Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

It has been three years since Dustin Poirier fell out of our featherweight top 10 and moved up 10 pounds to arguably the most difficult and competitive weight class in the sport. Now, the Lafayette, Louisiana, native is back on our big list, this time as a lightweight.

If the regulation of MMA was just a little more just, “The Diamond” might have joined the top-10 mix at 155 pounds in May, when he was piecing up former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez until their bout ended in an unceremonious no-contest after Alvarez landed a pair of illegal knees. Nonetheless, Poirier seized his moment at UFC Fight Night 120 on Nov. 11, battering and bloodying former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis for 12 minutes en route to a third-round submission finish. With the victory, Poirier is now 6-1 with one no-contest in his eight bouts since returning to 155 pounds and takes the No. 8 spot on our list, bumping the previously 10th-ranked Evan Dunham to the bubble list.

The events of UFC Fight Night 120 are also responsible for another top-10 exit. Previously seventh-ranked women’s strawweight Angela Hill was upset by unranked Nina Ansaroff via unanimous decision. With the defeat, Hill tumbles out of our 115-pound rankings and joins Ansaroff on our contenders list, while undefeated hot prospect Cynthia Calvillo makes her debut in our top 10.

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