Thiago Alves (photo via UFC Bios.com)

By FCF Staff

Thiago Alves and Al Iaquinta scored memorable, stoppage wins at UFC 183 on Saturday night, and both fighters have moved into the top 15 rankings of their respective divisions.

Alves took several hard shots from Jordan Mein in the opening round of their welterweight bout, but the veteran came back in round two, and floored the latter with a punishing kick to the body. As a result of the victory, which was the former #1 contender’s second in a row, Alves has been voted into the #13 position at 170.

Kelvin Gastelum, who failed to make weight for the event and lost via split decision to Tyron Woodley, has dropped three spots and is now ranked #10 at welterweight.

Iaquinta, meanwhile, stopped veteran lightweight Joe Lauzon at UFC 183 to record his third straight win. The rising fighter has been placed in the #15 position at 155.

In the headliner on Saturday, Anderson Silva earned a UD victory over Nick Diaz. The former middleweight champ continues to hold down the #1 contender spot at 185, but Silva has risen one spot in the pound-for-pound rankings and is now #8.