When Islam Makhachev headlined UFC Vegas 31 against Thiago Moises in July, he sat at the number nine spot in the lightweight rankings. After submitting the then number 14-ranked Moises, he instantly leaped four spots to number five.
Makhachev’s win was his eighth straight since 2015, and that may have contributed to his boost in the media-voted rankings. But for fellow top-fivers like Justin Gaethje, it’s a “pretty crazy” situation.
“It’ll be good to see Islam fight someone that’s ranked higher,” Gaethje told Helen Yee in a recent interview. “It was crazy to see… we got the same management and all that.