While TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt continue to campaign for the next title shot against Dominick Cruz, John Lineker made a big statement in the bantamweight division with his win against John Dodson at Fight Night Portland.

Lineker moves up a spot to No. 2 in the rankings, dropping Rafael Assuncao to No. 3. Jimmie Rivera continues to climb since his massive win over Urijah Faber at UFC 203. “El Terror” takes the No. 4 position and drops Bryan Caraway down to No. 5.

After the event, Lineker made his case to Megan Olivi as to why he believes he should be the one to face Cruz next.

“I think I proved to the UFC that I can do this,” Lineker said. “I’ve been winning fight after fight. But if they think I need to fight another fight, I’ll do that also.”

RELATED: Complete official UFC rankings | Watch Lineker backstage interview at Fight Night Portland | Brandon Moreno interview

Brandon Moreno’s upset victory in his UFC debut against Louis Smolka shook up the flyweight division. Moreno is a competitor on this season of The Ultimate Fighter and his early exit allowed him to step in for Sergio Pettis on short notice against Smolka, who had won four in a row.

Moreno’s huge win vaults him into the rankings at 125 pounds. He takes the No. 15 spot and drops Smolka four slots down to No. 13. John Moraga, Matheus Nicolau, Dustin Ortiz and Just Scoggins all jumped ahead of Smolka.

Will Brooks took a tough defeat against Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira, who missed weight by 5 1/2 pounds. The loss dropped Brooks from the No. 12 spot in the lightweight division all the way out of the Top 15 ranks.

Rashid Magomedov reappeared in the lightweight rankings at No. 15 and Gilbert Melendez (No. 11), Francisco Trinaldo, Al Iaquinta and Evan Dunham all jumped up one spot.

Matt Parrino is a digital producer and writer for UFC.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MattParrinoUFC

Mirsad Bektic has endured a whirlwind week already – and it had nothing to do with his travel to the United Kingdom.

The Bosnian-born Bektic has had three different opponents for this weekend’s UFC 204. Originally, the American Top Team talent was scheduled to face Arnold Allen, but an injury forced him out and Jeremy Kennedy replaced him on the card earlier in the week. Unfortunately, Kennedy also got injured, and now Russell Doane has stepped up.

Not the ideal build-up for Bektic, for sure, but he’s not bothered.

“I don’t worry about it, I just focus on myself and I’m confident about my preparation and my team,” Bektic said. “We train for every style – left handed guy, right handed guy – it’s perfect, it’s going to bring out the best in me. I look forward to it.”

Regardless of the opponent, many eyes will be on Bektic as he returns to the Octagon for the first time since May 2015. The 25-year-old featherweight is undefeated in 10 fights as a professional, including a 3-0 mark in the UFC. His bout against Doane opens up the Pay-Per-View portion of UFC 204, his most high-profile position yet on a UFC fight card.

“This is how I roll. I believe I am the best in all aspects of martial arts and I believe this is how you show it – you go through different things like this, different opponent changes, and you just show what’s up,” Bektic said. “Yeah, Russell Doane, he’s a tough kid. Very tough guy. Great at what he does but it’s me … I feel phenomenal, I feel like a champ.”

10
Current ranking of Michael Bisping on the UFC pound-for-pound list

199
UFC event where Michael Bisping scored a first round knockout of Luke Rockhold to become the UFC middleweight champion

17
Days notice “The Count” took the bout with then champion Rockhold as former champ Chris Weidman had to withdraw due to injury

2520
Days between Bisping’s upcoming bout against Dan Henderson at UFC 204 in Manchester, England and The Count’s previous bout in Manchester against Denis Kang at UFC 105<br />
19
Wins by Bisping inside the Octagon, tied with Georges St-Pierre for most in UFC history

5:23:40
Total Octagon time by Bisping, 3rd most in UFC history behind Georges St-Pierre’s 5:28:12 and Frankie Edgar’s 6:02:49

8
Knockdowns landed by The Count in the UFC including two against Rockhold and one against former champ Anderson Silva in January

1,414
Significant strikes landed by Bisping, most in UFC history

100+
Significant strikes landed by Bisping against four separate opponents – Yoshihiro Akiyama, Thales Leites, Jason Miller and Anderson Silva, only UFC middleweight to land 100+ sig. strikes in two or more bouts

67
Significant striking defense percentage by Bisping, 3rd best in UFC middleweight history (min. 5 fights and 350 opp. att.)

