Leader of the Pack

1. Roy Nelson (#31 HW)

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The Next Best Thing

2. Darrill Schoonover (#58 HW)

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Solid Underdog Picks

3. Abe Wagner (#85 HW)

4. Justin Wren (#111 HW)

5. Kimbo Slice (#124 HW)

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The B-Squad

6. Mike Wessel (#141 HW)

7. Zak Jensen (#146 HW)

8. Scott Junk (#157 HW)

9. Brendan Schaub (#171 HW)

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Longshots

10. James McSweeney (#295 HW)

11. Wes Sims (#302 HW)

12. Marcus Jones (#304 HW)

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The Filler

13. Jon Madsen (~#500 HW)

NR. Wes Shivers

NR. Matt Mitrione

NR. Demico Rogers

Notable Info

• Rodney Wallace won the eight-man VengeanceFC Light Heavyweight tournament on Saturday, which boosts him into the Top 25 in the division.
• At Welterweight, War Machine rises 35 positions to #108 with his win on Saturday as he attempts to gain some relevance not related to his legal name.
• Joachim Hansen’s inactivity is costing him precious ranking points in the very competitive Lightweight division as he drops to #5.

These are still in the alpha stages, and there are some important things to mention as there are some major differences between these rankings and the FightMatrix ratings.

• Rankings ARE division specific, however some fighters will experience run-over into divisions they jumped in and out of. Fighters CAN appear in more than one list, and will only given credit during times in which they produced quality performances in these divisions. Due to this, divisional info is seriously depended upon. This is a large reason why I think this is still in the alpha stage.
• Years of 1990 and later are considered.
• Monthly ranking snapshots are taken. Fighters are given points based on their standing in the Top 15, with the most points going toward a #1 spot, a little less to #2, right on down the line. Having longevity at the top of the division is key and those who only spend a limited time in a division will suffer. Divisional depth at the time is also given consideration.
• Heavyweight will look a bit odd, as it will include those who excelled at open-weight back in the 1990s.

Rank	Fighter	Total Record	All-Time Division Points
1	Takanori Gomi Last Fight: 5/10/2009	30-5-0	1192
2	B.J. Penn Last Fight: 8/8/2009	14-5-1	616
3	Vitor Ribeiro Last Fight: 7/20/2009	20-3-0	608
4	Tatsuya Kawajiri Last Fight: 5/26/2009	24-5-2	462
5	Marcus Aurelio Last Fight: 8/23/2009	18-8-0	456
6	Yves Edwards Last Fight: 8/9/2009	34-15-1	410
7	Joachim Hansen Last Fight: 7/21/2008	19-7-1	404
8	Caol Uno Last Fight: 6/13/2009	25-12-4	292
9	Dokonjonosuke Mishima Last Fight: 8/23/2009	19-7-0	283
10	Gesias Calvancante Last Fight: 6/22/2008	14-3-1	266

1. Takanori Gomi (1,192 All-Time Lightweight Points)

Its not even close.  Gomi has spent his entire 10+ year career at Lightweight, having separate undefeated spans of 14 fights, and 10 fights.  He’s beaten a who’s who list of fighters, including Tatsuya Kawajiri, Marcus Aurelio, Mitsuhiro Ishida,  Hayato Sakurai, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, and Jens Pulver, amongst others.  He’s been a bit lackluster of late, but there’s no doubting his legacy.

2. B.J. Penn (616)

Regardless of his somewhat disappointing endeavors outside of the Lightweight division, Penn has done just enough at 155 to get him the #2 spot on this list.  Wins at Lightweight over names like Takanori Gomi, Caol Uno, Joe Stevenson, Jens Pulver, and Sean Sherk, plus winning the UFC Lightweight Championship twice, has secured him a lofty spot on this list.  It remains to be seen whether or not he can unseat Gomi at #1, but much of it will have to do with what weight class he decides to compete in.

3. Vitor Ribeiro (608)

Like Gomi, he’s probably on the downside of his career.  But also like Gomi, he was one of the premier Lightweights throughout the early- and mid 2000s.  A TKO loss to Tatsuya Kawajiri was the only loss in the first five and a half years of his career.  He also holds a win over Kawajiri, as well as wins over Joachim Hansen, Mitsuhiro Ishida and others.

4. Tatsuya Kawajiri (462)

The best Lightweight to have never fought on American soil, Kawajiri still kept his opposition strength at a high level throughout his career.  Holding a Top 10 Lightweight ranking on FightMatrix historical snapshots for nearly five years, he finds himself just barely outside of the current Top 10.  If he wants to challenge for a Top 3 spot on this list, he’ll need to another big win or two.

