UFC Rankings update: Ilia Topuria enters top 5 featherweight, Maycee Barber climbs three spots

Following this past weekend’s Fight Night event in Jacksonville, Florida, the UFC rankings have received somewhat of a shake up.

The event saw featherweight sensation Ilia Topuria dominate former title challenger Josh Emmett in a five-round headliner that claimed the award for ‘Fight of the Night’.

Meanwhile, surging flyweight contender Maycee Barber picked up the biggest win of her octagon career to date by overcoming Amanda Ribas via second-round TKO.

Unsurprisingly, both fighters have climbed the ladder thanks to these big wins in the latest update to the UFC rankings.

Topuria has cracked the top five for the first time in his octagon career, taking the No.5 spot that previously belonged to Emmett. ‘El Matador’ is now hopeful of gaining a future featherweight title shot.

Barber, meanwhile, has climbed from the No.11 spot into the No.8 spot in the flyweight rankings. Interestingly, this puts her one spot above where Ribas was prior to their clash. Ribas, meanwhile, has fallen to No.11.

The other big mover following this weekend’s event is Brendan Allen. ‘All In’ has climbed to No.11 in the middleweight division following his victory over Bruno Silva, although he will need to win at least one more to crack the top 10.

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UFC rankings: Who could No.5 featherweight Ilia Topuria face next?

Following his big win over Josh Emmett this weekend, fans across the world have been asking who could be next in line to face Ilia Topuria.

‘El Matador’ is now part of the top five in the UFC rankings, having previously defeated the unbeaten Bryce Mitchell in his last fight.

Topuria himself called for a title shot in the aftermath of this past weekend’s event. Current champion Alexander Volkanovski is set to face interim champ Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 next month.

However, ‘El Matador’ also suggested that he’d be willing to fight former titleholder Max Holloway too – but only in a headline event in his adopted home country of Spain.

Given that Holloway is booked to face off with Chan Sung Jung in Singapore later this year, though, it seems more likely that a shot at the title could lie in the future for Topuria.