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Conor McGregor is still a big winner in the Times’ MMA rankings

Conor McGregor
(David Becker / Getty Images)
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The Times’ MMA rankings for August, as compiled by Todd Martin:

Heavyweight

1. Stipe Miocic

2. Alistair Overeem

3. Fabricio Werdum

4. Cain Velasquez

5. Junior Dos Santos

6. Ben Rothwell

7. Vitaly Minakov

8. Francis Ngannou

9. Mark Hunt

10. Derrick Lewis

Junior Dos Santos was scheduled to fight Francis Ngannou in an anticipated heavyweight showdown, but the fight had to be scrapped after Dos Santos was notified of a potential drug policy violation. Dos Santos, a longtime critic of performance enhancing drugs, has stated he never knowingly took a banned substance.

Light Heavyweight

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1. Jon Jones

2. Daniel Cormier

3. Alexander Gustafsson

4. Ryan Bader

5. Phil Davis

6. Volkan Oezdemir

7. Glover Teixeira

8. Jimi Manuwa

9. Misha Cirkunov

10. King Mo Lawal

Jon Jones returned to the top of the light-heavyweight division with a knockout of Daniel Cormier at UFC 214. Unfortunately for Jones, that status may be short lived. Jones failed another drug test, this time one taken at the weigh-ins for the Cormier fight, and now faces a long potential from the sport as he waits for the results from his B sample. Volkan Oezdemir’s stunning rise continued with a quick knockout of Jimi Manuwa, his third straight big UFC win.

Middleweight

1. Michael Bisping

2. Robert Whittaker

3. Yoel Romero

4. Luke Rockhold

5. Gegard Mousasi

6. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

7. Chris Weidman

8. David Branch

9. Kelvin Gastelum

10. Krzysztof Jotko

Chris Weidman secured an immensely satisfying victory at home in Long Island, submitting Kelvin Gastelum for his first win since 2015. Weidman was impressive and soaked up the cheers from an ebullient crowd that adored their native son.

Welterweight

1. Tyron Woodley

2. Robbie Lawler

3. Stephen Thompson

4. Rory MacDonald

5. Demian Maia

6. Ben Askren

7. Neil Magny

8. Douglas Lima

9. Jorge Masvidal

10. Colby Covington

Tyron Woodley retained his UFC welterweight title over Demian Maia, although it was a stinker of a fight that set the UFC record for fewest strikes attempted. Robbie Lawler picked up a decision win over Donald Cerrone on the same card and could be the next opponent for Woodley.

Lightweight

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1. Conor McGregor

2. Khabib Nurmagomedov

3. Tony Ferguson

4. Justin Gaethje

5. Eddie Alvarez

6. Edson Barboza

7. Kevin Lee

8. Michael Chiesa

9. Beneil Dariush

10. Anthony Pettis

Conor McGregor’s boxing excursion went a lot better than many predicted. McGregor won a few rounds from undefeated defensive specialist Floyd Mayweather before succumbing to a 10th-round TKO. McGregor is likely to be an even bigger star when he returns to MMA. In McGregor’s absence, UFC has booked an interim lightweight title fight pitting Tony Ferguson against Kevin Lee.

Featherweight

1. Max Holloway

2. Jose Aldo

3. Frankie Edgar

4. Ricardo Lamas

5. Cub Swanson

6. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire

7. Daniel Straus

8. Doo Ho Choi

9. Chan Sung Jung

10. Darren Elkins

Ricardo Lamas picked up an impressive win over Jason Knight, repeatedly battering Knight with strikes before finally securing the stoppage late in the first round. Darren Elkins sneaks into the top 10 with a close split decision win over Dennis Bermudez, Elkin’s fifth straight win.

Bantamweight

1. Cody Garbrandt

2. Dominick Cruz

3. T.J. Dillashaw

4. Raphael Assuncao

5. Jimmie Rivera

6. Marlon Moraes

7. Bibiano Fernandes

8. John Lineker

9. Eduardo Dantas

10. Aljamain Sterling

Jimmie Rivera is moving into the title picture with his fifth straight UFC win, this time over the dangerous Thomas Almeida. Rivera hasn’t won in official competition since 2008 and has generally entertaining fights even though he isn’t much of a finisher (15 of his 21 wins have come via decision). Aljamain Sterling returns to the top 10 with a unanimous decision victory over former champion Renan Barao.

Women’s Bantamweight

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1. Amanda Nunes

2. Valentina Shevchenko

3. Julianna Pena

4. Holly Holm

5. Cat Zingano

6. Sara McMann

7. Raquel Pennington

8. Alexis Davis

9. Sarah Kaufman

10. Germaine de Randamie

Amanda Nunes’ scheduled fight with Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 213 fell through when Nunes pulled out late due to health issues. Now the two are scheduled to fight again at UFC 215 in an important fight for the division.

Flyweight

1. Demetrious Johnson

2. Joseph Benavidez

3. Henry Cejudo

4. Kyoji Horiguchi

5. Ray Borg

6. Jussier Formiga

7. Sergio Pettis

8. Wilson Reis

9. Brandon Moreno

10. John Moraga

Sergio Pettis picked up the biggest win of his young career when he defeated Brandon Moreno via unanimous decision in the main event of a UFC card in Mexico. Pettis has now won four straight and is emerging as a contender in the thin flyweight division.

Women’s Strawweight

1. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

2. Claudia Gadelha

3. Karolina Kowalkiewicz

4. Rose Namajunas

5. Jessica Andrade

6. Tecia Torres

7. Carla Esparza

8. Maryna Moroz

9. Jessica Aguilar

10. Cynthia Calvillo

The biggest women’s strawweight bout on the horizon comes September 23 in Japan when Claudia Gadelha takes on Jessica Andrade. Both women are looking to earn a rematch with champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

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