UFC Fight Night 184 was headlined by a pair of definitive statements.
Former Bellator light heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov finished veteran Alistair Overeem in the main event. In the bantamweight co-feature, Cory Sandhagen leveled former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar with a vicious flying knee knockout.
Both of them want title shots next. So where do they go from here?
Volkov, for his part, still has a few contenders ahead of him at heavyweight before he reaches champion Stipe Miocic. But he does move up to No. 6 in current edition of the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, and no doubt will have a big name opponent next time he steps into the cage.
The bad news for Sandhagen? Well, he went into the Edgar fight ranked No. 3 at 135 pounds. Ahead of him are the champion, Petr Yan, and Aljamain Sterling, who handed Sandhagen his only UFC loss. So he’ll stay at No. 3.
The good news? With Yan fighting Sterling next month, he’s well-positioned to face the winner, so he’s the likelier of the two to get what he wants.
Those weren’t the only fights of note last Saturday night, so to catch up on where your favorite fighters rank in the new USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, click on the drop-down menu above.
