Some of the divisions in the UFC recently saw a shake-up, as some fighters climbed up the rankings, while others dropped down. Their movements on the list weren’t that big, as fighters either move one place above or one place below their previous spot. Meanwhile, one of the fighters, who’s a veteran of the game, appeared surprised when he found out about his change in the rankings due to an unsurprising reason.
Flyweight stalwart Tim Elliot has had a pretty mixed career in the UFC since making his debut in the promotion in 2012. He has more losses than wins in Dana White‘s promotion, with his UFC record standing at 9-11 in the two stints, but he does have a title fight in his record, which he lost to Demetrious Johnson in 2016. However, in his last three fights, Elliot is 2-1, as he won his last fight against Sumudaerji via a first-round arm triangle.
But the interesting fact is that Tim Elliot’s last fight took place more than 18 months ago in December 2023. This is what surprised him the most, as the 38-year-old recently made his way into the top ten in the flyweight rankings. Elliot shared a sarcastic comment on social media after finding out about the change in the rankings, claiming that he might very well sit out for some more time, and maybe he could climb the rankings to become the flyweight champion. “Moving on??? If I sit out a while longer, I’ll be the champ,” the veteran wrote on X.
Moving on ??? If i sit out a while longer I’ll be the champ https://t.co/eIOITYFQyP
— Tim Elliott (@TElliott125) June 17, 2025
Well, Tim Elliot may be surprised, but that feeling has to be a pleasant one. He’s only moving up, so now he’ll likely get fights who would mean a step towards the title. And that cannot be far from the truth because the 38-year-old is about to make his return in less than a couple of months against a former title contender. Here’s what we know.
UFC flyweight veteran to fight former title contender
Tim Elliot’s second UFC run appears to be working out for him, as he not only has momentum with two wins in his last two fights, but he also made his move in the rankings. In August, Elliot will be taking on a former title contender, who fought for the title on his UFC debut, Kai Asakura, when the UFC returns to the capital of Illinois, Chicago, at the Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus du Plessis headliner, UFC 319.
Both UFC stars, Kai Asakura and Tim Elliot, took to social media and the end of May to share the news about their fight. The highly touted Japanese star, who sensationally lost to Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 310, seems confident about his chances against his veteran counterpart, captioning his post, “Match decided. I will win,” on Instagram. Well, Elliot hasn’t spoken about his fight publicly yet, so we’ll have to wait and see how he responds to Asakura.
Well, Tim Elliot’s ranking change isn’t the only surprising thing that happened. Light heavyweight contender Zhang Mingyang also saw a movement as he dropped down one place to #14 despite registering a finish in his last fight and remaining undefeated in the UFC. So, what do you think about the rankings? Let us know in the comments down below.
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