UFC 277 Rankings Update: Amanda Nunes reclaims spot as top women’s P4P fighter, Sergei Pavlovich enters the heavyweight top-5

Amanda Nunes is once again ranked as the pound-for-pound number one female fighter in the UFC’s rankings.

Following her shock loss to Julianna Pena at UFC 269 last year, Amanda Nunes was shifted down to second spot in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings with her former foe Valentina Shevchenko taking her spot. The move was accepted and expected by many given that Nunes lost her role as champ champ, whereas Shevchenko continued to reign over the flyweight division with an iron fist – which is still the case today.

Nunes, though, was determined to get back her second belt, and she did just that at UFC 277 over the weekend.

She managed to turn the tables on Julianna Pena and after dominating her over the course of five rounds, ‘The Lioness’ earned the unanimous decision win that allowed her to reclaim the bantamweight crown.

In addition to that, those behind the rankings also believe she did enough to get back into the #1 P4P spot that helps support her GOAT position.

Rankings Update:

Amanda Nunes reclaims her spot as the #1 women's pound-for-pound fighter, Sergei Pavlovich enters the heavyweight top-5, Alexandre Pantoja now ranked right behind champs Figueiredo and Moreno, Ankalaev ranked #3 at light heavyweight. pic.twitter.com/eIojzgVMCh

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) August 2, 2022

Pena is still in third spot with the top five being rounded off by Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang, even though Carla Esparza is the current strawweight queen – such is the strange nature of mixed martial arts.

One of the other big bits of news is that Sergei Pavlovich is now ranked as a top five heavyweight after he was able to dispatch Derrick Lewis in a controversial TKO win over the weekend. The win, almost certainly, takes him to within just one or two fights of a possible title shot – provided he can keep finishing guys as he has been.

What do you think about Amanda Nunes finding her way back to the number one spot? Do you think a third fight between her and Valentina Shevchenko would help determine who the true GOAT is?