Fans rage as Usman Nurmagomedov ranks above Ilia Topuria in ESPN’s top 30 athletes under 30

ESPN have dropped their yearly 30 before 30 list and fans aren’t too happy with some of the picks.

Over the past few years, there has been somewhat of a changing of the guard in MMA, with the older generation of fighters having bowed out of the sport, making way for the younger stars.

There are currently 34 fighters under the age of 30 ranked in the UFC‘s official rankings, across 11 different weight classes.

And while the future is now, ESPN have released their annual rankings of 30 athletes under the age of 30, with some selections having caused controversy amongst fans.

Just a few weeks ago, UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van made the second defense of his 125lb title when he took on veteran, Alexandre Pantoja.

Van beat Pantoja by unanimous decision in what was a Fight of the Year contender, once again improving his position in the pound-for-pound rankings. And now, with ESPN releasing their 30 before 30 list, ‘The Fearless’ Van has topped the list at number one. Last year, the 24-year-old was rank number three on the list.

ESPN’s pick for second place has caused some controversy amongst combat sports fans, as former PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov comes in ranked higher than former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria.

‘El Matador’ topped the list last year, while Nurmagomedov came ranked outside of the top five at rank seven. And despite Topuria’s shocking loss to Justin Gaethje earlier this year, fans believe he should still be ranked about the undefeated Russian.

“Usman above Topuria is f—— insanity. Usman’s wins outside of the UFC are the equivalent of Ilia winning his first belt without any defenses,” one fan commented.

“A fake hardcore made this list and it’s pretty obvious. Topuria was a two division champion in the UFC while Usman was a champion but in a lower level promotion, so how exactly is he ranked above Topuria? I’m not saying Usman is bad but he’s not yet accomplished more than Ilia,” another fan said.

“Topuria below USMAN?!” a third fan questioned.

“There is zero reasoning to putting Usman above Ilia. Ilia’s best 3 wins are (Alexander) Volkanovski, Max (Holloway) and Charles (Oliveira), let’s compare that to Usman,” another fan said.

🚨 ESPN ranked the 30 best MMA fighters under the age of 30

1. Joshua Van2. Usman Nurmagomedov3. Ilia Topuria4. Michael Morales5. Dakota Ditcheva6. Song Yadong7. Josh Hokit8. Ian Machado Garry9. Natalia Silva10. Quillan Salkilld11. Jean Silva12. Tatsuro Taira13.…

Another extremely questionable omission saw Arman Tsarukyan miss out on the list, despite being just 29-year-old. ‘Batman’ is widely regarded as the best lightweight fighter on the planet, above both Topuria and Nurmagomedov.

“Usman above Ilia and no Arman? What a joke. Do better ESPN,” another fan said.

“Besides all the valid points everyone else has made, having Gable Steveson in there at 22 is absurd. And no Arman. I repeat: Steveson against all other 8 guys, no Arman,” said another angry fan.

Other fighters that made up the top 10 include Michael Morales, Dakota Ditcheva, Song Yadong, Josh Hokit and Ian Machado Garry.

UFC 332 headliner Natalia Silva comes in at number 9 ahead of her first title fight this coming weekend. Soaring lightweight contender Quillan Salkilld rounds out the top 10.