Image: Illustration by John Brannigan/Sherdog.com
Just when Jason Jackson was looking to solidify his status as one of the best welterweight boxers in the world, along came Ramazan Kuramagomedov.
The Dagestan standout dominated the first 15 minutes of the Bellator Champions Series Dublin main event before surviving a late onslaught from Jackson to claim the 170-pound crown at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday. Unbeaten in 13 professional fights, Kuramagomedov fits the description of many of his country's fighters: a tenacious wrestler with well-founded striking skills. That ability has earned the 27-year-old American Top Team representative a No. 5 ranking in the Sherdog rankings for the first time in his division poll, one spot above Jackson, whose eight-fight win streak was ended by the loss.
Meanwhile, Alexander Volkov outfoxed his former training partner, Sergey Pavlovic, over three rounds in the co-main event of UFC on ABC 6 on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “Drago” has won his last four bouts in the Octagon, a record that has seen him move up from 6th to 4th in the latest heavyweight rankings. Pavlovic has suffered back-to-back losses and dropped from 3rd to 5th.
Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker was in his usual prime in the main event of UFC on ABC 6, taking down last-minute opponent Ikram Aliskerov early in their middleweight bout. While he may not be carrying the same weight as he did in his win over Khamzat Chimaev, “Bobby Knuckles” maintained his No. 5 ranking at 185 pounds.
Elsewhere, former light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir produced the most brutal knockout of the weekend, knocking out Johnny Walker in the first round, propelling “No Time” back up to No. 15 in the division rankings. In the women's featherweight division, Arlene Blencowe submitted Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator Dublin to improve to 2-0 and move from No. 8 to No. 10 in the rankings. On the same card, Michelle Montague improved to 5-0 with a quick win over Karolina Sobek, a win that propelled the Australian featherweight to No. 15 in her ranking debut.
Note: The numbers in brackets are the previous rankings.
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