Allan Nascimento questions UFC flyweight rankings logic

Allan Nascimento will chase his fifth consecutive UFC victory when he faces Mitch Raposo at UFC Vegas 119 on Saturday, yet the flyweight contender remains puzzled by his exclusion from the division's top 15.

Nascimento has won four straight since 2025, including a bonus-earning submission of Cody Durden and two wins over Jafel Filho, but the ranking panel has yet to slot him among the elite. The Chute Boxe product told MMA Fighting he struggles to see any rationale behind the current system. "When you bring in an athlete coming off a loss, one who has never been ranked before, and put them at No. 15, while another athlete on a four-fight win streak doesn't get in, there's no logic to it," he said.

Nascimento on staying active and climbing the flyweight ladder

The Brazilian spent long stretches sidelined between 2022 and 2024 due to injury, but a busier schedule has allowed him to build momentum. He was originally set to meet Raposo in April before his opponent fell ill, pushing the bout to this weekend's card. Nascimento acknowledged that consistent cage time sharpens a fighter in ways training cannot replicate. "It's only inside the cage that you truly feel the things that change the environment," he said, per MMA Fighting. "Going into another fight in such a short time is great because that feeling is still fresh."

Raposo enters the matchup 1-2 in the UFC after losses on Dana White's Contender Series and The Ultimate Fighter, giving him little margin for error. Nascimento called the Canadian explosive but promised to find openings in his game. He added that Charles Oliveira, who has cornered him for most of his UFC run, set an example of prioritizing wins over spectacle when Oliveira dominated Max Holloway for the BMF belt earlier this year. "We need to entertain the fans, get the crowd going, but at the end of the day, we need to secure the win," Nascimento said.

As for the rankings, Nascimento said he expects to break through eventually — "at some point, with win after win, there won't be much of a way around it" — but remains realistic that the decision rests with the panel. A dominant finish Saturday in Las Vegas would strengthen his case, though he noted that even entertaining performances cannot replace the security of a green mark on Sherdog.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — Allan Nascimento wants top 15 status after UFC Vegas 119 but ‘there’s no logic’ in rankings