5. Marcus Aurelio (456)

A bit of a surprise here, but the proof is in the pudding.  Aurelio holds a dominant win over a prime Takanori Gomi, and almost pulled off a second win, dropping a split decision.   Was also winner of the 16-man 2004 ZST Grand Prix, beating Masakazu Imanari and Rich Clementi in the process.  Despite many solid wins and performances, he’s without any wins against All-Time Lightweight Top 10s sans Gomi.  Nevertheless, he hardly ever loses in clear fashion, having never been stopped or submitted, and only losing unanimously twice.

6. Yves Edwards (410)

Fighting in the Lightweight division since late 2001, Edwards rose to the top of the heap with his run in 2004-05 where he defeated Hermes Franca (2x), Josh Thomson, and Dokonjonosuke Mishima.  His overall resume is somewhat tarnished due to having 15 losses, and a couple streaks of mediocrity.  Not having been very relevant for the last three years, he’s likely to be passed on this list sooner, rather than later.

7. Joachim Hansen (404)

Only six points behind Edwards, Hansen is ready to move up to #6.  Inactive of late due to injury, he’s had a solid career with wins over Caol Uno, Masakazu Imanari, Yves Edwards, Gesias Calvacante and Takanori Gomi.  A bout of inconsistency which saw him go 2-4 marred his ranking between late 2005 and late 2007, but he picked it up afterward by winning the Dream Lightweight tournament where he went 3-1.

8. Caol Uno (292)

With nearly 15 years as a professional fighter, Uno has found himself at, or near the top of the Lightweight division quite a few times. In fact, he was one of the very best in the division between the late 90s and early 00s with his high point coming in late 1998 where he ranked #1 for a year.

9. Dokonjonosuke Mishima (283)

As you can see from the decrease in point level, the Top 7 are strongly cemented in this division. Mishima is the best of the rest, narrowly edging out Caol Uno who’s at #9. Though he’s recently been at Featherweight, Mishima dominated the DEEP Lightweight scene for years and racked up some good wins in the process.

10. Gesias Calvancante (266)

JZ’s “prime period” has been short and may be over, with a no contest and two disappointing performances in a row.  Although he has some impressive wins on his ledger, longevity at the top is key.

Notable Info

• Nogueira re-enters the Top 3 at Heavyweight with a commanding win over Randy Couture, who falls to #8.  Couture is without a quality performance since August 2007.
• Muhammed Lawal makes a return bout at Heavyweight, completely embarrassing Mark Kerr.  He enters at #23.
• Musical chairs occurs in the bottom-half of the Top 50 at Heavyweight.  Tim Hague, and Justin McCully exit, while Rogent Lloret, Jessie Gibbs, and Todd Duffee enter.
• Thiago Silva hops back into the Top 10 with a devastating knockout win over the UFC’s own Techno Viking, who falls to #11.
• Nate Marquardt shocked Demian Maia in less than 30 seconds with one punch, capturing the #2 position at Middleweight.  Henderson falls to #3.
• Aaron Simpson and Jake Rosholt both make moves at Middleweight, with each jumping 65, and 86 positions respectively.
• Meet Travis Marx.  The latest relative unknown that is steadily creeping up the rankings.  With his most recent win, he moves up to 15-1, and to #17 at Bantamweight.

An interesting note.  This may be the first time that all fighters in a UFC card are ranked in the current rankings.  There are also no fighters coming off of a 15+ month term of inactivity.

There are a few changing of the guard possibilities here, with undefeated fighters that have never tied or lost a decision on a single scorecard, a marker that we highly respect – Dunham/Aurelio, Duffee/Hague, and Simpson/Herman.

Heavyweight
[#4] Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. [#6] Randy Couture

Light Heavyweight
[#9] Keith Jardine vs. [#14] Thiago Silva

Middleweight
[#37] Chris Leben vs. [#132] Jake Rosholt

Middleweight
[#4] Demian Maia vs. [#6] Nate Marquardt

Light Heavyweight
[#17] Brandon Vera vs. [#24] Krzysztof Soszynski

Middleweight
[#31] Ed Herman vs. [#96] Aaron Simpson

Heavyweight
[#18] Gabriel Gonzaga vs. [#31] Chris Tuchscherer

Heavyweight
[#36] Michael Russow vs. [#43] Justin McCully

Heavyweight
[#39] Tim Hague vs. [#61] Todd Duffee

Middleweight
[#107] Nick Catone vs. [#115 LHW] Mark Munoz

Lightweight
[#28 WW] Marcus Aurelio vs. [#70] Evan Dunham

Ranking Notes: Dark green font represents an approximate ranking. An asterisk represents a fighter who is ranked, but too low for an approximation. These two scenarios will clear up slightly as we move forward. “NR” means the fighter is not ranked, due to inactivity, or due to a rating that is at or below the default starter rating.

