Meta AI UFC Rankings Add Several New Fighters Following UFC Baku Fight Card
Meta AI UFC Rankings Add Several New Fighters Following UFC Baku Fight Card
Take a look at the latest updates to the UFC's Meta AI rankings.Drew Beaupre|
Following the conclusion of last weekend’s UFC Baku card, the promotion’s newly-introduced Meta AI rankings have been updated.
Preceding a rare off week that will give combat sports fans a brief respite from the UFC before Conor McGregor’s return fight at UFC 329 next weekend, last Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event saw the promotion return to Baku, Azerbaijan for the second time.
The 13-fight card featured plenty of notable results and some impressive finishes, including in the night’s headlining bout that saw Rafael Fiziev knock out Manuel Torres just 15 seconds into the second round.
Rafael Fiziev Joins Meta AI Rankings After UFC Baku Win
The win over Torres was a massive one for Fiziev, as he came into UFC Baku looking to rebound from a knockout-loss to Mauricio Ruffy that left him on a 1-4 run dating back to 2023.
“Ataman” was already included in the lightweight Top 15 for the UFC’s media panel rankings heading into the event, but the win over Torres also saw Fiziev break into the Meta AI lightweight rankings at #13.
Torres carried the momentum of back-to-back wins into his first main event opportunity but saw his UFC record fall to 5-2 with the loss to Fiziev. Although the fight ended just 15 seconds into the second round, the UFC Baku main event did mark the first time Torres has gone past the opening round since joining the UFC off of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021.
Ikram Aliskerov Breaks Into Meta AI Middleweight Top 10
The other major Meta AI rankings movement produced by UFC Baku came in the middleweight Top15, which experienced a significant shuffle after the event and now features one new name.
Shara Magomedov remains unranked after defeating Michel Pereira in the UFC Baku co-main event, but Abus Magomedov broke into the Meta AI rankings at #15 with his first-round submission of Michal Oleksiejczuk.
The sequence that started it all 👏@OfficialAbus earns the big win at #UFCBaku!
[ LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/MFXgzYpalw— UFC (@ufc) June 27, 2026
Ikram Aliskerov also moved up four places to #10 in the Meta AI middleweight rankings following his unanimous decision over Brunno Ferreira, which put Aliskerov on a three-fight winning streak following his lone UFC loss to Robert Whittaker in 2024.
Hard-fought 15 @Ikram_Aliskerov earns the UD win to make it 3 consecutive!
— UFC (@ufc) June 27, 2026
[ #UFCBaku | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/ZOGdSTP2DT
The Russian’s move up to #10 dropped several fighters down one place each in the rankings. Joe Pyfer also swapped places with Brendan Allen and now sits at #4 after the latest update to the Meta UFC rankings.
Joseph Morales Makes Surprise Debut in Flyweight Rankings
There were also some minor changes in the flyweight rankings after UFC Baku, which only featured one flyweight bout out of the 13 scheduled fights.
That lone 125 lbs. matchup saw Asu Almabayev secure his third win in a row when he forced a tap from Charles Johnson with a rarely-seen suloev stretch in the third round. Almabayev moved up one spot to #6 in the Meta AI rankings and bumped Kyoji Horiguchi down to #7.
A SUPURB SUBMISSION 🤩
Asu Almabayev locks up the suloev stretch in RD3!
[ #UFCBaku | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/jFdIsMe1ZL— UFC (@ufc) June 27, 2026
Unrelated to any of the results at UFC Baku, Joseph Morales also debuts in the Meta AI flyweight rankings at #15. Morales hasn’t competed yet this year, but he did stop Matt Schnell in the first round last November after he also submitted Alibi Idiris to become the flyweight winner of The Ultimate
Fighter Season 33.
Published 1 minute ago
DREW BEAUPREDrew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price subsidising their life by livestreaming
Venezuela Fury and her husband Noah Price look to be making their own way in the world by raking it in from their lucrative social media accounts.
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury, 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year.
Since getting married and moving in together the couple have been earning thousands of pounds a month, livestreaming their life as newlyweds in their static caravan in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
And fans can't get enough of their regular life updates on TikTok and Kick, which have proved to be very profitable for the pair.
They look to be supporting themselves after Noah denied that he was given £5million by Venezuela's family as a wedding gift.
Despite his wife's huge family wealth, an estimated combined £160 million, Noah recently told his Kick followers that he 'pays for everything' for the couple.
Making light of the claims about Venezuela's millionaire financial status, Noah said: 'I actually pay for everything unfortunately. You'd expect the millionaire to pay for it wouldn't you.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price are earning thousands livestreaming their caravan life - after her new groom insisted he pays all the bills and denied he had £5m handout from her dad
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury , 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year
Venezuela then asked their fans: 'Do you think I am a millionaire?'
Noah joked: 'She isn't a secret millionaire guys', before she broke into song and sang: 'But I live like a millionaire!'
But it seems according to estimated calculations from their social media work, Noah and Venezuela can more than afford to support themselves.
Noah has been livestreaming on platforms such as Kick and TikTok, where viewers can send paid gifts or donations.
He was previously encouraging viewers to send gifts on his honeymoon during livestreams, suggesting this is one revenue stream.
Both Noah and Venezuela have built substantial followings on Instagram and TikTok. They can potentially earn money through sponsored posts, brand collaborations, affiliate links and creator payouts.
Kick allows its creators to take home 95 per cent of the £4.99 subscription cost that fans pay.
Streamers keep 100 per cent of direct tips and donations, minus minor standard payment processing fees.
It is unclear how many subscribers Noah currently has because this information is hidden, but he does have 7,200 followers which is publicly viewable.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million
In one video on their honeymoon, Noah asked his followers if they'd give them some more gifts now that they were married.
In a TikTok live viewed by 20,000 he said: 'Keep liking our videos people, keep sending gifts.'
After saying thank you to several of his followers he joked they should stick around on the livestream and 'watch Venezuela punch me in the mouth'.
The other half of the honeymooning couple said: 'I am, honestly!'
Noah previously confirmed that the pair don't share their finances after they were asked whether they have a shared bank account.
'She earns her money, I earn mine,' said Noah, as Venezuela joked: 'Yeah, what you gonna do about it.'
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'.
Meanwhile Venezuela is being eyed up by executives for a fly on the wall TV series.
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'
Boasting 1.3 million TikTok followers, Venezuela is already entertaining fans with her honest musings and candid moments, from cooking to kitting out her and Noah's static caravan home.
And following the success of the Netflix series At Home With The Furys, it is no wonder bosses are wanting to draw on the Fury popularity.
A TV insider said: 'The couple are not A-list celebrities but everyone has become obsessed with their love story.
'People are genuinely intrigued by them. Whether it’s the fact they have married so young, Venezuela’s famous family or their gypsy lifestyle, they have the ‘X factor'.
'Several TV executives think a proper fly-on-the-wall series following their lives as newlyweds in the gypsy community would be fascinating,' they told The Sun.
It is thought Netflix would be likely to produce the series due to their already established relationship with the Furys.
Venezuela's representatives told The Daily Mail: 'We have many offers on the table regarding Venezuela which we are discussing.'
