Makhachev moves past Volkanovski at P4P, Chimaev grabs No. 9 at middleweight

UFC 294 caused a fairly major shakeup in the promotion’s official rankings.

Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev moved ahead of featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski on the pound-for-pound list, retaking the No. 2 position and sitting just below heavyweight king Jon Jones. Makhachev knocked out Volkanovski in the first round of Saturday’s main event.

The bout was a rematch of their UFC 284 superfight in February, which Makhachev won by unanimous decision. Volkanovski was No. 1 at the time, while Makhachev was No. 2, and Volkanovski remained the pound-for-pound king in defeat.

Meanwhile, Kamaru Usman suffered a significant drop at pound-for-pound, falling to No. 13 from No. 7 after losing to Khamzat Chimaev in Saturday’s middleweight co-main event. Usman, the former welterweight champion, stepped up on 10 days’ notice for his 185-pound debut.

Chimaev debuted in the middleweight rankings after the win but surprisingly came in at No. 9, underneath the likes of Marvin Vettori, Paulo Costa, Roman Dolidze, and Jack Hermansson. Chimaev is expected to get the next title shot against middleweight champion Sean Strickland.

Usman isn’t eligible to be ranked at middleweight but remains the No. 1 contender at 170 pounds. Chimaev was removed from the welterweight rankings after returning to middleweight.

Said Nurmagomedov returned to the bantamweight standings after a submission win on the UFC 294 main card, taking Adrian Yanez’s No. 15 position.

Rising flyweight Muhammad Mokaev swapped places with Tim Elliott after submitting Elliott in the featured preliminary bout. Mokaev is now No. 10 and Elliott No. 11.