The latest UFC rankings update has led to fans criticizing the depth of one division.
After Noche UFC this past weekend, the promotion has updated its rankings for several weight classes.
The featherweight division remained unchanged following Diego Lopes’ win over Jean Silva, with the former title challenger staying at the #2 spot.
Saturday night’s co-main event ended up producing the biggest shift, as David Martinez’s stunning victory over Rob Font launched him into the bantamweight top 15 in just his second UFC outing.
However, there was one update that left fans scratching their heads at why this decision has been made.
Fans react to Marcin Tybura overtaking Ante Delija in the latest heavyweight rankings update
Tom Aspinall is confident that he will defeat Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 to successfully defend his undisputed heavyweight title for the first time.
Since being promoted to this status, the Brit has spoken a lot about wanting to get the division moving again following a fairly stagnant period for the weight class.
It’s clear that in order to do that, heavyweight needs some exciting new additions, with Aspinall’s training partner recently achieving this at UFC Paris.
Ante Delija stopped Marcin Tybura to instantly announce himself as a contender, only for the latest ranking update to drop him one spot, meaning that the man he beat just over a week ago is now ahead of him.
Fans were left puzzled by this decision when reacting to the news on social media.
‘That’s just embarrassing for whoever made it…’
‘They really thought we wouldn’t notice.’
‘Makes absolutely no sense.’
‘These rankings are ridiculous.’
Many fans, despite the confusing update, chose to focus on the overall depth of the division instead, making claims that have been made about heavyweight for some time now.
‘The heavyweight division is disappointing dammit.’
‘The heavyweight division is so stale in the UFC.’
‘The state of that division. It’s as bad as the Tim Sylvia days.’
‘The top 10 is so many dinosaurs.’
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Tom Aspinall has got a huge task on his hands to try and bring excitement back into the division
Tom Aspinall being the heavyweight champion has certainly added some more excitement into the division.
The Brit’s fights are always exciting and he’s keen to compete frequently, but the potential opponents that are out there for him aren’t the most enticing.
Another big issue, as noted by some of the fan reactions, is that many of the division’s top contenders are later on in their careers, as seen below.
| The UFC’s heavyweight top 10 | Stats |
| Fighters younger than Tom Aspinall | 1 – Serghei Spivac (30) |
| Average age (years) | 34.9 (35 rounded) |
| Fighters that Tom Aspinall has already beaten | 5 (Blaydes, Pavlovich, Tybura, Volkov, Spivac) |
Aspinall being the champion seems like a positive forward step for the heavyweight division, but there’s a good chance that he’ll quickly leave the others behind if he hasn’t already.