Rankings Tracker: UFC Fight Night 239

A clash of Top 10 contenders in the heavyweight division will headline the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to the UFC Apex on Saturday and Las Vegas, where Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura are set to do battle atop UFC Fight Night 239. A familiar ruler sits on the throne, but the lack of movement due to the injury to Jon Jones may be frustrating to some competitors. That concern should not overshadow the primary objective for the two men in the main event, as they aim to re-establish themselves in the win column and resume their upward trajectory.

The co-feature pits welterweight hopefuls Bryan Battle and Ange Loose against one another. Further down the card, light heavyweights Ovince St. Preux and Kennedy Nzechukwu, hungry for redemption following recent stoppage losses, square off in a pivotal encounter at 205 pounds.

Ahead of UFC Fight Night 239, a look at the skilled athletes who are pursuing not only victory but a significant climb in Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings:

Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura

The best gift Tuivasa can give himself on his 31st birthday this weekend is a victory in style against Tybura. He is presented with the perfect pretext for celebration and will be aiming to break free from the three-fight cycle of defeats, aiming to nullify the instances where he was finished. Occupying the joint 10th spot for most knockdowns landed in heavyweight history, amounting to eight, Tuivasa will be looking forward to elevating this statistic or ideally unleashing a conclusive knockout against Tybura. As for Tybura, he is poised to play the spoiler and secure a victory of his own, fueled by the desire to bounce back from his technical knockout loss to Tom Aspinall in July 2023. Before that, he was on a two-fight winning streak, collecting signature victories over Alexander Romanov and Blagoy Ivanov in that order. As far as their rankings on the Sherdog heavyweight ladder are concerned, Tybura occupies the No. 7 spot while Tuivasa is ranked No. 10 on the list.

Pannie Kianzad vs. Macy Chiasson

Further down the card, Kianzad and Chiasson clash in a rematch set on the premise of reigniting their rivalry from “The Ultimate Fighter 28” final. Kianzad seeks redemption after a setback against Ketlen Vieira, while Chiasson returns to the Octagon following a long hiatus, having not competed since her September 2022 loss to Irene Aldana. Despite enduring defeats to top-tier talent like Raquel Pennington, Chiasson remains a fierce contender with a 5-3 UFC record. Going into the fight this weekend, Kianzad is ranked No. 9 on Sherdog’s women’s bantamweight ladder, while Chiasson is unranked. Expect the rankings to fluctuate with an impressive performance by either fighter.