Natalia Silva captured a UFC championship on Saturday, but the victory did not change her position in ESPN’s divisional rankings. Silva dominated unranked Wang Cong at UFC 332 to win the vacant women’s flyweight title, yet she remains at No. 2. She is still ranked below Valentina Shevchenko, who gave up the belt while recovering from an injury.
While Silva’s title win left her ranking untouched, several other divisions experienced movement — much of it involving fighters who did not compete over the weekend. Some changes were caused by inactivity, while another was set off by a future fight announcement.
The biggest shift involves Alex Pereira. After the UFC announced that he will face Sergei Pavlovich on Dec. 12, Pereira moved into the heavyweight top 10 at No. 7. It will be his second straight heavyweight appearance. The former middleweight and light heavyweight champion had been ranked No. 1 at 205 pounds; Pavlovich sits two spots ahead of him.
Pereira’s exit from the light heavyweight rankings allowed everyone below him to move up. Former champion Magomed Ankalaev is now No. 1. Bogdan Guskov enters at No. 9, and Robert Whittaker enters at No. 10. Khalil Rountree Jr. is out of the rankings because he has not fought in more than a year.
Middleweight Nassourdine Imavov is also ineligible due to inactivity. Christian Leroy Duncan replaces him in the 185-pound rankings, and the timing works out well: Duncan is set to fight No. 5 Brendan Allen on Saturday’s UFC card.
The other new top-10 entrant is men’s bantamweight Payton Talbott, who knocked out Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 332, pushing Figueiredo out of the rankings.