Written by Umar Nurmagomedov | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Merab Dvalishvili could find out soon just how heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Hot on the new bantamweight champion’s heels following his dominant win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 is Umar Nurmagomedov, an undefeated Dagestani nightmare who has all the makings of a future champion… perhaps near future.
But Nurmagomedov isn’t the only one shaking up the rankings. Natalia Silva just knocked off two-division threat Jessica Andrade. Caio Borralho has crashed into the upper tier of the middleweight ranks after beating Jared Cannonier. And Diego Lopes dispatched of Brian Ortega to charge up the featherweight ladder. Could one of these contenders beat Nurmagomedov to championship glory?
Host Alexander K. Lee is joined by fellow MMA Fighting rankings panelists Mike Heck and Jed Meshew as we do an impromptu power ranking of the fighters who could be next in line to top the charts. We also predict what the heavyweight and Pound-for-Pound rankings could look like with Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou set to fight in the coming months, plus plus we take a look back at the illustrious career of Demetrious Johnson.
Listen to the latest episode of the MMA Fighting Rankings Show below and don’t forget to subscribe to the MMA Fighting feed on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and all your other favorite podcast platforms for the latest episodes from the team.