Sherdog Rankings: Reyes Climbs, Murzakanov Leaves Top 10
Sherdog updated its divisional rankings after UFC 333. Dominick Reyes climbed two places at light heavyweight, and Navajo Stirling entered the Top 10 when Azamat Murzakanov dropped out.
Reyes (17-5, 11-5 UFC) stopped Murzakanov (16-2, 6-2 UFC) in the first round. He landed a head kick, followed with punches and finished the fight at 2:40. "The Devastator" passed Paulo Costa on the way up.
Champions keep their spots
In the headliner, Alexander Volkanovski (29-4, 16-3 UFC) retained his featherweight championship by stopping Movsar Evloev (20-1, 10-1 UFC). The 38-year-old Australian got through a difficult opening round, then overwhelmed Evloev with punches, and the referee stopped it with six seconds left in Round 2. Volkanovski earned a Performance of the Night bonus and recorded the second defense of his second title reign. He remains on top of the featherweight list, and Evloev stays No. 2.
The bantamweight co-main event was the third meeting of Petr Yan (21-5, 13-4 UFC) and Merab Dvalishvili (21-6, 14-4 UFC). Dvalishvili pushed the pace early, but Yan gained momentum in the third round and carried it through the championship rounds. All three judges scored the fight 48-47 for the Russian. Yan remains No. 1 at 135 pounds, followed by Dvalishvili.
Other movement
At heavyweight, Alexander Volkov (41-11, 15-5 UFC) beat Rizvan Kuniev (14-4-1, 2-2 UFC) by unanimous decision. It was the 15th UFC win for the former Bellator MMA and M-1 Global champion, who is still pursuing a title shot. "Drago" remains No. 4.
Lone'er Kavanagh (11-2, 4-2 UFC) bounced back from a loss to Brandon Royval by handing Ramazonbek Temirov (20-4, 3-1 UFC) his first UFC defeat. Kavanagh landed a left uppercut and followed with punches to force the stoppage at 4:28 of Round 1. The British flyweight keeps his No. 7 ranking.
Iasmin Lucindo (19-6, 6-2 UFC) returned after a layoff of more than 14 months and beat Nicolle Caliari (9-5, 1-3 UFC) by unanimous decision, winning 30-27 on all three scorecards. She remains No. 10 among women's strawweights.
Source: Sherdog