SportsRatings: Boxing/MMA

#5 Dillian Whyte vs. #6 Alexander Povetkin live round-by-round scoring

Note: We'll see how this goes, watching DAZN with very spotty internet today.

Dillian Whyte (27-1) risks his near-perpetual upcoming title shot by taking on the still-dangerous Alex Povetkin (35-2-1) in Brentwood, UK today.

This fight is a throwback to the 1970s when top 10 heavyweights clashed seemingly all the time.

Whyte is #5 and Povetkin #6 in our current top 100:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	July Rank	Aug Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	July results; •August schedule
1	1	2	1	1	TYSON FURY	53.78	18-0-1
2	4	1	2	2	ANTHONY JOSHUA	45.94	16-1-0
5	3	3	3	3	DEONTAY WILDER	29.00	18-1-1
25	2	4	4	4	ANDY RUIZ JR	27.32	13-2-0	--last rated win -13 months.
18	5	5	5	5	DILLIAN WHYTE	24.92	13-1-0	•8/22 vs. #6 ALEX POVETKIN
3	6	6	6	6	ALEX POVETKIN	22.52	29-2-1	•8/22 vs. #5 DILLIAN WHYTE

A win by Whyte would move him past Andy Ruiz and even Deontay Wilder and into the #3 position behind the only man to beat him, #2 Anthony Joshua.

A win for Povetkin means he moves back into the top 5 where he's spent almost all of the last 10 years. He'd move up to #4.

The consequences for Whyte include falling to around #10 in our rankings, but more importantly it puts his long-awaited title shot in doubt. For Povetkin, he'd fall outside the top 10 to around #12, and it probably means his career as a serious contender would be over; he turns 41 next week.

The fight is about to start.

• Round 1: Careful start from both fighters. Whyte's reach advantage is clear with his jab, and he looks a lot bigger. Body shots from Povetkin. 1-2 from Whyte and return from Povetkin but both cover up pretty well. Almost a head-clash and tie-up near the end. Body shot at end from Whyte. Not enough there to decide a fight on so as I often do I give round one a draw; I suspect judging might tip to Whyte though. 10-10
• Round 2: Good body counter from Whyte. Another one to the gut. Povetkin with a good hook on exchange. Fairly tactical so far while both stand in front of each other. Povetkin trying to establish jab but range isn't there. Povetkin whiffs on hook, and over the top, then connects and tries to get out before the counter. Another close round, I was ready to go with Whyte but couldn't convince myself that the announcers aren't being biased. Another punt. 20-20
• Round 3: Whyte return shot causes Povetkin to stumble. He comes back with combo. Good infighting. Whyte very cool, letting Povetkin come to him and countering well to the body. Whyte is in better range for jabs, and defends well when Povetkin comes inside. More body shots, maybe a bit low from Whyte but he takes the round. 10-9 Whyte 30-29.
• Round 4: Huge return shot from Whyte, Povetkin shrugs it off and continues but falls after another one, takes the 8 count. Povetkin looked tired but determined after 1 minute in. His body shot is a bit low mabye but no complaints from Whyte. Already a freebie round for Whyte but Povetkin soldiers on, maybe hoping for a later round 2nd wind that he has had throughout his career. A counter uppercut sends Povetkin to the floor for a 2nd time. Now it's a hard road for Povetkin. Whyte 10-7; 40-36.
• Round 5: Povetkin counter left uppercut KNOCKS DILLIAN WHYTE COMPLETELY OUT.

Holy shit. That was insane. Povetkin's eulogy was being written by all observers, and he comes back with this. Whyte is OUT.

I was just writing that Povetkin was still moving well and trying to stay busy despite the huge hole he was digging for himself, and that his problem was that he was leaving himself open. Well, that was true, he was leaving himself open, but that's how you find those perfect shots.

High risk, high reward.

Unbelievable KO win for Alexander Povetkin, and he will be back in our top 5 come September 1st. Dillian Whyte unfortunately won't get his title shot after waiting 3 years. He'll stay in the top ten but he'll need to claw his way back up in the pecking order.

 

Ryan Bader vs. Vadim Nemkov: For the Light Heavyweight title?

With Jon Jones dramatically abdicating his UFC Light Heavyweight belt, where does that leave the division? And how do Ryan Bader and Vadim Nemkov, fighting tonight in Bellator 244, figure into it?

Our take reflects the rules of our Rating System: Bader vs. Nemkov is potentially a title fight, or at least an interim title fight, but not at this moment.

Here's our current top 5 in the Light Heavyweight division:

July Rank	Aug Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	July results; •August schedule
1	1	Jon Jones	LH	82.44	20-1-0	UFC
2	2	Ryan Bader	LH	50.09	21-5-0	Bell	•8/21 vs. #4 Vadim Nemkov
3	3	Jan Blachowicz	LH	36.25	20-6-0	UFC
4	4	Vadim Nemkov	LH	29.73	6-2-0	Bell	•8/21 vs. #2 Ryan Bader
5	5	Phil Davis	LH	27.07	16-5-0	Bell

Jones is #1 of course, but Bader is #2, and far ahead of #3 Jan Blachowicz, the highest-ranked contender in the UFC. Nemkov is at #4 followed by Phil Davis, also currently in Bellator. That gives Bellator 3 of the top 5, thought that's pretty much it for the promotion at 205. There's quality there, but not much depth.

With Jones gone the winner of tonight's bout will be the highest-ranked Light Heavyweight. The thing is, Jones isn't leaving our Light Heavyweight rankings any time soon.

We don't remove fighters when they "retire" or give up a belt. We'd only remove Jones when he fights in a different weight class. So Bader or Nemkov won't be our Light Heavyweight title holder until Bones makes his long-expected move to Heavyweight—and only when he actually fights. We don't move a champion until the actual bout occurs, unlike Bader, who we moved in the month prior to his return to Light Heavyweight.

So tonight's fight won't be for the title right away, but the winner might be the title holder at some point this year. If not, then the winner will receive the Interim belt in February if Jones doesn't fight by then. That would mean Jon Jones has been inactive for a year and no longer holds the belt despite being ranked #1; the #2 fighter would be the interim champ.

In other words, the winner between Bader and Nemkov will be either the champion or interim champion on February 8, 2021, unless Jon Jones fights again at Light Heavyweight before that time.

In the UFC, #3 Jan Blachowicz is pitted again Dominick Reyes for the UFC belt, but neither would have the points that tonight's winner will. Reyes is ranked only #17 in our list, and victory would move him up to #3, behind Jones and the Bader-Nemkov winner. Blachowicz holds his #3 position with a win.

Of course, if Jones decides to remain at Light Heavyweight and fight again, he would remain champ. Unless he loses, and in that case the guy who beat him would be the champion. Jones has way too many points for any Bellator fighter to surpass him, so only Jones' inactivity or his move to another weight class leaves an opening. 

Wlad Klitschko Drops Out of Top 100 After 23 Years, 5 Months

There isn't much of interest in this months Top 100 Heavyweight Boxing Rankings. Tyson Fury is still #1, since no one in the top 10 competed. #11 Efe Ajagba got a win, Frank Sanchez moved up to #14 and the big news was probably Robert Helenius' upset over #13 Adam Kownacki, which catapulted Helenius from #112 to #17.

And with every scheduled fight in April pushed back several months due to the Coronavirus, there's not much to look ahead to.

So the most significant things about this month's Top 100 is not what's in it; it's what is NOT in it.

