After last week’s huge announcements by Dana White, this week has been pretty calm. Most of it has been fighters running their mouths about upcoming fights or just yelling in general. That means the rankings aren’t going to change this week but since we had some banter, let’s talk about that. Have a great day, everyone, and may the fights be with you.
1. Islam Makhachev: Islam Makhachev remains as the number one, pound for pound, fighter in the world. Now that Makhachev has vacated the Lightweight Championship, he sets his eyes on Jack Della Maddalena, who defeated Belal Muhammad this past weekend at UFC 315. This may not be the super fight we wanted, but if you think JDM is going to back down from Islam’s aura, you’re sorely wrong
2. Ilia Topuria: Ilia Topuria will be facing Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 for the vacated Lightweight title. Ilia comes into this fight a heavy favorite, but some people aren’t thrilled about Topuria getting a title shot, agreeing with Jay moving up. Dan from the Fight Club of Pain said himself that there are other lightweights that deserved this shot instead of Topuria. Since then, Justin Gaethje has said himself that he felt that he should have had a shot at the title instead of Oliveira.
3. Dricus Du Plessis: Dricus Du Plessis is gearing up for his next fight. The latest news from Dana White finally confirmed that Du Plessis will be facing Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. This fight is going to be a war since Du Plessis and Chimaev have been going back and forth on social media. Recently, Chimaev has taken this to the next level by trolling DDP constantly. DDP isn’t the guy to play this game with because he’ll be firing back before we know it.
4. Jon Jones: Jon Jones is clearly undecided on his future, but in honesty, I’m fine where he’s at. We have so many great fights coming up that at this point, it’s hysterical to think this subject needs any more publicity. So Jones slips once again, making him the real duck of the UFC nowadays. I’ll leave him at fourth for now, but after the comment “I’m done,” I feel like Jones is going to retire, but both sites currently have odds on this fight. We’ll see soon enough.
5. Merab Dvalishvili: Finally, Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2 has been announced for UFC 316 in Jersey on June 7th. After that first fight, I know a lot of us can’t wait to see this matchup go down again. We’re still over a month away from this rematch, so let’s just be excited we have this one signed and on paper. I will say that at least Dvalishvili has kept us all entertained with his social media posts recently.
6. Alexandre Pantoja: Alexandre Pantoja will be defending his title against Kai Kara-French at UFC 317 on June 28th. This fight is going to be great and is part of a card that features two high-level championship matches. Just like the main event, this fight is going to be like watching fireworks on the Fourth of July, but a week early. This event could possibly be the best card of the year, given the talent that’s on it right now.
7. Tom Aspinall: Tom Aspinall is over the bones being thrown out by Jones, so even though I said I could see Jones retiring, I have a feeling this is all a ploy. As I stated, you can place bets on this fight right now, which makes me feel that when Jones said he needs six months to prepare, the fight is already signed. I could be wrong about all of this, but regardless, we know Aspinall should have a fight this year.
8. Magomed Ankalaev: Magomed Ankalaev has since settled into being the champion since defeating Alex Pereira. Ankalaev has said that the contract is all but signed, but we’ll be waiting on this match with Pereira. Once it’s officially announced, you can bet that we’ll all be ready to see if Poatan can bring the pain, this time around. Till then, we all wait for Uncle Dana to give us the word.
9. Alex Pereira: Alex Pereira looks like he’ll be getting a rematch with Magomed Ankalaev before moving up in weight or any other jazz you may be hearing right now. Alex recently turned down his rematch with Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 317, which means he’s ready to fight Ank again, but on his terms. Whichever way this goes, I’m fine with it as long as we finally get this rematch.
10. Jack Della Maddalena: After defeating Belal Muhammad, I removed him from the list until there’s a clear path for a rematch or title bout. Belal did great in his fight against JDM and deserves to be on this list, but for now, this is Jack’s spot. Jack is one of the best boxers in this division, and that will soon be felt by Islam, who he will be facing in the near future. That fight is going to be great, but there’s a lot of controversy to go with it. However, my only thing is what’s next for Belal Muhammad, with all these fighters jumping weight divisions. Uncle Dana always has a plan, so let’s grab some whey and drink it up, while we wait.