MMA rankings report: Sorting through an eventful UFC 249

The UFC returned to action Saturday. And while the ramifications of running a show during COVID-19 won’t be fully known for awhile, we do know that UFC 249 was a heck of a night of great fights, no matter how you slice it.

Justin Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) scored a fifth-round stoppage of a game Tony Ferguson (25-4 MMA, 15-2 UFC) in the evening’s main event in Jacksonville, as he claimed an interim lightweight title and presumably set up a unification bout with undefeated champ Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) later this year.

The result pushed Gaethje up to No. 2 on our lightweight list and also saw “The Highlight” debut at No. 11 on our pound-for-pound list.

But there’s so much more to ponder on a night with ramifications for several divisions. The return of fights also means the return of the MMA rankings report, so let John Morgan and “Gorgeous” George take you through all the updates to the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.