Sherdog’s Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings

Sergey Spivak looked like a man on a mission.

While Fedor Emelianenko’s sad send-off commanded the lion’s share of the attention over the weekend, Spivak made the biggest statement in the heavyweight division. By rag-dolling Derrick Lewis all over the Octagon in the UFC Fight Night 218 headliner, “The Polar Bear” put the rest of the rest of the weight class on notice in a breakout performance. With victories in six of his last seven UFC outings, Spivak makes his debut in the heavyweight Top 10 while assuring himself of another high-profile matchup down the road. Lewis, meanwhile, is trending in the opposite direction. With losses in four of his last five outings — all inside the distance — “The Black Beast” tumbles to No. 11 in the divisional poll.

Meanwhile, Marcin Tybura, the only man to best Spivak during the Moldovan’s current run, kept churning along with an ugly win over Blagoy Ivanov on the UFC Fight Night 218 main card. Though he wasn’t as impressive as Spivak in victory, the Pole has won seven of his last eight UFC appearances and remains a tough out for virtually anyone he faces. He checks in at No. 8 — one spot ahead of Spivak. Finally, Ryan Bader did as expected when he dispatched Emelianenko in the Bellator 290 main event, a victory which allows the promotion’s reigning heavyweight king to remain in the Top 10 — but nothing more.

Elsewhere, Johnny Eblen continued his ascent at middleweight, as he authored an impressive title defense against Anatoly Tokov in the Bellator 290 co-headliner. After taking the prospect route during his first two years in Bellator, the American Top Team product has quickly climbed the rankings by virtue of clear-cut wins against the likes of Tokov, Gegard Mousasi and John Salter. While a Mousasi rematch looms large, Eblen’s greatest task in the months to come could be finding more worthy challenges in Bellator’s 185-pound weight class.

Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.

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