1. Demetrius Andrade: And still WBO Middleweight champion despite a valiant effort from Liam Williams on Saturday. Andrade and promoter Eddie Hearn weren’t shy about calling out every other champion in the division, including Canelo, afterwards.
2. Vadim Nemkov: For the second time, Nemkov edged Phil Davis by close decision, this time, however, he retained his Bellator Light Heavyweight title and advanced in the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix.
3. Robert Whittaker: The number-one contender at middleweight, pitching a shutout over Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC on ESPN Saturday.
4. Christian Lee: Retained his ONE Lightweight championship Wednesday on TNT, stopping Timofey Nastyukhin in the first round.
5. Jake Paul: Bizarre as the stoppage might have been, you can’t argue with the knockdown, which was a sharp right, that floored Ben Askren and maybe gave some credence and cred to Jake Paul’s boxing abilities.
6. Corey Anderson: Onward and upward, as he TKO’d his way to the semifinals of the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix.
7. Hanna Gabriels: The new WBC Women’s Heavyweight and WBA Women’s Light Heavyweight champion at a fight that took place at super middleweight because women’s boxing gets pretty weird as you get higher in weight.
8. Josh Hinger: Decisioned Rafael Barbosa in the main event of Fight To Win 170, taking his Master’s belt off of him for his trouble.
9. Carlos Gongora: Still the super middleweight torch-bearer for the IBO after making quick work of Christopher Pearson in the co-main event of DAZN’s Saturday card.
10. Andrey Fedosov: Winner of the biggest upset of the week, knocking out Olympic bronze medalist Mahammadrasul Majidov so violently, that Majidov suffered an apparent ankle injury and wasn’t able to continue.
11. Andrei Arlovski: The former world champion stepped up on a week’s notice and into a co-main event spot to best Chase Sherman on the scorecards Saturday on ESPN.
12. Fabio Turchi: Headlining Friday’s DAZN card from Milan, Turchi claimed the EBU strap at cruiserweight.
13. Janet Todd: Introduced the American audience to her brand of precision muay thai on Wednesday.
14. Efetobor Apochi: Took advantage of a co-main event spot on FOX, putting Deon Nicholson on the canvas twice en route to a third-round KO.
15. Aaron McKenzie: In a three-round lightweight main event at LFA 104, it was McKenzie walking away the victor by decision over Brandon Phillips.
Honorable Mention:
Regis Prograis: After Ivan Redkach cried foul, literally, after a seemingly-phantom low blow, Prograis earned the win and hopefully on to better and more relevant fighters.
Steve Cunningham
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