Alexander Volkanovski is the new pound-for-pound king after Kamaru Usman loses his welterweight champion title to Leon Edwards at UFC 278.
UFC 278 saw Usman fight to defend his welterweight champion belt against the underdog Edwards. Throughout the match, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was in the lead and looked to maintain his hold over the title. However, Edwards landed a head kick that changed everything. The decisive kick knocked out Usman, earning Edwards the title and the 170-pound belt.
This victory also knocked Usman down to three ranks in the pound-for-pound rankings, all the way to fourth place from first place. The current top three are Volkanovski, Charles Oliveira, and Isreal Adesanya. Edwards himself has not changed rankings, still sitting at sixth place.
Reactions to the rankings
Many fans were shocked about how far Usman fell down the rankings. While Volkanovski taking his place after the loss was likely, dropping down three ranks was out of the expectations of many. Some fans believe that Usman should remain in the first place even after his loss.
“Call me crazy but Usman should still be #1.
Meaning of p4p get changed so much but imo at the end of the day it’s skill level regardless of weight class. And Usman is still the same fighter he was when he was p4p king during his last fight and now, if not better.
Just my 2 cents,” UFC fan @erick_rar wrote on Twitter in response to the news.
Edwards was the underdog going into the match as Usman has maintained a dominant hold over his Welterweight title with a 19-fight streak. However, since their last meeting in 2015, Edwards managed to earn a ten-fight win streak while Usman rose to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings. While Edwards thought that Usman has been steadily improving, he believed that Usman doesn’t deserve the title of pound-for-pound king.
“All this pound-for-pound talk, I don’t see it. I don’t see it in his fights, I don’t see it in his techniques. He’s a very good fighter, he has improved. I’m not going to into this flight blind thinking he’s another wrestler, but I just don’t see it,” said Edwards before his title fight against Usman at UFC 278.
It isn’t only the men’s Pound-for-pound ranking that saw a change. The women’s rankings saw Kayla Harrison move up to eighth place after winning a playoff semifinal. Harrison currently holds a 15-0 record and will be going for her third PFL title in November.
Below are the UFC men’s pound-for-pound-for-pound rankings as of August 24.
1. Alexander Volkanovski | UFC Featherweight Champion | Record: 25-1
2. Charles Oliveira | UFC Middleweight Champion | Record: 33-8, 1 NC
3. Israel Adesanya | UFC Lightweight | Record: 23-1
4. Kamaru Usman | UFC Welterweight | Record: 20-2
5. Francis Ngannou | UFC Heavyweight Champion | Record: 17-3
6. Leon Edwards | UFC Welterweight champion | Record: 20-3, 1 NC
7. Jiri Prochazka | UFC Lightweight | Record: 29-3-1
8. Deiveson Figueiredo | UFC Lightweight | Record: 21-2-1
9. Alijamain Sterling | UFC Light Heavyweight Champion | Record: 21-3
9. Dustin Poirer | UFC Flyweight Champion | Record: 28-7