Women Strawweight Championship (115)
[#1/#3DD/#2P4P] Jessica Andrade (20-6-0, -174) vs. [#5/#8P4P] Weili Zhang (19-1-0, +144)
Jessica Andrade is the All-Time #19 ranked Women’s fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Jessica Andrade (3-0-0)
2019-05-11: W vs. [#2SW/#6DD/#6P4P] Rose Namajunas (8-4-0) via KO (Slam) in 2:58 of round 2
2018-09-08: W vs. [#18SW] Karolina Kowalkiewicz (12-5-0) via KO (Punch) in 1:58 of round 1
2018-02-24: W vs. [#19SW] Tecia Torres (10-5-0) via UD (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Last 3 Fights: Weili Zhang (3-0-0)
2019-03-02: W vs. [#19SW] Tecia Torres (10-5-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2018-11-24: W vs. [#32SW] Jessica Aguilar (20-8-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 3:41 of round 1
2018-08-04: W vs. [#28SW] Danielle Taylor (10-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Odds Favorite (Implied): Jessica Andrade – Win%: 60.77
Elo Favorite (Standard): Jessica Andrade (1918.46) [+166.98] – Win%: 68.20
Elo Favorite (Modified): Jessica Andrade (1882.30) [+122.44] – Win%: 63.09
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jessica Andrade 112, Weili Zhang 182
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Welterweight (170)
[#23] Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (21-5-0, -289) vs. [#81] Jingliang Li (16-5-0, +234)

Last 3 Fights: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (3-0-0)
2019-03-09: W vs. [#43WW] Curtis Millender (17-5-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:35 of round 1
2018-09-22: W vs. [#745WW] Luigi Vendramini (8-1-0) via KO (Flying Knee and Punches) in 1:20 of round 2
2018-05-12: W vs. [#55WW] Sean Strickland (20-3-0) via KO (Spinning Wheel Kick and Punches) in 3:40 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Jingliang Li (2-1-0)
2018-11-24: W vs. [#164WW] David Zawada (16-5-0) via KO (Kick to the Body) in 4:07 of round 3
2018-06-23: W vs. [#275WW] Daichi Abe (6-4-0) via UD (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
2018-02-10: L vs. [#86WW] Jake Matthews (14-4-0) via UD (30-26, 30-26, 29-28)

Odds Favorite (Implied): Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos – Win%: 71.27
Elo Favorite (Standard): Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (2026.99) [+302.89] – Win%: 79.96
Elo Favorite (Modified): Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (1991.70) [+231.53] – Win%: 73.37
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos 175, Jingliang Li 280
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos leads 1-0
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Flyweight (125)
[#21] Kai Kara-France (19-7-0, -317) vs. [#32] Mark De La Rosa (11-2-0, +237)

Last 3 Fights: Kai Kara-France (3-0-0)
2019-02-09: W vs. [#60FLY] Raulian Paiva (18-3-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
2018-12-01: W vs. [#116FLY] Elias Garcia (6-2-0) via UD (30-25, 30-26, 30-25)
2018-03-04: W vs. [#1200BW] Xiaoyu Shi (7-4-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in ? of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Mark De La Rosa (2-1-0)
2019-03-30: L vs. [#50BW] Alex Perez (22-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2018-11-10: W vs. [#70FLY] Joby Sanchez (12-5-0) via SD (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)
2018-07-14: W vs. [#116FLY] Elias Garcia (6-2-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:00 of round 2

Odds Favorite (Implied): Kai Kara-France – Win%: 71.92
Elo Favorite (Standard): Kai Kara-France (1699.81) [+134.01] – Win%: 64.85
Elo Favorite (Modified): Kai Kara-France (1631.62) [+105.62] – Win%: 61.36
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Kai Kara-France 203, Mark De La Rosa 154
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Lucky release #666!

Most fans know about the Men’s Flyweight division and some of those fans complain about it.

Some fans know about the Men’s Strawweight division (~115lb), which is not very widely adopted.

But, did you know that there are Men’s Atomweight bouts (~105lb)?  It makes sense, as this is the lightest Men’s division in boxing — a division which catches quite a bit of grief as the population is scarce in comparison to other divisions and mainly restricted to East and Southeast Asia.

Here are the World’s Best Atomweights
Fighters who have fought at 110lb or below in the past 3 years

Basically all lineal titles and number-one rankings are aligned with the UFC titles these days. However, there are a few key exceptions. One of those exceptions is the lineal strawweight title, which will be on the line at Rizin 18 this weekend.

#1 SW Haruo Ochi enters the event as the top-ranked fighter in the division, which Fight Matrix defines as 121.9 lbs and below. His opponent for the night will be UFC veteran #3 SW Jarred Brooks, who previously made a name for himself on the strawweight scene before moving up to flyweight to fight in the UFC.

Ochi dropped to strawweight in 2015 after competing at higher weight classes. In 2017 he captured the Deep strawweight title with a victory over Kanta Sato. A year later he picked up the biggest win of his career over #11 SW Mitsuhisa Sunabe at Rizin 13. In the process he took over the number-one spot at strawweight and claimed the lineal title. Sunabe had been undefeated since 2011 and was the strawweight King of Pancrase.

Brooks was a nationally ranked high school wrestler who was never really able to make it work on the collegiate level. Instead, he launched an MMA career in 2014. In his eight professional fight, he defeated veteran #23 SW Junji Ito and entered the strawweight rankings at number three. He fought once more in the division, scoring a victory over Jun Nakamura under the Pancrase banner, before moving up to flyweight to sign with the UFC. During his run in the UFC, he went 2-2 with victories over #31 FLW Eric Shelton and #34 FLW Roberto Sanchez. The promotion then released him as part of their ill conceived and ultimately unsuccessful plan to eliminate the flyweight division.

