Conor McGregor slips to number 9 in lightweight rankings while Islam Makhachev makes big strides

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Conor McGregor slipped to number 9 in the lightweight rankings following the latest UFC ranking update

Conor McGregor suffered his second-straight defeat in his UFC career for the first time, after he went down to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 via. TKO by means of a doctor stoppage.

The Irishman had already slipped out of the top 5 in the lightweight rankings following his UFC 257 loss to Tony Ferguson.

Conor McGregor stress fracture
McGregor will be out of action for months

He momentarily climbed back into the top 5 after Tony Ferguson’s poor showing at UFC 262, against Beneil Dariush.

However, his loss to Poirier once again at UFC 264, pushed him to number 7 in the rankings. And now, he has slipped 2 more places to number 9, following Islam Makhachev’s surge in the lightweight division.

Ferguson once again broke into the top 5, following McGregor’s defeat at UFC 264, but once again lost one place and slipped to number 6 due to Makhachev, who now sits at number 5.

Lowest of lows for McGregor. Here is the screengrab of the latest UFC ranking update:

Conor McGregor ranking
Latest UFC lightweight rankings

Soon to be title contender Islam Makhachev’s surge to the top

Makhachev is currently on an eight-fight win streak. His last loss came at UFC 192, six years ago. Since then his climb to the top of the lightweight division had been slow initially, but has picked up pace now over the last couple of years.

Islam Makhachev
Islam Makhachev in action at UFC Vegas 31

The Russian sits at number 5 and it will only be a matter of time before he fights for the lightweight title. He had also called out Rafael dos Anjos, Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler following his win against Moises, of which two are ranked below him now.

His coach, and fellow Dagestani Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that he would be fighting for lightweight gold in the next year.

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