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.
Welterweight
Emil Weber Meek #9 (205)
In the most astounding upset of the weekend, Meek scored a first-round finish over Rousimar Palhares. Palhares came into the bout as the highest ranked fighter not signed to the UFC or Bellator. On the other hand, Meek was ranked 214th. With the victory, Meek moves all the way up to ninth, while Palhares fell to 11th.
Heavyweight
Adam Wieczorek #131 (74)
Wieczorek moved up 74 ranking spots with a victory over Zoumana Cisse under the Professional MMA League banner. With the victory, the Polish fighter’s record improved to 7-1. He has not lost since falling to recent UFC signee Marcin Tybura in his second professional fight in 2011.
Light Heavyweight
Przemyslaw Mysiala #96 (92)
You might remember Mysiala from his one-fight stint in Bellator back in 2013. He was Muhammed Lawal’s first opponent in the promotion and lost via knockout in the first round. Since then, Mysiala has gone 3-1-1 including back-to-back victories over Ryan White and Marcin Zontek. Following his victory over Zontek at last weekend’s Fight Exclusive Night 12 “Feel the Force” Mysiala moved up 92 spots and into the light heavyweight top 100.
Middleweight
Azamat Amagov #198 (165)
Amagov moved up 165 places despite not competing since last November. The Russian fighter holds an undefeated 7-0 record. In his last fight, he scored a unanimous-decision victory over Panagiotis Stroumpoulis at ACB 25.
Lightweight
Aleksi Mantykivi #320 (113)
Mantykivi moved up 113 places in the most recent rankings. The Finnish fighter holds a 9-4 record. In his last fight, he dropped a split decision to Zurab Betergaraev in the World Fighting Championship Akhmat grand prix.
Featherweight
Chuka Willis #216 (89)
Willis scored a third-round finish over Justin Overton at Victory Fighting Championship 50. With the victory, the American Top Team HD representative now holds a 8-2 record and is riding a four-fight winning streak. The entire VFC 50 event is available on UFC Fight Pass.
Bantamweight
Yasuhiro Kawamura #277 (69)
Kawamura has spent his entire career in Pancrase. The 25-year-old has won three-straight fights after beginning his career with a 3-2 record. Kawamura returns to action against unranked Hideki Sato at Pancrase 278.
Flyweight
Askar Askarov #65 (62)
At last weekend’s ACB 38 card, Askarov scored a second-round submission over Ruslan Abiltarov. With the victory, the Russian fighter moved up 62 spots in the rankings. He now holds an undefeated 6-0 record after making his debut in 2013.
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