MMA Rankings: Derek Brunson and Michael Johnson crack the top 10
After recording first-round knockout victories in the featured bouts of UFC Fight Night 94 in Hidalgo, Texas, on Saturday, Derek Brunson and Michael Johnson have found their way into the top 10 of their respective divisions in the latest edition of CoveringTheCage.com’s rankings.
Brunson needed just 1:41 to knock out Uriah Hall. It was his fourth consecutive first-round knockout and fifth straight win overall. The victory improved the 32-year-old former Division III All-American wrestler to 7-1 in the UFC and shot him all the way to No. 7 in the middleweight division.
Johnson snapped a two-fight losing streak with a spectacular knockout of Dustin Poirier just 1:35 into the main event and broke into the lightweight rankings at No. 10.
His spot was earned largely on the quality of his performance as he looked as explosive as ever following shoulder surgery he said he has needed for some time.
Feel free to share any disagreements and stay tuned for the latest updates. Keep in mind, while the ranked weight classes are those used by the UFC, fighters competing outside the organization are eligible.
MEN
Heavyweight
1. Stipe Miocic
2. Cain Velasquez
3. Fabricio Werdum
4. Alistair Overeem
5. Junior dos Santos
6. Ben Rothwell
7. Mark Hunt
8. Josh Barnett
9. Derrick Lewis
10. Travis Browne
Light Heavyweight
1. Jon Jones
2. Daniel Cormier
3. Anthony Johnson
4. Alexander Gustafsson
5. Glover Teixeira
6. Ryan Bader
7. Liam McGeary
8. Nikita Krylov
9. Phil Davis
10. Ovince St. Preux
Middleweight
1. Michael Bisping
2. Luke Rockhold
3. Chris Weidman
4. Yoel Romero
5. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
6. Gegard Mousasi
7. Derek Brunson
8. Lyoto Machida
9. Vitor Belfort
10. Anderson Silva
Welterweight
1. Tyron Woodley
2. Stephen Thompson
3. Robbie Lawler
4. Rory MacDonald
5. Ben Askren
6. Carlos Condit
7. Demian Maia
8. Lorenz Larkin
9. Andrey Koreshkov
10. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone
Lightweight
1. Eddie Alvarez
2. Khabib Nurmagomedov
3. Rafael dos Anjos
4. Tony Ferguson
5. Edson Barboza
6. Nate Diaz
7. Will Brooks
8. Justin Gaethje
9. Michael Chiesa
10. Michael Johnson
Featherweight
1. Conor McGregor
2. Jose Aldo
3. Frankie Edgar
4. Max Holloway
5. Anthony Pettis
6. Daniel Straus
7. Cub Swanson
8. Charles Oliveira
9. Ricardo Lamas
10. Jeremy Stephens
Bantamweight
1. Dominick Cruz
2. TJ Dillashaw
3. Cody Garbrandt
4. John Dodson
5. Bryan Caraway
6. Raphael Assuncao
7. John Lineker
8. Aljamain Sterling
9. Jimmie Rivera
10. Urijah Faber
Flyweight
1. Demetrious Johnson
2. Joseph Benavidez
3. Henry Cejudo
4. Ali Bagautinov
5. Jussier Formiga
6. Kyoji Horiguchi
7. Wilson Reis
8. Zach Makovsky
9. Louis Smolka
10. Ian McCall
WOMEN
Bantamweight
1. Ronda Rousey
2. Amanda Nunes
3. Valentina Shevchenko
4. Miesha Tate
5. Holly Holm
6. Julianna Pena
7. Alexis Davis
8. Cat Zingano
9. Sara McMann
10. Tonya Evinger
Strawweight
1. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
2. Claudia Gadelha
3. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
4. Jessica Andrade
5. Rose Namajunas
6. Jessica Aguilar
7. Valerie Letourneau
8. Carla Esparza
9. Tecia Torres
10. Angela Hill
OVERALL
Pound-for-Pound
1. Demetrious Johnson
2. Jon Jones
3. Daniel Cormier
4. Dominick Cruz
5. Conor McGregor
6. Stipe Miocic
7. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
8. Eddie Alvarez
9. Khabib Nurmagomedov
10. Tyron Woodley
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj
Follow Covering The Cage on Twitter: @CoveringTheCage
