Merab Dvalishvili’s victory over Sean O’Malley on Saturday night has shaken up the UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
Dvalishvili submitted O’Malley in the third round of their UFC 316 headliner to successfully defend his bantamweight crown for a second time.
Dvalishvili submitted O’Malley at UFC 316 and is now ranked No.2 pound-for-poundGetty‘The Machine’ snatched the belt from O’Malley last September via unanimous decision in a more competitive inaugural encounter.
But the ease with which he dispatched O’Malley in their rematch made a real statement, and that translated to a boost in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Dvalishvili entered UFC 316 ranked No.4 in the world, but his dominant display saw him boosted up two places to No.2.
As a result, previous No.2 Jon Jones was dropped to No.3, while Ilia Topuria fell from No.3 to No.4.
Elsewhere in the rankings, Jack Della Maddalena switched places with Alex Pereira from No.9 to No.8.
Meanwhile, O’Malley dropped out of the pound-for-pound rankings altogether after previously occupying the No.14 spot.
This allowed Arman Tsarukyan to return the list, while Charles Oliveira jumped up one place to No.14.
The rest of the pound-for-pound rankings remain the same, with Islam Makhachev still topping the pile.
There could be further changes to the list in the coming weeks, depending on what UFC heavyweight champion Jones chooses to do next.
‘Bones’ hasn’t fought since defending his strap against Stipe Miocic last November.
UFC pound-for-pound rankings
Islam Makhachev Merab Dvalishvili Jon Jones Ilia Topuria Dricus Du Plessis Magomed Ankalaev Alexander Volkanovski Jack Deall Maddalena Alex Pereira Alexandre Pantoja Tom Aspinall Max Holloway Belal Muhammad Charles Oliveira Arman TsarukyanThe UFC are pursuing a unification clash with interim champion Tom Aspinall, but all indications point towards Jones vacating his belt instead.
Jones has shown a serious unwillingness to fight the Brit.
According to esteemed MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, Jones initially accepted a deal to defend his belt against Aspinall only to go back on his word.
It now appears Jones could retire from MMA, or at the very least, take an extended break from competition.
Jones was filmed telling one of his friends that he was ‘done’ with his career last month.
When asked by a fan whether this was true, Jones replied: “I don’t know if I wanna call it retired.
Jones has dropped one place in the pound-for-pound rankingsGetty“I feel like I’ll always have an ability to pop out and show ’em.
“I’ve had many breaks throughout my career, my identity outside of fighting is well intact.
“I’m genuinely enjoying life, I’m growing in different ways.”
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