These are still in the alpha stages, and there are some important things to mention as there are some major differences between these rankings and the FightMatrix ratings.

• Rankings ARE division specific, however some fighters will experience run-over into divisions they jumped in and out of. Fighters CAN appear in more than one list, and will only given credit during times in which they produced quality performances in these divisions. Due to this, divisional info is seriously depended upon. This is a large reason why I think this is still in the alpha stage.
• Years of 1990 and later are considered.
• Monthly ranking snapshots are taken. Fighters are given points based on their standing in the Top 15, with the most points going toward a #1 spot, a little less to #2, right on down the line. Having longevity at the top of the division is key and those who only spend a limited time in a division will suffer. Divisional depth at the time is also given consideration.
• Heavyweight will look a bit odd, as it will include those who excelled at open-weight back in the 1990s.

Rank	Fighter	Total Record	All-Time Division Points
1	Urijah Faber Last Fight: 6/7/2009	22-3-0	803
2	Hatsu Hioki Last Fight: 8/2/2009	20-3-2	520
3	Mike Thomas Brown Last Fight: 6/7/2009	22-4-0	478
4	Alexandre Franca Nogueira Last Fight: 6/1/2008	13-5-2	476
5	Masakazu Imanari Last Fight: 8/23/2009	17-7-1	419
6	Jeff Curran Last Fight: 8/9/2009	31-12-1	392
7	Yoshiro Maeda Last Fight: 8/9/2009	24-7-2	304
8	Mark Hominick Last Fight: 7/19/2008	16-8-0	263
9	Wagnney Fabiano Last Fight: 4/5/2009	12-1-0	207
10	Antonio Carvalho Last Fight: 6/22/2008	10-4-0	186

1. Urijah Faber (803 All-Time Featherweight Points)

The most dominant Featherweight in recent memory takes the top spot.  Holding the #1 position for approximately two years, and competing in the division for his entire career has resulted in him being the top Featherweight of all-time.

2. Hatsu Hioki (520)

Hioki has long been the best Featherweight outside of North America.  Also having spent his entire career at Featherweight, Hioki holds two wins over Mark Hominick, and a win over Jeff Curran, both of whom are on this list.   Hioki has only lost three times, with two of those coming by way of split decision.

3. Mike Thomas Brown (480)

Having only come to prominence since first beating Urijah Faber, Brown has been a great Featherweight, as well as a decent Lightweight since 2004.  The sky may be the limit now, as it appears that he may be the next dominant WEC Featherweight champion.

4. Alexandre Franca Nogueira (476)

Pequeño was the first great Featherweight when MMA emerged into the main scene, albeit at a time when the division was very weak and virtually non-existent in the Americas.  As Nogueira aged, he decided to test the waters at Lightweight, and failed miserably.

5. Masakazu Imanari (419)

Although back at Bantamweight, Imanari has been a Top 15 featherweight for his entire tenure in the division.  He holds wins over Mike Thomas Brown, and Yoshiro Maeda, two fighters that are on this list.  His record is skewed by 7 losses, though a majority of them have come at Lightweight.

6. Jeff Curran (392)

Sporadically competing in the division since the late 1990s, Curran is probably the best Featherweight to not have won a major or mid-major championship in the division.  Like Nogueira, Curran found it difficult to compete in this division, but has decided to go down in weight, rather than up, and like Nogueira, has not found success in this move.

7. Yoshiro Maeda (304)

His story sounds like a hybrid of the three mentioned above.  Starting out a little later than Nogueira, Imanari found success in the Featherweight division, and even notched a few wins at Lightweight.  However, upon reaching American soil, Maeda did not fare well, and decided to move to Bantamweight.  With a record of 1-2, Maeda went to the 139lb DREAM Featherweight tournament, where he was TKO’d in the second round.

8. Mark Hominick (263)

The list weakens a bit as we get to #8.  Undoubtedly the best Featherweight from Canada,  Hominick has yet to reach elite status on the worldwide scene.  Inactive since July 2008, Hominick has lost eight times, but almost all of those losses have come to top notch fighters.

