USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, March 5: Muhammad Mokaev, Umar Nurmagomedov climb
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, March 5: Muhammad Mokaev, Umar Nurmagomedov climb
UFC Fight Night 238 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas was the sole source of rankings moves in this week’s update.
First, in the bantamweight division, Umar Nurmagomedov turned in a dominant performance against Bekzat Almakhan after getting clipped early, still earning multiple 10-8 scores on the official cards. Entering the week at No. 15, Nurmagomedov jumps up to No. 12.
In the next fight, Muhammad Mokaev picked up a key win in the flyweight division, earning a unanimous nod over Alex Perez. Mokaev entered the week at #6, and exits one spot higher, breaking into the top 5.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
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Ranking Criteria
The rankings take into account a fighter’s wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.
Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they’ve been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.
Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they’re not inactive for more than 24 months.
To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter’s primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, non-titleholders can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won’t be ranked in a new weight class until they’ve had their first fight at that weight.