Considering the issues that the flyweight division has had getting over in the U.S., it seems unlikely that the strawweight division will ever really make a ton of headlines. However, the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO all sponsor multiple boxing divisions under 125 pounds, so there is still a chance that the strawweight division could flourish on the international scene.

Richard Mann is a regular contributor to @ESPNMMA, @FightMetric, @RotoWireMMA and @InterMat. You can follow him on Twitter at @richardamann.

Heavyweight Championship (265)
[#1/#3DD/#3P4P] Daniel Cormier (22-1-0, 236.5lb, -141) vs. [#3] Stipe Miocic (18-3-0, 230.5lb, +117)
Daniel Cormier is the All-Time #12 ranked Heavyweight and #11 ranked Absolute fighter.
Stipe Miocic is the All-Time #6 ranked Heavyweight and #30 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Daniel Cormier (3-0-0)
2018-11-03: W vs. [#6HW+] Derrick Lewis (21-7-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:14 of round 2
2018-07-07: W vs. [#3HW+] Stipe Miocic (18-3-0) via KO (Punches) in 4:33 of round 1
2018-01-20: W vs. [#10LHW] Volkan Oezdemir (16-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:00 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Stipe Miocic (2-1-0)
2018-07-07: L vs. [#1HW+/#3DD/#3P4P] Daniel Cormier (22-1-0) via KO (Punches) in 4:33 of round 1
2018-01-20: W vs. [#2HW+] Francis Ngannou (14-3-0) via UD (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)
2017-05-13: W vs. [#5HW+] Junior dos Santos (21-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:22 of round 1

Odds Favorite (Implied): Daniel Cormier – Win%: 55.94
Elo Favorite (Standard): Daniel Cormier (2425.27) [+234.50] – Win%: 74.49
Elo Favorite (Modified): Daniel Cormier (2379.98) [+201.59] – Win%: 70.73
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Daniel Cormier 287, Stipe Miocic 406
Previous Match-up Record: Daniel Cormier leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Welterweight (170)
[#6] Anthony Pettis (22-8-0, 169.5lb, -135) vs. [*] Nate Diaz (19-11-0, 170.0lb, +111)
Anthony Pettis is the All-Time #37 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Anthony Pettis (2-1-0)
2019-03-23: W vs. [#10WW] Stephen Thompson (14-4-1) via KO (Punches) in 4:55 of round 2
2018-10-06: L vs. [#2LW/#4DD/#8P4P] Tony Ferguson (25-3-0) via TKO (Corner Stoppage) in 5:00 of round 2
2018-07-07: W vs. [#24WW] Michael Chiesa (16-4-0) via Submission (Triangle Armbar) in 0:52 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Nate Diaz (2-1-0)
2016-08-20: L vs. [*] Conor McGregor (21-4-0) via MD (47-47, 48-47, 48-47)
2016-03-05: W vs. [*] Conor McGregor (21-4-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:12 of round 2
2015-12-19: W vs. [#23FW] Michael Johnson (19-14-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Odds Favorite (Implied): Anthony Pettis – Win%: 54.79
Elo Favorite (Standard): Anthony Pettis (2042.82) [+62.60] – Win%: 57.10
Elo Favorite (Modified): Anthony Pettis (2009.89) [+26.40] – Win%: 52.88
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Anthony Pettis 147, Nate Diaz 1092
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Anthony Pettis leads 4-2
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Middleweight (186)
[#2] Yoel Romero (13-3-0, 184.5lb, -140) vs. [#13] Paulo Henrique Costa (12-0-0, 186.0lb, +116)
Yoel Romero is the All-Time #12 ranked Middleweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Yoel Romero (1-2-0)
2018-06-09: L vs. [#1MW/#9P4P] Robert Whittaker (20-4-0) via SD (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
2018-02-10: W vs. [#11LHW] Luke Rockhold (16-5-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:48 of round 3
2017-07-08: L vs. [#1MW/#9P4P] Robert Whittaker (20-4-0) via UD (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

Last 3 Fights: Paulo Henrique Costa (3-0-0)
2018-07-07: W vs. [#14MW] Uriah Hall (14-9-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:36 of round 2
2017-11-04: W vs. [*] Johny Hendricks (18-8-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:23 of round 2
2017-06-03: W vs. [*] Oluwale Bamgbose (6-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:06 of round 2

Odds Favorite (Implied): Yoel Romero – Win%: 55.74
Elo Favorite (Standard): Yoel Romero (2143.44) [+285.58] – Win%: 78.66
Elo Favorite (Modified): Yoel Romero (2167.66) [+279.72] – Win%: 77.29
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Yoel Romero 434, Paulo Henrique Costa 406
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Daniel Cormier isn’t all that hyped over a potential third fight with Jon Jones as retirement looms.

It appears that Cormier’s name will always be tied to Jones’s, with the 40-year old having failed to beat the latter on the previous two occasions. Jones won their first fight by unanimous decision at UFC 182 but his UFC 214 knockout win over Cormier was sullied by his testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug that ultimately saw Cormier handed the light heavyweight belt back.

Jones is constantly touted as the best fighter of all time but Cormier can boast having won both the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles, something Jones has yet to do. Their rivalry is one of the most talked up in the history of MMA and UFC boss Dana White only recently told reporters he would love for them to fight once more, albeit admitting that the bout isn’t a must.

It’s easy to want to see Cormier and Jones go at it. They’re at the top of the MMA food chain right now and this has to be the fight fans want to happen. Cormier, though, isn’t as enthusiastic as he reckons whatever results from the potential fight will be tainted, given Jones’s failed drug test.