Manuel Torres is not any longer fighting up the rankings at UFC Baku.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Mexican star is appearing within the UFC important event highlight for the very first time on Saturday in Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n For the promotion\u2019s second visit to the country, Torres will headline UFC Baku against Rafael Fiziev, the house favorite who will likely be hoping to placed on a show for his compatriots.<\/p>\n And after the introduction of the UFC\u2019s recent Meta AI rankings, \u2018Ataman\u2019 can be attempting to regain his spot within the lightweight top 15.<\/p>\n Dana White has long criticized the UFC rankings, which were previously only voted on by some obscure media outlets, a few of which were even defunct.<\/p>\n The UFC president often suggested the promotion was planning to implement AI rankings to create a real merit-based system, and that finally arrived this past Monday.<\/p>\n 27 fighters lost the numbers next to their names, including former undisputed champions Robert Whittaker, Jessica Andrade, and Miesha Tate. Fiziev was also among the many victims of the update, as he lost his No. 11 spot right at first of UFC Baku fight week.<\/p>\n Which means the No. 13-ranked Torres will now not be fighting up the lightweight ladder on June 17, however the Mexican contender is unfazed by that sudden change.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it goes against me because he\u2019s at all times giving good fights, and should you give it some thought, he\u2019s had two amazing battles against\u00a0Justin Gaethje, who\u2019s now the champion,\u201d Torres told MMA Junkie<\/a> through an interpreter.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it gets in my way or it\u2019s detrimental to me. I\u2019m just going to go on the market and fight.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m there in the combination, and if I do well, I do imagine that I could get a title shot as well,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Despite the rankings alteration, a win over Fiziev would still do wonders for Torres\u2019 title ambitions within the UFC.<\/p>\n \u2018Ataman\u2019 spent some time contained in the lightweight top 10 and shared the cage with current champion Justin Gaethje for half-hour across two fights, boosting his fame within the UFC.<\/p>\n While the Azerbaijani targets a rebound win after a knockout loss to Mauricio Ruffy last outing, \u2018El Loco\u2019 is planning to increase his winning streak to a few.<\/p>\nIt’s Justin Gaethje vs three boxing stars on the 2026 ESPY Awards \u2014 who should win? \ud83d\udc4a<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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<\/div>Manuel Torres was fighting the No. 11-ranked lightweight at UFC Baku before the brand new rankings<\/h2>\n