This week, the focus is on 
Rory MacDonald.
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Notable Info
.I have heard rumors that the UFC is scouting MacDonald and he may end up fighting for the organization in the near future. A name to look out for, and the guy is only 19 years old.
Notable Info
| Thursday, December 31st 2026: Rizin FF Super Rizin 6: Shiwasu no Owarinagoya Gekokujo Matsuri | |||
 [#1 W105] Natalia Kuziutina |  [#4 W105] Saori Oshima | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 9/10/2026 [Rizin Fighting Federation] Last Opponent: [#18 W105] Rena Kubota Last 5: W W W W W | Last Fight Date: 7/18/2026 [Rizin Fighting Federation] Last Opponent: [#13 W105] Ye Ji Lee Last 5: L W L W W | ||
| Sunday, December 13th 2026: Deep - 135 Impact | |||
| [#3 SW] Sukai China | [#4 SW] Jo Arai | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 5/04/2026 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [#6 SW] Sora Sugiyama Last 5: W W W W W | Last Fight Date: 9/13/2026 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [#23 SW] Daichi Kitakata Last 5: L L W L W | ||
| Sunday, December 13th 2026: Deep Tokyo Impact 2026 6th Round | |||
| [#6 SW] Sora Sugiyama | [#10 SW] Goal Makino | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 9/20/2026 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [NR] Musashi Musashi Last 5: W W W L W | Last Fight Date: 9/06/2026 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [#42 SW] Toshiya Takashima Last 5: W W W W W | ||
| [#18 W125] |  Lucia Szabova | [#1 WW] | Islam Makhachev | |
| [#18 LW] |  Renato Carneiro | [#1 FW] |  Alexander Volkanovski | |
| [#13 LW] | Tom Nolan | [#26 WW] |  Jacobe Smith | |
| [#102 W125] | Tainara Lisboa | [#1 LW] | Justin Gaethje | |
| [#2 LW] |  Ilia Topuria | [#23 LHW] | Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev |
Next week, Featherweights will join the heavier weight classes by expanding to the Top 150.
Heavier weight classes will likely expand even further before the end of summer.
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Welterweights
9B. Frank Lester* beat UR. 
David Falkner
.
The higher seed is now 17-6!
Notable Info
This update sparked some interesting changes due to divisional changes, upsets, etc.
UFC 98 took place in Las Vegas and featured a lightheavyweight title bout with two undefeated fighters: challenger Lyoto Machida and the champion Rashad Evans. The undercard was highlighted by a long-overdue ‘grudge match’ between former welterweight champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. Here’s how it went down:
Sean Sherk vs. Frankie Edgar (155 lbs)
Round 1: In the opening round of the televised broadcast, Sherk chose to stand and trade strikes with Edgar, despite a clear reach disadvantage. Sherk stalked Edgar but most of his strikes didn’t find their target while Edgar circled away and landed counters. Sherk shrugged off Edgar’s takedown attempts, until Edgar caught a leg kick and attempted a guillotine. Sherk escaped to finish the round on his feet. Round 10-9 Edgar
Round 2: Sherk continued to stalk Edgar and had some success with his punches early on. Eventually Edgar picked up his rhythm and began scoring with jabs, kicks, and combinations while evading Sherk’s strikes. Round 10-9 Edgar
Round 3: Sherk finally changed his strategy and quickly took Edgar down, but Edgar escaped and successfully defended all subsequent takedown attempts. In the final seconds of the round, Sherk shot for another takedown and was caught in a tight guillotine as the time ran out. Round 10-9 Edgar
Frankie Edgar wins the unanimous decision, 30-27 on all scorecards.
Fight Grade: 2.5/5
Aftermath: With no clear-cut challenger for the winner of an upcoming lightweight title bout between champion BJ Penn and Kenny Florian, Frankie Edgar positioned himself as one of the top contenders. Sherk’s decision to be a kickboxer has cost him this fight, and he needs to go back to his roots as a ground-and-pound wrestler if he wants to contend for the title again.
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
[#1] Rashad Evans vs. [#4] Lyoto Machida
Welterweight
[#8] Matt Serra vs. [#19] Matt Hughes
Middleweight
[#51] Drew McFedries vs. [#59] Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Middleweight
[#9] Chael Sonnen vs. [#20] Dan Miller
Lightweight
[#8] Sean Sherk vs. [#15] Frankie Edgar
Welterweight
[#20] Brock Larson vs. [#28] Chris Wilson [#25] Mike Pyle
Heavyweight
[#46] Tim Hague vs. [#89] Patrick Barry
Lightweight
[#261] Kyle Bradley vs. [#550] Phillipe Nover
Light Heavyweight
[#34] Krzysztof Soszynski vs. [#77] Andre Gusmao
Welterweight
[#31] Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. [#133] Brandon Wolff
Lightweight
[#400] George Roop vs. [*] Dave Kaplan
Ranking Notes: Dark green font represents an approximate ranking. An asterisk represents a fighter who is ranked, but too low for an approximation. These two scenarios will clear up slightly as we move forward. “NR” means the fighter is not ranked, due to inactivity, or due to a rating that is at or below the default starter rating.
Lightweights
1. Jason Dent beat 2. Jeff Lawson
.The higher seed is now 16-6!!
Notable Info
This is a pretty big update for us, and there will be a few growing pains (missing nationalities, flags, incorrect division assignments). If you notice any of the above, please let us know in the forum.
Note: There will be a re-post on May 21, as the ranking spots for the release on 5/17 were not “stored”.
I don’t want to get into the habit of posting random YouTube videos… but this is great! Be sure to check this one out.
