Current MMA Rankings Updated (08-14-2016)
Notable Info
- 500th official release of the Current Rankings — the first being on January 20, 2008 (1 set every 6.25 days on avg).
- Welterweight rankings expanded to 650 fighters.
- Men’s Flyweight rankings expanded to 250 fighters.
- Women’s Strawweight rankings expanded to 50 fighters.
Comparison: Sherdog vs. Fight Matrix – All-Time Top Female Fighters
In case you missed it, Sherdog presented an article of the Top 10 Female MMA Fighters of All-Time
The names are similar, but they certainly differ from our All-Time Rankings
Sherdog #10 – Tara LaRosa (Fight Matrix – #6)
Although never officially fighting the UFC, LaRosa’s ledger is one of the most impressive in the history of the female side of the sport. She managed to catch on in many different organizations to get (mostly) quality fights and compile a 22-5 record in doing so. Her most recent fight against Modafferi was a disaster and she’s probably far beyond her prime, but she’s easily one of the very best few before the Rousey/Cyborg era.
FightMatrix #10 – Jessica Aguilar (Sherdog – Unranked)
Sherdog #9 – Amanda Nunes (Fight Matrix – #19)
She’s more than likely going to quickly rise up our list with time, but this seems a little premature. Champions who win a major belt and don’t successfully defend, seem like a group that grows with each UFC event. If she gets Rousey next, it could be a very short stay at the top of the division.
FightMatrix #9 – Jennifer Howe (Sherdog – Unranked)
Biggest Risers in Current MMA Rankings Update (08-07-2016)
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
DJ Linderman #78 (116)
After dropping back-to-back fights, Linderman got back on track with a decision victory over Derrick Mehmen. Mehmen’s original opponent Jack May dropped out with an injury, so Linderman took the fight on short notice. The Bellator and World Series of Fighting veteran now holds a 20-11 record.
HM: Justin Ledet #137 (89)
Light Heavyweight
Ednaldo Oliveira #173 (60)
Since leaving the UFC in 2013, Oliveira has gone 2-1. After losing to Mikhail Mokhnatkin, he rebounded nicely with a decision victory over Khristhian da Silva Oliveira on July 30.
Middleweight
Markus Perez Echeimberg #157 (91)
Echeimberg moved up 91 spots in the middleweight rankings after receiving credit for his June 25 victory over UFC veteran Paulo Thiago. The prospect is now 7-0 after beginning his professional career in 2013.
HM:Trevor Smith #50 (23)
Welterweight
Thiago Oliveira #289 (133)
Oliveira earned credit for his May 14 victory over Sergio Mesquita and bumped up 133 spots. He is now riding a seven-fight winning streak that dates back to 2012. The Gracie Barra Bahia product now holds a 12-3 record as a professional.
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Ranking Points for Highest Ranked Fighter by Promotion
The preceding graph shows the ranking points for the highest ranked fighter for the UFC, Bellator, World Series of Fighting and One Championship in the current rankings release. Ranking points are the result of the FightMatrix computerized rating system and used to determine ranking. In short, the higher number of points means a higher ranking.
As you can see, the UFC has the top ranked fighter in all of the listed divisions. #4 Phil Davis has the most points of anyone not in the UFC, and Bellator welterweight champion #9 Andrey Koreshkov is not far behind.
Fighters not in the UFC do not always have access to top competition. This can lead to a gradual decline in rankings. #33 Ben Askren has gone undefeated in One Championship, but his ranking points have fallen from 376, when he signed, all the way down to 169.
The following list shows the top ranked fighter to have last fought for each promotion. Ranking points are listed in parenthesis.
Heavyweight
UFC: #1 Stipe Miocic (1046)
Bellator: #12 Quinton Jackson (196)
WSOF: #22 Blagoy Ivanov (137)
One: #37 Roger Gracie (82)
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Biggest Risers in Current MMA Rankings Update (07-24-2016)
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
Francis Ngannou #50 (15)
After three UFC fights, Ngannou has made his way into the top 50. Last Saturday, he scored his third knockout in the promotion in only 94 seconds against debuting Bojan Mihajlovic. It will be interesting to see how the UFC matches him going forward since he is already 29 years old and still somewhat raw.
