UFC pound for pound rankings update: Israel Adesanya and Petr Yan drop in rankings as Khabib Nurmagomedov still reigns supreme

Israel Adesanya and Petr Yan have dropped in the UFC pound-for-pound (P4P) rankings following their title fight losses at last weekend's UFC 259 PPV event.

Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya occupied the No. 3 position in the pound-for-pound rankings before his light heavyweight title fight against champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. The unanimous decision loss to Blachowicz has sent "The Last Stylebender" three spots down to No. 6. However, Israel Adesanya is still the UFC middleweight champion. At 31 years of age, Stylebender has time on his side to climb the ladder again. Jan Blachowicz stood to gain from Israel Adesanya's loss as the "Polish Powerhouse" rose to the No. 8 spot from No. 14 a week prior.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan attempted his first defense of the title against Aljamain Sterling as the No. 10 ranked fighter in the pound-for-pound list. The unfortunate disqualification loss due to an illegal knee in the fourth round cost Yan his bantamweight title as well as two spots in the P4P rankings. Petr Yan has slid down to No. 12 rank in the list after losing the fight that he appeared to be winning.

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov still occupies the top spot in the prestigious list despite having announced his retirement in October 2020, suggesting that the UFC and Dana White have still not given up on their hopes to bring the Dagestan native out of self-imposed retirement.

Conor McGregor's loss is bigger than Israel Adesanya and Petr Yan's slide

Israel Adesanya and Petr Yan may have lost a couple of spots in the pound-for-pound rankings but the former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor's loss is more pronounced. Newly crowned bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling's entry at No. 15 has pushed McGregor out of the rankings for the first time in over five years.

McGregor first claimed his spot in the P4P rankings at No. 14 with an interim featherweight title fight win over Chad Mendez at UFC 189. McGregor had maintained his position in the rankings even after long layoffs, but Sterling's ascend has turned out to be the biggest blow to the former champ's place.

Aljamain Sterling's place in the P4P rankings is a surprising one since "Funkmaster" did not really become a champion by defeating Petr Yan. It is worth noting, however, that Petr Yan is still higher in the rankings than Sterling despite having lost the title to the latter.

Israel Adesanya's slide has pushed champions Kamaru Usman (170lbs), Stipe Miocic (265lbs), and Alexander Volkanovski (145lbs) one spot up as they occupy No. 3 through No. 5, respectively.

Jan Blachowicz's promotion to the No. 8 position has pushed Max Holloway, Deiveson Figueiredo, Robert Whittaker, and Francis NGannou one spot down, but Justin Gaethje remains at his previous No. 11 position after the churning out process.