Notable Info
- Tyron Woodley moves up to #3 in the All-Time Welterweight Rankings and cracks the Top 25 Absolute, landing at #23.
All-Time MMA Rankings Updated (08-05-2018)
Notable Info
- Demetrious Johnson‘s #12 Absolute and #1 Flyweight rankings remain after his loss to Henry Cejudo. Meanwhile, Cejudo nearly doubled his All-Time Flyweight point total, moving him from #8 to #7 on the list, but remains a fair distance outside of the Top 100 Absolute.
- T.J. Dillashaw strengthens his #2 Bantamweight position and is on the cusp of entering the Top 35 Absolute list, at #36. Cody Garbrandt wards off inactivity and gets a very small temporary boost in his All-Time ratings, but this acts simply as treading water. He still remains #7 at Bantamweight and just outside of the Top 100 Absolute.
All-Time MMA Rankings Updated (09-29-2017)
Notable Info
- All lists expanded from Top 25 to Top 35. More expansion coming soon.
Mamoru Yamaguchi is a true pioneer of the flyweight division
This weekend, former two-division Shooto world champion and current flyweight King of Pancrase Mamoru Yamaguchi returns to action at Pancrase 289. The 40-year-old fighter will defend his title against Senzo Ikeda, and the card will air live on UFC Fight Pass.
Yamaguchi, currently ranked #26 in the flyweight division, might not be the most recognizable name to average MMA fans. However, you can’t tell the story of the MMA’s flyweight division without including him. In 2000, he became the first Shooto featherweight (132 pounds) champion with a victory over Jin Akimoto. Three years later, he took the first Shooto bantamweight (123 pounds) championship after defeating Yasuhiro Urushitani. Urushitani went on to participate in the tournament to determine the first UFC flyweight champion.
The following chart shows the percentage of Yamaguchi’s ranking points compared to the number-one ranked fighter in his division for each quarter of his career.
The higher the percentage, the closer to the number one ranking for Yamaguchi. This is a similar calculation used to determine the “Fight Matrix Most Lopsided Upset of the Year” award.
As you can see, Yamaguchi was not only a pioneer of the flyweight division but also a perennial contender until the UFC adopted the division in 2012. At his advanced age, it is impressive that he is still ranked near the flyweight top 25. His current run as King of Pancrase is a dignified culmination of a historic career, which, unfortunately, is rarely seen in the sport.
Richard Mann runs the data-driven combat sports blog StrikeScoreMMA.com You can follow him on Twitter @RichardAMann
Current & All-Time Rankings Updated (07-06-2017)
Notable Info
- Intermediate updates to prep for the TUF card on Friday.
Comparing the 10 Title Defenses of Demetrious Johnson and Anderson Silva
With a victory over Wilson Reis in the main event last Saturday, Demetrious Johnson tied Anderson Silva’s record for most consecutive UFC title defenses. Many pundits have been quick to decry the accomplishment due to the current state of the flyweight division. The UFC did not crown their first flyweight champion until 2012, and the division has been in the developing stages ever since. With that being said, Johnson has been nothing short of dominant. How do the two strings of title defenses compare?
In terms of ranking points alone, Silva faced a much tougher road than Johnson. As you can see in the following chart, Silva’s opponents almost always had more ranking points. However, that does not tell the entire story. Fighters competing in more developed divisions will obviously have more points. Ranking points are the result of the Fight Matrix statistical model. The more points a fighter has, the higher the fighter is ranked. You can find more information here.
When determining the per-bout level of opposition a fan might ask himself/herself, “how big of an upset would this be?” Using this criteria might give a clearer picture of the level of competition faced by both fighters. Fight Matrix hands out two different “Upset of Year” awards, most noteworthy and most lopsided. Most noteworthy is simply “the largest difference (X minus Y) between raw rating points,” while most lopsided is “the largest proportional difference (X divided by Y) between raw rating points.” Keep Reading