Coming Soon: Pound-for-Pound Rankings
For years, we’ve featured the Division Dominance rankings for Men and Women. Although similar to “pound-for-pound” rankings, these were not and are not the same thing.
Even though the posted definition at the top of the pages clearly states this, it seems many of our viewers cannot understand this or refuse to read it. As some of you know, these rankings are very mathematical in nature and only reflect the proportional point differences that top fighters possess over fighters considered to be their divisional peers. Throughout time, we added some conditional logic to eliminate outliers, but these lists continue to be mathematically specific and straightforward.
Within the next two weeks, we plan on launching “pound-for-pound” ranking lists for both genders. These lists will feature separate point ratings that are calculated side-by-side, chronologically, alongside the typical ratings you see on our site. However, the goal in mind is to make the rating points value the same factors that the fan and media lists do — but to do so consistently, accurately and timely. Eventually, we will expand this to our Generated Ranking Sets to allow for a “lookback” in time.
Ranking Page Update: Two New Filters Types (Region & Home State) & New “Last Fought In” Selection
Region
- The “region” parameter allows fighters to be filtered by groups of countries or continents rather than one single country — this utilizes the fighter nationality setting.
- Currently, we have nine regions to choose from and are open to adding more.
Home State
- A fighter’s home (US) state is assigned based on the state that the fighter most frequently fought in professionally, within the past three years. If there is a tie, the most recent state is used.
- A fighter with a US nationality can have no home state if they fight solely overseas. Likewise, a fighter with a non-US nationality can have a home state.
- Currently, no organizations are excluded, but we may consider dropping UFC from consideration.
- We are open to tweaking this criteria based on feedback.
Last Fought In
- “Outside of UFC & Bellator” is now an option for this search filter type.
Current MMA Rankings Updated (09-05-2013)
Another special update for the mid-week UFC card.
Fight Matrix Program: UFC Fight Night 28 (09-04-2013)
Light Heavyweight (205)
[#9] Glover Teixeira (21-2-0, 206.0lb, -418) vs. [#10] Ryan Bader (15-3-0, 205.0lb, +375)
Ryan Bader is the All-Time #23 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Glover Teixeira (3-0-0)
2013-05-25: W vs. [#21LHW] James Te Huna (16-6-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 2:38 of round 1
2013-01-26: W vs. [#14LHW] Quinton Jackson (32-11-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2012-10-13: W vs. [#49LHW] Fabio Maldonado (19-6-0) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in 5:00 of round 2
Last 3 Fights: Ryan Bader (2-1-0)
2013-01-26: W vs. [#38LHW] Vladimir Matyushenko (26-7-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 0:50 of round 1
2012-08-04: L vs. [#3LHW] Lyoto Machida (19-4-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:32 of round 2
2012-02-26: W vs. [#14LHW] Quinton Jackson (32-11-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Glover Teixeira 102, Ryan Bader 221
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 2 win(s) against common opposition.
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Middleweight (185)
[#4] Yushin Okami (29-7-0, 185.0lb, +236) vs. [#6] Ronaldo Souza (18-3-0, 186.0lb, -240)
Yushin Okami is the All-Time #7 ranked Middleweight fighter.
Ronaldo Souza is the All-Time #20 ranked Middleweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Yushin Okami (3-0-0)
2013-03-03: W vs. [#5MW] Hector Lombard (32-4-1) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
2012-12-29: W vs. [#17MW] Alan Belcher (18-8-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
2012-08-11: W vs. [#68MW] Buddy Roberts (12-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:09 of round 2
Last 3 Fights: Ronaldo Souza (3-0-0)
2013-05-18: W vs. [#31MW] Chris Camozzi (19-6-0) via Technical Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 3:37 of round 1
2013-01-12: W vs. [#38MW] Ed Herman (21-9-0) via Submission (Kimura) in 3:10 of round 1
2012-08-18: W vs. [#24MW] Derek Brunson (10-2-0) via KO (Punches) in 0:41 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Yushin Okami 185, Ronaldo Souza 109
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Flyweight (125)
[#2/#8DD] Joseph Benavidez (18-3-0, 126.0lb, -500) vs. [#10] Jussier da Silva (15-2-0, 126.0lb, +444)
Joseph Benavidez is the All-Time #19 ranked Flyweight fighter.
Jussier da Silva is the All-Time #4 ranked Flyweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Joseph Benavidez (2-1-0)
2013-04-20: W vs. [#11FLY] Darren Uyenoyama (8-4-0) via KO (Punch to the Body) in 4:50 of round 2
2013-02-02: W vs. [#5FLY] Ian McCall (12-4-1) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2012-09-22: L vs. [#1FLY/#6DD] Demetrious Johnson (18-2-1) via SD (48-47, 47-48, 49-46)
Last 3 Fights: Jussier da Silva (2-1-0)
2013-05-18: W vs. [#26FLY] Chris Cariaso (14-6-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2012-10-05: L vs. [#6FLY] John Dodson (14-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:35 of round 2
2012-06-29: W vs. [#75FLY] Sidney Lessa de Oliveira (9-5-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:45 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Joseph Benavidez 137, Jussier da Silva 109
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Joseph Benavidez leads 2-1
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Keep Reading
UFC Shows in Brazil — Bet on the Brazilians, but Why?
