USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Dec. 9: Petr Yan back on top
The final pay-per-view of the year saw two titles change hands.
UFC 323’s main event was a rematch between incoming champion Merab Dvalishvili and former champ Petr Yan. It was an intense fight that went the distance, but after the final horn, it was clear that Yan was the more effective fighter. The excellent gameplan paid off, and Yan reclaimed the bantamweight title. As a result, Yan climbs from No. 3 in the division to No. 1, and returns to the pound-for-pound rankings, taking the No. 10 spot.
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The co-feature of UFC 323, as anti-climactic as it may have been, still produced a new champion. Alexandre Pantoja suffered a severe arm injury while trying to brace for a fall, prompting a stop to the fight just 26 seconds in, resulting in Joshua Van becoming the new titleholder. Like Yan, Van moves from No. 3 to No. 1 in the division. However, he remains just outside of the pound-for-pound rankings for now.
Check out all of the moves in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA Junkie rankings update, Dec. 9: Petr Yan back at No. 1