UFC Rankings Update: Cory Sandhagen and Maycee Barber climb up after San Antonio card

The UFC has updated its official fighter rankings after last weekend's UFC Fight Night event in San Antonio.

The most notable change in the bantamweight division came with Cory Sandhagen climbing two spots to the No.3 ranking while Marlon Vera slid down two places to the No.5 spot.

Sandhagen and Vera fought in the headliner of the San Antonio event, with 'The Sandman' putting on a clinic against the Ecuadorian to win a split decision. While two judges scored the fight in favor of Sandhagen with scores of 49-46 and 50-45, one judge controversially turned in a baffling 48-47 Vera scorecard.

Elsewhere, Maycee Barber climbed three spots up the women's flyweight ranks to occupy the No.10 ranking. Barber won a close split decision against Andrea Lee last Saturday. Giving way to Barber were Viviane Araujo, Andrea Lee, and Casey O'Neill, who now occupy the No.11, No.12, and No.13 ranks, respectively.

Maycee Barber's win wasn't without controversy either, with many within the MMA community criticizing referee Dan Miragliotta for his controversial 30-27 scorecard in favor of Barber.

In the women's strawweight division, Tabitha Ricci went up to the No.14 spot, trading places with Luana Pinheiro, who slid down to the No.15 rank.

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UFC rankings update: Cory Sandhagen reacts to surprising split-decision scorecard

Cory Sandhagen put on a masterclass against Marlon Vera at last Saturday's UFC event. The 30-year-old Colorado native sensationally outstruck Vera by a margin of 128-58 in significant strikes and 187-73 in total strikes while also having more than seven minutes of control time off three completed takedowns.

While many considered it one of 'The Sandman's best performances in the octagon, one judge thought otherwise.

In the aftermath of the bout, it was revealed that veteran judges Chris Lee and Sal D’Amato scored the fight in favor of Sandhagen with 49-46 and 50-45 scorecards, respectively. However, first-time UFC card judge Joel Ojeda turned in the baffling 48-47 Vera scorecard.

In the post-fight interview, Sandhagen was asked to weigh in on the judge's scorecard. He replied:

"I thought that I was winning most of those rounds... Definitely knew that I had the first two. So yeah, [the split decision] was confusing, but that’s the sport of MMA. Until the rules get fixed, it’s just going to keep happening. If they would’ve scored one of those first two [rounds] for him, that would’ve been a real riot.”

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