Petr Yan is the UFC bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili is ranked number one, and on 24 Oct at UFC 333 they fight for the title. Nobody in the top 15 moved at the latest rankings update on 6 Oct, so the division goes into that fight exactly as it stood.
UFC bantamweight rankings: the full top 15
| Rank | Fighter | Record |
|---|---|---|
| C | Petr Yan | 20-5-0 |
| 1 | Merab Dvalishvili | 21-5-0 |
| 2 | Song Yadong | 24-9-1, 1 NC |
| 3 | Sean O'Malley | 20-3-0, 1 NC |
| 4 | Mario Bautista | 18-3-0 |
| 5 | Umar Nurmagomedov | 20-2-0 |
| 6 | Cory Sandhagen | 18-7-0 |
| 7 | David Martínez | 15-1-0 |
| 8 | Raul Rosas Jr. | 13-1-0 |
| 9 | Farid Basharat | 16-0-0 |
| 10 | Marcus McGhee | 12-2-0 |
| 11 | Payton Talbott | 12-1-0 |
| 12 | Montel Jackson | 16-4-0 |
| 13 | Aiemann Zahabi | 14-3-0 |
| 14 | Marlon Vera | 24-12-1 |
| 15 | Bryce Mitchell | 19-3-0 |
Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili: the champion and the number one
Yan is 33 and holds the belt at 20-5-0, with 40 per cent of his wins ending by KO, TKO or submission. Dvalishvili is 35 at 21-5-0, and only 24 per cent of his wins came inside the distance, the lowest share in the top 15.
The ranking table makes the contrast plain. Dvalishvili has one more win and a profile built on decisions, while the champion has finished a larger share of his opponents. The fight is booked on a card headlined by Volkanovski vs. Evloev.
Who is next in line behind the champion
Song Yadong sits at number two, and his latest result is a finish of the man ranked fifth: he stopped Umar Nurmagomedov with a punch in round two, at 1:48, on 29 Aug. Nurmagomedov is at 20-2-0.
Sean O'Malley is third at 20-3-0 with a 70 per cent finish rate, the highest among the top five. Mario Bautista is fourth at 18-3-0.
Further down, Farid Basharat is the only unbeaten fighter in the top 15 at 16-0-0, ranked ninth, with 38 per cent of his wins coming by finish. Marcus McGhee, number 10 at 12-2-0, has the highest finish rate in the top 15 at 83 per cent. Raul Rosas Jr., at 22 the youngest in the rankings, is eighth at 13-1-0 after beating Raoni Barcelos on 26 Sep. Aiemann Zahabi, at 38, is the oldest.
The last 12 months at bantamweight
The division produced 62 bouts over the last 12 months, and 28 of them ended in a finish.
The ranked fighters have been busy in recent weeks:
- Payton Talbott, number 11, stopped Deiveson Figueiredo with punches in round one, at 2:09, at UFC 332 on 3 Oct.
- Montel Jackson, number 12, beat Ricky Simón by TKO in round two on 26 Sep.
- Marlon Vera, number 14, beat Charles Jourdain by TKO in round three on 19 Sep.
- David Martínez, number seven, beat Dan Ige by unanimous decision on 12 Sep.
What is booked at bantamweight
The title fight at UFC 333 on 24 Oct is the only booked bantamweight bout that involves a ranked fighter. UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs. Malott on 17 Oct has three unranked bantamweight bouts, and Davey Grant meets Elijah Smith on 7 Nov.
The picture after 24 Oct is simple. Whoever leaves UFC 333 with the belt, Song Yadong at number two and O'Malley at number three are the names waiting behind them.
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This article was generated with AI and may contain errors.