Moving forward, I’ll be sharing an updated list of rankings in some of the most affected weight classes following UFC events. I’ll be basing my rankings according to the UFC rules and sharing one of the rankings I submit for the UFC following each event. The UFC ranks 16 fighters in each weight class, one champion at the top, then the next 15, unless the division has no champion.
Following UFC Vegas 17, here are my updated UFC welterweight rankings.
UFC Welterweight division
1.) Kamaru Usman
2.) Colby Covington
3.) Gilbert Burns
4.) Leon Edwards
5.) Stephen Thompson (+2)
6.) Jorge Masvidal (-1)
7.) Neil Magny (-1)
8.) Demian Maia (+1)
9.) Tyron Woodley (+1)
10.) Vicente Luque (+1)
11.) Geoff Neal (-3)
12.) Khamzat Chimaev
13.) Anthony Pettis NR
14.) Michael Chiesa (-1)
15.) Belal Muhammad (-1)
16.) James Krause (-1)
Stephen Thompson moves up two spots after his near-perfect five-round performance against a dangerous up-and-comer in Geoff Neal in the main event of UFC Vegas 17. Neal drops three spots as I realize I may have overvalued him a bit, something I tend to do with newcomers who impress me.
I also ranked Anthony Pettis at #13 following his victory over Alex Morono, although he will be removed in my next ranking after he announced his UFC free agency and almost immediately signed with PFL. This is the UFC welterweight rankings, after all.
If anyone has a bone to pick with my rankings, feel free to let me know on Twitter @BrianHemminger. I’m always happy to discuss my rankings and who knows, you might even convince me to make an adjustment if your argument is sound.
For other rankings updates, including Bantamweight, check out our premium content on our new media partner Rokfin.
