1. Jessica McCaskill: She god-damned did it again. After pulling one of the biggest upsets in recent boxing memory toppling Cecilia Braekhus, she came in as an underdog, even I picked against her, and she did it again, proving it was no fluke and retaining her crown atop the welterweight division.
2. Juan Francisco Estrada: His fight with Roman Gonzalez was everything it was billed as, delivering in spades. 117-111 was a baffling scorecard, but nobody could really argue that it could have gone either way, and it went in Estrada’s favor, winning Chocolatito’s WBA junior bantamweight title and Srisaket awaits for a trilogy fight.
3. Steve Walker: In the main event of Lion Fight 64, “Put Em To Sleep” did just that not even a minute into the fight with a hellish tornado head kick that knocked out Glory veteran Brian Collette and retained his North American Super Cruiserweight title.
4. Brandun Lee: And with a thunderous counter right, Lee knocked out Samuel Teah in the main event of Wednesday’s ShoBox card.
5. Ryan Spann: 205 has desperately needed new blood for years now, and fighters like Spann taking advantage of a co-main event, advancing to 5-1 in the UFC with a first-round TKO will help what was formerly the UFC’s marquee division.
6. Rafael Lovato Jr.: Slapped on a kimura to defeat fellow BJJ ace Gabriel Almeida in the main event of Fight To Win 166.
7. Lewis Crocker: And still WBO European welterweight champion after a ten-round unanimous decision after dropping Denix Ilbay with a body shot in the third in the main event on ESPN+ Friday from Lancashire.
8. SARAMI/Mitomo Moriwaki/Haruki Ishiguro/Satomi Suga/Yuki Uchiyama: The five members of Team Carpe Diem, who defeated Team Fairtex and Team Coroblock to win QUINTET Fight Night 6’s all-women team BJJ contest.
9. Gary Cully: Claimed the vacant WBO European strap at lightweight after dispatching Viktor Kotochigov in the second round on Friday’s ESPN+ co-main.
10. Dan Ige: Made quick work of his main card bout. When your entire fight can fit in a streamable clip, you know it’s a good night.
11. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai: Cruised by Kwanthai Sithmoreseng with ease Saturday morning in Thailand, setting up a triolgy fight against Juan Francisco Estrada.
12. Phumi Nkuta: Dethroned Alberto Trujillo and remained undefeated as the new CFFC flyweight champion.
13. Davey Grant: Pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend as a +255 underdog, and not only that, won in spectacular fashion, absolutely melting Jonathan Martinez with a 1-2 and ground followup.
14. Aaron Jeffery: In the main event of the second of CFFC’s doubleheader, Jeffery pitched a 40-36 shutout of champion Collin Huckbody to become the new Cage Fury middleweight champion.
15. Saidyokub Kakharamonov: TKO’d Tycen Lynn not even a minute into the second round to claim the vacant CFFC bantamweight strap.
Honorable Mention:
Jamelle Jones: The new heavyweight champion of Cage Fury Fighting Championship after knocking out Cody Goodale to claim the vacant title at CFFC 93.
Tee Cummins: The Bare Knuckle veteran advanced to 3-0 as a pros, using his fists to knock out Anthony Kalani in the main event of LFA 101.
Warren Thompson/Joseph Stripling: Advanced to the finals of Lion Fight’s North American Heavyweight Title tournament.
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