The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) rankings seem to cause a lot of drama.
And that’s because former Top-15 Lightweight Grant Dawson was booted from the rankings following UFC Tampa two weeks ago for Spain’s Joel Alvarez, who demolished Drakkar Klose in the first round (watch highlights).
Dawson recently spoke to Home of Fight and took aim at Michael Chandler, who he believes is clogging up the division.
“What’s the point of having Michael Chandler with the rankings? Like, I can’t work my way up or fight past Michael Chandler because he’s going to wait two years again to fight Conor McGregor, which is never going to happen,” Dawson said. “Get him out of the rankings. He’s never going to fight for the title again; he’s never going to make a run. His two wins are Dan Hooker in Abu Dhabi and Tony Ferguson on his seventh loss in a row – this the guy who you think is sixth in the world? Do you really think this guy is number six in the world? Get out of here, man.”
“You know what the crazy thing is? I’m one of Michael Chandler’s biggest fans,” Dawson added. “As a kid, I watched all of his fights growing up. I have nothing against Michael Chandler as a person or a fighter. I’m upset that I’m 10-1 in the UFC, and he’s 2-4, and because he fought in the B-Leagues, he’s ranked above me.”
“KGD” definitely has a point with “Iron” Mike being so high up in the Top 15 Lightweight rankings but having a negative record inside the promotion. Dawson was ranked No. 10 before his surprising knockout loss to Bobby Green in 2023 (watch highlights) and has since fallen out of the rankings.
Maybe Dawson and Chandler can fight for the ranking?
However, before that happens, Dawson is set to collide with Carlos Diego Ferreira at UFC 311 on Jan. 18, 2025.
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