Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
Different Paths for New Rankings Blood
Both fighters did it in their own time and in their own way but regardless of the length of time or path they took, Cody Garbrandt and Bryan Caraway and now a part of the Sherdog.com rankings.
May 29 in Las Vegas, Garbrandt entered his main event bout with fellow unbeaten bantamweight prospect Thomas Almeida as a slight underdog. Once the cage door closed, however, Garbrandt had little trouble staking his claim as the division's top undefeated prospect, clobbering Almeida with a vicious right hook in under three minutes. The victory moved “No Love” to 9-0 in his pro career and with four wins in his Octagon tenure, the 24-year-old Garbrandt now prominently factors into the UFC bantamweight title picture all of a sudden.
After an 0-2 stint as a featherweight in World Extreme Cagefighting back in 2010, Caraway didn't exactly present himself as a potential threat in any division. Nonetheless, since dropping to 135 pounds, Caraway has found his footing with slow and steady improvements under head trainer Robert Follis. On a card marked by undefeated 135-pound hopefuls, Caraway was an odd man out but succeeded anyhow by overcoming an early onslaught from previously unblemished Aljamain Sterling and battling back to take a split decision and the fifth spot in our bantamweight rankings.
And while we're mentioning bantamweights, the same UFC Fight Night card saw former 135-pound champion Renan Barao move up to 145 pounds to meet ever-dangerous puncher Jeremy Stephens. Barao was sharp early on, but eventually succumbed to Stephens' takedown defense and powerful punches, dropping the final two rounds and a unanimous decision, allowing “Lil Heathen” to rise to ninth in our featherweight rankings.
Continue Reading » Heavyweight
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