1.77
Significant strike differential rate per minute in favor of Bisping, 6th best in UFC middleweight history (min. 5 fights)

3
The Ultimate Fighter season Bisping won as a light heavyweight

13
Current ranking of Dan Henderson as UFC middleweight

12
Number of current or former UFC champions that Henderson has fought across his pro career – Bisping, Vitor Belfort,Murilo Bustamante, Daniel Cormier, Rashad Evans, Rich Franklin, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Carlos Newton, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mauricio Rua and Anderson Silva

199
UFC event where Henderson scored a second round knockout of Hector Lombard with a standing back-elbow

100
UFC event where Henderson scored one of the most famous knockouts in UFC history against Bisping in the second round of their The Ultimate Fighter 9 rival coaches’ bout

25
Wins by Henderson in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce/WEC competition, 2nd most wins in combined history behind Wanderlei Silva’s 27

15
KO/TKOs by Henderson in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce/WEC competition, tied with Mauricio Rua for 3rd most by any fighter in combined history behind Mirko Cro Cop’s 18 and Wanderlei Silva’s 19

20
Knockdowns by Henderson in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce/WEC, 2nd most in combined history behind Wanderlei Silva’s 27

48
Takedowns by Henderson in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce, 4th most in combined history at 183 pounds or heavier

87.5
Percentage of those takedowns by Henderson started in the clinch

1992, 1996
Years that Henderson competed as a member of the United States’ Greco-Roman wrestling team

5
Current ranking of Vitor Belfort as a UFC middleweight

14
Finishes by “The Phenom” inside the Octagon, tied with Anderson Silva for most in UFC history

12
KO/TKOs by Belfort, most knockouts in UFC history

4
Knockouts by The Phenom stem from kicks, tied for 2nd most in UFC history behind Donald Cerrone’s 5

3
Consecutive knockouts by Belfort stem from kicks – Bisping, Rockhold and Henderson, only UFC fighter to do so

13
First round finishes by Belfort inside the Octagon, most in UFC history

3:35
Average fight time by Belfort as a UFC middleweight, 2nd best in UFC middleweight history behind Drew McFedries’ 2:07 (min. 5 fights)

9
Current ranking of Gegard Mousasi as a UFC middleweight

20
Career KO/TKOs by Mousasi including his most recent first round knockout of Thiago Santos at UFC 200, which earned a Performance of the Night bonus

12
Career submissions by Mousasi including his rear naked choke of Mark Munoz at UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi, which earned a Performance of the Night bonus

82.1
Career finishing rate percentage by Mousasi across his 39 pro wins

1.37
Significant strikes absorbed per minute rate by Mousasi, best among active UFC middleweights (min. 5 fights)

+1.69
Significant strike differential per minute rate by Mousasi, 3rd best among active UFC middleweights (min. 5 fights)

82.8
Takedown defense percentage by Mousasi, 2nd best among active UFC middleweights and 4th best in UFC middleweight history (min. 5 fights and 20 opp. att.)

This week, in the seventh opening round matchup, No. 6 seed Matt Schnell from Team Cejudo takes on No. 11 seed Matt Rizzo from Team Benavidez.

Schnell is actually the Legacy Fighting Championships interim flyweight champion, a title he won after he was originally supposed to fight Damacio Page for the title until an injury knocked him out of their scheduled bout. Obviously, both Page and Schnell ended up representing Legacy FC in the tournament this season, with one as champion and the other as interim champion. Unfortunately for Page, he’s already been eliminated and he’s currently nursing a broken hand, so Schnell will look to trump him as he attempts to move into the next round of the tournament.

If Schnell’s name sounds familiar outside of his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter, it’s probably because he also appeared on a reality show called “Caged” that aired on MTV back in 2012. The show focused on four up and coming mixed martial arts hopefuls, with Schnell among the cast that made it on to the 10-episode series. Following the show, Schnell had aspirations to make his way to the UFC, but things didn’t turn out the way he had planned.

While the reality show gave him some notoriety and fame early in his fight career, Schnell also experienced the flipside of that equation – it meant anyone he faced during the early part of his professional career was going to know exactly who he was and they were going to try to expose the reality show contestant inside the cage. So instead of just making his way up the ranks as a young fighter, Schnell grew up with no element of surprise as he stepped into the cage with all his early opponents.

Still, Schnell put together a respectable record, with a 3-2 mark before he buckled down and started to really make a push in his career. Schnell eventually won his next six fights, including his victory to earn him the Legacy FC interim flyweight title, which in turn got him on the show. Add to that, Schnell grew up in Louisiana, and around the time that he was filming „Caged,“ he also became friends with future UFC lightweight star Dustin Poirier. The two fighters started to train together, but when Poirier moved to Florida to shift his camp to American Top Team, it left Schnell without a home. So a couple years ago, Schnell decided to join Poirier at American Top Team and that’s where he’s been ever since. Now Schnell is not only training with Poirier, but he also works with fellow castmate Jaime Alvarez as well as top 10-ranked UFC flyweight Kyoji Horiguchi and several other notable stars.

On the other side of the Octagon stands Matt Rizzo, a 30-year old fighter with a 9-2 record who competes in the Ring of Combat promotion in New Jersey. Rizzo is one of the older fighters in the competition, but he knows that this is his best chance to not only get into the UFC but to also potentially challenge for the flyweight title on his first day in the promotion.

