Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

UFC 205 was a monumental mixed martial event and resultantly, we've got a rankings update of a particular magnitude.

It's only become a recent phenomenon as far as these rankings go that we at Sherdog.com have, almost out of necessity, started to rank fighters in multiple weight classes. From the likes of Donald Cerrone to David Branch, a whole roster of athletes in this climate have made us reconsider the confines of a single weight class. Suffice it to say, no fighter has ever been ranked No. 1 in two weight classes, until now.

At the UFC's first card inside Madison Square Garden, Conor McGregor pulled off a career-defining victory, battering Eddie Alvarez from start to finish, taking the UFC lightweight title and becoming the company's first simultaneous two-division champion. The Irishman's iconic victory also earns him the top spot in these rankings at 155 pounds, to go along with his previous and ongoing supremacy at 145.

UFC 205 was also host to a score of notable, impactful victories and losses, including former UFC women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate announcing her retirement. But ultimately, the most notable change in these rankings came even before the Octagon hit MSG.

In July, pound-for-pound king Jon Jones' positive pre-fight test for clomiphene and Letrozol nixed his rematch with Daniel Cormier and introduced the possibility of the oft-embattled Jones facing a serious suspension. On Nov. 7, an independent arbitration panel handed down a 12-month suspension to Jones, who said he took a contaminated sexual performance pill he got from a teammate. Somehow, it seems fitting that an outcome so absurd would be what removed Jones from atop our 205-pound rankings, after over six years in our top 10.

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