When you earn the biggest win of your career, big things tend to follow. And that’s the case with Gilbert Burns.
Burns put on an impressive performance this past Saturday in the UFC on ESPN 9 headliner as he dominated former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley for five rounds to earn a unanimous decision. The victory made it six in a row for Burns (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC), while Woodley (19-5-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) dropped his second consecutive fight for the first losing streak of his career.
As expected, both men went in opposite directions in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings. Burns, who entered the fight No. 12, climbed all the way to No. 5 with the victory. As for Woodley, he dropped out of the top 5 for the first time in five years, to No. 6, after his second straight lackluster performance in defeat.
Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal and Bellator champion Douglas Lima all benefited from the shakeup near the top.
There was more movement coming out of UFC on ESPN 9 and surely more to come with UFC 250 on Saturday. You can take a look at the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings across all divisions in the dropdowns above.
Ranking Criteria
The rankings take into account a fighter’s wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.
Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they’ve been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.
Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they’re not inactive for more than 24 months.
To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter’s primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, non-titleholders can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won’t be ranked in a new weight class until they’ve had their first fight at that weight.
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