Now they know what they have to do.
Four days after UFC 223, the promotion's controversial rankings have been updated.
On the Friday before UFC 223, a little over an hour after Max Holloway was pulled from the main event, highly respected lightweight Paul Felder was told he was not being considered for a last-minute title fight as the New York State Athletic Commission noted he was not ranked.
The NYSAC would only consider someone in the top 15 of the rankings, which are 'generated by a voting panel made up of media members' and often derided. It meant Felder, who had made 'championship weight' of 155lbs, was out of the picture but 11th ranked Al Iaquinta was not.
The commission did not consider Iaquinta to be eligible to fight for the title as he had weighed in at 155.2lbs. However, having weighed the New York native's underwear at 0.2lbs, the UFC was happy to promote the fight as a genuine title bout.
All the awkwardness and tough questions an Iaquinta victory would have raised were dismissed and dismantled by Nurmagomedov's comprehensive points win. He was declared the undisputed champion and the latest rankings back that up.
The media heads have got together and
the latest rankings show Nurmagomedov as the one and only UFC lightweight champion.
That spells the end of the Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson title reigns. McGregor had been champion for over 500 days while Ferguson was interim champ for a little over five months. 'El Cucuy', of course, had to withdraw from UFC 223 on April 1 after sustaining an injury whilst on UFC media duties.
- LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION: Khabib Nurmagomedov
- 1 - Conor McGregor
- 2 - Tony Ferguson
- 3 - Eddie Alarez
- 4 - Edson Barboza
- 5 - Dustin Poirier
That leaves one, clear option for both McGregor and Ferguson - get campaigning and working for that undisputed title fight with 'The Eagle'.
Ferguson, despite a lengthy winning streak in the promotion, may next be required to take on another highly ranked fighter to earn another pop at the title. Former champion Eddie Alvarez looks the best available option while he would surely entertain a fight against No.8 ranked Nate Diaz in a money-spinner.
McGregor, despite his ongoing issues with the UFC and Brooklyn law authorities, would be the best fight for the promotion to book next. Nurmagomedov is eager to fight at Madison Square Garden in November so that remains an option even if McGregor - in light of the Barclays Center bus attack - gets a medium-term sanction from his employers.
Elsewhere in the updated rankings, Felder makes an appearance at No.15 in the lightweight division while Georges St-Pierre overtakes Conor McGregor [third up to second] in the notional Pound-For-Pound rankings. Khabib shoots up to No.8 in the P4P list.
