UFC White House saw two of the best Pound-for-Pound fighters in the world fall in emphatic fashion.
When Justin Gaethje made Ilia Topuria quit on the stool, and Ciryl Gane ran through would-be history maker Alex Pereira, they continued the trend of knocking top 5 fighters off of their lofty perches. In May, it was Sean Strickland upsetting the undefeated and then No.4-ranked Khamzat Chimaev for the middleweight title; Sunday, it was No. 2 Topuria and No. 3 Pereira seeing their stock take an enormous hit.
Simply put, no one is safe. If there’s anything we’ve learned over these past couple of years it’s that it’s far easier to make a run to a top spot than it is to actually hold on to it. Chimaev’s disappointing UFC 328 performance sent him down seven spots, and Pereira takes the same hit this month, plummeting to the No. 10 spot.
For Topuria, the damage isn’t as bad (and nowhere near the damage that was done to his actual face), as his tumble ends at the No. 5 spot… a spot he now shares with Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkanovski. Given that it could be a while before Topuria comes back as he recovers from the Gaethje experience, it’s highly possible he could descend even further as other Pound-for-Pound standouts compete in his absence.
Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it: Our rankings are an absolute mess right now. Alexandre Pantoja is our consensus No. 2 and the last time we saw him he was losing his title in 26 seconds after a freak arm break. Justin Gaethje is No. 5 after being unranked last time around. Pereira is somehow eight spots ahead of Gane, who just sneaks onto the list.
I don’t know anything anymore. Maybe I never did.
Check out the post-UFC White House Pound-for-Pound Rankings and let us know your thoughts in the poll and comments below. Heck, I don’t know, give us your P4P lists while you’re at it.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Justin Gaethje def. No. 2 Ilia Topuria, Ciryl Gane def. No. 3 Alex Pereira
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 17 Magomed Ankalaev vs. Khlail Rountree Jr. (UFC Abu Dhabi, July 25), No. 20 Max Holloway vs. Conor McGregor (UFC 329, July 11)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Ian Machado Garry (1), Michael Morales (1), Shavkat Rakhmonov (1), Aljamain Sterling (1)
Falling out of the rankings: No. 19 Shavkat Rakhmonov, No. 20 Michael Morales
A refresher on the ground rules:
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.
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