UFC Rankings Update: Tony Ferguson officially unranked, Drew Dober in lightweight top 15, flyweight division sees movement

UFC Vegas 66 served as the promotion's last event of 2022 and delivered some very entertaining fights, causing a shuffle in the official rankings. The main event saw Jared Cannonier beat Sean Strickland via split decision.

Post-event, the flyweight division has seen the most changes, with Amir Albazi going up one spot and Manel Kape gaining three places. Albazi replaced Matt Schnell at No.7, with the American slipping down to No.8 after his loss to Matheus Nicolau at UFC Orlando.

Albazi beat Alessandro Costa via third-round TKO this past weekend, while Kape defeated David Dvorak via decision on the same preliminary card. 'Starboy' now occupies the No.9 spot, while Dvorak, Tim Elliot and Sumudaerji slid down one spot each.

The lightweight division, meanwhile, saw a change in the old guard as former interim champion Tony Ferguson is no longer in the official rankings. It comes just days after Conor McGregor also dropped out of the rankings.

'El Cucuy' is on a devastating five-fight losing streak, with his last victory coming against Donald Cerrone in 2019. Meanwhile, McGregor has been out of action since his leg fracture against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 last year.

With Ferguson's exit, Drew Dober has entered the lightweight rankings, coming in at No.14, with Grant Dawson slipping down one spot. Dober beat Bobby Green via second-round knockout at UFC Vegas 66.

Elsewhere, Alex Caceres entered the featherweight rankings at No.15 after the 34-year-old secured a first-round knockout against Julian Erosa.

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Drew Dober confident of derailing the Paddy Pimblett hype train, calls him the new UFC "cash cow"

Drew Dober is certainly on a roll. The 34-year-old Nebraskan has fought thrice this year, emerging triumphant on all three occasions and earning himself a spot inside the lightweight top 15.

His electrifying second-round knockout against Bobby Green this past weekend also saw him earn a Performance of the Night bonus.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Dober was asked for his thoughts on Paddy Pimblett's performance against Jared Gordon and how he sees a potential matchup between himself and 'The Baddy' playing out.

Dober stated:

"He's [Paddy Pimblett] a cash cow. He's somebody that they're gonna wanna try to keep in the UFC for as long as possible, and I'm notorious for killing hypes... He leaves his chin up there way too long. His jiu-jitsu is a problem for sure...and so he might win this first round, but I will find his chin... I think it was just a really, really close fight [Pimblett vs. Gordon]."

Watch the full video below:

Although a fight with Pimblett doesn't seem likely anytime soon, Dober is keen to face Jalin Turner, who is currently riding a five-fight winning streak.

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