You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and youcan then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tabletor streaming device via the ESPN app. If MaxHolloway isn’t yet the greatest featherweight of all time, he’sat least inching closer to Jose Aldo’sthrone.
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The Hawaiian won his 13th straight bout at 145 pounds at UFC 240,as he dispatched FrankieEdgar over five efficient rounds in the evening’s headliner atRogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on Saturday night. Inaddition to further solidifying his featherweight legacy, it was anice bounce back win for Holloway, who had been stopped by DustinPoirier in a bid for interim lightweight gold at UFC 236 inApril.
Because of that loss, Holloway stays entrenched at No. 8 in ourlatest pound-for-pound rankings behind Poirier. AlexanderVolkanovski is likely next for “Blessed” in a matchup thatcould potentially take place before the close of 2019, as Hollowaysaid he would like to fight once more before year’s end.
1. JonJones (25-1)
For the second time this year, Jones needed five rounds to retainhis 205-pound belt in a matchup with a converted middleweight.Unlike his five-round beatdown of Anthony Smith in March, Jones didexperience some adversity against Thiago Santos in the UFC 239 mainevent. The Brazilian striker punished Jones’ legs with low kicksand attacked with aggression throughout their 25-minute encounterbut ultimately dropped a split decision to Jonny “Bones.” Uponfurther examination, Jones might have been more in control than itinitially appeared, as he was the far more efficient strikerthroughout the contest, while Santos often struggled to navigatethe reach of his foe. Still, losing a scorecard is a first forJones, and only time will tell if it’s the beginning of a declineor simply the product of a cautious performance against a dangerousfoe.
2. DanielCormier (21-1)
The best thing you can say about Cormier’s effort at UFC 230 wasthat it was predictable. “DC” landed multiple takedowns on underdogDerrickLewis before securing a tapout with a rear-naked choke at the2:14 mark of the second stanza. Cormier became the first fighter todefend titles from two divisions in UFC history. Cormier previouslyset March 20 as a retirement date, but lingering issues from a backinjury suffered before UFC 230 will force “DC” to fight beyond his40th birthday.
3. HenryCejudo (16-2)
After a shaky first round, Cejudo turned up the heat on MarlonMoraes in the UFC 238 main event, winning via third-round technicalknockout to become the fourth simultaneous two-division champion inthe history of the Las Vegas-based promotion. It’s difficult todeny the Olympic gold medalist as one of the sport’spound-for-pound best given recent wins over Demetrious Johnson,T.J. Dillashaw and Moraes. “The Messenger” plans on defending onboth his flyweight and bantamweight belts – and he even has designson making an eventual move to 145 pounds. All those plans willlikely have to wait until 2020 as Cejudo recovers from shouldersurgery.
4. KhabibNurmagomedov (27-0)
Post-fight shenanigans aside, Nurmagomedov was in prime formagainst ConorMcGregor at UFC 229. He completed takedowns, applied heavy toppressure and generally made life difficult for the knockout-mindedIrishman at every turn. “The Eagle” even survived adversity — helost a round for the first time in his promotional tenure — beforetapping McGregor with a neck crank at the 3:03 mark of round four.Nurmagomedov received a nine-month suspension — which can bereduced to six with the production of an anti-bullying PSA — and a$500,000 fine for his role in the post-fight brawl that occurredafter the bout. The Dagestani will next defend his title againstinterim king DustinPoirier at UFC 242 on Sept. 7.
5. RobertWhittaker (20-4)
An emergency hernia surgery forced Whittaker to withdraw from hisscheduled title defense against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 234. Evenmore disappointing, that’s twice that “The Reaper” has been forcedto pull out of headlining championship fights in his home countryof Australia (An injury also forced him out of a proposed matchupwith Luke Rockhold at UFC 221.) Whittaker has won nine bouts in arow but is still awaiting his first official belt defense, as hisUFC 225 triumph over Yoel Romero was a non-title bout due to Romeromissing weight. A title unification bout with interim champ IsraelAdesanya will take place at UFC 243 on Oct. 5.
6. KamaruUsman (15-1)
Even those who predicted victory for Usman couldn’t have imagined“The Nigerian Nightmare” being as dominant as he was against TyronWoodley at UFC 235. Usman claimed the welterweight throne on thestrength of five dominant rounds against Woodley, overwhelming hisopponent with wrestling, clinch work and top control. In fact,Usman probably deserved more 10-8 scorecards than he received.Nonetheless, Usman has hardware for his trophy case and an ongoing10-fight winning streak. Usman is targeting a fall return to theOctagon as he recovers from a March surgery that repaired a doublehernia.
7. DustinPoirier (25-5)
It took him 22 fights to get there, but Poirier is finally a UFCchampion. “The Diamond” went five hard rounds with featherweightking MaxHolloway, relying on his power to pull out a unanimous decisiontriumph in the UFC 236 headliner. Poirier has lost just once in 11bouts since moving up to lightweight, compiling a resume thatincludes victories over the likes of Holloway, EddieAlvarez, JustinGaethje and AnthonyPettis, to name a few. That path doesn’t get any easier for theAmerican Top Team product, as he now has a title unification boutwith KhabibNurmagomedov officially set for UFC 242 Abu Dhabi..
8. MaxHolloway (21-4)
Holloway remains the unquestioned king of the featherweightdivision. After a loss to Dustin Poirier in a bid for the interimlightweight crown this past April, “Blessed” returned to form atUFC 240, as he outstruck Frankie Edgar for the better part of 25minutes in the evening’s main event at Rogers Place in Edmonton,Alberta, Canada. The gives the Hawaiian 16 featherweight wins and17 overall in UFC competition, and at 27 years old, he could justbe getting started. Holloway’s most likely next opponent, AlexanderVolkanovski, was in attendance for the UFC 240 bout, setting thestage for an interesting matchup later in 2019.
9. DemetriousJohnson (28-3-1)
Johnson kicked off his One Championship tenure with a second-roundguillotine choke submission of Yuya Wakamatsu in the opening roundof the promotion’s flyweight grand prix. “Mighty Mouse” survived agame effort from his unheralded opponent before locking in a powerguillotine choke at the 2:40 mark of the second round at One “A NewEra” on March 31. A closely contested split-decision setbackagainst Henry Cejudo in his final UFC appearance is Johnson’s onlyloss since 2011. The AMC Pankration product will look to continuehis run through the bracket when he locks horns with TatsumitsuWada at One “Dawn of Heroes” on Aug. 2.
10. TonyFerguson (25-3)
It wasn’t necessarily the ending he envisioned, but Fergusonappeared to be well on his way to defeating DonaldCerrone at UFC 238 before the contest was halted prior to roundthree due to “Cowboy’s” swollen eye. Cerrone certainly got hisshots in, but “El Cucuy” utilized his usual multi-faceted offensiveapproach to land more than 50 significant strikes in both the firstand second rounds. With 12 consecutive wins under his belt, thereis no more deserving No. 1 contender at lightweight than Ferguson.Merit doesn’t always win out in the modern UFC era, however.
Sherdog’s divisional and pound-for-pound rankings are compiledby a panel of Sherdog.com staff members and contributors: TristenCritchfield, Mike Fridley, Brian Knapp, Eric Stinton, Ben Duffy,Jay Pettry, Jacob Debets, Nathan Zur, Kevin Wilson, EdwardCarbajal, Jason Burgos, Guy Portman, Anthony Walker, Tudor Leonte,Keith Shillan, Mike Sloan, Tom Feely and Adam Martin.
