Alexander Volkanovski's UFC ranking positions remained unchanged on Saturday night despite him suffering a close defeat to No.2 pound-for-pound fighter and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
The pair's bout had been advertised as being for the pound-for-pound No.1 spot, with Makhachev's lightweight title also on the line as featherweight king Volkanovski moved up. But after being defeated on super-tight scorecards, the UFC have opted to maintain the Australian as the top fighter in the world at any weight class.
Pound-for-pound rankings are, essentially, fictitious fantasy-rankings made based on the premise that if weight weren't an issue and fighters' skillsets could be transferred, one would be superior. A voting panel made up of MMA media members picks all UFC rankings when their votes are averaged based on past and current fighter results.
