Biggest Risers in Current MMA Rankings Update (06-12-2016)
Fight Matrix updates the Current MMA Rankings once a week. As the deepest and most inclusive ranking system in the sport, fights all over the globe can have a major impact on the rankings. Let’s take a look at the biggest risers in the divisional rankings. The number in parenthesis is the number of spots that the fighter moved up from the last issued rankings. For the purpose of this article, fighters who were unranked in the previous ranking iteration are excluded.
Heavyweight
Jared Vanderaa #143 (35)
At BAMMA USA 20, Vanderaa scored a first-round knockout over Strikeforce and Bellator MMA veteran Mychal Clark. After beginning his professional career last June, the Team Quest product has already built a 4-0 record with all victories coming via stoppage. The entire event can be viewed, behind a paywall, at FloCombat.com.
Light Heavyweight
Armando Sixel #144 (64)
In the most recent rankings update, Sixel moved up 64 spots. In his last fight, he scored a first-round armbar submission over Daniel Brito at Jungle Fight 83. The Brazilian holds a 9-5 record and has picked up a pair of wins since falling to UFC heavyweight Luis Henrique Barbosa de Oliveira in 2014.
Middleweight
Vlad Popovskiy #271 (128)
After receiving credit for his May 27 victory over Maxim Sergeev, Popovskiy moved into the top 300 at middleweight. The 24-year-old Moldovan fighter is 11 and has 10 first-round finishes.
Keep Reading
Biggest Risers in Current MMA Rankings Updated (06-05-2016)
Fight Matrix updates the Current MMA Rankings once a week. As the deepest and most inclusive ranking system in the sport, fights all over the globe can have a major impact on the rankings. Let’s take a look at the biggest risers in the divisional rankings. The number in parenthesis is the number of spots that the fighter moved up from the last issued rankings. For the purpose of this article, fighters who were unranked in the previous ranking iteration are excluded.
Welterweight
Andreas Stahl #145 (278)
Stahl returned to action for the first time since a pair of losses to Gilbert Burns and Santiago Ponzinibbio chased him from the UFC. This past weekend, he scored a third-round knockout over Lewis Long at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 76. The much needed victory bumped him up 278 spots in the rankings. However, he is still currently ranked below his quarterly peak of #125. Stahl’s fight and the rest of the event is available on UFC Fight Pass.
Heavyweight
Zaur Gadzhibabayev #154 (70)
The Azerbaijani heavyweight moved up 70 spots in the rankings after defeating Lazar Todev at M-1 Challenge 67. The victory improved his professional MMA record to 5-1. Gadzhibabayev has won three fights in a row since falling for the first time to Zaurbek Bashaev last year. The entire event is available via YouTube
Light Heavyweight
Luis Henrique da Silva #40 (19)
On the undercard of UFC 199, Da Silva scored an upset over fellow prospect Jonathan Wilson. With the victory, he moves up 19 spots and into the top 50. The 26-year-old Brazilian is now 11-0 with 11 knockout finishes.
Keep Reading
Biggest Risers in Current MMA Rankings Update (05-30-2016)
Fight Matrix updates the Current MMA Rankings once a week. As the deepest and most inclusive ranking system in the sport, fights all over the globe can have a major impact on the rankings. Let’s take a look at the biggest risers in the divisional rankings. The number in parenthesis is the number of spots that the fighter moved up from the last issued rankings. For the purpose of this article, fighters who were unranked in the previous ranking iteration are excluded.
Heavyweight
Marcin Rozalski #115 (80)
With a victory over strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski in the co-main event of KSW 35, Rozalski moves up 80 spots in the rankings. After winning his first three fights under the KSW banner, Rozalski had dropped back-to-back fights to Peter Graham and James McSweeney before triumphing over Pudzianowski.
Light Heavyweight
Sergey Kalinin #165 (63)
Kalinin jumped up 63 spots after besting Pavel Katrunov at Eurasian Fight Nights 48. With the win, Kalinin improved his career record to 3-2. The bout and the entire event is available on UFC Fight Pass.
