Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

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Sean O'Malley delivered on his considerable potential — albeit in controversial fashion.

The Dana White's Contender Series alum took a major step toward title contention on Saturday, when he captured a contentious split-decision triumph against former bantamweight champ Petr Yan at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. While many observers believed Yan deserved the nod on the scorecards, O’Malley was undeniably impressive in the most difficult test of his career to date. “Sugar” has been tabbed as a star since appearing on the inaugural season of the Contender Series, and with a lofty debut in Sherdog’s 135-pound rankings, he is a lot closer to fulfilling that promise than he has been at any other point in his MMA career.

Elsewhere at UFC 280, Beneil Dariush extended his winning streak to eight with a hard-fought decision victory against Mateusz Gamrot. Considering he was on the brink of a title shot already, it was a dangerous fight for the Kings MMA representative to accept, but he did so with enthusiasm. He may have to do it again, because it looks like newly-crowned lightweight champ Islam Makhachev may very well make his first title defense against reigning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski in the near future.

Meanwhile, Belal Muhammad made a major statement at 170 pounds, as he overwhelmed the previously undefeated Sean Brady en route to a second-round TKO win. Muhammad’s unbeaten streak currently stands at nine, but like Dariush, he could be waiting if a belt is what he desires, as all signs point toward a Leon Edwards-Kamaru Usman trilogy in the near future.

In other action, Manon Fiorot continued her climb up the female flyweight rankings by outpointing an overweight Katlyn Chookagian; Nikita Krylov made a move in the light heavyweight poll thanks to a victory over former No. 1 contender Volkan Oezdemir and Karol Rosa stays relevant in the women’s bantamweight division after besting Lina Lansberg via majority decision.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.