MMA rankings: It was a good month for Ryan Bader

The Times’ MMA rankings for May, as compiled by Todd Martin.

Heavyweight

1. Stipe Miocic

2. Francis Ngannou

3. Alistair Overeem

4. Alexander Volkov

5. Fabricio Werdum

6. Cain Velasquez

7. Junior Dos Santos

8. Vitaly Minakov

9. Matt Mitrione

10. Derrick Lewis

The semifinals of the Bellator heavyweight grand prix are now set and it couldn’t have gone much better for the promotion. On one side of the bracket, it’s a battle of big names with contrasting personalities as Fedor Emelianenko fights Chael Sonnen. On the other side, Ryan Bader gives up size against Matt Mitrione in a matchup of fighters closer to their primes.

Light Heavyweight

1. Daniel Cormier

2. Alexander Gustafsson

3. Ryan Bader

4. Phil Davis

5. Glover Teixeira

6. Volkan Oezdemir

7. Ilir Latifi

8. Misha Cirkunov

9. Nikita Krylov

10. Jimi Manuwa

It was a fairly eventful month for the light-heavyweight division. Ryan Bader knocked King Mo Lawal out of the rankings with a 15-second knockout victory. The fight took place at heavyweight but both men are more natural light heavyweights and are likely to continue to compete there in the coming years. Phil Davis picked up a head kick knockout win over Linton Vassell to improve to 6-1 in Bellator. Finally, Dominick Reyes improved to 3-0 in the UFC with a quick TKO over Jared Cannonier and could soon find himself fighting top 10 opposition.

Middleweight

1. Robert Whittaker

2. Yoel Romero

3. Gegard Mousasi

4. Luke Rockhold

5. Chris Weidman

6. Kelvin Gastelum

7. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

8. Michael Bisping

9. David Branch

10. Derek Brunson

Gegard Mousasi won the Bellator middleweight title with a first round referee stoppage over Rafael Carvalho. Mousasi has now targeted Rory MacDonald as a future opponent. With seven straight wins and a 9-1 record in his last ten fights, Mousasi is one of the hottest fighters in the division. Kelvin Gastelum picked up an important win via decision over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and could be close to a UFC middleweight title shot. Lyoto Machida also picked up a big win, brutalizing Vitor Belfort with a front kick in what was likely Belfort’s last UFC bout.

Welterweight

1. Tyron Woodley

2. Rafael Dos Anjos

3. Colby Covington

4. Darren Till

5. Stephen Thompson

6. Rory MacDonald

7. Kamaru Usman

8. Douglas Lima

9. Robbie Lawler

10. Santiago Ponzinibbio

The UFC welterweight division continued its makeover in the past month. Darren Till picked up the biggest win of his career, a close decision over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson that catapults him into the top mix at 170. Kamaru Usman also got a big win in the main event of a card from Chile, beating former title challenger Demian Maia. Perhaps the most impressive win of the month, however, was Michael “Venom” Page’s electric destruction of David Rickels in Bellator. Page has some of the most dynamic reflexes in the sport.

Lightweight

1. Khabib Nurmagomedov

2. Tony Ferguson

3. Kevin Lee

4. Dustin Poirier

5. Eddie Alvarez

6. James Vick

7. Justin Gaethje

8. Edson Barboza

9. Michael Chiesa

10. Al Iaquinta

Many MMA fans have clamored for a rematch between Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier since their first fight ended in controversy in May of 2017. Now, that rematch will take place on Fox in July. Alvarez and Poirier are action fighters who should have an exciting fight and finally settle the score. It also could put the winner in line for a lightweight title shot.

Featherweight

1. Max Holloway

2. Brian Ortega

3. Jose Aldo

4. Frankie Edgar

5. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire

6. Ricardo Lamas

7. Cub Swanson

8. Chan Sung Jung

9. Darren Elkins

10. Jeremy Stephens

One of the biggest bouts on UFC 226 in July will be the featherweight showdown between champion Max Holloway and challenger Brian Ortega. Ortega has thrived heading into this contest but Holloway has been dominant for years. It will be a crucial test for both men.

Bantamweight

1. T.J. Dillashaw

2. Cody Garbrandt

3. Dominick Cruz

4. Raphael Assuncao

5. Marlon Moraes

6. Jimmie Rivera

7. John Lineker

8. Bibiano Fernandes

9. Darrion Caldwell

10. Cody Stamann

John Lineker’s momentum continued in Rio de Janeiro as he dominated Brian Kelleher before knocking Kelleher out in the third round. Lineker is 8-1 in his last nine UFC bouts and 12-2 in his last fourteen UFC fights. It’s exceedingly difficult to maintain that type of success against top level opposition and Lineker is worthy of a title shot at some point in the next year or two.

Women’s Bantamweight

1. Amanda Nunes

2. Julianna Pena

3. Ketlen Vieira

4. Sarah Kaufman

5. Raquel Pennington

6. Cat Zingano

7. Marion Reneau

8. Sara McMann

9. Katlyn Chookagian

10. Aspen Ladd

Amanda Nunes took out another challenger at UFC 224 when she got a stoppage over Raquel Pennington in the fifth round. The question is now what is next for the bantamweight champ. So many top opponents have left bantamweight to go after featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Nunes could follow that same path.

Flyweight

1. Demetrious Johnson

2. Joseph Benavidez

3. Henry Cejudo

4. Kyoji Horiguchi

5. Jussier Formiga

6. Sergio Pettis

7. Ray Borg

8. John Moraga

9. Alexandre Pantoja

10. Wilson Reis

Old rivals Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Moreno squared off for the second time in Santiago, Chile. Pantoja submitted Moreno the first time and Pantoja beat Moreno via decision this time around. With the win, Pantoja takes Moreno’s spot in the top 10.

Women’s Strawweight

1. Rose Namajunas

2. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

3. Jessica Andrade

4. Claudia Gadelha

5. Karolina Kowalkiewicz

6. Tecia Torres

7. Carla Esparza

8. Jessica Aguilar

9. Livia Renata Souza

10. Tatiana Suarez

Tatiana Suarez sneaks into the top 10 for the first time with a first round submission over Alexa Grasso. Suarez’s grappling background makes her a formidable opponent for anyone in the division. The women’s strawweight division in general is building depth and has the strongest congregation of talent in women’s MMA.