MMA Rankings, Records, Statistics

The “FM P4P” column reflects our “Pound-for-Pound” list, which is a relatively new system that works side-by-side the standard system, with the P4P thought in mind.  The “FM DD” reflects our “Divisional Dominance” list and is a post-ranking equation that is based solely on the current rankings.  The “Diff” is the Sherdog rank subtracted by the average of the two Fight Matrix rankings.  Essentially, a positive “Diff” suggests Sherdog is overrating, while a negative “Diff” suggests the latter.

You expect to see a larger absolute “Diff” as you travel downward, but in this case, there is heavy consensus with the exception of 3: Zingano, Jedrzejcyk and Gadelha.  In these 3 cases, the absolute “Diff” value surpasses one-half of the Sherdog ranking, which I deem as fairly substantial.

Certainly, you could argue we are being hard on Zingano, but it seems there are better options than Jedrzejcyk and Gadelha, both of whom were hardly noticed before they fought each other to a stalemate.

If you’re a fan of our WMMA rankings, you’ll notice the obvious omission here is Alexis Davis (FM #6/#6), who the ranking system has loved for quite a long time.  Another candidate for Sherdog’s list is Ayaka Hamasaki (FM #15/8), who gets her shot at Tiburcio in July for the 105 pound crown.  One more is Vanessa Porto (FM #17/#10), who is in a division that is ignored almost as much as the 145 division in WMMA.

Posted on March 4, 2015 by jcs

MMA Ranks | Comments (0)

A year ago, UFC made some changes to their bonus system: instead of awarding submission and knockout of the night bonuses, they replaced them with ‘Performance of the Night’.  Since then, 15 fighters racked up multiple ‘POTN’ awards.  Last Saturday at UFC 184, Ronda Rousey became the first fighter to earn her third POTN.  To commemorate this achievement, we are adding a new page to our UFC records section.  Check it out and check back often, as this list will surely fluctuate a lot – in the two most recent events, four fighters snatched a POTN each, in lieu of a  ‘Fight of the Night‘ award.

Most UFC ‘Performance of the Night’ bonuses

Posted on March 2, 2015 by oleg

MMA Statistics | Comments (0)

It’s always taken for granted that the heavier fighters are the more dangerous fighters.  Every champion is the best in his or her division, he or she may be the best pound for pound fighter in the world, but only one fighter is “The Baddest Fighter on the Planet”, and that’s the Heavyweight champion. He is the only fighter who would probably beat everybody else if there were no weight limits, and that stands to reason.   We implemented the weight system because we know size matters.

For some reason this does not apply to Ronda Rousey. She is considered a lot of times as the most dangerous woman fighter in the world, who supposedly can beat 50% of men fighters and beat Floyd Mayweather in an MMA fight. While all this time there is a whole division of women fighters who are heavier than her, which nobody says any of these things about.  We don’t really know how Rousey would fare against those women since she never fought any of them or at that weight – yet she is the one talked about as the most formidable woman fighter.

This situation is even more ridiculous considering that this heavier division has its own undefeated undisputed champion who smashes everyone she is facing and in fact has been doing so for a very long time, since before Rousey has even started MMA. Cristiane Justino has been considered the undisputed woman champion for a long time before Ronda Rousey got to be, and rightfully so. Ronda Rousey has taken her spot because she is American, more beautiful, more marketable and, most importantly, fights in the UFC.

Continue reading 'The Rowdy Cyborg Superfight'

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Ked Becker

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Posted on March 1, 2015 by jcs

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I’ll start off this blog by stating a brutally honest though likely unpopular opinion: I am still not totally sold on WMMA. I’ll admit that it is starting to slowly grow on me, and perhaps a day will come when I can value women in the UFC as much I appreciate as their male colleagues. That day is not likely to come soon – not until there is much more depth to the talent pool, and certainly not for as long as ‘UFC`s Womens Divisions’ is synonymous with ‘The Ronda Rousey Show’.

