On Tuesday, October 4, the Bellator MMA rankings were updated. This comes following the Bellator 286 event, which was headlined by Patricio Pitbull, who earned a five-round unanimous decision victory against Adam Borics.
Pitbull remained atop the Bellator pound-for-pound rankings after the title defense, while Borics overtook the lightweight-bound AJ McKee (19-1) for the No. 2 slot in the featherweight rankings.
Bellator MMA Rankings Updated
In the co-main event, McKee (19-1) proved successful in his jump up to the lightweight division, putting on a fight for the ages against the ever-exciting Spike Carlyle (14-4) in an all-out war in the event’s co-main event. With the win, McKee debuted at No. 8 in the lightweight rankings, forcing Peter Queally down to No. 9.
Elsewhere on the memorable Bellator 286 main card, Canadian featherweight Jeremy Kennedy (18-3) defeated Aaron Pico (10-4) due to a grisly shoulder injury. Kennedy becomes Canada’s highest-ranked Bellator athlete with the victory, ascending to No. 5 in the talent-stacked featherweight division. The loss dropped Pico one spot to No. 4 in the division’s upper echelon.
Additionally, one-time Bellator bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta (26-4) returned to the win column in his matchup with fellow former Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix competitor Enrique Barzola (18-7), outpointing the Peruvian in a high-octane scrap. Archuleta took sole possession of the division’s No. 3 spot with the win, bumping Magomed Magomedov (19-2) to No. 4. Barzola retained his No. 9 ranking despite the loss.
Hawaii’s Sumiko Inaba (5-0) continued her remarkable start to her professional MMA career, notching her fifth straight victory and maintaining her undefeated record with a unanimous decision victory over Belgium’s Nadine Mandiau (2-6). The victory saw Inaba vault to No. 8 in her rankings debut at flyweight.
Check out the full Bellator MMA rankings below.
