USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, March 1: Mackhachev, Mousasi climb after dominant wins

Two of the most impressive fighters in the sport climb in their respective divisional rankings following strong wins.

At Bellator 275, middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi (49-7-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) made quick work of previously undefeated Austin Vanderford (11-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) in the main event. In just 85 seconds, the fight was over after Mousasi overwhelmed his opponent with sharp striking, leading to the fast TKO finish to defend his title. With his strong performance, he moved up to the No. 4 spot in the middleweight division, passing UFC’s Marvin Vettori.

Although he needed a replacement opponent on short notice once Beneil Dariush suffered an injury, Islam Makhachev (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) still took care of business in dominant fashion against Bobby Green (29-13-1 MMA, 10-8-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 202. Although the victory wasn’t as fast as Mousasi’s, it was just as dominant, with Makhachev controlling virtually every moment of the fight from the start to the finish at 3:23 of the first round – a performance worthy of a jump up to the No. 4 position.

After UFC Fight Night 202 and Bellator 275, take a look at movement in the middleweight division, as well as the rest of the full rankings ahead of UFC 272 using the dropdown menu above.