Robert Whittaker (Mike Sloan/Sherdog)

Combat Press MMA Rankings: July 2018

As MMA continues to grow its presence with the UFC, Bellator MMA, KSW, PFL and ONE Championship, fighters are constantly jockeying for position in the eyes (and rankings) of the media.

Every month, Combat Press will rank each weight class from heavyweight to flyweight, as well as the pound-for-pound rankings (including all genders).

Note: the numbers in parentheses represent the fighter’s ranking from the previous rankings.


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Heavyweight
  1. Stipe Miocic (1)
  2. Francis Ngannou (2)
  3. Alexander Volkov (4)
  4. Curtis Blaydes (7)
  5. Alistair Overeem (3)
  6. Fabricio Werdum (5)
  7. Junior dos Santos (6)
  8. Mark Hunt (8)
  9. Vitaly Minakov (9)/Alexey Oleinik (9)
  10. Derrick Lewis (10)

UFC 225 in Chicago served as a home game for Curtis Blaydes and the heavyweight took full advantage. Against striking stalwart Alistair Overeem, Blaydes was patient and implemented his wrestling game, scoring a third-round TKO after a barrage of strikes from top position. The win moves Blaydes up to fourth in the rankings, while the former title challenger Overeem drops to fifth the stoppage loss.

Light Heavyweight
  1. Daniel Cormier (1)
  2. Alexander Gustafsson (2)
  3. Ryan Bader (3)
  4. Phil Davis (4)
  5. Glover Teixeira (5)
  6. Volkan Oezdemir (6)
  7. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (7)
  8. Ilir Latifi (8)
  9. Dominick Reyes (9)
  10. Jan Błachowicz (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Middleweight
  1. Georges St-Pierre (1)
  2. Robert Whittaker (2)
  3. Yoel Romero (3)
  4. Luke Rockhold (4)
  5. Gegard Mousasi (5)
  6. Chris Weidman (6)
  7. Kelvin Gastelum (7)
  8. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (8)
  9. Michael Bisping (9)
  10. Derek Brunson (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Ben Askren (10)

UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker survived a broken hand and a five-round war with Cuba’s Yoel Romero at UFC 225. “Bobby Knuckles” remains at No. 2, with Romero staying at No. 3 after the closely contested match-up. Additionally, with more than six months passing since Ben Askren stepped into the cage after his retirement, he drops from the top 10. That opens the door for Derek Brunson to move into the No. 10 slot.

Welterweight
  1. Tyron Woodley (1)
  2. Colby Covington (4)
  3. Stephen Thompson (2)
  4. Rafael dos Anjos (3)
  5. Robbie Lawler (5)
  6. Darren Till (6)
  7. Rory MacDonald (7)
  8. Kamaru Usman (8)
  9. Jorge Masvidal (9)
  10. Demian Maia (10)

Dropped from the rankings:

The month’s biggest move came from the UFC 225 main event between Colby Covington and Rafael dos Anjos. Covington defeated the former lightweight champion to capture the interim welterweight title, setting up a future clash with divisional kingpin Tyron Woodley. Covington climbs to the second spot in the rankings with the win, with dos Anjos sliding to down to fourth in defeat.

Lightweight
  1. Tony Ferguson (1)/Khabib Nurmagomedov (1)
  2. Eddie Alvarez (2)
  3. Dustin Poirier (3)
  4. Kevin Lee (4)
  5. Justin Gaethje (5)
  6. Edson Barboza (6)
  7. Brent Primus (7)
  8. Al Iaquinta (8)
  9. James Vick (9)
  10. Michael Chandler (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Featherweight
  1. Max Holloway (1)
  2. José Aldo (2)
  3. Brian Ortega (3)
  4. Bibiano Fernandes (4)
  5. Frankie Edgar (5)
  6. Jeremy Stephens (6)
  7. Josh Emmett (7)
  8. Cub Swanson (8)
  9. Renato Moicano (10 – tie)
  10. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (10 – tie)

Dropped from the rankings: Ricardo Lamas (9)

UFC 225 was not an enjoyable homecoming for featherweight Ricardo Lamas as the former title challenger was defeated by Mirsad Bektic. The loss drops Lamas from the top 10 and breaks the 10th-place tie between Renato Moicano and Patricio Freire.

Bantamweight
  1. T.J. Dillashaw (1)
  2. Cody Garbrandt (2)
  3. Dominick Cruz (3)
  4. John Lineker (4)
  5. Raphael Assunção (5)
  6. Marlon Moraes (6)
  7. Jimmie Rivera (7)
  8. John Dodson (8)
  9. Darrion Caldwell (9)
  10. Cody Stamann (10)/Kyoji Horiguchi (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Flyweight
  1. Demetrious Johnson (1)
  2. Sergio Pettis (6)
  3. Joseph Benavidez (2)
  4. Henry Cejudo (3)
  5. Ray Borg (4)
  6. Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (5)
  7. John Moraga (7)
  8. Wilson Reis (8)
  9. Alexandre Pantoja (9)
  10. Brandon Moreno (10)

Another big move in June came in the flyweight division as Sergio Pettis topped multiple-time title challenger Joseph Benavidez at UFC 225. The victory moves Pettis from sixth to second in the rankings, pushing Benavidez to third.

Pound-For-Pound
  1. Demetrious Johnson (1)
  2. Georges St-Pierre (2)
  3. Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (3)
  4. Daniel Cormier (4)
  5. Stipe Miocic (5)
  6. Max Holloway (6)
  7. T.J. Dillashaw (7)
  8. Amanda Nunes (8)
  9. Tyron Woodley (9)
  10. Rose Namajunas (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action during the last month, so the rankings remain unchanged.


Editor’s Note: Fighters are eligible to be ranked if they have competed in the last 18 months. Any fighter that chooses to switch weight classes will be ranked in their previous weight class until they have competed twice in their new division. Fighters who announce their retirement will remain ranked for a period of six months following their final bout.


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