Colby Covington loses 170-pound spot to Shavkat Rakhmonov, new entrant in flyweight, Sean Strickland climbs in UFC P4P, and more

A UFC rankings update has shaken up the hierarchy across several different divisions, three of which drew significant attention at UFC 296 this past weekend. Colby Covington took part in his third-ever undisputed welterweight title fight, losing yet again, this time against Leon Edwards.

Meanwhile, Shavkat Rakhmonov defeated legendary 170-pound striker Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson. Both welterweight bouts led to a change at welterweight, where Covington's loss to Edwards saw him drop down from #3 to #5, which is one spot above 'Wonderboy.' Rakhmonov, however, was bumped up to #3.

Well-renowned MMA journalist John Morgan broke the news about the welterweight shake up on X/Twitter.

On the pound-for-pound front, middleweight champion Sean Strickland is now ranked #7, above bantamweight titleholder Sean O'Malley, who he recently trash-talked at a UFC 297 promotional press conference. His move up in the rankings took place in the wake of his UFC 296 brawl with Dricus du Plessis.

News of Strickland's ascension in the pound-for-pound rankings was also shared by Morgan on X/Twitter. However, 'Tarzan' is not the only fighter to benefit from a rankings shake up.

Brandon Royval, who failed to dethrone Alexandre Pantoja as the flyweight king this past weekend, dropped to #3, allowing Amir Albazi, who is scheduled to face former titleholder Brandon Moreno, to move up to #2. This, however, was not the only noteworthy event at flyweight.

Tatsuro Taira recently defeated Carlos Hernandez to extend his undefeated record to 15-0, which knocked Cody Durden off the #15 spot for the Japanese star to claim his ranking. Back at middleweight, Aonzo Menifield's win this past weekend has earned him a #12 ranking, while his opponent, Dustin Jacoby, remains at #15.

Lastly, Ariane Lipski submitted Casey O'Neill in round two to ascend to #12 at women's flyweight, while O'Neill slid down to #14.

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What happened between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis at UFC 296?

Sean Strickland often taunts others with over-the-top trash-talk. However, in a strange turn of events, 'Tarzan,' who has openly expressed his desire to kill a man inside the octagon, lost his composure after Dricus du Plessis trash-talked him.

Check out Sean Strickland's brawl with Dricus du Plessis in the clip below:

This came to a head at UFC 296, where tensions reached a boiling point. Both men were seated in close proximity to each other. This inevitably led to Strickland jumping the railing and bludgeoning du Plessis with several blows before security personnel broke up the brawl.