9. Wagnney Fabiano (207)

A stint at Lightweight in the IFL cost him some tenure in the Featherweight division.  However, while in the division, he has fared well, only losing a controversial split decision to #6 Jeff Curran.  Fabiano remains a top ranked Featherweight fighter.

10. Antonio Carvalho (186)

Carvalho has flown under the radar a bit, but he’s #2 to Hominick as far as Canadian Featherweights go.  He holds a close loss to Jeff Curran, as well as wins over Hatsu Hioki, Rumina Sato, and Takeshi Inoue.

Notable Info

• Fabricio Werdum returns to the win column with a victory over Mike Kyle, but remains outside the Top 10 at Heavyweight.
• Gegard Mousasi moved to the Light Heavyweight division and obliterated Renato Sobral.  He debuts at #4, ahead of Forrest Griffin, who slips to #5.
• The little known Brazilian, Renan Barao, is starting to make a name for himself on the world circuit, moving to 15-1 and into the Top 30 at Featherweight.  His only loss came in his debut.
• Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos ends Gina Carano’s undefeated streak and moves to #2 in the Womens’ division.  Carano slips outside the Top 10.

We posted the Flyweight Top 5 last week, and here’s Bantamweight. These are still in the alpha stages, and there are some important things to mention as there are some major differences between these rankings and the FightMatrix ratings.

• Rankings ARE division specific, however some fighters will experience run-over into divisions they jumped in and out of. Fighters CAN appear in more than one list. Due to this, divisional info is seriously depended upon. This is a large reason why I think this is still in the alpha stage.
• Years of 1990 and later are considered.
• Monthly ranking snapshots are taken. Fighters are given points based on their standing in the Top 15, with the most points going toward a #1 spot, a little less to #2, right on down the line. Having longevity at the top of the division is key and those who only spend a limited time in a division will suffer. Divisional depth at the time is also given consideration.
• Heavyweight will look a bit odd, as it will include those who excelled at open-weight back in the 1990s.

Rank	Fighter	Total Record	All-Time Division Points
1	Miguel Torres Last Fight: 8/9/2009	37-2-0	336
2	Ryota Matsune Last Fight: 10/14/2006	15-1-1	122
3	Masahiro Oishi Last Fight: 12/6/2008	19-11-7	111
4	Kentaro Imaizumi Last Fight: 8/27/2008	9-7-5	94
5	Akitoshi Hokazono Last Fight: 7/21/2006	6-0-2	87
6	Chase Beebe Last Fight: 3/8/2009	12-4-0	82
7	Eddie Wineland Last Fight: 4/5/2009	14-6-1	77
8	Antonio Banuelos Last Fight: 6/7/2009	16-5-0	76
9	Paul McVeigh Last Fight: 5/23/2009	15-5-0	72
10	Marcos Galvao Last Fight: 3/1/2009	6-3-1	72

1. Miguel Torres (336 All-Time Bantamweight Points)

Without question, the greatest Bantamweight in history.  Defeated all of the opponents he’s faced, with the exception of Brian Bowles, whom he he has not yet had a chance to rematch.  A 37-2 record, with all bouts (that we have divisional info for) taking place in the Bantamweight division.

2. Ryota Matsune (122)

The “Shooto Junkie” takes the silver with a 15-1-1 record at the division.  Fought, and once defended the Shooto Featherweight (132) championship.  Beat All-Time top bantamweights such as Kentaro Imaizumi and Masahiro Oishi.  Only lost once by decision, and drew with Takeya Mizugaki, who is currently a top ten ranked Bantamweight.

3. Masahiro Oishi (111)

His total record like many Shooto fighters’, leaves something to be desired, but this is simply because judges there like even rounds and great parity is experienced.  Nevertheless, he has been a top Bantamweight for well over a decade and has also routinely competed at Featherweight.

4. Kentaro Imaizumi (94)

Like Oishi, his record appears subpar, but a closer look reveals a unanimous decision win over Ryota Matsune, and two rematches where he fought on nearly even terms with him.  He also has wins over Jin Akimoto, Takeyasu Hirono, and a draw with #3 All-Time Oishi.  Recently tested the waters unsuccessfully at Featherweight (Shooto Lightweight).

5. Akitoshi Hokazono (87)

Short and sweet.  Although his career was limited with only 8 fights, he sports a rare, undefeated Shooto record of 6-0-2, with his final win coming over Kenji Osawa for the Shooto 132lb title.  He also has a win over Marcos Galvao, who is ranked in this Top 10 list.

