UFC divisional rankings: Giga Chikadze enters featherweight rankings after career-best victory
Written by Luck Wilson on September 2, 2021
This past Saturday was a big coming-out party for UFC featherweight Giga Chikadze. Chikadze picked up the biggest win of his career at UFC Fight Night, scoring a third-round knockout of Edson Barboza in the night’s main event.
Chikadze is now riding a nine-fight winning streak, with seven of those victories coming in the UFC Octagon. His last loss came in a June 2018 fight on Dana White’s Contender Series, costing him his initial chance to make the UFC roster. After winning two fights in less than a combined one minute, Chikadze got the call and has not disappointed since stepping onto the sport’s biggest stage.
With the win, Chikadze debuted in the CBS Sports UFC Divisional Rankings at No. 7.
Barboza dropped from No. 9 to No. 10 after the loss. He is now 2-2 since making the move to featherweight. Barboza had a two-fight winning streak snapped by Chikadze.
Saturday’s UFC Fight Night features just one fight featuring CBS Sports ranked fighters.
- Middleweight: No. 5 Derek Brunson vs. No. 8 Darren Till
Rankings are compiled following the submission of ballots by Brent Brookhouse, Brian Campbell and Brandon Wise. Without further ado, here’s where things stand ahead of Saturday’s card.
For Brian Campbell’s updated Pound for Pound Rankings, click here.
Flyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Brandon Moreno (c) |
19-5-2 |
|
2. Deiveson Figueiredo |
20-2-1 |
|
3. Askar Askarov |
12-0-1 |
|
4. Matt Schnell |
15-5 |
|
5. Alexandre Pantoja |
23-5 |
|
6. Kai Kara-France |
22-9 |
|
7. Joseph Benavidez |
28-8- |
|
8. Alex Perez |
24-6 |
|
9. Brandon Royval |
12-5 |
|
10. Jussier Formiga |
23-8 |
Bantamweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Petr Yan |
15-1 |
|
2. Aljamain Sterling (c) |
19-3 |
|
3. Cory Sandhagen |
14-3 |
|
4. TJ Dillashaw |
17-4 |
|
5. Rob Font |
19-4 |
|
6. Jose Aldo |
30-7 |
|
7. Merab Dvalishvili |
13-4 |
|
8. Pedro Munhoz |
19-6 |
|
9. Marlon Moraes |
23-8-1 |
|
10. Jimmie Rivera |
23-5 |
Featherweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Alexander Volkanovski (c) |
22-1 |
|
2. Max Holloway |
22-6 |
|
3. Brian Ortega |
15-1 |
|
4. Zabit Magomedsharipov |
18-1 |
|
5. Yair Rodriguez |
12-2 |
|
6. Korean Zombie |
17-6 |
|
7. Giga Chikadze |
14-2 |
|
8. Calvin Kattar |
22-5 |
|
9. Josh Emmett |
16-2 |
|
10. Edson Barboza |
22-10 |
Lightweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Dustin Poirier |
28-6 |
|
2. Charles Oliveira (c) |
31-8 |
|
3. Justin Gaethje |
22-3 |
|
4. Michael Chandler |
22-6 |
|
5. Islam Makhachev |
20-1 |
|
6. Rafael dos Anjos |
30-13 |
|
7. Beneil Dariush |
21-4-1 |
|
8. Dan Hooker |
20-10 |
|
9. Gregor Gillespie |
14-1 |
|
10. Tony Ferguson |
25-6 |
Welterweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Kamaru Usman (c) |
19-1 |
|
2. Colby Covington |
16-2 |
|
3. Leon Edwards |
19-3 |
|
4. Gilbert Burns |
20-4 |
|
5. Stephen Thompson |
16-5-1 |
|
6. Vicente Luque |
21-7-1 |
|
7. Jorge Masvidal |
35-15 |
|
8. Michael Chiesa |
18-5 |
|
9. Neil Magny |
25-8 |
|
10. Santiago Ponzinibbio |
28-4 |
Middleweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Israel Adesanya (c) |
21-1 |
|
2. Robert Whittaker |
23-5 |
|
3. Paulo Costa |
13-1 |
|
4. Jared Cannonier |
14-5 |
|
5. Derek Brunson |
22-7 |
|
6. Marvin Vettori |
17-5-1 |
|
7. Jack Hermansson |
18-2-1 22-6 |
|
8. Darren Till |
18-2-1 |
|
9. Kelvin Gastelum |
17-8 |
|
10. Sean Strickland |
24-3 |
Light heavyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Jan Blachowicz (c) |
28-8 |
|
2. Glover Teixeira |
32-7 |
|
3. Jiri Prochazka |
28-3-1 |
|
4. Aleksandar Rakic |
14-2 |
|
5. Thiago Santos |
21-9 |
|
6. Anthony Smith |
35-16 |
|
7. Dominick Reyes |
12-3 |
|
8. Magomed Ankalaev |
15-1 |
|
9. Johnny Walker |
18-5 |
|
10. Nikita Krylov |
26-8 |
Heavyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Francis Ngannou (c) |
16-3 |
|
2. Stipe Miocic |
20-4 |
|
3. Ciryl Gane |
10-0 |
|
4. Derrick Lewis |
25-8 |
|
5. Curtis Blaydes |
14-3 |
|
6. Alexander Volkov |
33-9 |
|
7. Jairzinho Rozenstruik |
12-2 |
|
8. Marcin Tybura |
22-6 |
|
9. Chris Daukaus |
11-3 |
|
10. Tai Tuivasa |
13-3 |
Women’s strawweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Rose Namajunas (c) |
10-4 |
|
2. Weili Zhang |
21-1 |
|
3. Carla Esparza |
18-6 |
|
4. Joanna Jedrzejczyk |
16-4 |
|
5. Mackenzie Dern |
11-1 |
|
6. Marina Rodriguez |
14-1-2 |
|
7. Yan Xiaonan |
13-2 |
|
8. Tatiana Suarez |
8-0 |
|
9. Michelle Waterson |
18-9 |
|
10. Jessica Andrade |
21-9 |
Women’s flyweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Valentina Shevchenko (c) |
21-3 |
|
2. Lauren Murphy |
15-4 |
|
3. Jennifer Maia |
19-7-1 |
|
4. Katlyn Chookagian |
16-4 |
|
5. Cynthia Calvillo |
9-2-1 |
Women’s bantamweight
|
Fighter |
Record |
|
1. Amanda Nunes (c) |
21-4 |
|
2. Germaine de Randamie |
10-4 |
|
3. Holly Holm |
14-5 |
|
4. Aspen Ladd |
9-1 |
|
5. Irene Aldana |
13-6 |
|
6. Julianna Pena |
10-4 |
|
7. Yana Kunitskaya |
14-6 |
|
8. Julia Avila |
8-2 |
|
9. Ketlen Vieira |
11-2 |
|
10. Miesha Tate |
19-7 |
KVSP