While both the UFC and Bellator featured headliners that fell a little short in the entertainment department this past weekend, both night’s big winners benefitted from the result.
This past Friday, it was Michael Page (20-1 MMA, 16-1 BMMA), who scored a decision win over the only man to ever beat him, Douglas Lima (32-10 MMA, 14-6 BMMA), in the featured bout of Bellator 267 in London.
While the status of “MVP” as an elite fighter has long been a point of contention, it’s hard to deny the impressive career record, especially with a signature win over Lima, and Page moves up to No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings. That position leaves him one slot ahead of Lima, who takes a small slide.
On Saturday, it was light heavyweight Thiago “Marreta” Santos (22-9 MMA, 14-8 UFC) who picked up a much-needed win over Johnny Walker (18-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in a five-round headliner at UFC Fight Night 193 in Las Vegas. While it was a contest that most pundits didn’t expect to go 25 minutes, Santos did have his hand raised, snapping a three-fight losing streak for the Brazilian slugger.
With the victory, Santos climbs up to No. 11 at 205 pounds.
There were a handful of other movements across other divisions, as well. Take a look at the changes across the full list using the dropdown menu above.
https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/rankings/
