Tom Aspinall suffers dip in pound-for-pound rankings after UFC 314

Tom Aspinall has dropped out of the pound-for-pound top 10 after UFC 314.

The interim heavyweight champion had been ranked No.10 in the UFC ratings before this weekend.

However, Aspinall fell one place to No.11 after being leapfrogged by Alexander Volkanovski.

The Aussie regained the featherweight strap in a vacant world title fight on Saturday night by beating Diego Lopes via unanimous decision.

As a result, he was given a boost in the ratings from No.11 to No.9.

UFC flyweight champion Alexander Pantoja also dropped one spot from No.9 to No.10 due to Volkanovski's triumph.

The rest of the pound-for-pound rankings remain unchanged as of Monday, with Islam Makhachev, Jon Jones, Ilia Topuria, Merab Dvalishvili and Dricus Du Plessis still making up the top five.

Volkanovski's win over Lopes was a make-or-break moment for the twilight of his career.

Heading into fight night, Volkanovski was riding a two-fight skid, and at 36 years old, victory was imperative for him to remain at the top table.

Volkanovski overcame early adversity, being dropped in the second round, to outclass the Brazilian over the distance.

The shot that decked him also caused him to lose sight in his one eye, but Volk rallied in the second half of the fight.

"I completely lost vision in my left eye," Volkanovski told MainEventTV.

"It was a good shot. I couldn't see, and I was just trying to get it back, but it was completely gone.

"It slowly came back a little bit. For the rest of the fight, I could, at least, see a bit of a blur, which helped.

"Because it went from nothing - I was like, 'Oh s*** this ain't good'.

"But then it got a little bit better, so I could understand the vision and stuff."

Volkanovski is hoping to return to the Octagon in either July or September.

Movsar Evloev is the frontrunner to face him next.

The Russian is 9-0 under the UFC banner and is ranked No.4 in the featherweight rankings.

Meanwhile, for Aspinall, he's still waiting for his next opponent after last beating Curtis Blaydes in July 2024.

He's eyeing a highly anticipated meeting with Jones and has revealed many times that he has already accepted the bout.

However, the Brit is just waiting for a 'yes' from Jones' camp.

But several reports suggest that 'Bones' has asked for six months and a staggering pay cheque to meet Aspinall in the Octagon.

And that has meant the heavyweight unification super fight continues to be dragged out.