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Posted on June 14, 2009 by jcs
Notable Info
- Database updated with recent results.
- Bantamweight expanded to Top 100.
Other Comments
- “Interesting” results fill the landscape this week. Ray Mercer is treated as a debuting juggernaut and is elevated into the Top 20 with his 10 second win over Tim Sylvia. Cain Velasquez joins him in the bottom quarter of the Top 20.
- Two of the three fighters we’ve covered in our “ranked fighters you’ve never heard of” posts faced off last week. Jordan Smith and Richard Hale, two fighters who were within 1/10th of a rating point of one another faced off. The system had them pegged, as the end result was a draw.
- Rich Franklin was involved in his second consecutive questionable decision at Light Heavyweight. Say what you will, he’s deserving of the Top 10 position we’ve had him at since his move from Middleweight.
- Dan Hardy further cements his case as a top welterweight with his win over Marcus Davis, reclaiming the #10 spot.
- Nick Cottone re-enters the top 25 Flyweights. His re-entry means 4 Americans in the Top 25, a good stateside foundation should WEC decide to include this division.
Late Addition: Obviously the Sylvia/Mercer situation is an oddly unique event, so we will be taking a look at how it was handled in terms of numbers.
Posted in MMA Ranks | Comments (10)
I really cringe at seeing Mercer in the top 20, but a fighter should absolutely be ranked ahead of the fighter they just beat. This is not tennis! Let flukes work themselves out over time.
You can definitely argue a high ranking for Thiago even in a more “traditional” system IMO….
This is where your ratings fall down. A fighter who beats another fighter should not always be placed higher than the fighter they beat. Mercer did well, but 9 out of 10 times, Sylvia should have beaten Mercer down. It was a fluke.
Sure he should go up the rankings from probably NR to mid 50′s but going all the way to 16th is just stupid.
Same with Paul Thiago’s win over Koscheck, he should be mid 50′s instead of above Koscheck. You need to handle the anomolies better in the ranks IMO. More like Tennis where you can still be number 1 even if you lose to a low seeded opponent, i.e Raphael Nadal in the french open.
Otherwise, good work on all this
I have tracked a potential issue down.. but it won’t affect the placement of Mercer, with the sole exception being that Velasquez may move above him. Its funny how 1 thing turns into something else.
I’ll need more time to look into it.
On a related note, I wasn’t aware that the Mecer-Kimbo bout was classified as an exhibition. Why was that?
I agree with Jayson–Mercer should be treated the same as anyone else with a low number of fights, but against top competetion. Guys like Lesnar, Junior dos Santos, and Brett Rogers have also skyrocketed with one big win, but that’s how the math works. I think all four of those fighters will actually need a few more fights for us to see how good they really are compared to the other top competition, and maybe their rankings will stabilize then.
Who knows, maybe Mercer could pick up some grappling and become a legit force in MMA. Or not. But it sure is interesting to think about.
Everybody from MMA weekly to Sherdog had Sylvia ranked in their top 10 heavyweights. If you beat a top 10 ranked fighter, guess what? You’re now in the top 10, that’s just the way it works.
Brock Lesnar only has 4 fights (3-1) and beat Randy Couture and so he’s now a top 10 as well.
Simple as that! Ray Mercer is now a top 10 MMA heavyweight, at least temporarily.
Flyghtt – Unfortunately, no data can represent Sylvia’s effort in the fight nor his preparation. It also can’t penalize Mercer for his exhibition loss to Slice — remember that was not a pro bout.
Spike – There were a few elements involved that caused this to transpire. I will be looking at it a little closer this week though. If you want more info, please pose your question in the forum. There may be a bug… that I won’t deny.
I have a question. How did Sylvia only drop 4 spots for getting KOed by Mercer on the first punch, while Kongo dropped 11 for losing a decision to Velasquez when his performance wasn’t that bad.
I feel like this ranking system is one of the best, if not the best for the fact that the higher ranked fighter based on your standards wins a high percentage of the time.
However, this is one of the flawed moments in it in the fact that Ray Mercer is a top 20 fighter. Sylvia completely bone headed that fight, and his only other fight he got quickly choked out by Kimbo. I don’t think anyone would agree that Mercer is even in the top 40