UFC 273 is in the books. Khamzat Chimaev made a statement in the welterweight division. Both champions retained their belts, one more convincingly than the other. A number of other divisions also saw a shift in the rankings.

Through the twelve fights on the UFC Columbus card, the Cage Calculus forecast favorites went 9-3, bringing the forecast’s overall record since its inception to 184-108-2. All forecast projections are based on a fighter’s CC rating. You can find out how those ratings are generated HERE. You can view the projections for last week’s fights HERE, HERE, and HERE. The CC Editor’s Picks were 8-4 and the odds-on favorites according to Vegas were 9-3.

2022 Overall Standings

• Cage Calculus Forecast: 81-53
• Cage Calculus Editor Picks: 85-49
• Las Vegas Oddsmakers: 91-43

Without further ado, here’s what we learned from UFC 273:

Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway Must Be Next

Volkanovski continued his run atop the featherweight division in dominant style. He was never in trouble and the fight could’ve been stopped a number of times before it finally was. Volkanovski is now in rarified air, becoming just the eighth fighter to ever eclipse a 2000 CC rating. It is clear that he and Holloway (#1 CC, #1 UFC) are in a league of their own in this weight class. There are 139.9 points separating Holloway from the #2 contender in the CC ratings. Given how close each of their first two matchups were, a trilogy bout between Holloway and Volkanovski is the only fight that makes sense at featherweight (if Volkanovski wants to move up to lightweight, that’s a different story).

Even Less Clarity at Bantamweight

In our recap for UFC 267, we noted that, despite the rankings, Petr Yan (#4 CC, #1 UFC) was the best bantamweight in the UFC. That was because of his performance prior to his illegal knee against the champion Sterling, and because of his strong win over Cory Sandhagen (#9 CC, #4 UFC) in the interim title bout. However, the rematch with Sterling was about as close as they come, and Yan again came out on the wrong side of a controversial loss. Yan has now dropped to 4th in the CC bantamweight ranks because of the two losses. Sterling remains at the top of the heap and seems poised for a bout with former champion TJ Dillashaw (#1 CC, #2 UFC). While that will be a fun fight, it seems odd that Yan will be on the outside looking in for the foreseeable future despite having arguably won two title fights with the current champ. The top of the bantamweight division is crowded, that’s for sure.

Both Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns Improved Their Stock

Chimaev (#15 CC, #3 UFC) and Burns (#5 CC, #4 UFC) went to absolute war. It is a frontrunner fight of the year contender already. Burns proved he could hang with someone who was tabbed as an overwhelming favorite. Chimaev proved his dominance to this point was not simply a product of an easy schedule. Both men improved their stock greatly. Chimaev is still low in the CC rankings because of his relative inexperience. With a bout with Colby Covington (#2 CC, #1 UFC) seemingly in the cards, he’ll soon have a chance to climb further up the rankings.

Mackenzie Dern Will Be in the Title Convo Soon

Dern (#7 CC, #4 UFC) was coming off a tough loss at the hands of Marina Rodriguez (#2 CC, #3 UFC), temporarily halting her strawweight ascent. She recovered nicely with a gritty win over fellow contender, Tecia Torres (#9 CC, #7 UFC). Dern now sits in between the clear top contenders and the lower tier of the strawweight top 15. Another win over a contender should put her no more than one or two away from a title shot. She called out a bunch of names, but one that stands out is Yan Xiaonan (#10 CC, #5 UFC). Xiaonan is also coming off a loss to Rodriguez and is a multi-faceted threat. That would be a solid matchup to determine the trajectory of each fighter. Either way, Dern is someone to watch for as a potential title challenger sometime in 2023.

Raquel Pennington is Close to Another Title Shot

It’s been almost four years since Pennington (#2 CC, #4 UFC) was TKO’d by then-champ Amanda Nunes (#1 CC, #1 UFC) in her lone career title bid. Pennington went on to lose two of her next three after that and looked like retirement might be in the offing. Now, she’s ripped off four straight wins, with this last one being her most impressive and on eight days’ notice. She called for a title eliminator bout with fellow veteran Sara McMann (#15 CC, #8 UFC), who’s won two of her last three, with the lone defeat coming against current champion, Julianna Pena. It feels like a bit of a reach for McMann to be in the title conversation at this stage in her career, but Pennington is right that her next bout ought to be a title eliminator. Whether she gets her wish with McMann or whether it’s another top contender, we haven’t seen the last of Rocky after all.

Photo Credit: The Independent