It might be an understatement to say the UFC has some questionable rankings. You would expect rankings to be questionable as they are subjective; however, in this column, I will point out rankings that I think are glaring mistakes. I will also analyze significant movement in the rankings that I agree with.
Editorial Commentary by Peter Parsons
Manon Fiorot had the biggest win of her career on Saturday night, defeating former title challenger Jennifer Maia by unanimous decision in an entertaining flyweight fight. The French fighter is now 4-0 in the UFC.
Manon Fiorot ranked No. 7 at women’s flyweight
After defeating Jennifer Maia, Manon Fiorot finds herself ranked No. 7 behind Maia who is now No. 6 in the UFC women’s flyweight division. Fiorot won a unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three judges scorecards, to remain undefeated in the UFC. It doesn’t make sense to me for Fiorot to be ranked behind Maia after beating her decisively this past Saturday.
It sometimes can make sense for a fighter to be ranked behind another fighter who they just beat. Maybe the fighter they just beat has a recent win over a fighter who beat them. In other words, Fighter A beat Fighter B, Fighter B beat Fighter C who beat Fighter A. Maybe the fighter was unranked and doesn’t have any other significant victories on their resume. Or maybe it was a “robbery” of a decision. Neither one of these scenarios is the case with Jennifer Maia and Manon Fiorot.
I feel like Fiorot should be ranked at least No. 6 and as high as No. 5 ahead of Alexa Grasso.
The current No. 5 Alexa Grasso also made a significant move up the rankings, moving up 4 spots from No. 9 with her win over previous No. 7 Joanne Wood on Saturday night. Grasso is now 3-0 since moving up to flyweight from strawweight.
Fiorot’s most significant win was against former title challenger Jennifer Maia. The Brazilian Maia is a higher ranked fighter than Joanne Wood, who Grasso had her most significant win against. Maia is the only flyweight fighter to win a round against champion Valentina Shevchenko.
Maybe there was more weight given to Grasso’s victory on Saturday night because the Mexican fighter’s victory over Wood was a higher profile fight since it was the co-main event, as opposed to Fiorot’s victory over Maia, which was on the prelims.
I would have Fiorot ahead of Grasso, but I don’t have an issue with Grasso being ranked ahead of Fiorot. I do, however, think it’s a glaring mistake to have Fiorot ranked behind Jennifer Maia after defeating her handily this past Saturday.
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Upcoming Notable UFC Women’s Flyweight Fights
April 16 – Wu Yanan vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
April 23 – Montana De La Rosa vs. (14) Maycee Barber
April 30 – Courtney Casey vs. Antonina Shevchenko
May 7 – Melissa Gatto vs. Tracy Cortez
May 14 – (9-SW) Amanda Ribas vs. (2) Katlyn Chookagian
May 14 – (9) Andrea Lee vs. (8) Viviane Araujo
Jun 11 – (4) Taila Santos vs. (C) Valentina Shevchenko
Jul 2 – (13) Casey O’Neill vs. (12) Jessica Eye
Jul 2 – (9-BW) Meisha Tate vs. (3) Lauren Murphy
My rankings would look different than any other writer or fan who follows the sport closely. This is to be expected, as rankings are subjective. Rankings should be based primarily on results and not perceived potential or popularity.
Some people think rankings do not matter. Rankings do matter. They matter when it comes to matchmaking. They matter when it comes to contract negotiations.
Let’s keep the rankings conversation going. Do you agree or disagree with the above Ranking Review? Express your thoughts in the comments below.
UFC Rankings Review: Manon Fiorot Ranked Behind Jennifer Maia After Defeating Her Decisively on Saturday