Needless to say, when the middleweight title fight between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort which was slated to headline UFC 184 was cancelled for an umpteenth time, my interest in this event plummeted faster than ‘Bigfoot’ Silva hitting the canvas after eating a hook from Frank Mir. A PPV headlined by two women’s bouts is the start of a very weak card in my opinion, and it’s further weakened by the fact that in both of those fights one of the opponents is around a 10-1 favorite. It doesn’t help that the rest of the card is mostly filled with fighters way past their competitive primes, guys on losing streaks, and various nondescript non-contenders. All in all, this event just might receive the lowest valuation of any UFC PPV in 2015 (and I really hope I didn’t just jinx myself with that statement).  Anyway, let’s get on with it:

Main Event: (C) [#1 W135] Ronda Rousey vs [#4 W135] Cat Zingano  for UFC Women’s Bantamweight title

Worth: $10

Why: You have to give credit where it’s due.  Not only is Ronda Rousey by far the best fighter in her division (and likely the best female MMA fighter in any weight class), her combination of skill, charisma, and looks single-handedly convinced Dana White to change his mind on women fighting in the UFC.  Rousey’s performances in the Octagon are a work of art.  Unfortunately she is an artist who only has a very small canvas to work with.  Of course I am not talking about the literal canvas covering the cage floor, but rather the limited pool of competition available to challenge her.

On paper, this is a fairly close match-up.  Both women are undefeated in professional bouts, and while Rousey has a perfect 100% finish rate in her 10 victories, Zingano stopped 8 out of 9 opponents.   However there is a reason that Cat is a 10-to-1 underdog in this fight: she just hasn’t shown her athleticism or skillset to be on Ronda’s level.  And while both women are finishers, the main difference is that all but one of Rousey’s fights were finished in the first round, while most of Zingano’s finishes came in the latter rounds.  In this instance, I don’t think she will make it past round one.  I love upsets and hope to be pleasantly surprised, but realistically it seems unlikely that Zingano will be able to pose a serious challenge, let alone dethrone Rousey.

Continue reading 'Bang for Your Buck: UFC 184'

Posted on February 25, 2015 by oleg

Event Previews | Comments (6)

Women Bantamweight Championship (135)
[#1/#1DD/#1P4P] Ronda Rousey (10-0-0, -1038) vs. [#4/#6DD/#8P4P] Cat Zingano (9-0-0, +601)
Ronda Rousey is the All-Time #1 ranked Women’s fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Ronda Rousey (3-0-0)
2014-07-05: W vs. [#2BW/#5P4P] Alexis Davis (16-6-0) via KO (Punches) in 0:16 of round 1
2014-02-22: W vs. [#7BW] Sara McMann (8-2-0) via TKO (Knee to the Body) in 1:06 of round 1
2013-12-28: W vs. [#3BW/#5DD/#7P4P] Miesha Tate (16-5-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 0:58 of round 3

Last 3 Fights: Cat Zingano (3-0-0)
2014-09-27: W vs. [#19BW] Amanda Nunes (9-4-0) via TKO (Elbows and Punches) in 1:21 of round 3
2013-04-13: W vs. [#3BW/#5DD/#7P4P] Miesha Tate (16-5-0) via TKO (Knees and Elbow) in 2:55 of round 3
2012-10-06: W vs. [#13BW] Raquel Pennington (5-4-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:32 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Ronda Rousey 238, Cat Zingano 154
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Ronda Rousey leads 2-1
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Women Bantamweight (135)
[#13] Raquel Pennington (5-4-0, +577) vs. [#14] Holly Holm (7-0-0, -926)

