topuria made his UFC debut.
Brian Ortega’s latest UFC document
Ortega final defeated “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung in a five-round resolution in a fundamental occasion of a UFC Battle Evening. Sure, the Californian has confronted nothing however top-level opposition in his previous couple of fights, however he hasn’t been lively. Ortega’s earlier win earlier than The Korean Zombie was in opposition to Frankie Edgar in 2018.
Ortega’s latest losses have come in opposition to the highest three UFC featherweights in Yair Rodriguez, Alexander Volkanovski, and Max Holloway. The Volkanovski and Holloway fights have been title fights the place he confirmed super toughness. The Rodriguez struggle was a high contender struggle the place Ortega suffered a freak shoulder damage.
UFC highlights of Brian Ortega’s loss to Alexander Volkanovski
Ilia Topuria’s latest UFC document
Topuria is coming off a really dominant victory over the beforehand No. 5 ranked Josh Emmett that noticed one decide scored the struggle 50-42. Topuria broke into the highest 10 when he beat the earlier No. 9 ranked Bryce Mitchell.
The 26-year-old has had all powerful fights since getting into the Octagon, together with his brief discover debut in opposition to Youssef Zalal who was 3-0 within the UFC on the time. He adopted up the Zalal win with KO victories over Damon Jackson, Ryan Corridor and Jai Herbert. The Herbert struggle was at light-weight.
Why Topuria ought to be ranked forward of Ortega in UFC featherweight division
Apparently, each Topuria and Ortega began their professional careers at 14-0 and 6-0 within the UFC. Ortega was 14-0 when he first fought for the title in opposition to Max Holloway. Ortega impressed with all finishes within the UFC earlier than his Holloway struggle – most notably submission victories over Renato Moicano and Cub Swanson, and TKO victories over Clay Guida and Frankie Edgar.
Undoubtedly, Brian Ortega is among the finest and he gave the champ Alexander Volkanovski his hardest problem at featherweight; nonetheless, he has solely fought 3 times within the final 4 years. In the meantime, Topuria has been lively not too long ago, defeating high opposition.
I’ve talked about earlier than on this column that usually we see fighters take their opponents rankings within the UFC. Topuria took Emmett’s No. 5 rating simply as he beforehand took Bryce Mitchell’s No. 9 rating. I feel this occurs too usually with out consideration of rating a fighter greater.
There are some nice featherweight match-ups developing (see beneath) together with the title struggle between Yair Rodriguez and Alexander Volkanovski. It seems to be like Topuria might be in line for the subsequent title shot if the pound-for-pound nice Volkanovski defends his crown in opposition to Rodriguez.
Upcoming Notable UFC Featherweight Fights
Jul 8 – (C) Alexander Volkanovski vs. (IC) Yair Rodriguez
Jul 22 – Joshua Culibao vs. Lerone Murphy
Jul 22 – Nathaniel Wooden vs. Andre Fili
Aug 5 – Damon Jackson vs. Billy Quarantillo
Aug 12 – Cub Swanson vs. Hakeem Dawodu
Aug 26 – (2) Max Holloway vs. (8) Chan Sung Jung
My Perspective on the UFC Rankings
My rankings would look completely different than some other author or fan who follows the game intently. That is to be anticipated, as rankings are subjective. Rankings ought to be primarily based totally on outcomes and never perceived potential or reputation.
Some folks assume rankings don’t matter. Rankings do matter. They matter on the subject of matchmaking. They matter on the subject of contract negotiations.
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