For a fighter like Sean Strickland, a dominant win over Anthony Hernandez ment, he should have jumped the rankings in the middleweight division. But his #3 position in the UFC’s latest rankings raised questions about the logic behind the ranking. For Strickland that feels upsetting, as he already holds a victory against Nassourdine Imavov, who is sitting at No. 2.

Elsewhere, the flyweight division finds itself in flux with Lone’er Kavanagh exiting the rankings just days before his main event clash with Brandon Moreno on February 28 in Mexico. He had just entered top 15 on February 4, 2026. While his entry in top 15 was questionable given his loss to Charles Johnson in August 2025, his quick removal from the ranking would be upsetting. Meanwhile, Joseph Morales moves into the No. 15 slot, quietly benefiting from the vacancy.

Heavyweight turbulence and new faces steal the spotlight in the UFC rankings

Apart from the stillness surrounding Sean Strickland’s ranking, the big-boy division saw a little turbulence in the rankings with Vitor Petroni entering the rankings at No. 15, following Jailton Almeida’s release from the UFC. Sergei Spivac climbed to No. 6 in the heavyweight division, with Ante Delija, whom Spivac defeated, dropping to No. 10. Seeing eruptions in the heavyweight division roster only gives fans the hope that something is cooking at last!

Meanwhile, the women’s bantamweight division, not typically known for major shake-ups, also saw an interesting shift with Joselyn Edwards moving up to No. 11 following her victory against Nora Cornelle at UFC Houston.

Another entry in the featherweight division turning heads is Melquizael Costa, who beat the veteran fighter Dan Ige via knockout. Costa made a bold callout post his victory when he called out Diego Lopes while adding a sharp aside that he would beat Jean Silva before facing Lopes.

And, the home of the reigning Dagestani fighter has a new entry, Uros Medic, who sits at No. 12 in welterweight after defeating Geoff Neal. Across divisions, the latest rankings once again underline a peculiar UFC constant: the landscape is always shifting, just never in the ways fans neatly predict.

Sean Strickland’s ranking stalls, but history doesn’t

Sean Strickland‘s place in the rankings may have remained untouched, but the Houston bout added another statistical monument to his resume. ‘Tarzan’ scored an amazing TKO victory with 12 minutes inside the octagon.  Strickland unloaded with relentless volume, landing a staggering 110 significant strikes, according to the UFC’s official stats platform. The result he delivered made him a standout in UFC history. The American is now only the second fighter in UFC history to record 100 or more significant strikes in ten separate fights, a milestone noted by MMA Junkie.

Max Holloway, who held the UFC featherweight championship and currently holds the BMF championship title, became the second athlete to reach this milestone. Holloway reached the 100 significant strike achievement 17 times during his professional career, which explains why he holds the record for most significant strikes with 3,655 in UFC history.

Strickland records total of 2,307 significant strikes which is second-highest in the history of the promotion. The all-time top five includes Angela Hill, King Green, and Dustin Poirier, which places Strickland among fighters who demonstrate both extreme endurance and continuous fighting activity.