- Israel Adesanya has been noticeably removed from the UFC’s updated pound-for-pound rankings
- It’s the first time Izzy has been dropped from the pound-for-pound rankings since 2019
The UFC has removed Israel Adesanya from its official pound-for-pound rankings.
Izzy is out
After the updated UFC rankings has been revealed, one noticeable change made headlines. In the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings, Adesanya’s name has been officially dropped.
The former middleweight champion has been one of UFC’s top fighters and he never left the pound-for-pound rankings since making it in 2019. He also never lost twice in a row since turning pro in 2012.
Evidently, the back-to-back title fight losses was a huge blow in “Izzy’s” career, ultimately resulting in his elimination from the pound-for-pound rankings. As it stands, Adesanya has been replaced by former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Islam Makhachev
2. Alex Pereira
3. Jon Jones
4. Ilia Topuria
5. Dricus Du Plessis
6. Belal Muhammad
6. Sean O’Malley
8. Tom Aspinall
9. Leon Edwards
10. Alexander Volkanovski
11. Max Holloway
12. Alexandre Pantoja
13. Sean Strickland
14. Charles Oliveira
15. Aljamain Sterling *NR
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Dricus Du Plessis
1. Sean Strickland
2. Israel Adesanya
3. Robert Whittaker
4. Nassourdine Imavov
5. Caio Borralho
6. Marvin Vettori
7. Jared Cannonier
8. Brendan Allen
9. Paulo Costa
10. Roman Dolidze
11. Jack Hermansson
12. Khamzat Chimaev
13. Anthony Hernandez
14. Michel Pereira
15. Chris Curtis
The UFC rankings will soon be AI-generated
The UFC rankings have regularly been an intriguing subject of discussions in the sport. In fact, even UFC president Dana White has voiced his disapproval of the promotion’s rankings in more than one occasion, questioning how the people behind it come up with such results, especially the pound-for-pound selection.
According to White, one effective way to rank the best fighters in the UFC is to utilize AI or artificial intelligence which is happening sooner rather than later.
As for Adesanya, he is still ranked as a middleweight contender. He is currently the No. 2 in the 185-pound division. Adesanya’s latest defeat was against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305. Prior to that, Izzy also lost to Sean Strickland at UFC 293.
