Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images

The rankings have been updated following the action at UFC 323 this past weekend.

This past Saturday, the premier promotion returned to Las Vegas for UFC 323, which was the final PPV of the year, and the final PPV of the UFC’s long partnership with ESPN.

The event was headlined by a title fight double header with the flyweight and bantamweight titles on the line, with both titles shockingly changing hands.

In the co-main event, Joshua Van dethroned Alexandre Pantoja after a horrific injury put an end to the fight in the very first round, and in the main event, Petr Yan shockingly put an end to Merab Dvalishvili‘s long reign.

Are you surprised by how the UFC 323 main event between Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan played out?

The Russian challenger put on a masterclass to dethrone ‘The Machine’ in Las Vegas.

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Petr Yan jumps into the P4P top 10 as Dvalishvili plummets

Prior to the weekend’s action, ‘No Mercy’ Yan wasn’t ranked inside the top 15 of the pound-for-pound rankings, and the Georgian bantamweight found himself at third in the rankings following a dominant year.

However, after the action in Las Vegas, the Russian bantamweight champion has now broken into the top 10 of the pound-for-pound rankings, occupying rank six.

Dvalishvili on the other hand has fallen out of the top five, and is now ranked at number eight in the rankings, with Alex Pereira and Alexander Volkanovski also benefitting from Dvalishvili’s loss, both jumping up two spots.

Before the weekend, ‘The Cannibal’ Pantoja was ranked number five pound-for-pound, but following his injury loss, the Brazilian has fallen to rank nine.

‘The Fearless’ Van has also gone from not ranked to number 11 pound-for-pound, overtaking the likes of Dricus Du Plessis, Jack Della Maddalena and Arman Tsarukyan.

Who do you want to see Joshua Van fight next?

Let us know in the comments who you think his first flyweight title defense should be against.

Options for Joshua Van after UFC 323:

• Tatsuro Taira
• Winner of Brandon Royval vs Manel Kape
• Wait for Alexandre Pantoja’s return

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

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Can Yan become a top 3 pound-for-pound fighter?

Over the past year, it has become obvious that Islam Makhachev, Ilia Topuria, and Khamzat Chimaev are the most dominant fighters on the planet.

However, ‘No Mercy’ Yan has consistently showcased that he has one of the most well-rounded skillsets in the sport, and if he is able to accumulate multiple title defenses at 135lbs, he may be able to crack the top three.

Despite that, first he will likely have to defend his title in a trilogy against Dvalishvili, before potentially meeting Umar Nurmagomedov in what would be a huge fight in the division.