Bellator MMA Fighter Rankings: Cheick Kongo maintains No. 3 spot at heavyweight with Bellator 265 victory

At this past Friday’s Bellator 265, Cheick Kongo seemed just moments away from his first stoppage loss since 2013 before he turned everything around in dramatic fashion. Kongo managed a come-from-behind TKO win over Sergei Kharitonov in the main event from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Kongo was badly hurt in Round 1 of the fight but came back to rock Kharitonov before taking the fight to the ground and securing a rear-naked choke for the win in the second round. The win got Kongo back into the win column after suffering a split decision loss to Tim Johnson in his most recent outing.

Kongo remains in the No. 3 spot in the heavyweight division in the Bellator MMA Fighter Rankings and stays in the hunt for a third shot at the heavyweight championship.

Below are the top-10 pound-for-pound rankings for both the men and women. The full top-10 rankings for each division within the promotion can be found here. The rankings are voted on by 17 members of the media.

Editor’s note: CBS Sports insider Brian Campbell is a member of the 17-person voting panel. Bellator and CBS Sports are both owned by ViacomCBS.

Bellator Rankings (Aug. 24)

Men’s pound-for-pound

Women’s pound-for-pound

Other notable results

• Welterweight: Logan Storley picked up a split decision victory over Dante Schiro. The win kept Storley in the No. 5 spot at 170 pounds.
• Bantamweight: Jornel Lugo also maintained his ranking after picking up a victory. Lugo beat Keith Lee with a rear-naked choke in a 140-pound catchweight bout.