New Faces Break Into UFC Rankings After Highlight-Reel Wins at UFC Houston

Another UFC Fight Night card is in the books, and the official UFC rankings have undergone a few notable changes following the promotion’s return to Houston.

Headlined by a middleweight bout that saw the division’s former titleholder Sean Strickland halt Anthony Hernandez’s eight-fight win streak, UFC Houston was a fairly decision-heavy affair before four out of six fights ended via stoppage during the night’s main card.

There weren’t a ton of ranked fighters in action at Houston’s Toyota Center on Saturday night, but a few of the card’s biggest winners have officially broken through into the official UFC rankings as of this week.

Sean Strickland Stays Put After Big Win At UFC Houston

Strickland remains the middleweight division’s #3-ranked contender after stopping Hernandez, who dropped two places down to #6 following his first loss since 2020.

The lone heavyweight contest at UFC Houston saw Serghei Spivac snap a two-fight skid when he took a unanimous decision over Ante Delija. Spivac moved one spot up to #6 and Delija fell one spot to #10, but some other movement in that division included Derrick Lewis moving up three spots to #8, despite the fact that “The Black Beast” suffered a stoppage-loss at UFC 324 last month.

Serghei Spivac (red gloves) fights Ante Delija (blue gloves) in a heavyweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Joselyene Edwards also submitted Nora Cornolle in the only other matchup between two ranked fighters at UFC Houston. Edwards has now stopped four-straight opponents and jumped three spots to #11 in the women’s bantamweight division, while Cornolle dropped one spot to #13.

Melquizael Costa & Uros Medic Break Into UFC Rankings

Longtime welterweight and featherweight staples Geoff Neal and Dan Ige were the other ranked fighters in action at UFC Houston, but both men have exited the Top 15 following their respective losses at the event.

Dan Ige (red gloves) fights Melquizael Costa (blue gloves) in a featherweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Coming into the night looking to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Patricio Pitbull at UFC 318, Ige was tasked with trying to end Melquizael Costa’s five-fight win streak. Instead, Costa extended his winning run to six fights and became the first man to stop Ige, and the Brazilian now sits at #13 in the UFC featherweight division.

Geoff Neal (red gloves) fights Uros Medic (blue gloves) in a welterweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Neal took on Uros Medic in the UFC Houston co-main event and became the latest victim of Medic’s 100% finishing rate when he was knocked out a little over a minute into the fight. Riding the momentum of three-straight first-round knockouts, “The Doctor” joins the welterweight rankings at #12.