Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Tom Aspinall was pretty good before the knee injury. Now, he’s downright scary.

Almost a year to the day after his momentum screeched to a halt against Curtis Blaydes in the UFC Fight Night 208 main event, Aspinall didn’t miss a beat in his return, as he stopped Marcin Tybura in just 73 seconds at UFC Fight Night 224 at the O2 Arena in London. Other than an injury-marred hiccup against Blaydes, the Team Kaobon representative is 6-1 in the Octagon — with all six of those victories coming inside the distance. The Englishman figures to be near the type of the championship discussion in the months to come. He takes the No. 5 spot behind Blaydes, but it feels like he could rise much higher in the near future.

Elsewhere, women’s bantamweight contender Ketlen Vieira had her way with Pannie Kianzad, relying on takedowns and top pressure to cruise to a unanimous decision triumph. The Brazilian, who has won three of her last four Octagon appearances, maintains her No. 7 ranking after vanquishing a Top 10 opponent.

The heavyweight division also includes some housekeeping this week, as longtime No. 1 Francis Ngannou exits the poll upon reaching 18 months of inactivity. The former UFC heavyweight champion will return to combat sports for a boxing match against Tyson Fury in October, but he isn’t expected to compete again in MMA until he makes his Professional Fighters League debut sometime in 2024. The heavyweight landscape could look quite different by then.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

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