Alexander Volkov wanted to know what steps were required to secure a heavyweight title shot.

While he didn’t get a straight answer from UFC CEO Dana White, who may or may not recognize Volkov if he tripped over “Drago” in the subway, the Russian may have answered his own question with his victory over fellow ranked contender Rizvan Kuniev at UFC 333 last weekend in Abu Dhabi.

Volkov shot past Alex Pereira to secure the No. 2 seat at 265 pounds.

Since most fans already believe Volkov defeated Ciryl Gane, despite these wacky scorecards, the outcome of Gane’s fight against Josh Hokit at UFC 334 next month in New York City could determine what matchmakers do with Volkov in 2027, though “Drago” also faces competition from the winner of this fight.

Check out the updated UFC Meta Rankings below (for an explanation on how they work click here).

Champion: Joshua Van

1. Manel Kape
2. Alexandre Pantoja
3. Brandon Royval
4. Tatsuro Taira
5. Lone’er Kavanagh +1
6. Asu Almabayev -1
7. Kyoji Horiguchi +1
8. Amir Albazi +1
9. Brandon Moreno +1
10. Ramazan Temirov -3
11. Sumudaerji
12. Mitch Raposo
13. Imanol Rodriguez
14. Rei Tsuruya
15. Charles Johnson

Champion: Petr Yan

1. Merab Dvalishvili
2. Song Yadong
3. Sean O’Malley
4. Mario Bautista
5. Umar Nurmagomedov
6. Cory Sandhagen
7. David Martinez
8. Raul Rosas Jr.
9. Farid Basharat
10. Payton Talbott
11. Montel Jackson
12. Aiemann Zahabi
13. Bryce Mitchell
14. Marlon Vera
15. Raoni Barcelos

Champion: Alexander Volkanovski

1. Movsar Evloev
2. Diego Lopes
3. Lerone Murphy
4. Aljamain Sterling
5. Jean Silva
6. Arnold Allen
7. Pat Sabatini
8. Pavel Andrusca
9. Youssef Zalal
10. Aaron Pico +4
11. Kevin Vallejos -1
12. Joanderson Brito -1
13. Melquizael Costa -1
14. Steve Garcia -1
15. Jamall Emmers

Champion: Justin Gaethje

1. Ilia Topuria
2. Arman Tsarukyan
3. Charles Oliveira
4. Max Holloway
5. Paddy Pimblett
6. Quillan Salkilld
7. Benoit Saint Denis
8. Renato Moicano
9. Mateusz Gamrot
10. Mauricio Ruffy
11. Grant Dawson +3
12. Tom Nolan -1
13. Tofiq Musayev
14. Rafael Fiziev -2
15. Esteban Ribovics

Champion: Islam Makhachev

1. Carlos Prates
2. Ian Machado Garry
3. Michael Morales
4. Jack Della Maddalena
5. Sean Brady
6. Gabriel Bonfim
7. Belal Muhammad
8. Mike Malott
9. Uros Medic
10. Leon Edwards
11. Kamaru Usman
12. Joaquin Buckley
13. Yaroslav Amosov
14. Kevin Holland
15. Daniel Rodriguez

Champion: Sean Strickland

1. Khamzat Chimaev
2. Dricus Du Plessis
3. Nassourdine Imavov
4. Brendan Allen
5. Joe Pyfer
6. Caio Borralho
7. Gregory Rodrigues
8. Anthony Hernandez
9. Abus Magomedov +4
10. Israel Adesanya -1
11. Ikram Aliskerov -1
12. Christian Leroy Duncan -1
13. Bo Nickal -1
14. Roman Kopylov
15. Edmen Shahbazyan

Champion: Carlos Ulberg

1. Alex Pereira
2. Magomed Ankalaev
3. Jiri Prochazka
4. Dominick Reyes +3
5. Paulo Costa -1
6. Khalil Rountree -1
7. Navajo Stirling -1
8. Reinier de Ridder
9. Alonzo Menifield +1
10. Bogdan Guskov +1
11. Robert Whittaker +1
12. Muhammad Saidov +1
13. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev +2
14. Azamat Murzakanov -5
15. Modestas Bukauskas -1

Champion: Ciryl Gane

1. Tom Aspinall
2. Alexander Volkov +2
3. Alex Pereira
4. Sergei Pavlovich -2
5. Josh Hokit +1
6. Curtis Blaydes +1
7. Rizvan Kuniev -2
8. Waldo Cortes Acosta
9. Vitor Petrino
10. Mario Pinto
11. Valter Walker
12. Johnny Walker
13. Brando Pericic
14. Serghei Spivac
15. Anthony Wint

Champion: Mackenzie Dern

1. Zhang Weili
2. Virna Jandiroba
3. Tatiana Suarez
4. Denise Gomes
5. Gillian Robertson
6. Fatima Klein
7. Iasmine Lucindo +2
8. Alexia Thainara -1
9. Loopy Godinez +3
10. Piera Rodriguez -1
11. Yan Xiaonan -1
12. Mizuki Inoue -1
13. Tabatha Ricci -1
14. Talita Alencar -1
15. Amanda Lemos -1

Champion: Natalia Silva

1. Valentina Shevchenko
2. Alexa Grasso
3. Jasmine Jasudavicius
4. Manon Fiorot
5. Erin Blanchfield
6. Zhang Weili
7. Rose Namajunas
8. Wang Cong
9. Maycee Barber
10. Tracy Cortez
11. Casey O’Neill
12. Miranda Maverick
13. Regina Tarin
14. Karine Silva
15. Carli Judice

Champion: Kayla Harrison

1. Joselyne Edwards
2. Ailin Perez
3. Norma Dumont
4. Luana Santos
5. Julianna Pena
6. Yana Santos
7. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
8. Michelle Montague
9. Chelsea Chandler
10. Karol Rosa
11. Bia Mesquita
12. Alice Pereira
13. Nora Cornolle
14. Macy Chiasson
15. Melissa Croden

You can expect these rankings to change around this time next week, particularly in the lightweight division, following the upcoming UFC Vegas 123: “Moicano vs. Nolan” MMA event on Paramount+, scheduled for Sat., Oct. 31, 2026 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.