UFC Fight Night 152 is in the books, and what a great event it was. Just four of the 13 fights on the card went to the judges’ scorecards. As always, the UFC rankings were updated as a result of the fights. Below are some of the biggest movers in the rankings following the event.
UFC Rankings Update
Ian Heinisch
Ian Heinisch found himself under the brightest lights of his career at UFC Rochester, and he did not disappoint. In the card’s co-main event, “The Hurricane” took on the incredibly dangerous Antonio Carlos Junior. The fight ended up being very fun with plenty of grappling exchanges and enjoyable scrambles. Heinisch lost the first round, but rebounded strong and won the next two rounds to take the unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Un-ranked heading into the fight, Heinisch is now the number 11 in the UFC rankings. He mentioned Derek Brunson in his post fight interview. With Brunson being ranked number nine, this is a fight that definitely has the potential to happen in the near future.
Charles Oliveira
Charles Oliveira came into his fight with Nik Lentz on a four fight win streak, all of which came via submission. This time, it wasn’t a submission, but a second-round TKO victory for “Do Bronx.” The finish is no surprise, as 15 of his 16 wins in the UFC have come via finish, and his last fight that went the distance was almost five years ago. Following the TKO, Oliveira moved up to number 11 from number 15 in the rankings. He asked for a top five fighter in the division, thought that is unlikely. Islam Makhachev has called out Oliveira on Twitter, which is a fight that would make sense. Another fun and logical fight for Do Bronx could be with the number 12 lightweight Gregor Gillespie.
Aspen Ladd
Aspen Ladd welcomed Sijara Eubanks to the bantamweight division, and the two women put on a show. Ladd edged out a decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-28) in what ended up being the fight of the night. The fight marked the second time that Ladd has defeated Eubanks via decision in their careers. There seems to be a pretty clear next fight for Ladd. Undefeated at 8-0, Ladd should take on Kettlen Vieira, who is also undefeated at 10-0. Vieira is number three in the UFC rankings, while Ladd moved up from six to four following the win. With Amanda Nunes scheduled to face Holly Holm in July, the winner of Ladd-Vieira would surely be next in line for a title shot.
Non-Movers
Kevin Lee was unsuccessful in his welterweight debut, as he was submitted by Rafael dos Anjos in the fourth round. Dos Anjos did not move in the rankings, which is not surprising. Lee was not placed in the top 15 at 170, though he did drop to number nine in the lightweight rankings.
Vicente Luque defeated UFC newcomer Derrick Krantz via first round TKO. The win, unfortunately for Luque, did not move him up from his number 15 ranking. If Neil Magny wasn’t pulled from the fight, Luque definitely would have moved up with a win. Luque’s next fight will likely be against an opponent ranked ahead of him, which will present him with an opportunity to potentially crack the division’s top ten.
All rankings were found on the official UFC app
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