MMA rankings: Henry Cejudo moves to the top of the list

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

Heavyweight

1. Daniel Cormier

2. Stipe Miocic

3. Curtis Blaydes

4. Alexander Volkov

5. Derrick Lewis

6. Francis Ngannou

7. Alistair Overeem

8. Fabricio Werdum

9. Junior Dos Santos

10. Vitaly Minakov

Stefan Struve was at one point a constant in the heavyweight top ten but after losing to Marcin Tybura via lackluster decision, he has lost six of his last nine. It’s unclear if he’ll ever be able to work his way back into the top mix. Vitaly Minakov remains one of the tougher fighters to rank in the sport. The former Bellator heavyweight champion from Russia has a sparkling 21-0 record and holds a decisive win over No. 4 Alexander Volkov. The problem is that win came five years ago and since then Minakov just hasn’t been competing against a very high level of competition while Volkov has clearly improved his game and gained some marquee victories.

Light Heavyweight

1. Daniel Cormier

2. Alexander Gustafsson

3. Ryan Bader

4. Phil Davis

5. Volkan Oezdemir

6. Ilir Latifi

7. Glover Teixeira

8. Misha Cirkunov

9. Nikita Krylov

10. Jimi Manuwa

A pair of light heavyweights scored key wins in Hamburg, Germany to move closer to the top 10. Anthony Smith brutally knocked out the legendary Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event and will have an opportunity to move into the title mix when he competes against Volkan Oezdemir in October. Corey Anderson used his wrestling to best Glover Teixeira in another important fight. It was the biggest name win of Anderson’s career and now Anderson will look to establish some momentum in an up and down career.

Middleweight

1. Robert Whittaker

2. Yoel Romero

3. Gegard Mousasi

4. Luke Rockhold

5. Chris Weidman

6. Kelvin Gastelum

7. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

8. David Branch

9. Derek Brunson

10. Israel Adesanya

One of the top fights at the upcoming UFC Madison Square Garden show in November will be Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman, a rematch of their middleweight title fight in 2015. It’s a crucial bout for both men. Also on top in Bellator in September is a compelling champion vs. champion bout pitting middleweight kingpin Gegard Mousasi against top welterweight Rory MacDonald.

Welterweight

1. Tyron Woodley

2. Colby Covington

3. Darren Till

4. Stephen Thompson

5. Rory MacDonald

6. Kamaru Usman

7. Rafael Dos Anjos

8. Douglas Lima

9. Robbie Lawler

10. Santiago Ponzinibbio

Colby Covington won’t be able to return to action in time for UFC 228, so Tyron Woodley will instead defend the UFC welterweight title against Darren Till. Till has a 17-0-1 record and will propose some stylistic challenges for Woodley. There are plenty of other top challengers waiting in the wings for the next shot in an increasingly deep division.

Lightweight

1. Khabib Nurmagomedov

2. Tony Ferguson

3. Dustin Poirier

4. Kevin Lee

5. James Vick

6. Eddie Alvarez

7. Justin Gaethje

8. Edson Barboza

9. Al Iaquinta

10. Anthony Pettis

Dustin Poirier picked up a key win on Fox, stopping rival Eddie Alvarez in the second round with punches. Poirier is on the cusp of a lightweight title shot with only one loss since he fell to Conor McGregor in 2014. Alexander Hernandez continued his early UFC success with a win over another quality veteran in Olivier Aubin-Mercier after knocking out Beneil Dariush.

Featherweight

1. Max Holloway

2. Brian Ortega

3. Jose Aldo

4. Frankie Edgar

5. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire

6. Chad Mendes

7. Renato Moicano

8. Mirsad Bektic

9. Alexander Volkanovski

10. Chan Sung Jung

Jose Aldo weathered an early storm against Jeremy Stephens and then showcased his championship mettle in a come-from-behind TKO win. Aldo may not be what he used to be but he’s still a dangerous opponent for anyone. Renato Moicano breaks into the top 10 after an impressive win over Cub Swanson.

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

T.J. Dillashaw turned back the challenge of Cody Garbrandt, scoring a first round TKO to retain his UFC bantamweight title. Dillashaw has an interesting list of potential opponents including Dominick Cruz, Marlon Moraes or maybe even Henry Cejudo. For Garbrandt, it’s a disappointing setback that creates a tough road back to another title shot.

Women’s Bantamweight

1. Amanda Nunes

2. Julianna Pena

3. Ketlen Vieira

4. Cat Zingano

5. Sarah Kaufman

6. Raquel Pennington

7. Marion Reneau

8. Sara McMann

9. Aspen Ladd

10. Leslie Smith

It looks increasingly likely that Amanda Nunes will fight women’s featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino next, as she waits for some challengers in the bantamweight division to develop. It’s not clear where that talent is going to come from at present time.

Flyweight

1. Henry Cejudo

2. Demetrious Johnson

3. Kyoji Horiguchi

4. Sergio Pettis

5. Joseph Benavidez

6. Jussier Formiga

7. Ray Borg

8. John Moraga

9. Alexandre Pantoja

10. Wilson Reis

The biggest news of the month and arguably the year in MMA was the run of Demetrious Johnson as UFC flyweight champion finally coming to an end. It was a hotly contested fight that came down to the wire but in the end Henry Cejudo picked up the split decision to capture Johnson’s title. In Japan, Kyoji Horiguchi continues to roll. He picked up his seventh straight win since leaving the UFC, all achieved in less than a year and a half. Horiguchi is a tremendous talent.

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

Joanna Jedrzejczyk rebounded impressively from her UFC women’s strawweight title defeats against Rose Namajunas. Jedrzejczyk looked in peak form against Tecia Torres and dominated the fight from beginning to end against a challenging opponent who has proven a tough challenge for many.