Specifically, WHO is not in it:

Dropped out of SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 100 for April, 2020:

#92 WLAD KLITSCHKO    (42-5-0)   --last rated win -59 months. 
#98 ROBERT ALFONSO     (2-1-1)   L TKO 1 #162 CARLOS NEGRON    
#99 JOEY DAWEJKO       (3-5-2)   L UD  10 #17 FRANK SANCHEZ 

We're not talking about Robert Alfonso, who lost to Carlos Negron and dropped out. Nor Joey Dawejko, who fell from #99 after losing to Sanchez.

No, we're talking about Wladimir Klitschko, who is one month shy of 5 straight years without a win, and finally drops out of our Top 100 after spending more than two decades here.

Klitschko debuted at #64 in our December 1996 rankings after beating journeyman Exum Speight in a 2nd round KO. Speight was no world-beater; in fact, it was his second loss in the month of November. It was Wlad's 2nd pro fight after winning Olympic gold in 1996.

As everyone knows, Wlad had a rollercoaster early career and it's reflected in our rankings. He rose to #26 at 19-0 (5-0 in significant fights) before a stunning TKO upset to #106 Ross Purity dropped him to #83. 

From there, though, Wlad rattled off 16 straight wins, including some major ones: he beat Monte Barrett to enter our Top 10 for the first time in July of 2000, and in October of the same year he beat Chris Byrd and made the top 5. He beat Jameel McCline, then ranked #5, and peaked at #3 before he suffered another upset TKO loss, this time to #97 Corrie Sanders in March of 2003.

That loss only dropped Wlad to #4—he was 35-2 with 18 significant wins, and bounced back with two wins before disaster struck YET AGAIN. Wlad lost to Lamon Brewster, and Wlad was knocked out of the top 10. Few figured he would rebound after his third setback. Almost no one thought he'd become one of the most dominant heavyweight champions of all-time.

But that's what happened. Klitschko needed just one win to get back in the top 10. Then came what might have been the pivotal fight of his career when he faced #5 Sam Peter, survived three knockdowns and won clearly on points. Once again in the top 5, by April of 2006 he trailed only #1 Lennox Lewis (retired), #2 Chris Byrd, and #3 Nicolay Valuev. He faced interim champion Byrd on the 21st and beat him in a 7th round TKO, becoming interim SportsRatings Heavyweight champion.

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May 2006	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	April 2006 results
1	1	1	1	1	LENNOX LEWIS	42.69	33-2-1	--last rated win -34 months.
4	4	4	4	2	WLAD KLITSCHKO	39.97	24-3-0	KO 7 #2 CHRIS BYRD  [interim HW Champion]
3	3	3	3	3	NICOLAY VALUEV	31.80	14-0-0
5	5	5	6	4	VITALI KLITSCHKO	27.94	17-2-0	--last rated win -16 months.
2	2	2	2	5	CHRIS BYRD	26.23	16-3-1	L KO 7 #4 WLAD KLITSCHKO

Just a few months later, Klitschko would take over at #1 from the retired Lewis, in our September 2006 rankings. He would not relinquish the title for over 9 years!

His first defense was against #8 Calvin Brock; his 3rd was a revenge match against Lamon Brewster. In his 7th, he beat Ruslan Chagaev, who was #2 at the time, and this put brother Vitali Klitschko—who had retired and then come back strong—at #2 behind him. Amazingly, the Klitschko brothers ranked #1 and #2 for over six straight years!

 

Mar	Apr	May	June	July 2009	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	June 2009 results
1	1	1	1	1	WLAD KLITSCHKO	59.12	31-3-0	KO 9 #2 RUSLAN CHAGAEV
4	3	3	3	2	VITALI KLITSCHKO	32.19	19-2-0
3	4	4	4	3	NICOLAY VALUEV	29.43	21-1-0
5	5	5	5	4	ALEX POVETKIN	29.08	12-0-0
2	2	2	2	5	RUSLAN CHAGAEV	26.50	11-1-0	L KO 9 #1 WLAD KLITSCHKO

Eleven more defenses followed, and Wlad won them all, most of them with ease. Finally, in November of 2015 he lost to Tyson Fury and fell to #2, after an incredible 111 months at #1. He waited for a rematch that never came, and decided to take on up-and-coming undefeated #5 challenger Anthony Joshua. After a back-and-forth affair Klitschko was stopped in the 11th round.

That was three years ago. Since then, Klitschko has of course been inactive, and therefore losing points, dropping down our ratings slowly but surely, until exiting this month.

After several comeback rumors never came to fruition, it looks like Wlad has called it a day for sure. Could he still compete today? Who's to say. He keeps himself in great shape, and who would you bet on against him? Not many people—the two men who beat him at the end of his career are #1 and #2 in this month's rankings! 

Wladimir Klitschko was rarely an exciting fighter, but he was an all-time great as his long stint at #1 proves. Below is a summary of his significant fights, with opponent rank at the time included.

11/1996: Win  by TKO over  #140 EXUM SPEIGHT     
02/1997: Win  by DQ  over  # 93 CARLOS MONROE    
09/1997: Win  by TKO over  #161 JAMES PRITCHARD  
03/1998: Win  by UD  over  #252 EVERETT MARTIN   
05/1998: Win  by KO  over  # 94 CODY KOCH        
12/1998: LOSS by TKO  to   #106 ROSS PURITTY     
05/1999: Win  by TKO over  #128 TONY LAROSA      
09/1999: Win  by TKO over  # 94 AXEL SCHULZ      
11/1999: Win  by KO  over  #226 PHIL JACKSON     
12/1999: Win  by KO  over  # 71 LAJOS EROS       
03/2000: Win  by KO  over  # 50 PAEA WOLFGRAMM   
04/2000: Win  by TKO over  # 48 DAVID BOSTICE    
07/2000: Win  by TKO over  # 50 MONTE BARRETT    
10/2000: Win  by UD  over  #  8 CHRIS BYRD       
03/2001: Win  by TKO over  #128 DERRICK JEFFERSON  #3
08/2001: Win  by TKO over  # 67 CHARLES SHUFFORD 
03/2002: Win  by TKO over  # 98 FRANS BOTHA      
06/2002: Win  by TKO over  #103 RAY MERCER       
12/2002: Win  by RET over  #  5 JAMEEL MCCLINE   
03/2003: LOSS by TKO  to   # 97 CORRIE SANDERS   
08/2003: Win  by KO  over  # 45 FABIO MOLI       
12/2003: Win  by TKO over  #124 DANELL NICHOLSON 
04/2004: LOSS by TKO  to   # 89 LAMON BREWSTER   
10/2004: Win  by TD  over  # 16 DAVARL WILLIAMSON
04/2005: Win  by TKO over  # 47 ELISEO CASTILLO  
09/2005: Win  by UD  over  #  5 SAMUEL PETER     
04/2006: Win  by TKO over  #  2 CHRIS BYRD       
11/2006: Win  by TKO over  #  8 CALVIN BROCK     
03/2007: Win  by KO  over  # 29 RAY AUSTIN       
07/2007: Win  by RET over  # 17 LAMON BREWSTER   
02/2008: Win  by UD  over  # 10 SULTAN IBRAGIMOV 
07/2008: Win  by TKO over  #  6 TONY THOMPSON    
12/2008: Win  by TKO over  # 14 HASIM RAHMAN     
06/2009: Win  by RET over  #  2 RUSLAN CHAGAEV   
03/2010: Win  by KO  over  #  4 EDDIE CHAMBERS   
09/2010: Win  by KO  over  # 13 SAMUEL PETER     
07/2011: Win  by UD  over  #  4 DAVID HAYE       
03/2012: Win  by KO  over  # 12 JEAN MARC MORMECK
07/2012: Win  by KO  over  # 10 TONY THOMPSON    
11/2012: Win  by UD  over  # 43 MARIUSZ WACH     
05/2013: Win  by TKO over  # 14 FRANCESCO PIANETA
10/2013: Win  by UD  over  #  3 ALEX POVETKIN    
04/2014: Win  by TKO over  # 32 ALEX LEAPAI      
11/2014: Win  by KO  over  #  4 KUBRAT PULEV     
04/2015: Win  by UD  over  #  9 BRYANT JENNINGS  
11/2015: LOSS by UD   to   #  4 TYSON FURY       
04/2017: LOSS by TKO  to   #  5 ANTHONY JOSHUA  