6. Chase Beebe (82)

Coming off three losses, with his last being at Featherweight, Beebe started his career at 11-1.  A former WEC Bantamweight champion that beat the best Bantamweights that the USA had to offer not named Torres before the start of his losing streak.

7. Eddie Wineland (77)

The first WEC Bantamweight champion. Outside of this first match though, is 0-2 in the organization, although his losses are to no slouches.

8. Antonio Banuelos (76)

Rounding out the WEC portion of the list is Banuelos.  Unlike Wineland and Beebe, Banuelos still holds a top ranking in the Bantamweight division, and looks to improve his position on this list.

9. Paul McVeigh (72)

A surprise entry from the United Kingdom, McVeigh is easily the all-time best Bantamweight in Europe.  Let’s hope he can get some notice on the world stage as the current competition gap between the UK and the rest of the world does not allow him the opportunity to earn a lofty ranking.

10. Marcos Galvao (72)

Right out of the gate, Galvao defeated top competition in Shooto. Although crushed in his last matchup against Damacio Page, Galvao has beaten some impressive competition on the world stage in Kenji Osawa, Fredson Paixao, Jin Akimoto, and has a draw against Masakatsu Ueda.

Notable Info

• The Heavyweights are eerily quiet this week, with absolutely no movement in the Top 50.
• Forrest Griffin barely holds onto his Top 4 spot at Light Heavyweight after being blitzed by Anderson Silva.
• The decision in Sakara/Leites creates a bit of a mess in the bottom of the Middleweight top 15. After proving himself as a top 15 fighter with several quality wins, Leites drops two straight and just maybe gets the short end of the stick in this decision. As a result, Sakara now finds himself in the Top 15 at Middleweight.
• BJ Penn reclaims the top spot at Lightweight with a commanding win over Kenny Florian, who fell to #8.
• Brian Bowles pulls off the upset as he stops Miguel Torres in the first round. As a result, Bowles takes the top spot at Bantam, and also rises to #2 in Division Dominance. Perhaps a bit of a stretch, but he’s an undefeated, universally recognized champion who just scored a 1st round stoppage over the best Bantamweight in history. Torres drops to #2 at Bantam, and #9 in Division Dominance.
• Jesse Taitano’s attempt to put Guam on the map has stalled, as he dropped a unanimous decision to Noboru Tahara in an 118 pound match.  Taitano falls out of the Top 15 at Flyweight.

UFC Lightweight Championship
[#2] Kenny Florian vs. [#3-C] BJ Penn
First time since the site’s creation that the UFC champion faced a higher-ranked contender.

Light Heavyweight
[#1 MW] Anderson Silva vs. [#4] Forrest Griffin

Welterweight
[#54] Johny Hendricks vs. [#256 MW] Amir Sadollah

Middleweight
[#31] Ricardo Almeida vs. [#42] Kendall Grove

Lightweight
[#27] Josh Neer vs. [#47] Kurt Pellegrino

Lightweight
[#81] Shane Nelson vs. [#164] Aaron Riley

Welterweight
[#24] John Howard vs. [#55] Tamdan McCrory

Middleweight
[#14] Thales Leites vs. [#58] Alessio Sakara

Welterweight
[#96] Matt Riddle vs. [#500] Dan Cramer

Lightweight
[#425] George Roop vs. [NR] George Sotiropoulos

Welterweight
[#37] Jesse Lennox vs. [#75] Danillo Villefort

Ranking Notes: Dark green font represents an approximate ranking. An asterisk represents a fighter who is ranked, but too low for an approximation. These two scenarios will clear up slightly as we move forward. “NR” means the fighter is not ranked, due to inactivity, or due to a rating that is at or below the default starter rating.

Notable Info

• Abel Cullum returns to the Bantamweight division with a successful defense of his KOTC Flyweight (135lb) title.  With this win, he eeked into the Top 10.
• Lightweight gets even more strange as Kitaoka was shocked by Hirota, who will hold the top spot at #1 until there is a victor in the Penn/Florian matchup.  Let’s hope there’s not a draw and that the victor will stay active, and keep winning.
• Ricco Rodriguez increments his win total with a submission victory over John Brown.  Although the win gained Ricco a few points, he’s still outside the Top 50 at Heavyweight.
• Blagoi Ivanov, the man who holds a recent Sambo win over Fedor, jumped into the Top 100 with a split decision victory of Kazuyuki Fujita.