The five fight cards for UFC’s July slate are officially in the books! The month saw two champions retain their belts and two former champions get UFC gold wrapped around their waste once again.

Through the 61 fights on the UFC’s five July cards, the Cage Calculus forecast favorites went 37-24, bringing the forecast’s overall record since its inception to 293-182-2. All forecast projections are based on a fighter’s CC rating. You can find out how those ratings are generated HERE. The CC Editor’s Picks were 44-17 and the odds-on favorites according to Vegas were 41-20.

2022 Overall Standings

• Cage Calculus Forecast: 190-127
• Cage Calculus Editor Picks: 195-122
• Las Vegas Oddsmakers: 208-109

Without further ado, here’s what we learned from the UFC in July:

Champions Are Starting to Lap Their Divisions

Israel Adesanya looked bored at times in the cage against Jared Cannonier. The performance illicited boos from the crowd, but was a dominant performance nonetheless. Adesanya has seemingly figured out he can pick opponents apart with jabs and leg kicks and there seemingly does not exist anyone at 185 pounds who can do anything about it. Adesanya now sits 131.8 points higher than Robert Whittaker (#1 CC, #1 UFC), the next highest rated middleweight. And, the apparent next-in-line Alex Pereira (NR CC, #5 UFC) will come into that title bout unranked in the Cage Calculus rankings and will only have an 11.9 percent chance according to the CC forecast. Another shot at light heavyweight gold may soon be in the offing for Adesanya.

Alexander Volkanovski (pictured above) also cemented himself as far superior to the pack at featherweight. He dispatched Max Holloway (#1 CC, #1 UFC) for a third time, leaving no doubts this time. He is now 102.7 points ahead of Holloway, who himself stands 131.7 points above the #2 contender in the CC Rankings. Volkanovski is taking time off to recover from a hand injury and will either face the winner of an interim title bout while he’s out or make a move up to lightweight in an effort to become a double champ.

The Lioness Back on Top

Some wondered whether Amanda Nunes’ loss of her bantamweight belt signaled a changing of the guard for the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all-time. It was not to be. Nunes still came in as a 75.1 percent favorite in her rematch with Julianna Pena (#1 CC, #1 UFC) despite her prior loss. She now stands 222.6 points above Pena, who is the next highest bantamweight. She also reclaimed her top spot in the women’s overall rankings, supplanting flyweight champ, Valentina Shevchenko. A trilogy superfight with Shevchenko may be the only logical next bout for Nunes, who has shown she’s still clearly the best there is.

There’s An Embarrassment of Riches at Men’s Flyweight

Brandon Moreno became interim champ, setting up an unprecedented fourth bout with champion Deiveson Figueiredo. Moreno put on a fight of the night performance with Kai Kara-France (#5 CC, #3 UFC), who looked to be hanging in there until Moreno delivered a precise liver kick.

Additionally, Alexandre Pantoja (#2 CC, #2 UFC) looked like a man possessed in the octagon, securing a lightning quick first round submission. He could be in line for a title shot very soon, and having previously bested Moreno, only bolsters his case. Further, dangerous top contenders Askar Askarov (#3 CC, #4 UFC) and Brandon Royval (#13 CC, #5 UFC) were announced to be set for a face-off in October. There are a lot of lions at flyweight circling the belt and it should be that way for some time going ahead.

Injuries Cloud Title Pictures

The UFC saw two main events that were supposed to promote future title contenders end anti-climactically with injuries in the first round. Both featherweight Brian Ortega (#4 CC, #3 UFC) and heavyweight Tom Aspinall (#11 CC, #6 UFC) fell to freak injuries early in their main event bouts. This left the winners with no satisfaction and little claim to title shots and the UFC in a bind. It remains to be seen how that’ll impact the rankings and the title picture in these divisions. But, with champs of both divisions waiting out injuries, there’s some time and less urgency to figure it out.

Under-the-Radar Names to Watch From July Fights

These fighters delivered solid wins and should be getting more respect in UFC rankings pictures than they are. These fighters could be primed for big wins up the ladder soon.

• Nikita Krylov
• Molly McCann
• Said Nurmagomedov
• Jalin Turner
• Saiyokub Kakhramonov
• Ricky Simon
• Muhammad Mokaev
• Michael Morales

Photo Credit: NY Post