Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Lightweight

1. Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0)

Post-fight shenanigans aside, Nurmagomedov was in prime form against Conor McGregor at UFC 229. He completed takedowns, applied heavy top pressure and generally made life difficult for the knockout-minded Irishman at every turn. “The Eagle” even survived adversity — he lost a round for the first time in his promotional tenure — before tapping McGregor with a neck crank at the 3:03 mark of round four. Nurmagomedov received a nine-month suspension — which can be reduced to six with the production of an anti-bullying PSA — and a $500,000 fine for his role in the post-fight brawl that occurred after the bout. It appears that the Dagestani won’t return until the end of the year.

2. Tony Ferguson (24-3)

Ferguson showed no ill affects from the knee injury that forced him out of a title fight in April, as he displayed all of his trademark movement and creativity en route to earning a stoppage victory against Anthony Pettis in the UFC 229 co-main event. “El Cucuy” reportedly was given an opportunity to vie for the interim crown at UFC 236 but was unable to take the fight. Ferguson, a former interim titlist who has won 11 straight bouts, now must deal with personal issues that include a restraining order filed by his wife as a result of his recent disturbing and unusual behavior.

3. Dustin Poirier (24-5)

With a victory in their rematch at UFC on Fox 30, Poirier may have surpassed Eddie Alvarez as the most violent fighter in the lightweight division. More importantly, “The Diamond” is unbeaten in his last five Octagon appearances, with wins over Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Jim Miller to his credit. Poirier was scheduled to face Nate Diaz in the UFC 230 main event, but a hip injury forced “The Diamond” to exit the contest. With champion Khabib Nurmagomedov sidelined due to suspension until the end of the year, Poirier will meet 145-pound king Max Holloway in an interim lightweight championship clash at UFC 236 on April 13 .

4. Conor McGregor (21-4)

All things considered, it wasn’t a bad effort for McGregor following a two-year layoff at UFC 229. He defended Nurmagomedov’s initial takedown attempts reasonably well and didn’t absorb too much damage when on his back. The Irishman even won a round against “The Eagle.” Ultimately, it wasn’t enough, as he succumbed to a neck crank in the fourth stanza. The “Notorious” one will be eligible to return to the Octagon as soon as April after receiving a six-month suspension for his role in the post-UFC 229 melee. In the meantime, McGregor hasn’t done a good job of staying out of trouble. He was recently arrested for allegedly stealing and destroying a fan’s cell phone outside a Miami nightclub on March 12, and even worse, is under currently under investigation in Ireland for an alleged sexual assault.

5. Eddie Alvarez (29-7)

Things did not go as planned for Alvarez in his One Championship debut, as “The Underground King” suffered a shocking first-round technical knockout loss at the hands of Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin — an opponent who was coming off a first-round KO loss of his own — in Tokyo on March 31. The former UFC and Bellator titlist has won just once in his last five outings, but prior to Nastyukhin, all of those setbacks had come against top-flight competition. Due to One’s weight-cutting guidelines, Alvarez will essentially be competing at 170 pounds in the Singapore-based promotion.

6. Justin Gaethje (20-2)

Gaethje surpassed expectations against Edson Barboza in the UFC on ESPN 2 headliner, as he eschewed a drawn-out battle in favor of a first-round stoppage of his dangerous Brazilian opponent. Back-to-back knockouts of Barboza and James Vick have eased the sting of a previous two-bout skid, and Gaethje’s all-out style will make him a fan and promoter favorite for many fights to come. The former World Series of Fighting champion is aiming high, having proclaimed himself as one of the most serious threats to reining lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

7.Al Iaquinta (14-4-1)

Iaquinta seems to have Kevin Lee’s number. The Serra-Long Fight Team representative outlanded Lee on the feet and survived a couple precarious positions to take a unanimous verdict over “The Motown Phenom” in the UFC on Fox 31 headliner. Iaquinta has won six of his last seven Octagon appearances, with his only defeat during that time coming at the hands of reigning lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov. He’ll get another marquee foe in his next appearance when he squares off against Donald Cerrone in the UFC Ottawa headliner on May 4.

8. Kevin Lee (17-4)

After completely throttling Edson Barboza, Lee had another chance to one-up Khabib Nurmagomedov against a common opponent, but this time he failed miserably against Al Iaquinta at UFC on Fox 31. “The Motown Phenom” was able to twice take Iaquinta’s back but was largely outboxed on the feet en route to losing a unanimous decision in Milwaukee. Not only is Lee now 0-2 against Iaquinta, but he remains on the outside looking in when it comes to the UFC lightweight title picture. Next, Lee will move up to 170 pounds to take on Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC Rochester main event on May 18.

9. Gregor Gillespie (13-0)

Gillespie absolutely dominated Yancy Medeiros at UFC Brooklyn, outlanding his opponent by a 51-to-1 count in significant strikes en route to a second-round technical knockout stoppage. That makes six consecutive Octagon triumphs for the former NCAA All-American, who is a suffocating wrestler in the mold of Khabib Nurmagomedov. While he isn’t quite championship material just yet, Gillespie deserves to face a top lightweight contender in his next outing.

10. Edson Barboza (20-7)

Barboza ran into a buzzsaw at UFC on ESPN 2, as he was dispatched by Justin Gaethje just 2:30 into the opening round of their headlining encounter in Philadelphia. Sharing a “Fight of the Night” bonus was small consolation for the Brazilian, who has suffered devastating losses in three of his last four Octagon appearances. However, a brutal beatdown of Dan Hooker in December shows what Barboza can still do when given a favorable matchup.

Other Contenders: Paul Felder, Donald Cerrone, Islam Makhachev, Charles Oliveira, Anthony Pettis.

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