Last 3 Fights: Raquel Pennington (2-1-0)
2014-12-06: W vs. [#37BW] Ashlee Evans-Smith (3-1-0) via Technical Submission (Bulldog Choke) in 4:59 of round 1
2014-03-15: L vs. [#16BW] Jessica Andrade (12-4-0) via SD (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
2013-11-30: W vs. [#6FLY] Roxanne Modafferi (17-11-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Last 3 Fights: Holly Holm (3-0-0)
2014-04-04: W vs. [#8FLY] Juliana Werner (8-4-0) via TKO (Head Kick and Punches) in 1:50 of round 5
2013-12-06: W vs. [#99FLY] Angela Hayes (6-8-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2013-10-11: W vs. [NA] Nikki Knudsen (2-2-0) via TKO (Kick to the Body and Knees) in 1:18 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Raquel Pennington 84, Holly Holm 330
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Welterweight (170)
[#19] Jake Ellenberger (29-9-0, -211) vs. [*] Josh Koscheck (17-8-0, +170)
Jake Ellenberger is the All-Time #19 ranked Welterweight fighter.
Josh Koscheck is the All-Time #13 ranked Welterweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Jake Ellenberger (0-3-0)
2014-11-15: L vs. [#11MW] Kelvin Gastelum (10-1-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:46 of round 1
2014-05-24: L vs. [#1WW/#7DD/#8P4P] Robbie Lawler (25-10-0) via TKO (Knee and Punches) in 3:06 of round 3
2013-07-27: L vs. [#2WW/#10DD/#10P4P] Rory MacDonald (18-2-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Last 3 Fights: Josh Koscheck (0-3-0)
2013-11-16: L vs. [#4WW] Tyron Woodley (15-3-0) via KO (Punches) in 4:38 of round 1
2013-02-23: L vs. [#1WW/#7DD/#8P4P] Robbie Lawler (25-10-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:57 of round 1
2012-05-05: L vs. [#3WW] Johny Hendricks (16-3-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jake Ellenberger 105, Josh Koscheck 469
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Continue reading 'Fight Matrix Program – UFC 184 (02-28-2015)'

Posted on February 24, 2015 by jcs

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Posted on February 22, 2015 by jcs

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So you thought last week’s Fight Night 60 was a weak card?  Coming up this Sunday live from Brazil, is another abomination of an UFC card, also known as Fight Night 61: Bigfoot vs Mir.  I really don’t remember what the original line-up for this event was supposed to look like before the injuries got throught with it… and I can’t even be bothered to look it up.  Whatever it was, the final line-up only has two fights that I am even remotely interested in.

Main Event:  [#6 HW] Antonio Silva vs [#55 HW] Frank Mir

Worth: $5

Why:  This fight is kind of like a horrific car crash.  You know you should just keep driving and  keep your eyes on the road, but you can’t help rubber-necking to catch a glimpse of the carnage.  Mir is a shot fighter, who hasn’t fought in over a year and hasn’t won a fight in 3 years.   Not only did he lose his last four fights, he presented zero threat to any of those opponents.  There was a point in time when I would have been excited to see Frank getting his face bashed in, but at this point I am more concerned about his health.  Mir’s pre-fight statements that his future in the sport depends not on whether he wins or loses this fight but rather on his overall performance does not inspire any confidence either – it’s as if he is already resigned to lose.  His opponent ‘Bigfoot’ Silva has been hot-or-cold through most of his career, and may also be a bit chinny; but while Mir has decent KO power, his robotic striking is unlikely to present a serious threat to Silva.  Frank’s only hope to finish up his career on a win is if Bigfoot decides to test his grappling mettle and takes the fight it to the ground.  More likely, this will end with fifth consecutive loss and forced retirement for Mir.

