Robert Whittaker jumps past Conor McGregor in latest ‘UFC Fight Island’ rankings update

Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has leaped past Conor McGregor in the latest UFC Fight Island rankings update.

The UFC updated their official rankings ahead of this week’s highly anticipated pay-per-view event, which is headlined by a rematch between Dustin Poirier and the aforementioned Irishman.

‘Notorious’ has not stepped foot in the Octagon since needing less than a minute to demolish Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 twelve months ago. Due to his lack of activity, Conor McGregor was leap-frogged by Robert Whittaker in the pound-for-pound rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound Rankings

1. Khabib Nurmagomedov
2. Jon Jones
3. Israel Adesanya
4. Stipe Miocic
5. Kamaru Usman
6. Alexander Volkanovski
7. Dustin Poirier
8. Max Holloway
9. Deiveson Figueiredo
10. Petr Yan
11. Justin Gaethje
12. Robert Whittaker +1
13. Conor McGregor -1
14. Francis Ngannou
15. Jan Blachowicz

As seen above, Conor McGregor is now ranked number thirteen in the UFC’s official pound-for-pound rankings.

McGregor is exuding a ton of confidence ahead of his rematch with ‘The Diamond’, promising “something special” while predicting a finish within sixty seconds. The pair first met back at UFC 178 in September of 2013, with McGregor emerging victorious by way of first round knockout.

Despite being starched in their original encounter, Poirier himself is predicting a first round finish in this Saturday’s UFC 257 event headlining rematch with Conor McGregor.

Image via @robwhittakermma on Instagram

As for Robert Whittaker, the former UFC middleweight champion is in talks with the promotion for a potential showdown with recent title challenger Paulo Costa. According to reports, that fight could end up being for the promotions interim middleweight title.

‘The Reaper’ most recently competed at October’s UFC 254 event in Abu Dhabi, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over Jared Cannonier.

What do you think of the latest UFC rankings update, and who are you picking to win this weekend’s highly anticipated rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier? Share your thoughts in the comment section Penn Nation!