At the top of their game: Gaethje, Gane rise to No. 1 in MMA divisional rankings
Lightweight Justin Gaethje, left, and heavyweight Ciryl Gane walked away with the gold on Sunday -- each with a title belt for his weight class plus one signifying a win at the White House. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
Ciryl Gane was an afterthought going into Sunday's UFC fights at the White House. The lead story surrounding the co-main event was the quest of his opponent, Alex Pereira, to become the promotion's first three-division champion.
Justin Gaethje wasn't entirely overlooked in advance of the main event, but the central question on him was not whether he could handle unbeaten Ilia Topuria but whether he would retire after the fight.
Then Gane and Gaethje went out and wrote their own stories, ones with happy endings in the form of championship belts. As a result, both have risen to No. 1 in their top 10s in the ESPN divisional rankings.
Gane, previously No. 3 at heavyweight, moves up to the top after winning an interim championship. Gaethje jumps from No. 5 to the No. 1 spot after capturing the undisputed lightweight title in his third try.
Pereira, a two-time light heavyweight champion and former middleweight titlist who was competing at heavyweight for the first time, remains in the 205-pound rankings until he reveals what division he will fight in moving forward.
The only other movement coming as a result of Sunday's fights is Steve Garcia dropping one position at featherweight to No. 8 after a knockout loss to Diego Lopes, who remains at No. 3.
At welterweight, Kamaru Usman is newly ineligible and out of the rankings after having not fought in over a year. He's been replaced by 10th-ranked Yaroslav Amosov.
Results are current; rankings as of June 16. To be eligible for the rankings, a fighter must have competed over the past 12 months or must have an upcoming fight booked. Fighters who have been dropped for inactivity can be reinstated only after they compete.