In the past two years (and one week), we’ve seen 8 UFC shows take place in Brazil, with this amount steadily increasing — 1 in 2011, 3 in 2012, 7 in 2013 (3 still to come).
Given that a large majority of UFC shows and their fighter population reside outside of Brazil, how “fair” is it to these fighters that so many of their fights take place in Brazil against Brazilian opponents? When we say “fair”, we refer to two things — the “hometown advantage” and the matchmaking.
The “hometown advantage” is something we looked at very briefly a couple of years ago, when some bookmakers like Bwin started to claimed that in sports such as Poker, it can give you what you need to win. We found just under a 2% advantage for the home fighter (a hometown fighter with say… 98 rating points would have a 50/50 chance versus an outsider with 100 rating points). However, this included a slew of contests that involved neighboring entities (example — US vs. Canada) and I think we can all agree a United States vs. Brazil or even more extreme, Japan vs. Brazil at Brazil is a far cry from the aforementioned border wars. Plus, the database is much, much more mature now. A detailed re-visit of this analysis of this is better saved for another day.
Using the fighter “nationality” setting you see on our ranking pages, I isolated 60 fights from the 8 previously mentioned UFC shows that involved a Brazil vs. non-Brazil fighter in Brazil, that resulted in non-draw, non-no contest outcomes. Brazilian fighters won 47 of these fights, a win rate of 78.33%. If we expand this window back to 1/1/2010 and include all organizations where we know the nationalities of both fighters (399 fights), this win rate drops significantly to 62.15% — though is still sizable.
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| So, how much of this is the mysterious “hometown advantage” and how much of this is matchmaking? |
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Current MMA Rankings Updated (08-25-2013)
FYI – We’ll likely have a mid-week update to accommodate the UFC show on Wednesday night.
Current MMA Rankings Updated (08-18-2013)
Notable Info
- Travis Browne finally realizes his potential by removing Alistair Overeem from his senses. As a result, he moves up to #6 in the HW+ rankings.
- Also at Heavyweight, Steve Mocco improves to 3-0 and jumps into the Top 100 at #82 by beating Lew Polley, who gained some infamy by showing up at 237lbs for a 205lb fight on August 9th. Perhaps gluttony got the best of Polley again, as he gained another 18lb in 7 days — weighing in at 255lb for the Mocco fight! James Toney, eat your heart out… but no seconds.
- Chael Sonnen found the Top 10, this time at Light Heavyweight with a first-round submission of Mauricio Rua. This puts Sonnen at #8 and Rua at #11.
- Mike Thomas Brown plummets down the Featherweight rankings at the hands of Steven Siler. Now sitting at #65, a re-retirement seems eminent.
- Pedro Munhoz‘s win over Jeff Curran made our All-Time Unusual Decisions list. Although Munhoz received 50-45 and 49-46 scores, Curran managed a 48-47 in his favor. Subsequently, Jeff Curran retired and is apparently abandoning his Flyweight run — this fight was at Bantamweight.
Current MMA Rankings Updated (08-11-2013)
Notable Info
- Tyrone Spong gets a relatively easy unanimous decision win against solid fighter Angel DeAnda. As a result, Spong debuts in the LHW rankings at #75.
- Also in the LHW rankings, we see a familiar name — Kalib Starnes, who appears to be having a bit of a career renaissance. His last win was at HW, with this most recent one being at LHW — both of which combine to get him a #55 rank in the LHW division.
- Another resurgence takes place at Lightweight, with the appearance of “JZ” Cavalcante in the Top 50, at #47. With a (perhaps quick) stoppage of Tyson Griffin, he essentially erased his poor 2012 — though it will take a lot to get him over the hump of Gaethje who is now a Top 20 fighter.
- #124 ranked Featherweight, Julio Cesar Neves, improves his record to 26-0-0, with a Capoeira kick KO over unranked Dener “Chuleta”, who falls to 9-5.
- The Strawweight division loses its longtime figurehead, Rambaa Somdet, as he took his first fight with PXC and will look to continue at Flyweight. He debuts at Flyweight with a win, way down at #41.
- Hiroko Yamanaka announces her retirement and the Women’s Featherweight division loses yet another ranked fighter. The unheralded Agnieszka Sobczyk (2-1) slides in at #15.
