UFC Fan Favorite Nears Improbable Title Fight With Latest UFC Rankings Update

The first UFC Fight Night event of 2026 produced several notable changes in the promotion’s official rankings.

Following back-to-back numbered events that officially kicked off the UFC’s new deal with Paramount, the world’s leading MMA organization returned home to the recently-renamed Meta APEX last Saturday for UFC Vegas 113.

The night’s main event saw Mario Bautista rebound from having a lengthy win streak snapped when he handed Vinicius Oliveira his first UFC loss via second-round rear naked choke, and that was one of a few results on the card with major implications for the official UFC rankings.

Mario Bautista & Cong Wang Move Up After UFC Vegas 113

Though it wasn’t a massive bump, Bautista did move up one spot and replaced former title challenger Marlon “Chito” Vera at #8 in the UFC bantamweight rankings following his win.

Mario Bautista (red gloves) fights Patchy Mix (blue gloves) during UFC 316 at Prudential Center. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Oliveira, who kicked off his UFC career with four-straight victories after earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023, fell one spot to #12. Payton Talbott also moved up one place and swapped spots with Oliveira, although Talbott hasn’t fought since he sent future UFC Hall of Famer Henry Cejudo into retirement at UFC 323.

Wang Cong (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Ariane Da Silva (red gloves) during UFC 316 at Prudential Center. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Another UFC Vegas 113 fighter that saw their stock rise slightly was Cong Wang, who moved up one spot to #11 in the women’s flyweight rankings after defeating Eduarda Moura via unanimous decision.

Kyoji Horiguchi Moves Into Title Contention, Dustin Jacoby Joins UFC Rankings

Perhaps the biggest winner last weekend was former flyweight title challenger Kyoji Horiguchi, who famously rejoined the UFC nearly ten years after his first run with the promotion and submitted Tagir Ulanbekov at UFC Qatar last year.

Demetrious Johnson and Kyoji Horiguchi pose during weigh-ins for UFC 186 at Metropolis. | Jean-Yves Ahern-Imagn Images

The win over Ulanbekov vaulted Horiguchi right back into the flyweight Top 15, and he’s now moved up three spots to #5 after defeating Amir Albazi in the UFC Vegas 113 co-main event. Albazi, two-time titleholder Brandon Moreno, and Asu Almabayev all dropped one spot each following a major jump for Horiguchi that has the 35-year-old on the cusp of an improbable second UFC title shot.

Dustin Jacoby (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Vitor Petrino (red gloves) at Amalie Arena. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Two new faces also debuted in the rankings following last weekend’s UFC card. Dustin Jacoby now sits as the promotion’s #14-ranked light heavyweight contender after he stopped Julius Walker with strikes in the second round of their main card opener, and Rizvan Kuniev skyrocketed to #6 in the heavyweight division after defeating Jailton Almeida, who fell two places to #8.

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