Rizzo lives and trains out of a small gym in Pennsylvania called Revolution MMA. Before he found MMA, Rizzo grew up as a wrestler after following in his older brother’s footsteps on to the mat. Rizzo first picked up a pair of wrestling shoes when he was four years old, he continued with the sport all the way through college, and that’s when he discovered another form of grappling that he soon fell in love with as well – Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Once Rizzo got hooked on jiu-jitsu, it wasn’t long before he was looking at fighting as a possible career. Rizzo ended up turning pro back in 2012 and since that time he’s stayed pretty busy with 11 fights over the past four years before getting the call to compete on TUF. His championship comes from Ring of Combat – one of the most well respected and longest running regional promotions in the United States. Fighters like Chris Weidman and Uriah Hall cut their teeth in Ring of Combat, so Rizzo comes from a good promotional lineage before he got the call to join the UFC as part of the new season of the show.

As far as the matchup goes this week, Schnell is probably the more well rounded fighter, but Rizzo potentially has the best overall weapon. Rizzo is a master grappler with a lifetime of wrestling in his back pocket, not to mention a wealth of Brazilian jiu-jitsu knowledge at his disposal as well. Of course, Rizzo is no slouch on the feet, but he has to know that’s exactly where Schnell wants to keep this fight. Rizzo has the kind of wrestling that could put Schnell on the mat, looking up at the lights and breathing for air for 10 straight minutes until the fight is over. Of course, Schnell has very fast hands, quick feet and a devastating striking style that could negate Rizzo’s grappling. Schnell is also very well versed in submission grappling, so even if Rizzo takes him to the mat, it’s not easy sailing for the Pennsylvania native.

As we approach the final two fights of the opening round, can Schnell get the win and put Team Cejudo back in control, or will Rizzo pull off another upset and keep the momentum going from Team Benavidez?

Tune into the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter at 10pm ET on FS1 to find out.

Dan Henderson already had one heck of a farewell from the UFC. The question is, can he do it all over again?

Back at UFC 199 in June, Hendo, 46, talked openly in the buildup about stepping away from MMA no matter the outcome against Hector Lombard. Then, as if following a movie script, Henderson got a KO win in front of his home crowd in Southern California – including well over 50 of his friends and family in attendance that night at The Forum in Los Angeles.

A fitting farewell for one of the most prolific fighters in combat sports.

Then a funny thing happened. Just a few minutes after Henderson’s win in that very arena, Michael Bisping shocked the world when he defeated Luke Rockhold for the middleweight championship on short notice in the main event.

Forget the retirement script Henderson just created: It was time for a rewrite. Bisping vs Henderson 2 at UFC 204 this Saturday night in Manchester, England beckoned.

“The last fight, I had in my mind that it could be my last fight,” Henderson said. “But given the opportunity at a title I had to say yes. I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”

That’s exactly what happened. Almost immediately after Bisping’s win, a rumbling began among fans who wanted to see a rematch of the UFC 100 classic between the two titans of the sport, one which Henderson won in dramatic fashion in the second round with a flying elbow that continues to be a staple of KO reels.

“(The Bisping fight at UFC 100) that’s been the one that fans want to talk to the most about. They thank me for that,” Henderson said. “It’s kind of fun for me, but it’s one of those things that’s just is what it is. I did a good job that night and people like to see him lose. It probably helps that he ran his mouth so much that people wanted to see that happen.

“I didn’t have to think (twice) about (taking the rematch). Obviously if they are going to give me a title shot, something I thought I was a little further away from than that, but I think just because the fans were asking for this fight and Bisping was asking for it also that made it happened. I didn’t expect it, I didn’t ask for it – and I didn’t hesitate either to say yes.”

But this is far from just a crappy Hollywood sequel or about a final payday. Henderson has said he plans on walking away from the sport, win or lose, after Saturday night’s headlining bout from Manchester Arena. And for all that Henderson has accomplished in his career — two-time Olympian, former PRIDE champion, the second-most winningest fighter in major MMA history (UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce/WEC combined) with 25 career victories – one thing is missing: a UFC championship belt.

“To have an opportunity at a title in my last fight would definitely be the crowning moment of my career, which would be nice,” Henderson said. “It’s all about the UFC belt at this point. I could care less who it’s against. It’s a title fight and it doesn’t matter if I beat him before or lost to him before. What matters is what happens on Oct. 8. I’m going to make sure I take full advantage of the opportunity to get a belt.

“I’ll still be doing my best to put my fist through his face.”

UFC Middleweight champion Michael Bisping calls in to talk about his first title defense at UFC 204 against Dan Henderson, adjusting to the early morning fight time, what’s truly at stake for this fight, the state of the Middleweight division, and more. Also, radio presenter Christian O’Connell joins the show to discuss the parallels between comedy and fighting, Bisping/Henderson, and the signs of an advanced democracy. Plus, Matt Serra calls Jim and guest co-host Luis J. Gomez from his family vacation to Disney World.

Some of the highlights from Episode 31 of UFC Unfiltered include:

Christian picks Bisping over Hendo

Christian talks about the UFC thriving in a bubble wrapped world

Bisping on learning from the famous UFC 100 knockout

Bisping’s not retiring, he’s making too much money

Bisping says to bet the house he’ll win at UFC 204