Joe Pyfer boots Israel Adesanya from middleweight Top 5 in UFC Seattle rankings update
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 28: Israel Adesanya of Nigeria reacts after a TKO loss against Joe Pyfer in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Climate Pledge Arena on March 28, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was stopped by Joe Pyfer in the UFC Seattle main event last weekend on Paramount+ , his fourth straight loss and third straight finish. “The Last Stylebender,” who turns 37 in July, refuses to retire and may end up in a situation like Anderson Silva, where the promotion was forced to save “The Spider” from himself .
We’re not there yet … but we’re also not far off. Adesanya (24-6) dropped out of the middleweight Top 5 in the latest UFC rankings update. As for Pyfer (16-3), the winner of four straight with three finishes, he climbed eight spots to land at No.
6, tied with fellow middleweight contender Anthony Hernandez. In addition, Brendan Allen was able to benefit from the shakeup, rising a pair of slots to No. 4, just behind former champion Sean Strickland.
Here’s how the rankings are compiled, at least until AI takes over : Rankings are generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC.
A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.
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