Continue reading 'Bang for Your Buck: UFC Fight Night 61'

Posted on February 19, 2015 by oleg

Upcoming Events | Comments (7)

Heavyweight (265)
[#6] Antonio Silva (18-6-1, -216) vs. [#55] Frank Mir (16-9-0, +167)
Antonio Silva is the All-Time #20 ranked Heavyweight fighter.
Frank Mir is the All-Time #11 ranked Heavyweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Antonio Silva (0-2-1)
2014-09-13: L vs. [#3HW+] Andrei Arlovski (23-10-0) via KO (Punches) in 2:59 of round 1
2013-12-07: D vs. [#5HW+] Mark Hunt (10-9-1) via Draw (Majority) in 5:00 of round 5
2013-05-25: L vs. [*] Cain Velasquez (13-1-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:21 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Frank Mir (0-3-0)
2014-02-01: L vs. [#8HW+] Alistair Overeem (38-14-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2013-08-31: L vs. [#11HW+] Josh Barnett (33-7-0) via TKO (Knee) in 1:56 of round 1
2013-04-20: L vs. [#3LHW] Daniel Cormier (15-1-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Antonio Silva 162, Frank Mir 386
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Antonio Silva leads 1-0
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Lightweight (155)
[#9] Edson Barboza (15-2-0) vs. [#13] Michael Johnson (15-8-0)

Last 3 Fights: Edson Barboza (2-1-0)
2014-11-22: W vs. [#16LW] Bobby Green (23-6-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2014-07-16: W vs. [#46LW] Evan Dunham (15-6-0) via TKO (Kick to the Body and Punches) in 3:06 of round 1
2014-04-19: L vs. [#2LW/#9DD/#9P4P] Donald Cerrone (27-6-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:15 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Michael Johnson (3-0-0)
2014-03-08: W vs. [#29LW] Melvin Guillard (32-14-2) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
2013-12-28: W vs. [#21LW] Gleison Tibau (32-10-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:32 of round 2
2013-08-17: W vs. [#27LW] Joe Lauzon (24-10-0) via UD (30-25, 30-27, 30-27)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Edson Barboza 92, Michael Johnson 351
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Welterweight (170)
[#117] William Macario (7-2-0) vs. [#271] Matt Dwyer (7-2-0)

Last 3 Fights: William Macario (1-2-0)
2014-10-25: L vs. [#26WW] Neil Magny (14-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:40 of round 3
2013-12-28: W vs. [#218WW] Bobby Voelker (25-12-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2013-06-08: L vs. [#45LW] Leonardo Santos (13-3-1) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 4:43 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Matt Dwyer (2-1-0)
2014-10-04: L vs. [#30WW] Albert Tumenov (15-2-0) via KO (Head Kick and Punches) in 1:03 of round 1
2014-05-23: W vs. [#312MW] DaMarques Johnson (16-14-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:39 of round 2
2014-01-18: W vs. [#617MW] Shonie Carter (51-30-7) via TKO (Retirement) in 5:00 of round 3

Days Since Last Pro Fight: William Macario 120, Matt Dwyer 141
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Continue reading 'Fight Matrix Program: UFC Fight Night – Bigfoot vs. Mir (02-22-2015)'

Posted on February 17, 2015 by jcs

Event Previews, MMA Ranks | Comments (4)

Middleweight

1 – Anderson Silva (23-5-0, 11*, 26)

2 – Chris Weidman (12-0-0, 3*, 6)

I know what you’re thinking… it is not a sure thing and perhaps way too premature to put Weidman at #2.  Our All-Time Rankings suggest otherwise and even if you disagree, Weidman is the only fighter in the vicinity with a claim that is on the ascent.

Our #3 and #4 are tied.  Nate Marquardt (25-8-2, 0*, 3) saw early and lengthy success, while Rich Franklin (6-3-0, 3*, 4) saw larger success later but spent much, much less time there.  Dan Henderson (7-5-0, 1*, 2) is another popular choice, but he’s on a similar wavelength as Franklin.  Some great performances, but not a lengthy tenure.  Like Franklin, Henderson couldn’t quite decide on a division.

Fight Matrix #3 (tie) – Nate Marquardt, Rich Franklin

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(W-L, A*, B)

W-L = Division Record
A = Major Title/Tourney Wins in Division
B = Quarterly #1 Rankings in Division

Posted on February 16, 2015 by jcs

Historical Ranks | Comments (1)