It might be an understatement to say the UFC has some questionable rankings. You would expect rankings to be questionable as they are subjective; however, in this column, I will point out rankings that I think are glaring mistakes. I will also analyze significant movement in the rankings that I agree with.
Editorial Commentary by Peter Parsons
Sergei Pavlovich knocked out No. 4 ranked Curtis Blaydes at the 3:08 mark of the first round on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV. Remarkably, this was the Russian’s sixth straight first round knockout in the UFC heavyweight division, a record in the modern era.
Sergei Pavlovich ranked No. 2 at heavyweight
Pavlovich moved up one spot in the UFC heavyweight rankings with his knockout over Blaydes. The 30-year-old Russian moved ahead of former champ Stipe Miocic in the UFC heavyweight rankings. I completely agree with Pavlovich going ahead of Miocic, in fact, I think Pavlovich could have been ranked ahead of Miocic prior to Saturday night, mainly due to Miocic’s inactivity. Miocic hasn’t fought in over two years since losing his title to Francis Ngannou in March of 2021. It should be noted that Miocic’s last five fights were against Francis Ngannou and Daniel Cormier. He went 1-1 with Ngannou and 2-1 against Cormier. Before losing the first Cormier fight, Miocic had the most UFC heavyweight title defenses with three consecutive title defenses against Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos and Francis Ngannou.
To me the question is, should Pavlovich be ranked No. 1 ahead of current No. 1 Cyril Gane? I don’t think it’s a glaring mistake for Gane to be ranked ahead of Pavlovich based on their recent results; however, I would have Pavlovich ranked No. 1 ahead of Gane.
Since returning from an over two-year layoff during the pandemic, Pavlovich has been active with his last four knockouts being against top 10 opponents. Pavlovich knocked out countryman Shamil Abdurakhimov in March of 2022. Abdurakhimov was ranked No. 10 at the time. Pavlovich’s last three opponents have been top 5. He knocked out Derrick Lewis in July of 2022. Lewis was ranked No. 5 at the time. He knocked out Tai Tuivasa in December of 2022. Tuivasa was ranked No. 4. As previously mentioned, Curtis Blaydes was ranked (and still is) No. 4 in the UFC heavyweight division.
Cyril Gane’s resume is also very impressive including some outstanding performances against a couple of common opponents who he shares with Pavlovich. Gane’s most recent victories were third round TKO victories over Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis. Gane defeated Tuivasa in September of 2022 in front of his hometown crowd in Paris during UFC’s first trip to France. Gane defeated Derrick Lewis for the interim heavyweight title in August of 2021.
Gane’s two losses in the last couple of years were title fights against the best heavyweights on the planet. He lost a unanimous decision to Francis Ngannou in January of 2022. He lost by first round submission to Jon Jones for the vacant UFC heavyweight title in March of this year.
Prior to the Ngannou loss, Gane had been undefeated with seven straight UFC wins. He had notable victories over Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Volkov, and the previously mentioned Derrick Lewis.
It’s a close call as to who the No. 1 ranked UFC heavyweight should be. When it’s this close, in my opinion, how you get it done matters. Gane has had some decision wins including over Rozenstruik and Volkov, which although they were shutouts on the scorecards, they don’t compare to some of the first-round knockouts of Pavlovich. Also, I know Gane had a bad fight in his last outing against the GOAT Jon Jones. I also know Jones could do the same to Pavlovich, but this loss is a factor in my ranking Pavlovich ahead of Gane.
Whether Pavlovich is ranked No. 2 or No. 1, it can’t be denied that he is deserving of a title shot. It appears as though Jon Jones will fight Stipe Miocic next, possibly at MSG in November. The question then is, will Pavlovich wait nearly a year for his shot at the title? The Russian heavyweight is saying that he would wait.
Wouldn’t it be great to watch Pavlovich fight Gane to see who undoubtedly is the No. 1 UFC heavyweight contender? I don’t think the UFC would make that fight though because if Gane were to win, you knock off a fresh contender in Pavlovich.
Upcoming Notable UFC Heavyweight Fights
Apr 29 – Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
Apr 29 – Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
May 13 – (12) Jailton Almeida vs. (9) Jairzinho Rozenstruik
May 20 – Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Ilir Latifi
My rankings would look different than any other writer or fan who follows the sport closely. This is to be expected, as rankings are subjective. Rankings should be based primarily on results and not perceived potential or popularity.
Some people think rankings do not matter. Rankings do matter. They matter when it comes to matchmaking. They matter when it comes to contract negotiations.
Let’s keep the rankings conversation going. Do you agree or disagree with the above Ranking Review? Express your thoughts in the comments below.