The Rematch: Fury vs. Wilder 2 Round-by-Round Scoring

It's SportsRatings #2 Tyson Fury vs. SportsRatings #3 Deontay Wilder in a rematch, with the winner—assuming there is one this time—taking over the #1 spot from Anthony Joshua.

The first fight was as close as it could be, with Fury generally outboxing Wilder with his odd, slippery style, but Wilder scoring two knockdowns—one in the final round that took Fury to the 9-count to recover. He did, however, and survived the 12th round. To the judges, everything evened out to a draw. Both fighters lost their perfect records, but both remain undefeated.

At the time it ruined the unofficial 4-man "Heavyweight Playoff" in effect; with no winner, there was no one to go on to fight Joshua for undisputed status. Things got more complicated when Joshua lost to Andy Ruiz, Jr, but Joshua won that rematch and hopefully will be next on the agenda for tonight's winner.

Fury is 29-0-1 with 20 KOs while Wilder is 42-0-1 with 41 KOs. Somebody's O has got to go. We can't have another draw...let's hope. In our system, Fury has 17 significant wins, Wilder 16, and they are in a near-tie for the #2 spot in our rankings.

In in the undercard's heavyweight feature, Charles Martin and Gerald Washington waltzed for 5 rounds before Martin scored a 1-punch TKO in the 6th.

The fight is ready to start at around 12:15 EST.

Live round-by-round scoring follows:

• Round 1: Quick jabs from Wilder, Fury trying to command the ring with his awkward style, swinging wide for Wilder. BIG punch from Wilder, Fury takes it well though. Fury with a big punch that misses but shows he's going to be on the attack. Another bum rush from Fury keeps Wilder on his back foot. Fury clearly trying to be different in this fight so Wilder can't use last fight's timing. BIG jab by Fury. Wilder had the best punch but Fury had more, and that last jab clinched it. Fury 10-9.
• Round 2: Wilder's style looks awkward due to Fury's posturing. Good hook from Fury, GOOD stiff right from Wilder. Jab from Fury. Lots of punches are connecting, none are hurting so far. Lots of distance between the fighters but both have a huge reach, so it evens out. Fury connects again. Wilder connects again! This is good action, much better than I expected actually. Fury with a great punch overhand against the ropes. Good round for both of them, Wilder ends the round with a solid punch, but Fury returns fire at the bell (maybe after!) 10-10; Fury 20-19.
• Round 3: Fury is dancing a bit, Wilder keeping distance. Fury gets good shots in and ties up Wilder awkwardly. Big punch again from Fury. Good start for the Gypsy King. Gets Wilder in another headlock, punches in that clinch too. Looks like Wilder is in Fury's range, but not the other way around. Wilder unsure of what to do. Fury punching a lot when the ref says to stop, has to pull them apart. Knockdown of Wilder by Fury! With 30 seconds left. Wilder  in trouble. Wilder tries to clinch and falls down again-- he is unsteady on his feet as the round ends. Fury 10-8; 30-27.
• Round 4: Fury punches again in the clinch when told not to; ref warns him. The two whiff on huge punches and Wilder slips to the ground again. Wilder is going for the big punch, he seems desperate. Fury's jabs keep getting in. More clinching, with Fury putting his weight on Wilder. Fury is bullying Wilder, but mostly clinching and wrestling this round. 10-9 Fury; 40-36.
• Round 5: Big one-two from Fury at the start has Wilder in trouble, sloppy fighting ensues. Fury landing big punches from the clinch. Fury really leaning on Wilder; body shot puts Wilder down! He's in real trouble, looking very tired. Fury should be stopped from doing the headlock. Wilder ready to drop, Fury wrestling and bullying him more. Is the headlock legal now? Fury gets a point deducted, and it's fair. With the deduction and knockdown, 9-8 round; Fury 49-44.
• Round 6: Fury bullrushes in again, has Wilder in trouble again. Fury is trying to bury him against the ropes. Fury unloading again, Wilder firing back occasionally. Both are swinging, Fury getting the best of the infighting. Good action, Wilder holding up impressively against the onslaught really. Wilder steps aside from the ropes, but gets hit again. Fury actually licked blood off Wilder's shoulder... Fury 10-9; 59-53.
• Round 7: Big punch from Fury again. Wilder still holding on for now. Slower action for the first minute with Fury walking Wilder down. Wilder's big shot misses as Fury ducks it. Two more miss. Holy shit, the ref waved it off after a few punches from Fury. Wilder looked dazed but that was a really unusual stoppage!
  
  Ok, Wilder's corner threw in the towel. That makes a lot more sense than the ref stoppage. They must have decided before the round that if he got cornered against the ropes to throw the towel.

Fury defeats Wilder by a round 7 TKO. Tyson Fury is our new heavyweight champion after dominating this fight.

 

 

 

 

Rankings preview: Joshua regains SportsRatings heavyweight belt

Anthony Joshua's successful rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr. was enough to propel him to the top of our rankings, back to where he was before he lost to Ruiz the first time. As such, he takes the SportsRatings heavyweight crown from Tyson Fury, who held it for the last six months. He also jumps over Deontay Wilder, who had just reached his highest ranking at #2. Ruiz Jr falls from #3 to #4.

Preview: SportsRatings Heavyweight Top 15

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Dec 1	Dec 9	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	December 7 results •12/09-12/31 Schedule
5	1	4	4	1	ANTHONY JOSHUA	46.09	16-1-0	UD 12 #3 ANDY RUIZ JR New SportsRatings Heavyweight Champion
1	2	1	1	2	TYSON FURY	45.38	17-0-1
4	3	3	2	3	DEONTAY WILDER	41.08	18-0-1
26	38	2	3	4	ANDY RUIZ JR	27.98	13-2-0	L UD 12 #4 ANTHONY JOSHUA
21	5	6	5	5	DILLIAN WHYTE	24.97	13-1-0	UD 10 #201 MARIUSZ WACH
3	4	5	6	6	ALEX POVETKIN	22.66	29-2-1	Draw 12 #13 MICHAEL HUNTER
17	7	7	7	7	JARRELL MILLER	19.46	9-0-0	--last rated win -13 months.
10	8	8	8	8	KUBRAT PULEV	18.67	20-1-0
16	33	32	13	9	MICHAEL HUNTER	17.91	6-1-1	Draw 12 #6 ALEX POVETKIN
--	17	15	9	10	EFE AJAGBA	16.95	6-0-0	•12/21 vs. #141 IAGO KILADZE
67	13	13	10	11	ADAM KOWNACKI	16.31	9-0-0
--	11	12	12	12	FILIP HRGOVIC	16.20	5-0-0	KO 3 #123 ERIC MOLINA
--	29	29	11	13	DANIEL DUBOIS	15.65	6-0-0	•12/21 vs. #14 KYOTARO FUJIMOTO
11	9	11	14	14	KYOTARO FUJIMOTO	14.12	10-1-0	--last rated win -35 months; •12/21 vs. #13 DANIEL DUBOIS
--	--	--	15	15	SHAWNDELL WINTERS	13.62	2-0-0

Note how close the top three fighters are; any one of them would take the title with a win over any of the others. Meaning that if Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder fight in 2020, the winner will be the new belt-holder. And no one outside the top three can win the belt with a single win—even beating the champ, like Ruiz Jr did last June—will just elevate the #2 fighter to the top again. This happens when there is no clear-cut champion. In cases like these, it's not "the man who beat the man" because you don't really know exactly who "the man" is! 

Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin hold at #5 and #6, but the distance between them grows. Whyte decisioned Mariusz Wach while Povetkin fought to a draw with Michael Hunter and loses points. Hunter was the big winner from Saturday in our rankings (other than Joshua of course) as he leaps into the top 10 from #13, pushing Efe Ajagba and Adam Kownacki down a spot each. Ajagba fights later this month but it won't improve his placement.

Filip Hrgovic easily beat Eric Molina but it wasn't enough to move him up, thanks to Hunter's performance. He does temporarily pass Daniel Dubois, who is now at #13 ahead of his clash with #14 Kyotaro Fujimoto on the 21st. The winner there will leap into the top 10, passing Hunter for the #9 spot.

So ultimately Ajagba will be bumped out of the top 10 even if he wins, and Hrgovic will drop a spot despite his dominant KO. This is the kind of thing that happens when the top heavyweights stay active! It's hard to get used to, since we haven't seen it in quite a while.

Anthony Joshua - Andy Ruiz Jr II live round-by-round scoring

Anthony Joshua seeks to avenge his only loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in a fight roughly scheduled to start at 4pm eastern time in the U.S. 

Joshua (22-1) was beaten soundly by Ruiz (33-1) in June in a 7th round TKO. Joshua had floored Ruiz Jr in the 3rd round but wore himself out going for the kill, and Ruiz battled back, took the advantage, and got the stoppage.

Ruiz Jr is ranked #3 in our Heavyweight Boxing Top 100, with only a very close majority decision loss to Joseph Parker staining his record. Joshua is ranked #4 after having held our #1 spot for many months prior to the loss.

The winner of this bout will claim—or reclaim—the SportsRatings belt, currently held by Tyson Fury. Along with Deontay Wilder, there are 4 fighters within striking distance of the top, and it comes down to who fights who and who beats who before a definitive champion can be crowned. This fight is one more step toward that goal.

Ruiz Jr caused a stir by weighing in 15 pounds heavier than in the first bout, this despite looking like he was losing a lot of weight at times in recent months. He wore a sombrero and sweats to the weigh-in, so it's hard to really know how much of the 283 pounds was him, but it's clear he added weight while Joshua came in 10 pounds lighter than in June at 237.

Both fighters entered the ring through a foggy laser-light show in Diriyah.

The fight is ready to start.

• Round 1: Joshua being cautious, Ruiz a bit tentative too early. Ruiz not quite pressing forward as much as he did last fight. Joshua being very cautious, keeping his distance. Body shot from Ruiz. 1-2 by Joshua. Jab from Joshua. They mix it up a bit near the end of the round, cut over Ruiz's eye. Not much happened to the end but Joshua won the 2nd half of the round for sure. Joshua 10-9.
• Round 2: Ruiz looks more determined at the start, Joshua looks more confident. Ruiz tags Joshua with a still jab. Joshua targetting the eye with the right. Another jab from Joshua. Great left from Joshua. Joshua keeping Ruiz away so far as Ruiz stalks. Flurry from Joshua out of the clinch. Joshua's left eye is also cut above. Good round for Joshua 10-9; 20-18.
• Round 3: Ruiz moving in fast, targeting the body. Body shots again from Ruiz. Jab keeping him away mostly. Ruiz misses several hooks as Joshua moves away. Not much contact in first half of round. Joshua defending well but no offense in first 2 minutes. Finally a good jab and body shot from Joshua, but not enough to earn the round. 10-10; 30-28 Joshua.
• Round 4: Joshua pawing at Ruiz's hands, keeping him from getting set. Jab from Joshua. Ruiz ducks big hook from Joshua, misses on return shots though. Joshua blocks Ruiz punches, gets in a jab and good straight right. Good action late between both, Ruiz lands a few big punches at the end. Makes the round a draw again. 10-10; 40-38 Joshua. 
• Round 5: Joshua none the worse for wear early in the 5th so far. Joshua jabs, tries to clinch and Ruiz fights through it. Ruiz continues to stalk. Good jabs from Joshua serving him well, keeping Ruiz at bay. Ruiz telegraphs a punch, good counter from Joshua. Joshua 10-9; 50-47.
• Round 6: Whiff from Ruiz, counter from Joshua connects. Ruiz lunging in but missing. Jabs from Joshua, to the head and the body. Ruiz being held at bay as Joshua dances around the perimeter of the ring. Good stiff right from Joshua. 10-9; 60-56.
• Round 7: Ruiz still stalking but Joshua has nullified him in the last few rounds, now letting his hands go a bit. Ruiz is swinging in the clinch and referee warns about hitting the back of the head. Joshua whiffs and almost leaves himself open, but recovers. Some in-fighting and Joshua scoring more. But that's what Ruiz needs. Joshua jumps into clinch. Ruiz swings wildly trying to change the rhythm of the fight. Ruiz connects with a good left, but Joshua wins the round. 10-9; 70-65.
• Round 8: First minute of round 8 is more of the same, then Ruiz finally gets in decent shot. Ref cautions both fighters about clinch work and Ruiz hitting back of head. Big shots from Ruiz, a clinch, and ref tries to get in the middle of it, separating them. Joshua jabs and clinches, and Ruiz fights through it and scores with more big shots. Ruiz's best round so far. Ruiz 10-9; Joshua 79-75.
• Round 9: Ruiz stalking again, Joshua connects with jab and immediately clinches in the corner. Left arm out, he fends off Ruiz's stalking. Whenever Joshua clinches now, Ruiz flails his arms hoping to catch Joshua with a kill shot. Jabs exchanged, Joshua whiffs with a wild shot. Ruiz moves in with jabs, flurry from Joshua, but Ruiz responds in kind. 10-10; Joshua 89-85.
• Round 10: Ruiz good shot early, but Joshua keeps him at bay for next minute. Very few shots from Ruiz getting inside, Joshua content to use jab, avoid mixing it up. Ruiz still looking for big shot or opportunity in clinch, Joshua not giving it to him. Joshua doing all the (very little) scoring here. Joshua 10-9; 99-94.
• Round 11: Joshua moves in, jabbing at will early on. Ruiz keeps coming. Needs something big with 2 rounds left. Joshua still moving around the ring well, which might be the idea of his 10 pound weight cut. Ruiz can't get in close enough to unfurl his power punches, except in brief moments in the clinch. More jabs from Joshua, who is doing all the scoring. 10-9 Joshua; 109-103. 
• Round 12: Ruiz more concerned now in the last round but Joshua fending him off, again with jabs, and tying him up effectively. Ruiz frustrated by inability to let his hands go. Ruiz demands Joshua fight him toe to toe but Joshua doesn't fall for it. A clear decision win for Anthony Joshua. 10-9; 119-112.

