I’ve seen a lot of negative comments on MMA forums about Junior dos Santos being ranked #7 at Heavyweight. At first, I agreed… but after analyzing the Heavyweight division and reminding myself of a core principle we abide by, the ranking makes perfect sense.
Before reading the rest of this post, please consider that core principle I just spoke of:
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UFC Heavyweight Championship
[#3] Randy Couture vs. [#13] Brock Lesnar
Lightweight
[#3] Kenny Florian vs. [#18] Joe Stevenson
Heavyweight
[#7] Gabriel Gonzaga vs. [#66] Josh Hendricks
Middleweight
[#15] Demian Maia vs. [#53] Nate Quarry
Welterweight
[#17] Dustin Hazelett vs. [#48] Tamdan McCrory
Lightweight
[#119] Aaron Riley vs. [#179] Jorge Gurgel
Lightweight
[#69] Jeremy Stephens vs. [#85] Rafael dos Anjos
Lightweight
[#80] Alvin Robinson vs. [#102] Mark Bocek
Welterweight
[#137] Matt Brown vs. [#400] Ryan Thomas
Ranking Notes: Rankings are projected when a fighter is fighting in a new weight class. Gray 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.
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Note: Some of the minor show results were not yet available, while others are only partially entered.
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We don’t usually do previews of the WEC shows, but I figured, why not? The main event is noteworthy as Urijah Faber has a chance to make a massive statement on the Division Dominance list with a win over Brown.
WEC Featherweight Championship
[#1] Urijah Faber vs. [#2] Mike Thomas Brown
Middleweight
[#2] Paulo Filho vs. [#23] Chael Sonnen
Featherweight
[#11] Jens Pulver vs. [#16] Leonard Garcia
Middleweight
[#133] Nissen Osterneck vs. [#191] Jake Rosholt
Lightweight
[#77] Donald Cerrone vs. [#92] Rob McCullough
Light Heavyweight
[#300] Aaron Simpson vs. [NR] David Avellan
Featherweight
[#25] Jose Aldo vs. [#43] Jonathan Brookins
Light Heavyweight
[#92] Carmelo Marrero vs. [#127] Steve Steinbeiss
Lightweight
[#189] Rafael Dias vs. [#450] Danny Castillo
Bantamweight
[#5] Yoshiro Maeda vs. [#9] Rani Yahya
Ranking Notes: Rankings are projected when a fighter is fighting in a new weight class. Gray 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.
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Though Anderson Silva posted a somewhat lackadaisical performance in an anticlimactic victory over Patrick Cote at UFC 90, he reached an important milestone in his UFC career: eight consecutive wins in UFC bouts, matching the record first set by Royce Gracie and recently repeated by Jon Fitch. Silva also won his fifth championship bout, making for four consecutive title defenses. Every single one of Silva’s UFC fights has been the main even of the night, and Patrick Cote is the only opponent to make it into the third round.
Silva has five fights remaining on his UFC contract, and hinted at an early retirement after the contract is over. Should he win all five bouts, he will have an unprecedented thirteen consecutive wins inside the Octagon. His next fight is rumored to be at 205 lbs.
Not far behind Anderson is the welterweight contender Thiago Alves, whose unanimous decision win over Josh Koscheck marked his seventh consecutive UFC victory. Alves is slated to take on the winner of the upcoming battle between the lightweight champion BJ Penn and his welterweight counterpart Georges St. Pierre. Either matchup should produce fireworks, and both put the continuation of Thiago’s streak in great jeopardy.
Here are some more interesting UFC records:
Most Consecutive Wins in the UFC
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UFC Middleweight Championship
[#1] Anderson Silva vs. [#16] Patrick Cote
Welterweight
[#2] Thiago Alves vs. [#6] Josh Koscheck
Heavyweight
[#4] Fabricio Werdum vs. [#225] Junior dos Santos
Lightweight
[#8] Tyson Griffin vs. [#12] Sean Sherk
Lightweight
[#20] Gray Maynard vs. [#31] Rich Clementi
Middleweight
[#14] Thales Leites vs. [#51] Drew McFedries
Lightweight
[#29] Spencer Fisher vs. [#116] Shannon Gugerty
Middleweight
[#32] Dan Miller vs. [#46] Matt Horwich
Lightweight
[#33] Marcus Aurelio vs. [#39] Hermes Franca
Welterweight
[#29] Josh Burkman vs. [#300] Pete Sell
Ranking Note: Gray 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.
Last week, I examined the progress of the middleweight fighters who participated in The Ultimate Fighter 4. Lets now take a look at the welterweights of Season 4.
The welterweights were a very experienced group of fighters, with a combined record of 139-62-13 prior to the show. Two of the welterweights – Matt Serra and Rich Clementi – took charge of their respective teams, becoming the unofficial team captains. Even though Serra ended up winning the entire Season 4 tournament while Clementi was eliminated in the first round, today they are still the highest ranked fighters of the Season 4 welterweight group.
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After the third season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality series showed a significant drop-off in talent level from the previous two seasons, UFC decided to switch things up for Season 4. Instead of having sixteen up-and-coming MMA fighters compete for a chance to fight in the UFC, Season 4 featured sixteen veterans of the sport competing at a shot at the UFC title in the middleweight and welterweight divisions. Though all of the featured fighters have competed in the Octagon in the past, most of them had below .500 records in the UFC and have never come close to winning a title. Season 4 offered these fighters another chance to earn the gold, and was dubbed ‘the comeback season’.
Season 4 did not focus as heavily on the coaches as the previous seasons: instead of having two coaches mentoring the opposing teams, the show featured a number of UFC fighters and trainers who were made available to all contenders. Though the fight teams did not have an official leader, welterweights Matt Serra and Rich Clementi emerged as de-facto captains of their teams. I will take a look at the middleweights first, and examine the welterweights next week.
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