The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 3
#25 – #15: The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 1
#14 – #10: The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 2
If you missed the first parts, you can visit w/ the links above.
#9 – #5
#9 – Mamoru Yamaguchi (Rep Avg: #120 | Fight Matrix: #70)
Small man bias in full effect here — Yamaguchi is a part of the three-headed Japanese dragon that has ruled the All-Time MMA Rankings at Flyweight, here on Fight Matrix. For us, DJ is set to high jump over this tandem in the near future, but he apparently already had sometime ago for mostly everyone else. The “pick and choose” process is very strange when it comes to acknowledging MMA success in the early years.
The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 2
#25 – #15: The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 1
If you missed the first part, you can visit it w/ the link above. It has all of the details about how this list came to be.
As I complete the list, I can’t help but think of how great this series could have been and how sad it is that reasonable lists like this are practically non-existent. If you come across any, please let me know.
#14 – #10
#14 – Miguel Torres (Rep Avg: #65 | Fight Matrix: #39)
Torres is still our Top Bantamweight of All-Time. With Barao recently losing and Cruz taking all the time off, Torres should hold this position for a little longer.
The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 1
For those of you who do not know, in addition to our Current MMA Rankings, we also feature an All-Time MMA Rankings that is updated every month (usually on the 2nd).
In an effort to mix it up heading into the new year, I’ve decided to compare our All-Time Absolute list to an average of a few other lists that I’ve found on the Internet, in order to bring attention to fighters who I believe are the most underrated in the history of MMA.
I feel an analysis of underrated fighters is more objective than an analysis of overrated fighters, as many fighters are given lofty positions in subjective lists due to an over-friendliness bestowed upon pioneer fighters, especially those who were under-sized. As you probably know, our lists are based on actual results and it goes without saying that being the #1 Welterweight in 2014 means much more than being the #1 Welterweight in 2004 (for example).
Not surprisingly, it was tough to find (seemingly) reputable lists:
Crowd-sourcing Representative: Tapology Top 100 (2014-12-18)
“Peak” Mathematical Representative: MMA-ELO Top 25 (2014-11-01)
“Cumulative” Mathematical Representative: Sports-Ratings Top 250 (2014-03-31)
I would have loved to have added an “Expert” representative, but I could not find one readily available.
Current MMA Rankings Updated (12-11-2014)
Notable Info
- Special mid-week update in anticipation of TUF 20 card.
Current MMA Rankings Updated (11-16-2014)
Notable Info
- The Gaethje/Guillard decision was missed and will be included in the next update.
Current Rankings Updated (11-09-2014)
Notable Info
- Rankings update #400!
Approaching MMA’s Mount Rushmore: Jose Aldo and Jon Jones
As of October 2nd, the Top 4 in our All-Time MMA Rankings (Absolute) shook out like this:
7878 – Georges St. Pierre
7076 – Anderson Silva
4665 – Fedor Emelianenko
4400 – Matt Hughes
And the next 2 in line…
3900 – Jose Aldo
3612 – Jon Jones
.
Barring something miraculous, the point totals of Fedor and Hughes are set in stone and will only rise/fall with trends that the data causes. GSP is stagnant, at least for now and Silva is still active, though not achieving much for the time being…. so this leaves the door open for Aldo and Jones.
With Aldo’s latest victory, he will certainly earn enough points to eclipse the 4000 point mark and with how the calculations work, should pass Hughes by the end of the year or by very early next year. With Fedor only 6% ahead of Hughes, Aldo will catch him shortly after.
Your thoughts?