UFC 268 rankings update: Marlon Vera and Nassourdine Imavov make big leap up rankings

The UFC’s official rankings have been updated following this past Saturday’s UFC 268 card, and Marlon Vera was one of the biggest winners.

Vera was one of the stars of the night as he knocked out Frankie Edgar in the third round of their main card bantamweight bout for the biggest win of his MMA career. Not only did Vera get the biggest win of his career and score a $50,000 bonus for “Performance of the Night,” but he also saw himself make a big leap in the UFC rankings. Following his win over Edgar, Vera moved from No. 13 at bantamweight up to No. 11. That might not seem like a huge move, but when you look at how deep and stacked the UFC bantamweight division is, the fact Vera is this close to the top-10 now is actually extremely impressive. As for Edgar, he dropped down all the way to No. 12 in the division with the defeat.

Another big move after UFC 268 occurred in the middleweight division after Imavov smashed Edmen Shahbazyan in a middleweight bout. With Imavov winning in such an impressive fashion, he was bumped up all the way to No. 12 at middleweight. Shahbazyan, meanwhile, dropped down to No. 15 and is barely holding onto his spot in the top-15. However, considering he has lost three straight fights, that makes sense.

In the women’s strawweight division, veteran Jessica Penne was added into the rankings at No. 14. While Penne didn’t compete at UFC 268, this move took place after Felice Herrig was eliminated from the rankings due to inactivity. With Herrig out, the rankers replaced her with Penne, who has won both of her fights in 2021 after a long layoff. Other than these moves, there were no other major changes to the rankings following UFC 268.

What do you think of these changes to the UFC’s official fighter rankings after UFC 268?