The judges agree: 118-110, 119-109, 118-110. Anthony Joshua regains his titles, as well as the SportsRatings Heavyweight belt.

Not the most exciting fight to be sure, especially in the anticlimactic  later rounds, but that's how Joshua needed it. An exciting fight would have seen the same result as last June. Joshua did what he should have done the first time around—produce a boring fight. It was expected to be boring last time, and it was nothing but boring. This time, people wanted fireworks and got a fire extinguisher. That's how Joshua fought—like he was fending Ruiz off with a fire extinguisher.

Joshua-Ruiz undercard: Alexander Povetkin vs. Michael Hunter scoring; Dillian Whyte vs. Wach, Hrgovic vs. Molina, Majidov vs. Little

As we've noted, the Joshua-Ruiz undercard rounds out one of the best heavyweight cards of the last 20 years. Here is a live recap of the heavyweight fights on the card and round-by-round scoring of the Alex Povetkin-Michael Hunter bout. The top 3 bouts on the card are available in the U.S. on DAZN; the earlier bouts are available on YouTube on Sky Sports (but not in the United States).

Mahammadrasul Majidov TKO 2 #174 Tom Little

Two-time amateur world champ Majidov beat Tom Little (10-8) in only his 2nd official pro bout. Little was #174 in our rankings and just 5-7 in rated bouts, so it wasn't any surprise. Majidov will enter our top 100 in January, and we grade his potential an A- meaning he should be a top 5 prospect. Majidov won the amateur world championship in 2011 and 2013, beating Anthony Joshua to win gold the first time. But at 33 he's starting his pro career pretty late, and he could be past his peak. We see a career trajectory like Kubrat Pulev's: a quick dash to the top 10, perhaps pushing into the top 5, but failing to beat the top 3 fighters.

#12 Filip Hrgovic KO 3 #123 Eric Molina

Rising prospect Hrgovic, 27, dominated journeyman Eric Molina, who was counted out in the third round despite complaining about punches to the back of the head. Hrgovic avoided Molina's attempts to hit him with a game-changing haymaker and overwhelmed him with his own power punches. Hrgovic is just outside our top 10 and with all the other action today it's unlikely this win will put him there just yet. But it was a strong performance and shows he is a danger to anyone.

Upcoming: #5 Dillian Whyte vs. #201 Mariusz Wach

Whyte (26-1) continues his quest for another title shot, taking on former contender Wach (35-5) in a scheduled 10-rounder.

First round had a lot of action, both fighters looking (too) big and hitting hard. Great shot from Whyte near the end. 10-9. Round two more of the same, but Whyte outlanding Wach 2-1 or 3-1, but Wach got a few really big shots in. Whyte returned fire, great action. No one was rocked despite the bombs. 20-18. Both fighters slowed down in the 3rd round. But still throwing heavy hands, both chins holding up very well. Closer round but still Whyte. 30-27. Round 4 Wach moving forward with effective jabs. Blocking most of Whyte's big shots, but Whyte gets a few in later in the round. 39-37. Round 5 Whyte came out with more urgency, disrupting Wach's jabs with strong shots, using Philly Shell defense. Wach is holding up but he's being hit regularly. Great action at end as both fighters let it go. 49-46. Round 6: Whyte throwing combos to Wach's single punches. Wach is looking tired but is unhurt and still throwing hard. Whyte throwing hard too, and looks stronger. Wach flurry at end shows he's still in it, but falling behind. 59-55. Seventh round, more of the same: hard shots from both fighters, very clean, scoring shots all around, and no sign of either fighter being rocked. Good body shot variations from Whyte, then he goes to the head. Wach generally headhunting. Both chins are holding up! 69-65. 8th Round, Wach eager to come out, but Whyte peppering him with body and head shots, still looking strong. Wach's work rate is well down, jabs looking weaker. Whyte takes round but Wach finishes round strong. 79-74. Round 9: Wach and Whyte trading toe to toe in the 9th! Both letting their hands go, both having their moments. Whyte getting hit hard but then coming back with his own. Wach ends with flurry. Incredible round. 88-84. Round ten: Wach needs a knockout and he knows it. Whyte not taking any chances though. Wach will just not drop! Or even be rocked by Whyte's punches. Whyte on the defense on the ropes, fighting back. Whyte's punching variety is amazing, body shots, uppercut, windmills. Last half minute Whyte rocks Wach with big combo. Wach dodges 3 huge windmills and will survive. Our final score: Whyte 98-93. Judges say: 98-93, 97-93, 97-93 for Whyte.

Upcoming: #6 Alex Povetkin vs. #14 Michael Hunter - round by round scoring

Povetkin looks for one last drive toward a title as Hunter seeks to break into the top ten.

• Round 1: Hunter's unorthodox moving is wreacking havoc for Povetkin early on, hitting Povetkin will angles all over, esp. right hands. Povetkin gets his composure but generally unable to figure Hunter out in this round. Hunter's work early wins this one. Hunter 10-9.
• Round 2: Hunter's speed still bothering Povetkin, who is missing with lots of punches. Hunter almost wobbles him with a right. Good counter by Povetkin late, otherwise round was pretty even. 10-10; Hunter 20-19.
• Round 3: Povetkin finally adjusting to the speed of the fight, some good work early. Hunter clinching when Povetkin gets close. Fight speed slowing down a bit late in the 3rd. Another close hard-to-score round. 10-10; 30-29 Hunter.
• Round 4: Mixing it up again, both mostly whiffing and dodging each others hooks. Some good power from Povetkin but didn't land flush. Ducking low at times to avoid Hunter's swinging; Hunter clinching in close. Hunter misses twice late, pace is showing for both of them. Povetkin's best round 10-9; 39-39. This is going to be a close one, every round counts.
• Round 5: Good 1-2 from Hunter; rest of round is very close again until mid-round Povetkin rocks Hunter with near-knockdown against the ropes. Hunter looks recovered but Povetkin catches him again and has to clinch. Good jabs from Hunter but Povetkin has the clear power advantage. A few late (past-bell) punches from Hunter but Povetkin wins that one. 10-9; Povetkin 49-48. 
• Round 6: Hunter still looking fast as he jumps in with jabs; if he can win rounds and avoid big punches he can still win this fight. Jab lands again. Povetkin looking a bit tired, lower work rate this round. Hunter clips him with hook and Povetkin clinches. Hunter's round 10-9; 58-58.
• Round 7: Who has more left i this close fight? Ring is looking foggy from humidity. Povetkin swinging but not connecting cleanly, neither fighter gaining advantage in first half of round. Hunter lands well and Povetkin clinches again, unhurt but stunned a bit. Pretty even round but slight edge to Hunter 10-9; 68-67
• Round 8: More very even sparring; Povetkin has a moment mid-round. Not much there but Povetkin had the only real moment; very close yet again, this one to Povetkin 10-9; 77-77
• Round 9:  Hunter full of energy at start but nothing much comes of it. Lots more missing in the first minute. One clean punch from Povetkin; return from Hunter seconds later. Both getting tired late, lots of clinches, initiated by both men. 10-10; 87-87.
• Round 10: Are we headed for a draw? Either that or a very, very close decision it seems. Inside work from both men. More clinching too. Hooks from Hunter miss in the clinch. Povetkin looking weary, he clinches, and Hunter doesn't argue. Mostly clinching, another draw round. 10-10; 97-97.
• Round 11: Head-snapping jabs connect for both fighters. Now they're diving in at the same time, meeting in clinch. Big shots from Hunter and Povetkin looks wobbly. He's staying up and fighting back; he rushes in and heads clashed. Hunter connects with 2 more big shots, clearly winning this round in a very tight fight. Povetkin weary and gets hit again. Clear round for Hunter 10-9; Hunter 107-106. 
• Round 12: Povetkin needs this round or Hunter probably wins, though any decision will probably be split/majority. Povetkin still looks a bit dazed, looking for big punches to turn the tide. Povetkin rushes in, fighters collide and they sprawl to the ground. Fight resumes, more clinching from Povetkin, but Hunter isn't connecting like he did last round. One minute to go, round is even so far. Good left from Hunter. Povetkin needs something but still clinches. Another tight round 10-10; Hunter 117-116.

