Merab Dvalishvili has impressed on the pound-for-pound rankings following his UFC 311 title defense, with Islam Makhachev also retaining his crown.
In the co-main event of UFC 311 last Saturday, Merab Dvalishvili successfully defended his bantamweight title for the first time, defeating Umar Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision.
Then in the main event, Islam Makhachev broke the UFC record for most title defenses in the lightweight division with a win over Renato Moicano.
READ MORE: Islam Makhachev returns to training just two days after record-breaking UFC 311 win as talks begin on his next fight
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Merab Dvalishvili conquers the P4P top 5 while Makhachev retains the number 1 position
Following Makhachev's first-round victory, he was praised by UFC boss Dana White, who eventually admitted that he recognizes him as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.
Makhachev is widely regarded as the rightful pound-for-pound number one despite White's tireless campaign last year to topple Jon Jones into the top spot, and after his win he remained at the top.
Prior to UFC 311, Merab 'The Machine' was ranked seventh on the pound-for-pound list, below the likes of Belal Muhammad and Dricus Du Plessis.
However, following his impressive underdog win over undefeated Umar, the bantamweight champion moved up two spots and has now cracked the top five while sitting at number five.
READ MORE: Merab Dvalishvili Explains How He Misled Committee Into Fighting Injuries At UFC 311
Unfortunately for Muhammad and Du Plessis, they have both dropped one spot and will look to climb back up the rankings with their next fights.
Tom Aspinall, Alexandre Pantoja and Leon Edwards make up the rest of the top 10, while Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria occupy third and fourth places.
Dana White provides an update on AI-powered rankings
Although White has finally changed his mind about the order of the top two, he continues to insist that the ranking system needs an overhaul.
Throughout 2024, the UFC boss stated that he was working on several ways to improve the rankings system, even revealing that he hoped to work with Mark Zuckerberg to implement AI-driven rankings.
And with that, after UFC 311, the boss provided an update on the implementation of a new ranking system.
“Yes, we are still working on it and actually we should announce that in the next few weeks, about two or three weeks. Yes (it will have AI), and some other things too. I think we have a good plan and when we are ready to reveal it, we will,” White said at the post-fight press conference.
White was recently appointed to Meta's board of directors by Zuckerberg, which could potentially lead to Meta's involvement in White's devious ranking scheme.
Related topics
Comments