Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Lightweight

1. Charles Oliveira (32-8, 1 NC) [1]

Oliveira showcased his durability early against Dustin Poirier, then imposed his will through grappling to retain his lightweight crown with a third-round submission victory in the UFC 269 main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 11. “Do Bronx” has won 10 consecutive fights dating back to June 2018 and only seems to be getting better. The Brazilian will make his next title defense against World Series of Fighting champ Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 on May 7.

2. Dustin Poirier (28-7, 1 NC) [2]

Poirier entered UFC 269 as the uncrowned lightweight champion in many people’s eyes, but he left the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas empty handed following a third-round submission loss to Charles Oliveira in the evening’s headliner. The American Top Team representative started well, as he landed powerful punches and floored his opponent in Round 1, but that momentum gradually faded as the bout progressed. Poirier was on the verge of a memorable 2021 campaign that could have included two wins over Conor McGregor and a championship belt, but instead “The Diamond” comes up short for the second consecutive time in a title bout.

3. Justin Gaethje (23-3) [3]

More than a year removed from his lightweight championship loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254, Gaethje staked his claim to another title shot at UFC 268, where he outdueled Michael Chandler in a “Fight of the Year” candidate at Madison Square Garden in New York. Gaethje endured some early adversity when he was rocked by the former Bellator champion, but he relied on a more technical approach to pull away from Chandler for a unanimous decision triumph. The former World Series of Fighting title holder will get his second championship opportunity when he challenges reigning lightweight king Charles Oliveira at UFC 274.

4. Beneil Dariush (21-4-1) [4]

Dariush smothered Tony Ferguson for the better part of three rounds in the UFC 262 co-main event on May 15, a dominant victory that included a heel hook submission in the second frame that might have done some serious damage to his opponent. The Kings MMA product has won seven straight fights within the Las Vegas-based promotion. He was supposed to meet Islam Makhacehv in the UFC Fight Night 202 main event before an injury forced him to withdraw from the contest.

5. Islam Makhachev (22-1) [5]

Heading into the UFC Fight Night 202 main event, there was at least some sentiment that Bobby Green could throw a scare into Makhachev in their short-notice, catchweight bout. That wasn’t the case at all, as Makhachev overwhelmed Green en route to a first-round technical knockout victory. The Dagestani grappler’s 10-fight winning streak is tied for the second-longest active streak in the promotion, and every other fighter on the list is currently a champion. Makhachev appears to have all but sealed a date with the winner of the Charles Oliveira-Justin Gaethje title bout at UFC 274.

6. Michael Chandler (22-7) [6]

Chandler has established himself as one of the UFC’s most reliable all-action fighters in just three promotional appearances. His latest effort, a unanimous decision loss to Justin Gaethje, saw the ex-Bellator king rock his opponent in the opening stanza and endure a tremendous amount of punishment in a “Fight of the Year” contender at UFC 268. After back-to-back losses to Gaethje and Charles Oliveira, Chandler is on the outside looking in when it comes to title contention, but his presence is a welcome addition to virtually any fight card. Chandler is slated for another action-packed clash against Tony Ferguson at UFC 274.

7. Dan Hooker (21-12) [7]

Hooker returned to the featherweight division for the first time since December 2018 at UFC London, where he suffered a violent first-round technical knockout loss to Arnold Allen at the O2 Arena on March 19. While Hooker fights generally tend to deliver when it comes to action, “The Hangman” has been on the wrong end of too many beatings recently, with losses in four of his last five Octagon appearances. It might benefit Hooker to consider a quick return to lightweight.

8. Tony Ferguson (25-6) [8]

The past stretch has been a difficult one for Ferguson’s mixed martial arts career. After compiling a 12-bout winning streak from 2013 to 2019, “El Cucuy” has fallen to Beneil Dariush, Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje in lopsided fashion. That skid, which includes a decision loss to Dariush in his last outing at UFC 262, means that the 37-year-old Team Death Clutch representative’s days as a top 155-pound contender are likely over. Ferguson will attempt to right the ship against Michael Chandler at UFC 274.

9. Rafael dos Anjos (31-13) [9]

Faced with an opponent change less than a week before UFC 272, dos Anjos was unfazed, as he rolled through Renato Carneiro in a lopsided unanimous decision triumph at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 5. The 160-pound catchweight fight wasn’t quite the measuring stick that a clash with Rafael Fiziev would have been, but it still showed that dos Anjos is one of the toughest veterans in the business. The former lightweight champion should be in line for any number of interesting matchups after authoring a “Beatdown of the Year” candidate against “Moicano.”

10. Gregor Gillespie (14-1) [10]

Gillespie returned from a lengthy hiatus at UFC on ESPN 24, where he earned an impressive second-round TKO stoppage of Diego Ferreira. The former Edinboro University wrestling standout rebounded from a head kick knockout loss to Kevin Lee at UFC 244 in November 2019 and improved to 7-1 in the Octagon. Gillespie hasn’t fought twice in a calendar year since 2018.

Other Contenders: Rafael Fiziev, Arman Tsarukyan, Thiago Moises, Brad Riddell, Mateusz Gamrot.

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