Looks like a split decision coming, in favor of either fighter. We favor Hunter, and splitting the five 10-10 rounds could make it 117-111 Hunter or 116-112 Povetkin. We think a very close result goes to Hunter, but the cards overall ought to be very tight.

The verdict: 115-113 Povetkin; 115-113 Hunter; and 114-114 split draw. 

You know what? That's actually fair, as disappointing as it is. All the verdicts were very close, so no judge was far off from another. It will be interesting to see the round-by-round cards, and check against the five rounds we gave a 10-10.

The draw might put Hunter in our top 10 after all, while Povetkin will lose points but remain at #6.

Joshua - Ruiz Rematch Highlights Busy December

It's not quite up to the standards of May, 1983, but December of 2019 is shaping up to be one helluva month for heavyweight boxing, with the potential to top March of 2018 as the biggest HW boxing month of the millennium so far. At current count there are three intra-top-15 bouts scheduled, with three more top-15 boxers set to fight rated opponents. Four of these six bouts are set for the same event on December 7 in Saudi Arabia, so there's reason to believe that these fights will be held as scheduled. 

Leading the way, of course, is the rematch between #3 Andy Ruiz, Jr, and #4 Anthony Joshua. Joshua was #1 when Ruiz—just #31—pulled off the major upset with a 7th round stoppage of the formerly unbeaten champ. Ruiz jumped to #2; now he sits at #3 after Deontay Wilder's crushing KO of Luis Ortiz moved the Bronze Bomber to #2. But whoever wins the rematch between Ruiz and Joshua will unseat Tyson Fury at #1; the loser will fall to #4 or #5, depending on other results.

Below: SportsRatings' Heavyweight Top 15 for December, 2019:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mo	Nov Rank	Dec Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	November results; •December schedule
1	2	2	1	1	TYSON FURY	45.38	17-0-1
4	3	3	3	2	DEONTAY WILDER	41.08	18-0-1	KO 7 #9 LUIS ORTIZ
12	37	31	2	3	ANDY RUIZ JR	39.57	13-1-0	•12/07 vs. #4 ANTHONY JOSHUA
5	1	1	4	4	ANTHONY JOSHUA	36.63	15-1-0	--last rated win -14 months; •12/07 vs. #3 ANDY RUIZ JR
28	5	5	5	5	DILLIAN WHYTE	24.91	12-1-0	•12/07 vs. #201 MARIUSZ WACH
3	4	4	6	6	ALEX POVETKIN	24.70	29-2-0	•12/07 vs. #13 MICHAEL HUNTER
20	7	6	7	7	JARRELL MILLER	19.67	9-0-0	--last rated win -12 months.
10	8	8	8	8	KUBRAT PULEV	18.67	20-1-0	UD 10 #226 RYDELL BOOKER
--	17	14	10	9	EFE AJAGBA	16.95	6-0-0	•12/21 vs. #141 IAGO KILADZE
68	11	12	11	10	ADAM KOWNACKI	16.31	9-0-0
--	30	28	12	11	DANIEL DUBOIS	15.65	6-0-0	•12/21 vs. #14 KYOTARO FUJIMOTO
--	10	11	13	12	FILIP HRGOVIC	15.63	4-0-0	•12/07 vs. #123 ERIC MOLINA
17	33	32	14	13	MICHAEL HUNTER	14.97	6-1-0	•12/07 vs. #6 ALEX POVETKIN
11	9	10	15	14	KYOTARO FUJIMOTO	14.40	10-1-0	--last rated win -34 months; •12/21 vs. #11 DANIEL DUBOIS
--	--	--	22	15	SHAWNDELL WINTERS	13.62	2-0-0	TKO 7 #118 SERGIEJ WERWEJKO

The three other fights on the card in Saudi Arabia are:

• #6 Alexander Povetkin vs. #13 Michael Hunter. This is a great bout. Povetkin has only lost to Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua, both champions; and Hunter has only dropped a decision to cruiserweight king (now HW prospect) Oleksander Usyk. A win would propel Hunter into the top 10, around #6, while Povetkin could rise to #5 or #4. A loss to Hunter risks dropping Povetkin out of the top 10 for the first time in nearly 12 years!
• #5 Dillian Whyte vs. #201 Mariusz Wach. Not the best matchup, but it's always good to see Whyte on a card. Say what you want but the man stays active, and you can be sure he'll be calling for a shot at the winner of the Joshua-Ruiz rematch, which he definitely deserves by now, even if he falls back a spot due to all the other action in the top ten!
• #12 Filip Hrgovic vs. #123 Eric Molina. Up-and-comer Hrgovic gets a spot on the card that won't move him up in the rankings, but is good for visibility, against an opponent he should beat pretty easily.

So that's six of the top 13 active on one night. Fast-forward to December 21 and there are three more top prospects active in the London and Los Angeles areas.

• #11 Daniel Dubois fights in the UK vs. #14 Kyotaro Fujimoto. 22-year-old Dubois is looking for a top-ten berth and he'll get it with a win. Fujimoto is actually looking to get back into the top ten—he's on a 16-fight win streak dating back to 2013, beating opponents just good enough to get him points in our system. Inactivity and lack of sound opposition over the last 3 years, however, has pushed him down from his #7(!) peak. An upset of Dubois would allow him another run at that peak, but Dubois seems exactly the type of opponent ex-kickboxer Kyotaro can't handle—he was overwhelmed and stopped in 2012 by Solomon Haumono, and Dubois applies even more pressure.
• In Ontario, California, yet another big-time prospect, #9 Efe Ajagba is set to take on #141 Iago Kiladze. It might be a stretch to call someone in our top ten a "prospect" but Ajagba is just getting started at age 25, joining 22-year-old Dubois and 27-year-old Hrgovic in the under-30 club. He hits hard with a high workrate and good form, but is still working out the kinks in preparation for an eventual run for the top prize.

If all these fights happen, no one can any longer say that the top heavyweights don't mix it up! That was true for a long time, but between last year's big March and this year's December, there are at least flurries of major activity in the division. In just one night, four of our top six fighters will be in action, including a title fight. Can't ask for much more than that in one calendar month, but we also get a slew of prospect level (top 15) action as well.

Suddenly: Wilder KOs Ortiz in rematch

There wasn't much action for 7 rounds. There were hardly any exchanges. And that meant there wasn't much drama, except for the question: was Deontay Wilder really going to lose by a wide decision? He was clearly behind on the cards, and hardly throwing anything other than a pawing jab.