Middleweight
Chris Harris #163 (24)
Harris scored a first-round rear-naked-choke submission over Matt Foster on the undercard of Bellator 159. With the victory, he improved his professional record to 7-0. The Kansas native is now also 2-0 on Bellator undercards. He previously defeated Julian Marquez at Bellator 150.
Welterweight
Mike Perry #107 (101)
On May 14, Perry scored a second-round knockout over David Mundell in the main event of a Battleground show. The Team Sparta member holds a 6-0 record with all of his wins coming via knockout.
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TUF 24: How They Stack Up
Another season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality series looms on the horizon. This will be season 24, not counting the various unnumbered international spin-offs like TUF: Brazil and TUF: Latin America. In my opinion, this show is long past its expiration date and I stopped watching many years ago. However, this season will be a little different than most: coached by top UFC flyweights Joe Benavidez and Henry Cejudo, the cast features 16 flyweights who hold a title in one of various minor MMA leagues throughout the world. The winner will get a shot at the dominant reigning champion Demetrious Johnson, who is currently not only #1 in the world in his weight class, but also #1 on our Division Point Dominance list, #2 Pound for Pound (likely soon to be promoted to #1 with the pending suspension of Jon Jones), as well as the #1 flyweight fighter of all time. The coaches, who both already had their chance at DJ’s gold, will also square off at the conclusion of the season and the winner could likely be the next in line for another go-round at the title. This will be the first season of TUF in many years that I will be watching, even though I still hope that the new UFC ownership axes the incredibly stale series.
So how do the TUF 24 flyweight contenders stack up in the FightMatrix rankings? Keep reading to find out.
Biggest Risers in Current MMA Rankings Update (07-17-2016)
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 unless otherwise noted.
Heavyweight
Michal Andryszak #76 (48)
Andryszak finds himself with his highest ranking ever after defeating UFC veteran Tim Hague at ACB 41. “Longer” sports a 17-6 record and has won three-fights in a row since falling to Salimgirey Rasulov last year. The entire ACB 41 event is available for free on YouTube.
Light Heavyweight
Cassio Lisboa #143 (20)
Light Heavyweight always seems to be the most stagnant division. This week’s biggest mover is a 3-0 fighter from Brazil. In his last outing, Lisboa scored a third-round toe-hold-submission victory over Hugo Lezama Inurreta at Xtreme Kombat 32.
Middleweight
Nills van Noord #168 (111)
In his last fight, Van Noord scored a submission victory over Janis Novicks last May. The Bob Schrijber protege has gone undefeated in five bouts since falling to Lee Chadwick in 2014. Van Noord is 15-6-2 since making his MMA debut in 2007.
Welterweight
Luiz Cado Simon #214 (218)
Simon moved up 218 spots in the rankings after receiving credit for his victory over Rodrigo Cavalheiro Correia last month. His previous high ranking was #302 in 2014. Early in his career, Simon faced off against current Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho but he failed to make the final bell and was knocked out.
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Biggest Risers in Current MMA Rankings Update (07-10-2016)
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
Brock Lesnar #6
Technically Lesnar does not qualify for this list since he was not ranked going into last week. However, he returned from an extended layoff and scored a victory over Mark Hunt at UFC 200. The win earned him the 6th spot in the heavyweight rankings. Lesnar was last ranked #7 in 2013. Besides Lesnar, there was no major movement in the heavyweight division.
Light Heavyweight
Darren Stewart #82 (24)
Stewart scored a third-round knockout over Boubacar Balde at Cage Warriors FC 77 this past weekend. With the victory, Stewart improved his career record to 7-0 and moved up 24 spots in the light heavyweight rankings. The fight and the entire event is available on UFC Fight Pass.
Middleweight
Tim Williams #82 (50)
Since dropping a pair of bouts against UFC fighter Anthony Smith last year, Williams has picked up three wins in a row. In his last outing, he scored an upset over Nah-Shon Burrell at CFFC 59. He also holds victories over UFC veterans Andre Gusmao and Ron Stallings.
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