Middleweight
Khalid Murtazaliev #161 (160)
Murtazaliev is another fighter moving up in the rankings following a victory at EFN 48. The Russian fighter scored a first-round knockout over Edilson Franca at the event and bumped up 160 spots.
Keep Reading
Current MMA Rankings Updated (05-30-2016)
Notable Info
- Men’s Strawweight expanded to Top 20 from 15.
- Women’s Strawweight expanded to Top 40 from 35.
Fight Matrix Program: UFC Fight Night 88 – Almeida vs. Garbrandt (05-29-2015)
Bantamweight (135)
[#14] Thomas Almeida (20-0-0, -161) vs. [#35] Cody Garbrandt (8-0-0, +134)
Last 3 Fights: Thomas Almeida (3-0-0)
2015-11-07: W vs. [#68BW] Anthony Birchak (12-3-0) via KO (Punch) in 4:24 of round 1
2015-07-11: W vs. [#39BW] Brad Pickett (25-11-0) via KO (Knee) in 0:29 of round 2
2015-04-25: W vs. [#97BW] Yves Jabouin (20-11-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:18 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Cody Garbrandt (3-0-0)
2016-02-21: W vs. [#292BW] Augusto Mendes (5-1-0) via KO (Punches) in 4:18 of round 1
2015-07-11: W vs. [#212BW] Enrique Briones (16-5-1) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2015-01-03: W vs. [#96BW] Marcus Brimage (7-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:50 of round 3
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Thomas Almeida 204, Cody Garbrandt 98
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
.
Featherweight (145)
[#12] Jeremy Stephens (24-12-0, +160) vs. [#4BW] Renan Barao (33-3-0, -192)
Last 3 Fights: Jeremy Stephens (1-2-0)
2015-12-12: L vs. [#4FW] Max Holloway (15-3-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2015-07-11: W vs. [#17FW] Dennis Bermudez (15-5-0) via TKO (Knee and Punches) in 0:32 of round 3
2014-12-12: L vs. [#8FW] Charles Oliveira (21-5-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Last 3 Fights: Renan Barao (1-2-0)
2015-07-25: L vs. [#2BW/#9P4P] T.J. Dillashaw (12-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:35 of round 4
2014-12-20: W vs. [*] Mitch Gagnon (12-3-0) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 3:53 of round 3
2014-05-24: L vs. [#2BW/#9P4P] T.J. Dillashaw (12-3-0) via TKO (Head Kick and Punches) in 2:26 of round 5
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jeremy Stephens 169, Renan Barao 309
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
.
Welterweight (170)
[#22] Tarec Saffiedine (16-4-0, -129) vs. [*] Rick Story (18-8-0, +105)
Last 3 Fights: Tarec Saffiedine (2-1-0)
2016-01-30: W vs. [#29WW] Jake Ellenberger (30-11-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2014-10-04: L vs. [#6WW] Rory MacDonald (18-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:28 of round 3
2014-01-04: W vs. [#97WW] Hyun Gyu Lim (13-5-1) via UD (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
Last 3 Fights: Rick Story (2-1-0)
2014-10-04: W vs. [#16WW] Gunnar Nelson (15-2-1) via SD (50-44, 47-48, 49-46)
2014-07-16: W vs. [#190LW] Leonardo Mafra Texeira (12-3-0) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 2:12 of round 2
2014-03-15: L vs. [#14WW] Kelvin Gastelum (11-2-0) via SD (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Tarec Saffiedine 120, Rick Story 603
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
.
Keep Reading
Examining ONE Championship’s Talent Pool
ONE Championship launched in 2011 with the goal of “featuring the best Asian fighters.” To date, the promotion has hosted 41 events in nine different countries and will make its debut in Thailand later this month. Despite impressive growth and expansion, at times the level of competition seems relatively stagnant. Is this the case?
