Conor McGregor moves to No. 2 in UFC pound-for-pound rankings

Conor McGregor leaves the octagon with his title belts after knocking out Eddie Alvarez during a lightweight mixed martial arts bout at UFC 205 on Nov. 13, 2016, at Madison Square Garden. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

TORONTO — Irish MMA phenom Conor McGregor, who added the UFC lightweight title to his featherweight championship on the weekend, has moved up to No. 2 in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings.

McGregor, who trails only flyweight title-holder Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson in the rankings, jumped two spots in voting by a media panel. In moving up, he knocked bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and light-heavyweight title-holder Daniel Cormier to No. 3 and 4, respectively.

Johnson (24-2-1) has won 10 in a row including eight straight defences of his 125-pound crown.

McGregor (21-3-0) stopped Eddie Alvarez in the second round Saturday night at UFC 205 in New York to win the 155-pound title. He already held the 145-pound championship.

Jose Aldo, whom McGregor beat to win the featherweight title, stood fifth in the rankings. Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic was sixth.

The rest of the top 10 was strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (up one), welterweight champion Tyron Woodley (up one), middleweight champion Michael Bisping (up one) and Cris Cyborg (up four).

Toronto’s Misha Cirkunov, No. 14 among light-heavyweights, and Montreal’s Valerie Letourneau, No. 9 among strawweights, are the only ranked Canadians.

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