Then it all came to a quick end for Luis Ortiz, at the end of round 7.

Here's how we scored the fight:

• Round 1: Not much action; a lot like the first fight, Ortiz is cautious due to Wilder's power, Wilder is cautious due to his own chin and nearly being stopped by Ortiz in the first fight. One exchange and a clash of heads is all that happens. 10-10
• Round 2: Ortiz had the best moment in an otherwise uneventful round. 10-9 Ortiz; 20-19
• Round 3: More of the same. Very little being done by Wilder, Ortiz is the more aggressive though not much more effective. 10-9 Ortiz; 30-28
• Round 4: Wilder lands his first right hand, but again Ortiz had the better round, with a combination that sent Wilder back and had him pounding his chest to show he wasn't hurt. 10-9 Ortiz 40-37
• Round 5: This round is even close than the previous ones, but still Ortiz was connecting a bit while Wilder is mostly missing. 10-9 Ortiz; 50-46
• Round 6: Another round to Ortiz, as he's making Wilder back up while Wilder only occasionally works the body or the jab, but misses wide with the right hand. 10-9 Ortiz; 60-55
• Round 7: Well behind on the cards certainly, Wilder is looking like he's ok with risking losing a wide decision while he specs out the kill shot. Ortiz is getting more confident, and late in this round is clearly is winning it, probably his best one yet, when BAM! suddenly Wilder connects with the right hand and Ortiz absolutely crumbles to the ground. He struggles with this mouthpiece (shades of Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas) before struggling up near the end of the count, but isn't vertical enough or aware enough to really beat the count, and he's waved off. 

Wilder will move up to #2 in our Heavyweight Top 100, his highest ranking ever, and behind only #1 Tyson Fury, who he fought to a draw a year ago.

-3 yrs	-1 yr	-6 mo	Nov Rank	Dec Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	November results
1	2	2	1	1	TYSON FURY	45.38	17-0-1
4	3	3	3	2	DEONTAY WILDER	41.08	18-0-1	KO 7 #9 LUIS ORTIZ
12	37	31	2	3	ANDY RUIZ JR	39.57	13-1-0
5	1	1	4	4	ANTHONY JOSHUA	36.63	15-1-0	--last rated win -14 months.
28	5	5	5	5	DILLIAN WHYTE	24.91	12-1-0
3	4	4	6	6	ALEX POVETKIN	24.70	29-2-0
20	7	6	7	7	JARRELL MILLER	19.67	9-0-0	--last rated win -12 months.
10	8	8	8	8	KUBRAT PULEV	18.67	20-1-0	UD 10 #226 RYDELL BOOKER
--	17	14	10	9	EFE AJAGBA	16.95	6-0-0
68	11	12	11	10	ADAM KOWNACKI	16.31	9-0-0

Fury should be Wilder's next opponent, if everything works out. By then, the winner of the Ruiz-Joshua rematch will have vaulted to #1, and the Fury-Wilder winner will take it back.

It's really quite an exciting time in the Heavyweight division; more people should be paying attention as this mini-era will be fondly remembered one day.

November MMA rankings: Stylebender #1 at MW, top ten in P4P

Israel Adesanya's 2nd round KO win over Middleweight champ Robert Whittaker gives Stylebender the belt and puts him in the top ten overall. Here is our MMA rankings report for November, 2019.

Overall/ Pound-for-Pound

Oct 2019	Nov 2019	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results
1	1	Stipe Miocic	HW	87.72	14-3-0	UFC
2	2	Khabib Nurmagomedov	LW	84.77	14-0-0	UFC
3	3	Jon Jones	LH	80.79	19-1-0	UFC
5	4	Daniel Cormier	HW	68.09	18-2-0	UFC
6	5	Kamaru Usman	WW	67.55	10-0-0	UFC
23	6	Israel Adesanya	MW	64.42	6-0-0	UFC	Beat #4 Robert Whittaker
7	7	Tony Ferguson	LW	64.27	18-1-0	UFC
8	8	Georges St. Pierre	MW	62.81	24-2-0	UFC	--last rated win -23 months.
9	9	Henry Cejudo	BW	57.35	9-2-0	UFC
10	10	Ryan Bader	HW	53.92	21-5-0	Bell
11	11	Colby Covington	WW	53.61	9-1-0	UFC
4	12	Robert Whittaker	MW	50.97	12-5-0	UFC	Lost to #23 Israel Adesanya

In our pound-for-pound top 100, Stipe Miocic remains #1; Miocic topped the list for several months before losing to Daniel Cormier, but he has the top spot after the rematch win. LW champ Khabib Nurmagomedov is close behind at #2, and former long-time #1 Jon Jones is at #3. After that there's a bigger gap to former #1 Cormier, who has crept up to #4 as other fighters have lost; Welterweight champ Kamaru Usman is #5.

Isreal Adesanya, undefeated in 18 bouts overall, jumps from #23 to #6 with the win over Whittaker, who falls from #4 to #12 with his 5th loss. Slots 7 through 11 remain unchanged.

Heavyweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Stipe Miocic	HW	87.72	14-3-0	UFC
2	2	Daniel Cormier	HW	68.09	18-2-0	UFC
3	3	Ryan Bader	HW	53.92	21-5-0	Bell
4	4	Francis Ngannou	HW	46.87	8-2-0	UFC
5	5	Cheick Kongo	HW	32.38	28-10-2	Bell

No change in the top 10 in the Heavyweights. The biggest mover was Ali Isaev, who jumped from #23 to #14 on the basis of two wins in the Professional Fighters League (PFL); he beat #43 Kevin Tiller and #19 Denis Goltsov. Sergei Pavlovich beat Maurice Greene and joined the top 25 at #22, while Jiri Prochazka was pushed down a spot to #23 despite a win over #61 Fabio Maldonado in Rizin.

There are a few interesting fights coming this month, however. #10 Alexander Volkov takes on the controversial Greg Hardy on the 9th in the UFC. It's a chance for Hardy to finally get the recognition he thinks he deserves, after beating several no-names, losing once for an illegal knee, and getting a No Contest after illegally using an inhaler.

Also, on the 2nd, #16 Derrick Lewis faces off against #20 Blagoy Ivanov. The winner will move close to the top ten, the loser will probably fall out of the top 25.

Light Heavyweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Jon Jones	LH	80.79	19-1-0	UFC
3	2	Vadim Nemkov	LH	29.61	6-2-0	Bell	Beat #32 Rafael Carvalho
2	3	Jan Blachowicz	LH	28.25	18-6-0	UFC	•11/16 vs. #9 Ronaldo Souza
4	4	Phil Davis	LH	26.95	16-5-0	Bell	Beat #54 Karl Albrektsson
5	5	Anthony Johnson	LH	25.01	21-6-0	UFC	--last rated win -38 months.
6	6	Luke Rockhold	LH	23.92	14-4-0	UFC	--last rated win -25 months.
14	7	Dominick Reyes	LH	23.82	7-0-0	UFC	Beat #13 Chris Weidman

This division has been problematic for some time, with Jones dominating despite his issues, and few other contenders emerging. This month, Vadim Nemkov of Bellator takes the revolving #2 spot after beating Rafael Carvalho. Nemkov previously beat #4 Phil Davis, who retains his spot with a win over Karl Albrektsson. 

