By: MMAjunkie Staff | January 31, 2017 8:50 pm
This past Saturday’s UFC on FOX 23 event in Denver saw some shifts in the balance of a couple divisions.
In the main event, previous No. 2 women’s bantamweight Julianna Pena (8-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) was submitted by previous No. 3 Valentina Shevchenko (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in the second round at Pepsi Center in Denver.
Not only did Shevchenko leapfrog Pena into the No. 2 spot, she earned a shot at champion Amanada Nunes, who nat – whom she fought in March 2016 and lost by decision at UFC 196.
In the welterweight co-main event, Jorge Masvidal (32-11 MMA, 9-4 UFC) upset Donald Cerrone (32-8 MMA, 19-5 UFC) and made a big jump on the 170-pound list. He went from unranked to No. 9, while Cerrone tumbled from No. 7 to No. 11.
Check out those and all the other changes in the latest SUA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA rankings.
Ranking Criteria
The rankings take into account a fighter's wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.
Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they've been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.
Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they're not inactive for more than 24 months.
To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter's primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, non-titleholders can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won't be ranked in a new weight class until they've had their first fight at that weight.
