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Ranking Update

Rankings update: Pico enters featherweight top 15, Hockit climbs to heavyweight #5

Oscar Nascimento, MMA News Editor at AgentMMABy Oscar Nascimento
Updated AgentMMA.com
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The UFC has updated its official rankings across multiple weight classes. Aaron Pico entered the featherweight top 15 at number 13, displacing Patricio Pitbull to 15th place. Josh Hockit moved up to fifth in the heavyweight division, pushing Curtis Blaydes down to sixth. Paulo Costa entered the light heavyweight rankings at seventh place, while Azamat Murzakanov dropped to eighth following their recent bout. The changes reflect recent fight outcomes and organizational decisions.

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The UFC released an updated set of divisional rankings on April 14, 2026, reshaping the featherweight, heavyweight, and light heavyweight top fifteens following a series of recent fight results and organizational decisions.

Paulo Costa
Paulo Costa

Aaron Pico is the most notable new entrant, cracking the featherweight top 15 at number 13. The 29-year-old American, who trains out of Jackson-Wink MMA, carries a 14-5 record and brings an unusually high wrestling output to the division, averaging nearly nine takedowns per 15 minutes. At five-foot-eight with a 70-inch reach, Pico has been one of the more physically compact fighters in the 145-pound bracket, and his debut inside the rankings marks a significant step in his UFC tenure.

Aaron Pico
Aaron Pico

His arrival pushed Patricio "Pitbull" Pitbull down to 15th place. The 38-year-old Brazilian veteran, who competes out of the Pitbull Brothers camp, holds a 37-9 record and brings considerable pedigree to the division. Despite the slide, his résumé remains among the deepest in the weight class.

Patricio Pitbull
Patricio Pitbull

In the light heavyweight division, Paulo Costa entered the rankings at seventh place, with Azamat Murzakanov dropping to eighth in the wake of their recent bout. Costa, known as "The Eraser," is a 35-year-old Brazilian orthodox striker carrying a 16-4 record. He lands 6.26 significant strikes per minute at a 58 percent accuracy rate — among the more efficient output profiles in the sport — and operates out of Team Borracha.

Azamat Murzakanov
Azamat Murzakanov

At heavyweight, Josh Hockit climbed to fifth, pushing Curtis Blaydes down one spot to sixth.

Curtis Blaydes
Curtis Blaydes

Why it matters

  • Pico's featherweight ranking entry signals the UFC's formal recognition of his contender status at 145 pounds
  • Costa's light heavyweight debut in the rankings opens a new divisional chapter for the former middleweight standout
  • Hockit's rise to fifth at heavyweight tightens an already competitive top ten in the division's upper tier
Published by AgentMMA

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