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What's the story?
The UFC Lightweight Division rankings have changed and that's extremely good news for one particular fighter.
'Raging Al' Iaquinta closed of UFC's deal with Fox in one final event at UFC on Fox 31: Lee vs. Iaquinta 2 in a big way. It appears that the changes to the UFC Official Fighter ranks have been largely in his favour.
In case you didn't know...
Al Iaquinta faced Kevin Lee in the at UFC on Fox 31 in the main event of the night. Following an immense performance in all five rounds of the night, he was handed a major win as Kevin Lee failed to beat Iaquinta for the second time in his UFC career.
The two had previously faced each other in the Octagon when Lee had made his debut. On that occasion as well, Lee had been handed a loss by 'Raging Al'.
The show also saw the end of UFC's broadcasting contract with Fox. The company had been with them for nearly a decade. Instead, from January of 2019, UFC will be moving to ESPN.
The heart of the matter
The ranking change after Kevin Lee's fight against Iaquinta saw the latter jump up the UFC rankings in a big way. Whereas he had been previously ranked at Number 8, he is now at Number 4 on the rankings for the UFC Lightweight Division.
This being one of the most packed divisions in the UFC, this rise saw Kevin Lee, Edson Barboza, Justin Gaethje, and Anthony Pettis fall down one spot each. Of course, sitting on top of the rankings is none other than UFC Lightweight Champion, the undefeated, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
What's next?
UFC already has their first show scheduled for ESPN+, which will be taking place on the 19th of January in the new year. With a massive headliner like TJ Dillashaw facing Henry Cejudo in a Champion vs. Champion fight for the UFC Lightweight Championship, the fight has garnered a lot of attention.
Even closer is the last UFC event of the year. Set to take place on the 29th of December, 2018, UFC 232 (along with a huge reveal by the UFC) will see Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson headline the main event.
Meanwhile, 'Raging Al' Iaquinta will be looking to the future and will be hopeful of working his way into a rematch for the UFC Lightweight Championship.
