Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight veteran Belal Muhammad can now call himself a Top 5 contender after defeating fellow 170-pound title hopeful Vicente Luque in the UFC Vegas 51 main event last weekend (April 16) inside the APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
That’s according to the official UFC rankings panel, who elevated “Remember the Name” one spot to No. 5. As for “The Silent Assassin,” he drops one space to No. 6. Elsewhere on the charts, Pannie Kianzad broke into the bantamweight Top 10 by decisioning Lina Lansberg.
Here’s how UFC compiles its official rankings:
Rankings were generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.
Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Kamaru Usman
2. Alexander Volkanovski
3. Israel Adesanya
4. Francis Ngannou
5. Charles Oliveira
6. Max Holloway
7. Dustin Poirier +1
8. Jon Jones -1
9. Glover Teixeira
10. Deiveson Figueiredo
11. Aljamain Sterling +1
12. Stipe Miocic -1
13. Petr Yan
14. Brandon Moreno
15. Robert Whittaker
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Deiveson Figueiredo
1. Brandon Moreno
2. Kai Kara France
3. Askar Askarov
4. Alexandre Pantoja
5. Alex Perez
6. Brandon Royval
7. Matheus Nicolau
8. Rogerio Bontorin
9. Matt Schnell
10. David Dvorak
11. Tim Elliott
12. Su Mudaerji
13. Amir Albazi
14. Manel Kape
15. Tagir Ulanbekov
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Aljamain Sterling
1. Petr Yan (Interim champion)
2. T.J. Dillashaw
3. Jose Aldo
4. Cory Sandhagen
5. Rob Font
6. Merab Dvalishvili
7. Dominick Cruz
8. Marlon Vera
9. (T) Pedro Munhoz
9. (T) Song Yadong
11. Frankie Edgar
12. Ricky Simon
13. Sean O’Malley
14. Marlon Moraes
15. Jack Shore *NR
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Alexander Volkanovski
1. Max Holloway
2. Brian Ortega
3. Yair Rodriguez
4. Calvin Kattar
5. Chan Sung Jung
6. Arnold Allen
7. Josh Emmett
8. Giga Chikadze
9. Bryce Mitchell
10. Dan Ige
11. Sodiq Yusuff
12. Edson Barboza
13. Movsar Evloev
14. Shane Burgos
15. Ilia Topuria
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Charles Oliveira
1. (T) Justin Gaethje
1. (T) Dustin Poirier
3. Islam Makhachev
4. Beneil Dariush
5. Michael Chandler
6. Rafael dos Anjos
7. Tony Ferguson
8. Gregor Gillespie
9. Conor McGregor
10. Rafael Fiziev
11. Arman Tsarukyan
12. Mateusz Gamrot
13. Dan Hooker
14. Brad Riddell
15. Diego Ferreira
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Kamaru Usman
1. Colby Covington
2. Leon Edwards
3. Khamzat Chimaev
4. Gilbert Burns
5. Belal Muhammed +1
6. Vicente Luque -1
7. Stephen Thompson
8. Jorge Masvidal
9. Sean Brady
10. Neil Magny
11. Michael Chiesa
12. Geoff Neal
13. Li Jingliang
14. Santiago Ponzinibbio
15. Muslim Salikhov
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Israel Adesanya
1. Robert Whittaker
2. Jared Cannonier
3. Marvin Vettori
4. (T) Derek Brunson
4. (T) Paulo Costa
4. (T) Sean Strickland
7. Jack Hermansson
8. Darren Till
9. Uriah Hall
10. Kelvin Gastelum
11. Nassourdine Imavov
12. Brad Tavares
13. Andre Muniz
14. Chris Weidman
15. Edmen Shahbazyan
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Glover Teixeira
1. Jan Blachowicz
2. Jiri Prochazka
3. Aleksandar Rakic
4. Magomed Ankalaev
5. Anthony Smith
6. Thiago Santos
7. Dominick Reyes
8. Paul Craig
9. Volkan Oezdemir
10. Jamahal Hill
11. Nikita Krylov
12. Johnny Walker
13. Ryan Spann
14. Jim Crute
15. Dustin Jacoby
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Francis Ngannou
1. Ciryl Gane
2. Stipe Miocic
3. Tai Tuivasa
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Derrick Lewis
6. Tom Aspinall
7. Alexander Volkov
8. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
9. (T) Chris Daukaus
9. (T) Marcin Tybura
11. Sergei Pavlovich
12. Shamil Abdurakhimov
13. Augusto Sakai
14. Walt Harris
15. Blagoy Ivanov
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Amanda Nunes
3. Rose Namajunas
4. Julianna Pena
5. Weili Zhang
6. Jessica Andrade
7. Holly Holm
8. Carla Esparza
9. Marina Rodriguez
10. Katlyn Chookagian
11. Yan Xiaonan
12. Mackenzie Dern
13. Irene Aldana
14. Lauren Murphy
15. Raquel Pennington
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Rose Namajunas
1. Zhang Weili
2. Carla Esparza
3. Marina Rodriguez
4. Mackenzie Dern
5. Yan Xiaonan
6. Nina Nunes
7. Tecia Torres
8. Amanda Ribas
9. Michelle Waterson
10. Amanda Lemos
11. Virna Jandiroba
12. Angela Hill
13. Jessica Penne
14. Brianna Van Buren
15. Luana Pinheiro
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Valentina Shevchenko
1. Jessica Andrade
2. Katlyn Chookagian
3. Lauren Murphy
4. Talia Santos
5. Alexa Grasso
6. Manon Fiorot
7. Jennifer Maia
8. Viviane Araujo
9. Andrea Lee
10. Joanne Wood
11. Cynthia Calvillo
12. Jessica Eye
13. Casey O’Neill
14. Maycee Barber
15. Erin Blanchfield
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Julianna Pena
1. Amanda Nunes
2. Holly Holm
3. Irene Aldana
4. Raquel Pennington
5. Ketlen Vieira
6. Yana Kunitskaya
7. Aspen Ladd
8. Sara McMann
9. Miesha Tate
10. Pannie Kianzad +2
11. Macy Chiasson -1
12. Lina Lansberg -1
13. Karol Rosa
14. Julia Avila
15. Norma Dumont
There you have it.
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LIVE! Stream UFC Vegas 91 On ESPN+
EXCITING MIDDLEWEIGHT MATCHUP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., April 6, 2024, with an action-packed, five-round main event featuring No. 7-seeded 185-pound contender, Brendan Allen, running it back with No. 14-ranked Chris Curtis. “Action Man” — who is filling in for the “freak” injured Marvin Vettori — scored an upset win over Allen back in 2021 (watch it). In UFC Vegas 90’s ESPN+-streamed co-main event, former Featherweight hopeful, Alexander Hernandez, looks to get back on track at the expense of dangerous Octagon veteran, Damon Jackson.
You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week following the UFC Vegas 52 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, particularly in the strawweight division, after Amanda Lemos (No. 10) and Jessica Andrade (No. 6) run it back for a spot in the crowded 115-pound title chase.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.
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