Pushed to #3, Jan Blachowicz looks to take #2 back, facing Ronaldo Souza, a former Middleweight who comes in at #9. There has been a recent trend for Middleweights to move up, with Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos both losing title shots to Jones; Blachowicz recently beat #6 Luke Rockhold, and Chris Weidman fell to Dominick Reyes, who vaults to #7.

Whoever wins the Blachowicz/Souza fight on the 16th will be at #2, but the more interesting fight that night might be #11 Corey Anderson vs. #18 Johnny Walker, who hasn't faced the best competition but has looked unstoppable doing so. The winner makes the top ten.  A less-heralded clash on November 9 pitting #13 Dalcha Lungiambula vs. #20 Magomed Akalaev could be just as important, though.

Middleweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
5	1	Israel Adesanya	MW	64.42	6-0-0	UFC	Beat #1 Robert Whittaker
2	2	Georges St. Pierre	MW	62.81	24-2-0	UFC	--last rated win -23 months.
1	3	Robert Whittaker	MW	50.97	12-5-0	UFC	Lost to #5 Israel Adesanya
3	4	Rafael Lovato Jr.	MW	43.18	7-0-0	Bell
4	5	Gegard Mousasi	MW	41.68	37-7-2	Bell

Stylebender takes the belt: With an impressive KO victory, Israel Adesanya proved his doubters wrong. Will he be a long-lasting champion? Though he seems like the new kid on the block, he is 30 while Robert Whittaker is just 28. It's unlikely the semi-retired #2 GSP will come back to this division, and the next two guys on our chart fight for Bellator. Adesanya's likely next opponent, Paulo Costa, is #6 and is out with injury for now.

The only bout of interest for November is #8 Kelvin Gastelum taking on #23 Darren Till on the 2nd. It's a good chance for Till to get back on track after back-to-back losses at Welterweight. A win takes him into the top ten, while Gastelum too wants to rebound from his loss to Adesanya in April.

Welterweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Kamaru Usman	WW	67.55	10-0-0	UFC
2	2	Colby Covington	WW	53.61	9-1-0	UFC
3	3	Tyron Woodley	WW	46.94	16-4-1	UFC	--last rated win -13 months.
6	4	Douglas Lima	WW	41.08	17-3-0	Bell	Beat #10 Rory MacDonald
4	5	Jorge Masvidal	WW	40.04	32-13-0	UFC	•11/02 vs. #11 Nate Diaz
5	6	Leon Edwards	WW	38.56	12-2-0	UFC
8	7	Santiago Ponzinibbio	WW	32.75	9-1-0	UFC
18	8	Demian Maia	WW	32.04	26-9-0	UFC	Beat #7 Ben Askren

Two big bouts changed the top ten at Welterweight. Douglas Lima avenged his prior loss to #10 Rory MacDonald and in doing so jumped from #6 to #4, sandwiched among all the UFC fighters. Demian Maia's submission win over #7 Ben Askren moved him back into the top ten once again. Askren falls to #16 after his second loss in a row, and only his 2nd loss ever. 

The big fight this month is on November 2nd when #5 Jorge Masvidal faced #11 Nate Diaz for the ridiculous BMF belt in the UFC. In our chart, the only consequence will be either Masvidal reclaims the #4 spot, or Nate Diaz jumps into the top ten near the top 5. Both of these guys are fairly highly rated and the winner really could be in line to take on the Usman-Covington winner next year.

Lightweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Khabib Nurmagomedov	LW	84.77	14-0-0	UFC
2	2	Tony Ferguson	LW	64.27	18-1-0	UFC
3	3	Dustin Poirier	LW	48.51	20-6-0	UFC
4	4	Conor McGregor	LW	38.84	13-2-0	UFC	--last rated win -35 months.
5	5	Justin Gaethje	LW	31.33	15-2-0	UFC

No change in the top ten here; below that, two PFL fighters both fought twice in the same night and moved up: Natan Schulte went from #15 to #12 after beating Ramsey Nijem and Akhmed Aliev, while former #102 Loik Radzhabov managed a draw with former #18 Islam Mamedov, then beat #19 Chris Wade. These results catapulted Redzhabov to #19 himself while the other two fell out of the top 25!

Featherweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Max Holloway	FW	50.03	19-4-0	UFC
2	2	Patricio Freire	FW	48.73	17-4-0	Bell
3	3	Alex Volkanovski	FW	40.50	12-0-0	UFC
4	4	Lance Palmer	FW	35.35	17-3-0	Prof	Beat #161 Alex Almeida;   Beat Alex Gilpin
5	5	Mateusz Gamrot	FW	26.48	9-0-0	KSW

PFL's dual October 17th event was a rare one, where winning fighters fought twice. #4 Lance Palmer beat both Alexandre Almeida and Alex Gilpen, but he was too far from the top three to make a dent. 

On November 9th, #9 Zabit Magomedsharipov (17-1) takes on #12 Calvin Kattar (20-3) with the winner gaining a spot in the top five, and likely getting an eventual chance to face the winner of Holloway-Volkanovski for the UFC belt.

Bantamweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Henry Cejudo	BW	57.35	9-2-0	UFC
2	2	Bibiano Fernandes	BW	49.60	21-2-0	One	Beat #6 Kevin Belingon
3	3	Kai Asakura	BW	37.84	9-1-0	Rizi	Beat #111 Yuta Sasaki
4	4	Kyoji Horiguchi	BW	35.29	26-3-0	Rizi
5	5	Aljamain Sterling	BW	34.92	12-3-0	UFC
14	6	Shoko Sato	BW	26.98	18-10-2	One	Beat #10 Rafael 'Morcego' Silva

With the UFC's Henry Cejudo seemingly planning to stay at Bantamweight, One Championship's Bibiano Fernandes might have a tough time amassing enough points to pass him to take back the belt. Fernandes did beat #6 Kevin Belingon to secure his #2 spot, while #3 Kai Asakura—who beat #4 Kyoji Horiguchi a few months back—defended against Yuta Sasaki in Rizin. #5 Aljamain Sterling is Cejudo's probable next opponent. And coming in at #6 is Shoko Sato, also at One, who beat Rafael Silva to jump from #14. Both Fernandes and Sato weigh in higher than 135 but are listed here since this is where they'd compete in any other organization.

Flyweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Demetrious Johnson	FL	40.26	21-3-1	One	Beat #4 Danny Kingad
2	2	T.J. Dillashaw	FL	30.66	11-3-0	UFC	--last rated win -14 months.
3	3	Joseph Benavidez	FL	28.78	22-5-0	UFC
5	4	Haruo Ochi	FL	20.90	15-7-2	Rizi
6	5	Azamat Kerefov	FL	19.93	4-0-0	ACA
7	6	Tatsuki Saomoto	FL	19.59	10-1-0	ZST
8	7	Shohei Masumizu	FL	19.48	11-3-0	Panc
4	8	Danny Kingad	FL	19.16	4-1-0	One	Lost to #1 Demetrious Johnson

Flyweight is easily the most diverse division by promotion, with the top ten including fighters from One Championship, the UFC, Rizin, Absolute Championship Akhmat, ZST, and Pancrase. Mighty Mouse retains his belt with a win over #4 Danny Kingad in One Championship; as with all One fighters, they weigh in a weight class above but Johnson would normally fight at 125 as he did in the UFC. The only noteworthy bout scheduled for November is in One Championship on the 8th, with #12 Josh Pacio facing #23 Rene Catalan.