UFC Rankings Update: Khamzat Chimaev breaks into middleweight top 10, Kamaru Usman retains spot, and new pound-for-pound No. 2 revealed

Khamzat Chimaev has entered the top 10 of the UFC middleweight rankings, courtesy of his victory over Kamaru Usman. Chimaev returned to the middleweight division in his most recent octagon appearance.

'Borz' defeated former UFC welterweight champion Usman via majority decision in their closely-contested middleweight bout at the UFC 294 event on October 21, 2023. The win has earned Khamzat Chimaev the No. 9 spot in the UFC middleweight rankings, whereas Andre Muniz has been ousted from the middleweight top 15 after Chimaev's inclusion.

As reported by veteran MMA journalist John Morgan, despite the loss against Chimaev, Usman retained the No. 1 position in the UFC welterweight rankings. With 'Borz' moving up to the middleweight division, Belal Muhammad has risen to the No. 2 rank at welterweight, while Rinat Fakhretdinov has broken into the welterweight top 15 at No. 15.

Elsewhere on the UFC 294 fight card, Muhammad Mokaev beat Tim Elliott via third-round submission. The win resulted in Mokaev moving up from No. 11 to No. 10 in the UFC bantamweight rankings, exchanging places with Elliott, who's now ranked No. 11.

Furthermore, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev bagged a first-round KO win against UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in their lightweight title bout at UFC 294. The win has earned Makhachev the No. 2 spot in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings, while Volkanovski has dropped to No. 3 on the list.

Presently, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is ranked No. 1 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings, and UFC women's flyweight champion Alexa Grasso holds the No. 1 position in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.

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Sean Strickland takes a jibe at Khamzat Chimaev over performance against Kamaru Usman

Following Khamzat Chimaev's hard-fought win over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294, UFC CEO Dana White suggested that Chimaev would be given the next title shot against UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland. Meanwhile, Strickland wasn't impressed by Chimaev's performance.

Sean Strickland was dominantly defeated by Kamaru Usman via unanimous decision in a welterweight bout in April 2017. Nevertheless, he's now seemingly downplayed Chimaev's win over Usman.

During an Extra Rounds segment on UFC Fight Pass, Strickland alluded to the fact that UFC 294 marked Usman's first middleweight bout and that the latter took the fight on just 10 days' notice.

Moreover, Sean Strickland opined that despite the odds being stacked in Khamzat Chimaev's favor at UFC 294, he struggled to beat Kamaru Usman. Claiming that 'Borz' hasn't earned a title shot, 'Tarzan' agreed to fight him regardless because the Chechnya-born fighter is popular, and fighting him would be financially lucrative.

Strickland said:

"Give it to him. He sells a lot of fights. I'll go f*****g fight the man for five rounds. But no, he has not earned it. He doesn't f*****g deserve it. Getting a decision with a welterweight off a couch is not f*****g earning it."

Check out Strickland's comments below (0:02):