UFC 273: Khamzat Chimaev reaches all-time high in UFC rankings

UFC star Khamzat Chimaev has been bumped up to #3 in the welterweight rankings following his win over Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.

Last Saturday night in Jacksonville, Khamzat Chimaev managed to overcome his biggest test yet by defeating Gilbert Burns to establish himself as a legitimate title contender at 170 pounds. The man known as ‘Borz’ was able to grind out a unanimous decision win and in doing so, beat a man who is widely considered to be one of the best welterweights in the world.

He had to walk through fire in order to get there but as per his own remarks, that’s exactly the kind of challenge he’d been searching for.

The big question following the win was related to the UFC’s rankings. After all, Chimaev was previously ranked at #11 with Burns being recognised as the #2 welterweight behind #1 Colby Covington and, of course, the champion Kamaru Usman.

Now, the rankings have been updated with Chimaev making a huge leap up to third place.

Khamzat Chimaev has risen eight places in the welterweight rankings to No.3 after his UFC 273 victory over Gilbert Burns.Alexander Volkanovski, meanwhile, is now No.2 in the pound-for-pound ranks.#UFC pic.twitter.com/XOZSbDetWC

As a result of his defeat, Burns slipped down to fourth with Leon Edwards taking his spot – likely because he’s believed to be the next man in line to challenge ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ for the belt.

Elsewhere in the rankings we saw Alexander Volkanovski jump to #2 in the pound-for-pound list, vaulting himself above City Kickboxing teammate Israel Adesanya in the process.

Khamzat Chimaev was well aware of the danger that Gilbert Burns presented and still managed to look great in what turned out to be a real showcase of his heart and determination. The next