Sometimes, putting together the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings is like trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle. Other times, though, the moves are obvious.
Such was the case in the men’s bantamweight division after this past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 37.
Consensus seemed to be that Aljamain Sterling was next in line to fight champion Petr Yan, but there was one remaining question: Whether Marlon Moraes, who had a memorable knockout of Sterling, could sneak into the spot.
But Moraes was finished by Cory Sandhagen in the main event, and everything neatly fell into line.
Sterling is No. 2 in the new edition of the rankings, his top contender spot secure. Sandhagen (13-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who was finished by Sterling when they fought at UFC 250, goes into the No. 3 spot. Moraes drops to No. 4 after losing to Sandhagen.
UFC on ESPN+ 37 had plenty of fights with implications in the rankings, so to see where your favorite — or least favorite — fighter places this week, go to the drop-down menu above and select a division.