To examine the talent level in ONE Championship, let’s review all 41 events in company history. For each event, let’s average the Quarterly Generated Historical Ranking of each participant and repeat the process with the fighters’ Highest Quarterly Ranking. These two composite event rankings will gives us an idea of the level of competition from both a contemporary and historical perspective. If a fighter was not ranked, they were assigned a rank of 600, which equals the lowest possible ranking in the current system.
Fight Matrix Program: UFC 198 (05-14-2016)
Heavyweight Championship (265)
[#1/#6DD/#6P4P] Fabricio Werdum (20-5-1, -158) vs. [#4] Stipe Miocic (14-2-0, +132)
Fabricio Werdum is the All-Time #3 ranked Heavyweight and #15 ranked Absolute fighter.
Stipe Miocic is the All-Time #21 ranked Heavyweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Fabricio Werdum (3-0-0)
2015-06-13: W vs. [#3HW+] Cain Velasquez (13-2-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 2:13 of round 3
2014-11-15: W vs. [#6HW+] Mark Hunt (12-10-1) via TKO (Knee and Punches) in 2:27 of round 2
2014-04-19: W vs. [#8HW+] Travis Browne (18-3-1) via UD (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)
Last 3 Fights: Stipe Miocic (2-1-0)
2016-01-02: W vs. [#7HW+] Andrei Arlovski (25-12-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:54 of round 1
2015-05-10: W vs. [#6HW+] Mark Hunt (12-10-1) via TKO (Punches) in 2:47 of round 5
2014-12-13: L vs. [#5HW+] Junior dos Santos (18-4-0) via UD (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Fabricio Werdum 336, Stipe Miocic 133
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 4 win(s) against common opposition.
.
Middleweight (185)
[#4] Vitor Belfort (25-11-0, +249) vs. [#5] Ronaldo Souza (22-4-0, -312)
Ronaldo Souza is the All-Time #8 ranked Middleweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Vitor Belfort (2-1-0)
2015-11-07: W vs. [#12MW] Dan Henderson (31-14-0) via KO (Punches) in 2:07 of round 1
2015-05-23: L vs. [#2MW/#5DD/#10P4P] Chris Weidman (13-1-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:53 of round 1
2013-11-09: W vs. [#12MW] Dan Henderson (31-14-0) via KO (Head Kick) in 1:17 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Ronaldo Souza (2-1-0)
2015-12-12: L vs. [#3MW] Yoel Romero (11-1-0) via SD (29-28, 29-27, 28-29)
2015-04-18: W vs. [#27MW] Chris Camozzi (23-10-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 2:33 of round 1
2014-09-05: W vs. [#6MW] Gegard Mousasi (38-6-2) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 4:30 of round 3
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Vitor Belfort 189, Ronaldo Souza 154
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Vitor Belfort leads 2-1
.
Women Featherweight (140)
[#1/#4DD/#2P4P] Cristiane Justino (15-1-0, -1527) vs. [#13BW] Leslie Smith (8-6-1, +815)
Cristiane Justino is the All-Time #2 ranked Women’s fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Cristiane Justino (3-0-0)
2016-01-16: W vs. [#12FW] Daria Ibragimova (9-2-0) via KO (Punches) in 4:58 of round 1
2015-07-09: W vs. [#8FW] Faith Van Duin (5-2-0) via TKO (Knee to the Body and Punches) in 0:45 of round 1
2015-02-27: W vs. [#4FW] Charmaine Tweet (9-5-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:46 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Leslie Smith (2-1-0)
2016-03-19: W vs. [#31BW] Rin Nakai (16-2-1) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
2014-11-15: L vs. [#11BW] Jessica Eye (11-4-0) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in 1:30 of round 2
2014-07-16: W vs. [#53BW] Jessamyn Duke (3-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:24 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Cristiane Justino 119, Leslie Smith 56
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
.
Keep Reading