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With Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader busy trying to win back the light heavyweight title in the World Grand Prix, Bellator created an interim title for the first time in the history of the promotion. Valentin Moldavsky took home that belt by earning a unanimous decision win over Tim Johnson in the main event of Bellator 261.
The win, which ran Moldavsky’s current winning streak to six, moved him up from the No. 3 spot to No. 1 at heavyweight in the Bellator MMA Fighter Rankings. Johnson slipped one spot from No. 1 to No. 2.
Moldavsky is now in line to fight Bader to unify the titles whenever Bader is finished with his tournament run at 205 pounds.
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 (June 29)
Men’s pound-for-pound
| Fighter | Record |
|---|---|
|
1. Patricio Pitbull |
32-4 |
|
2. Vadim Nemkov |
12-2 |
|
3. Gegard Mousasi |
47-7-2 |
|
4. Ryan Bader |
27-6 |
|
5. Yaroslav Amosov |
26-0 |
|
6. AJ McKee |
17-0 |
|
7. Sergio Pettis |
21-5 |
|
8. Douglas Lima |
32-9 |
|
9. Corey Anderson |
15-5 |
|
10. Juan Archuleta |
25-3 |
Women’s pound-for-pound
| Fighter | Record |
|---|---|
|
1. Cris Cyborg |
23-2 |
|
2. Juliana Velasquez |
11-0 |
|
3. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane |
11-1 |
|
4. Julia Budd |
15-3 |
|
5. Liz Carmouche |
15-7 |
|
6. Arlene Blencowe |
13-8 |
|
7. Denise Kielholtz |
6-2 |
|
8. Cat Zingano |
12-4 |
|
9. Kana Watanabe |
10-0-1 |
|
10. Leslie Smith |
12-8-1 |
Other notable results
- Lightweight: Sidney Outlaw picked up a big win over Myles Jury. The win moved Outlaw up four spots to No. 2 in the division. Jury fell two spots to No. 6.
- Women’s flyweight: Kana Watanabe dropped one spot to No. 4 after losing to No. 2 ranked Liz Carmouche.