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Rankings Shakeup: Mackenzie Dern undisputed No. 1 with Zhang Weili exit, blue-chip contender closing in

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2 months ago

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Rankings Shakeup: Mackenzie Dern undisputed No. 1 with Zhang Weili exit, blue-chip contender closing in

And you know what? She's right.

It's August 2026. Zhang Weili hasn't fought at 115 pounds since February 2025. 18 months. And, as far as we know, she doesn't have a booking on the horizon.

By the MMA Fighting Rankings Committee by-laws, it's official: Due to inactivity, Zhang must be removed from the divisional rankings. Rules rule.

In actuality, the timing couldn't work out better because Dern just recorded her first successful title defense with a convincing decision win over Gillian Robertson in this past Saturday's UFC 330 co-main event. No, Dern didn't beat Zhang to win the title, instead capturing it by beating Virna Jandiroba after Zhang moved up to flyweight to chase Valentina Shevchenko, but she is now a reigning and defending champion and Zhang is nowhere to be seen.

Our own Jed Meshew already had Dern ranked above Zhang, but with Zhang ineligible to receive votes at strawweight, the panel has no choice but to follow Jed's lead and crown Dern as the unanimous No. 1 fighter in her division. Look, we'd all love to see Zhang—still No. 2 in the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings—come back and give Dern a chance to properly take the torch. Until that happens, Dern has earned her spot.

Even if Zhang doesn't come back, there are several intriguing challengers in line to test Dern. There's Tatiana Suarez, who previously fought for the title, and then there are up-and-comers Fatima Kline and Alexia Thainara, both of whom make big jumps with their recent wins.

Kline is 10-1 with her lone loss coming to Jasmine Jasudavicius in a short-notice contest at 125 pounds. In her natural weight class, Kline has never lost, and she's coming off of two impressive wins over Tabatha Ricci and Angela Hill that have her up eight spots on the charts since our June update.

Thainara—who moves from No. 12 to No. 7—is on a 13-fight win streak since her last loss in 2019, a stretch of success that includes a 4-0 UFC mark. Either her or Kline could be next for Dern if the Zhang matchup isn't meant to be.

Check out the latest MMA Fighting strawweight rankings below.

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 2 Mackenzie Dern def. No. 6 Gillian Robertson, No. 14 Fatima Kline def. No. 10 Tabatha Ricci, No. 12 Alexia Thainara def. No. 7 Amanda Lemos

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Yan Xiaonan vs. No. 13 Denise Gomes (UFC Shanghai, Aug. 29)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Talita Alencar (1), Piera Rodriguez (1)

Falling out of the rankings: No. 1 Zhang Weili (inactivity at 115 pounds)

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MMA

10 UFC wins, zero finishes: Movsar Evloev defends his fighting style

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6 hours ago

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October 20, 2026

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10 UFC wins, zero finishes: Movsar Evloev defends his fighting style
Movsar
Evloev rejects the notion that fans only want bloody
fights.

Evloev is scheduled to challenge Alexander
Volkanovski for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The Russian
challenger has won all 10 of his UFC bouts by decision but believes
fans appreciate his fighting style.

Movsar Evloev argues wrestling can entertain UFC fans ahead of
Volkanovski title fight

The recent departures of Michael
Page and Farid
Basharat have fueled debate about whether winning is enough to
secure a new UFC contract. Neither fighter was re-signed despite a
winning streak, though a lack of finishes has not been established
as the reason for either departure.

Evloev believes finishes are not the only measure of a fighter's
value. He says fans also appreciate tactics, skill and
wrestling.

“I have zero finishes in UFC, but I'm still in the UFC and I'm
fighting for the title,†Evloev told MMA Fighting. “That means only
finishes are not important. To show a good fight is also important.
If you have no finish, you can still show a good fight, an exciting
fight; you can show the beauty of wrestling. There are not just
fans of MMA who just wait for blood. There are so many good fans
who know MMA, and they understand, and maybe because of them I'm
still in the UFC.â€

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MMA

Morning Report | Chris Weidman, Dustin Poirier recall opponents’ dramatic change from weigh-in to fight night: ‘Who the f*ck is this guy?’

Published

17 hours ago

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October 20, 2026

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Morning Report | Chris Weidman, Dustin Poirier recall opponents’ dramatic change from weigh-in to fight night: ‘Who the f*ck is this guy?’

What’s up best community in sports? Hope you’re having a great start to the week.

Tomorrow (later than usual), we’re going LIVE with a special Between the Links episode. I’ll be in Las Vegas, and joining me will be the great José Youngs to answer your questions about UFC 333, the two title fights, RAF 14, and much more.

Here’s your chance to get your questions in, early and often. Show will go live around 6-6:30-ish p.m. ET, depending on my fun day of travel. Fire away, and we’ll see you tomorrow.

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MMA

Alexander Volkanovski predicts wild finish of 20-0 Movsar Evloev

Published

18 hours ago

on

October 20, 2026

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Alexander Volkanovski predicts 'wild' finish of 20-0 Movsar Evloev
Alexander
Volkanovski is brimming with confidence ahead of his next title
defense.

Volkanovski (28-4) is scheduled to defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title against
Movsar
Evloev (20-0) at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The Australian
champion believes he can deliver a career-best performance against
the undefeated Russian.

Alexander Volkanovski doubts Movsar Evloev can outgrapple him
for 25 minutes at UFC 333

Evloev has won all 10 of his UFC bouts by decision, but Volkanovski
doubts the challenger can outgrapple him for five rounds. “The
Great†believes Evloev would need to catch him with a decisive
strike to win.

“Trying to outgrapple me for 25 minutes, I can't see it,â€
Volkanovski told MMA Junkie. “I believe that the only chance that
any of these guys have is for them to catch me… If he thinks he can
beat me by decision or he thinks he can outgrapple me, I'm sure
he's gonna try, we'll see. I'm just very confident in my skills and
the fighter I still am… I think I can do it in pretty wild fashion.
I believe I can get a finish. I believe I can do it inside five… A
lot of people are going to go say after this fight, ‘Is that the
best Volk we’ve ever seen?'â€

Volkanovski first won the title against Max
Holloway in 2019 and defended it five times before losing to
Ilia
Topuria in 2024. He reclaimed the vacant championship against
Diego
Lopes last year after Topuria moved up to lightweight, then
defended it in their rematch in January.

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