Fight Matrix updates the Current MMA Rankings once a week. As the deepest and most inclusive ranking system in the sport, fights all over the globe can have a major impact on the rankings. Let’s take a look at the biggest risers in the divisional rankings. The number in parenthesis is the number of spots that the fighter moved up from the last issued rankings. For the purpose of this article, fighters who were unranked in the previous ranking iteration are excluded.
Heavyweight
Jeff Hughes #85 (117)
Hughes, a product of Evolve MMA, moved up 117 spots after receiving credit for his March 19 victory over John Hawk. His professional record now stands at 3-0.
Light Heavyweight
Jordan Johnson #125 (101)
Johnson defeat Shaun Asher on the undercard of Resurrection Fighting Alliance 39. The teammate of Benson Henderson and Efrain Escudero at the MMA Lab has now won five fights in a row to start his career with four coming via submission.
Middleweight
Andrew Kapel #190 (74)
Last April, Kapel defeated Nick Kraus at Hoosier Fight Club 28. After receiving credit for the win, he moved up 74 spots. Since 2009, Kapel is 7-2 with his only losses coming against Strikeforce veteran Marcus Sursa and UFC fighter Anthony Smith.
Welterweight
Chel Erwin-Davis #292 (248)
On the undercard of Bellator 157: Dynamite 2, Erwin-Davis scored a second-round submission over Kevin Engel. The New Jersey native is now 2-0 in Bellator since joining the promotion last year.
Lightweight
Kuat Khamitov #335 (194)
Khamitov’s March victory over Andrii Mytrofanov was good enough to bump him up 194 spots in the rankings. The bout was the Kazakhstani fighter’s first since falling to Lowen Tynanes in his only fight for One Championship to date.
Featherweight
Raphael Berthet #154 (147)
Berthet picked up his fifth-straight win since starting his career with a loss. The French fighter defeated Myles Simpson under the Hex Fight Series banner.
Bantamweight
Diego Lopes #119 (188)
Lopes earned the status as the biggest mover in the bantamweight division through dubious means. He jumped up 188 spots despite not having fought since last September. Results can take a long time to filter in from Brazil. The Manaus native last defeated Gilberto dos Santos Pantoja for Elite Fight Night.
Flyweight
Andy Young #108 (20)
Young defeated Aaron Aby to move up 20 spots and make this list. The Northern Irish fighter has now won three-straight fights and will return to action in September at BAMMA 26 against German prospect Rany Saadeh.
This week there was not any major movement in the strawweight, women’s featherweight, women’s bantamweight, women’s flyweight or women’s atomweight divisions.
Richard Mann currently runs the data-driven MMA blog StrikeScoreMMA.com