Fight Matrix Program: World Series of Fighting 4 (08-10-2013)
Light Heavyweight (205)
[#46] Angel DeAnda (11-2-0, +926) vs. [#315] Tyrone Spong (1-0-0, -1200)
Last 3 Fights: Angel DeAnda (3-0-0)
2012-11-15: W vs. [#62LHW] Anthony Ruiz (30-18-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:39 of round 3
2012-09-07: W vs. [#402LHW] Drew Montgomery (12-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:30 of round 1
2012-04-21: W vs. [*] Kawika Morton (4-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:04 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Tyrone Spong (1-0-0)
2012-11-03: W vs. [#517HW+] Travis Bartlett (5-4-0) via KO (Punch) in 3:15 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Angel DeAnda 268, Tyrone Spong 280
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Lightweight (155)
[#47] Tyson Griffin (16-6-0, -265) vs. [#116] Gesias Cavalcante (17-7-1, +235)
Gesias Cavalcante is the All-Time #16 ranked Lightweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Tyson Griffin (2-1-0)
2012-11-02: W vs. [#93LW] Efrain Escudero (19-7-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2011-10-29: L vs. [#45FW] Bart Palaszewski (36-17-0) via KO (Punches) in 2:45 of round 1
2011-06-26: W vs. [#17FW] Manny Gamburyan (12-7-0) via MD (29-28, 29-28, 29-29)
Last 3 Fights: Gesias Cavalcante (1-2-0)
2013-03-23: L vs. [#18LW] Justin Gaethje (9-0-0) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in 2:27 of round 1
2012-11-03: W vs. [#407LW] T.J. OBrien (18-7-0) via Submission (Heel Hook) in 1:03 of round 1
2012-06-30: L vs. [#57LW] Luis Palomino (21-8-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:41 of round 3
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Tyson Griffin 281, Gesias Cavalcante 140
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Gesias Cavalcante leads 1-0
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Heavyweight (265)
[#52] Dave Huckaba (20-5-0, +225) vs. [*] Ray Sefo (2-1-0, -253)
Last 3 Fights: Dave Huckaba (3-0-0)
2013-01-18: W vs. [#526HW+] Carter Williams (4-5-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:00 of round 2
2012-10-20: W vs. [#122HW+] Carl Seumanutafa (8-4-0) via KO (Punch) in 4:35 of round 1
2012-05-26: W vs. [#327HW+] Rob Jackson (5-5-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:30 of round 2
Last 3 Fights: Ray Sefo (2-1-0)
2011-02-12: L vs. [#206HW+] Valentijn Overeem (30-29-0) via Submission (Neck Crank) in 1:37 of round 1
2009-09-25: W vs. [*] Kevin Jordan (11-9-0) via Submission (Knee Injury) in 0:24 of round 2
2005-07-06: W vs. [*] Min Soo Kim (3-7-0) via KO (Head Kick) in 0:30 of round 2
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Dave Huckaba 204, Ray Sefo 910
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Keep Reading
Fight Matrix & Sherdog (Man vs. Machine) Rankings Compared: Middleweight
Middleweight
| Rank | Fight Matrix | Diff | Diff | Sherdog |
| 1 | Chris Weidman | = | = | Chris Weidman |
| 2 | Anderson Silva | = | = | Anderson Silva |
| 3 | Vitor Belfort | = | = | Vitor Belfort |
| 4 | Yushin Okami | = | = | Yushin Okami |
| 5 | Hector Lombard | Next 5 | -3 | Michael Bisping |
| 6 | Ronaldo Souza | -3 | -1 | Mark Munoz |
| 7 | Mark Munoz | +1 | -2 | Luke Rockhold |
| 8 | Michael Bisping | +3 | Next 5 | Costas Philippou |
| 9 | Luke Rockhold | +2 | +3 | Ronaldo Souza |
| 10 | Mamed Khalidov | = | = | Mamed Khalidov |
| Next 5 | Costas Philippou Tim Kennedy Alexander Shlemenko Thales Leites Cung Le |
Tim Boetsch Francis Carmont Tim Kennedy Hector Lombard Alexander Shlemenko |
Contrary to the prior two divisions we looked at, Middleweight shows some considerable differences. Also, the table just got a lot harder to read.
Fight Matrix & Sherdog (Man vs. Machine) Rankings Compared: Light Heavyweight
Light Heavyweight
| Rank | Fight Matrix | Diff | Sherdog |
| 1 | Jon Jones | = | Jon Jones |
| 2 | Phil Davis | -1 | Rashad Evans |
| 3 | Lyoto Machida | -1 | Phil Davis |
| 4 | Rashad Evans | +2 | Lyoto Machida |
| 5 | Dan Henderson | = | Dan Henderson |
| 6 | Alexander Gustaffson | = | Alexander Gustaffson |
| 7 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | = | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira |
| 8 | Mauricio Rua | = | Mauricio Rua |
| 9 | Glover Teixeira | = | Glover Teixeira |
| 10 | Ryan Bader | = | Ryan Bader |
| Next 5 | Gegard Mousasi Emanuel Newton Quinton Jackson Anthony Johnson Chael Sonnen |
Gegard Mousasi Emanuel Newton James Te Huna Thiago Silva Attila Vegh |
The two rankings again are eerily similar, with the first notable difference being Rashad Evans. But what a mess it is, overall.