Which Ranked Fighters Are Competing This Weekend? UFC on ESPN 2 Rankings Tracker

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Philadelphia for the first time since 2011 when UFC on ESPN 2 takes place this Saturday. Headlining just the third event in the “City of Brotherly Love” is a fan-friendly lightweight bout between knockout artists Edson Barboza and Justin Gaethje.

Barboza (20-6) got back on the win column after a brutal knockout win over Dan Hooker, and is looking to earn a title shot. Given the status of the division, the Brazilian might require a few more wins though, as he is currently the ninth-best lightweight in the world according to Sherdog, 10th as per ESPN, and the No. 6 contender in the UFC rankings.

Meanwhile, Gaethje (19-2) got back on the win column in his last fight following his quick knockout of James Vick. “The Highlight” will now hope to win two in a row inside the Octagon for the first time and continue climbing up the rankings. Sherdog rates him as the sixth best in his division while ESPN have him ninth, and the UFC rankings have him as the No. 7 contender.

In the co-main event, David Branch (22-5) will seek out a third win in the UFC when he takes on Jack Hermansson (18-4). Both fighters are unranked by Sherdog and ESPN, though Branch is currently rated as the No. 11 contender in the UFC middleweight rankings. A third consecutive win for Hermansson could see him crack the top 15 of the rankings for the first time.

Josh Emmett, meanwhile, will be competing for the first time in over a year when he faces Michael Johnson in a featherweight scrap. Emmett (13-2) last suffered a brutal knockout at the hands of Jeremy Stephens and will look to get back to his winning ways. The 34-year-old is the No. 10 contender in the UFC rankings and a win for Johnson (19-13) would not only make it three in a row for “The Menace,” but also see him enter the top 15 of the rankings as well.

Ranked women’s strawweight fighters are also in action on the main card as perennial contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz (12-3) faces Michelle Waterson (16-6). Kowalkiewicz last suffered a devastating knockout at the hands of current title challenger Jessica Andrade and will look to return with a statement. The Polish fighter is rated as the eighth-best strawweight in the world by Sherdog, sixth by ESPN, and is the No. 6 contender in the UFC rankings.

Waterson, on the other hand, is slowly staking a claim for a title shot as she could make it three wins in a row on Saturday following wins over Cortney Casey and Felice Herrig. “The Karate Hottie” is unranked in Sherdog’s top 10 but is rated as the ninth-best strawweight in the world by ESPN, while she is also the No. 9 contender in the UFC rankings. A win over a former title challenger could shoot her up the ranks even more.

Lastly, former flyweight title challenger Ray Borg (11-3) will be in action when he makes his bantamweight debut against LFA dual-champion Casey Kenney (11-1-1) who steps in on short notice for Kyler Phillips. Borg’s inactivity due to injury as well as personal problems has seen him become unranked by ESPN, but he is still rated as the fifth-best flyweight in the world according to Sherdog while the UFC have him as the No. 3 contender at 125 pounds. It is unlikely that a potential win will see him crack the top 15 at bantamweight, though.