Times’ MMA rankings bids farewell to Jon Jones

The Times’ MMA rankings for September as compiled by Todd Martin.

Heavyweight

1. Stipe Miocic

2. Alistair Overeem

3. Fabricio Werdum

4. Cain Velasquez

5. Junior Dos Santos

6. Vitaly Minakov

7. Francis Ngannou

8. Mark Hunt

9. Derrick Lewis

10. Alexander Volkov

Alexander Volkov picked up his fifth straight win, a TKO over Stefan Struve, and moved into the top 10. The biggest heavyweight bout in the near future comes at UFC 216 when Fabricio Werdum and Derrick Lewis look to rebound from competitive setbacks and move back towards title contention.

Light Heavyweight

1. Daniel Cormier

2. Alexander Gustafsson

3. Ryan Bader

4. Phil Davis

5. Volkan Oezdemir

6. Glover Teixeira

7. Jimi Manuwa

8. Misha Cirkunov

9. King Mo Lawal

10. Nikita Krylov

As expected, Jon Jones’ B sample came back positive and he was stripped of the UFC light heavyweight title. Daniel Cormier is in a rough position as the title was returned to him even after fans saw Jones put Cormier out with a head kick. Ryan Bader is scheduled to defend the Bellator light heavyweight title Nov. 3 against Linton Vassell as Bader looks to further build his name outside his longtime home in the UFC.

Middleweight

1. Michael Bisping

2. Robert Whittaker

3. Yoel Romero

4. Luke Rockhold

5. Gegard Mousasi

6. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

7. Chris Weidman

8. David Branch

9. Kelvin Gastelum

10. Derek Brunson

Luke Rockhold returned to the Octagon for the first time since losing the UFC middleweight title to Michael Bisping and he emerged victorious. David Branch gave Rockhold some problems on the feet in the first round but Rockhold took over on the ground in the second and forced Branch to submit to strikes. Lyoto Machida returns from suspension October 28, adding depth to the middleweight division and taking on Derek Brunson in an intriguing matchup.

Welterweight

1. Tyron Woodley

2. Robbie Lawler

3. Stephen Thompson

4. Rory MacDonald

5. Demian Maia

6. Ben Askren

7. Douglas Lima

8. Rafael Dos Anjos

9. Jorge Masvidal

10. Colby Covington

Rafael Dos Anjos continued to make waves in the welterweight division when he demolished Neil Magny on the ground and forced Magny to submit to an arm triangle choke. Dos Anjos and Jorge Masvidal are a couple former lightweights who have moved up in weight and done well.

Lightweight

1. Conor McGregor

2. Khabib Nurmagomedov

3. Tony Ferguson

4. Justin Gaethje

5. Eddie Alvarez

6. Edson Barboza

7. Kevin Lee

8. Michael Chiesa

9. Beneil Dariush

10. Anthony Pettis

A UFC interim lightweight title is being created and it’s a weird one with Kevin Lee facing Tony Ferguson. Ferguson and Lee are top notch fighters worthy of significant fights but the bout doesn’t definitively establish the second best fighter in the division, let alone the first.

Featherweight

1. Max Holloway

2. Jose Aldo

3. Frankie Edgar

4. Ricardo Lamas

5. Cub Swanson

6. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire

7. Daniel Straus

8. Doo Ho Choi

9. Chan Sung Jung

10. Darren Elkins

UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway wants to fight again in 2017, which would bolster a late year card if it happens. Holloway will likely defend against Frankie Edgar in a bid to win his 12^th straight UFC fight. Holloway has looked dominant recently but Edgar is a tough challenge for anyone.

Bantamweight

1. Cody Garbrandt

2. Dominick Cruz

3. T.J. Dillashaw

4. Raphael Assuncao

5. Jimmie Rivera

6. Marlon Moraes

7. Bibiano Fernandes

8. John Lineker

9. Eduardo Dantas

10. Aljamain Sterling

It’s been a long time coming, but Cody Garbrandt and T.J. Dillashaw will finally compete at Madison Square Garden in November for the UFC bantamweight crown. The bout is one of the most compelling in any division in the sport and is a hard fight to pick.

Women’s Bantamweight

1. Amanda Nunes

2. Valentina Shevchenko

3. Julianna Pena

4. Holly Holm

5. Cat Zingano

6. Raquel Pennington

7. Ketlen Vieira

8. Alexis Davis

9. Germaine de Randamie

10. Sara McMann

Over the fierce objections of Valentina Shevchenko, two of three judges declared Amanda Nunes the winner of the Nunes-Shevchenko title fight at UFC 215. It was a close and competitive fight but not one with a lot of action. If Shevchenko had pressed more, perhaps she would have worn down Nunes and taken the decision. In other action, Ketlen Vieira remained undefeated with an upset win over Sara McMann via arm triangle choke.

Flyweight

1. Demetrious Johnson

2. Joseph Benavidez

3. Henry Cejudo

4. Kyoji Horiguchi

5. Ray Borg

6. Jussier Formiga

7. Sergio Pettis

8. Wilson Reis

9. Brandon Moreno

10. John Moraga

Henry Cejudo looked phenomenal in a TKO victory over Wilson Reis at UFC 215. Cejudo comes from an Olympic wrestling background but his striking has turned the corner, combining precision and power. Cejudo is going to be tough for anyone to handle if his strikes continues to improve.

Women’s Strawweight

1. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

2. Claudia Gadelha

3. Karolina Kowalkiewicz

4. Rose Namajunas

5. Jessica Andrade

6. Tecia Torres

7. Carla Esparza

8. Maryna Moroz

9. Jessica Aguilar

10. Cynthia Calvillo

This weekend in Japan, Claudia Gadelha and Jessica Andrade will compete in a compelling strawweight showdown. Both fighters have competed for the title in the past and are looking to earn another crack at Joanna Jedrzejczyk.