Notable Info
- Bad result from last UFC event fixed (Case/Perez).
- Obscure bug fixed that improperly altered rating points of fighters involved in very specific scenarios (less than 0.1% of fighters).
Fight Matrix Program: UFC on Fox 14 (01-24-2015)
Light Heavyweight (205)
[#3] Anthony Johnson (18-4-0, +185) vs. [#6] Alexander Gustafsson (16-2-0, -232)
Alexander Gustafsson is the All-Time #19 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Anthony Johnson (3-0-0)
2014-07-26: W vs. [#12LHW] Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (21-6-0) via KO (Punches) in 0:44 of round 1
2014-04-26: W vs. [#5LHW] Phil Davis (13-2-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2014-01-18: W vs. [#43HW+] Mike Kyle (20-12-1) via KO (Punches) in 2:03 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Alexander Gustafsson (2-1-0)
2014-03-08: W vs. [#18LHW] Jimi Manuwa (14-1-0) via TKO (Knee and Punches) in 1:18 of round 2
2013-09-21: L vs. [#1LHW/#2DD/#1P4P] Jon Jones (21-1-0) via UD (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
2012-12-08: W vs. [#14LHW] Mauricio Rua (22-10-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Anthony Johnson 182, Alexander Gustafsson 322
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Anthony Johnson leads 1-0
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Middleweight (185)
[#7LHW] Dan Henderson (30-12-0, +250) vs. [#8] Gegard Mousasi (35-5-2, -322)
Dan Henderson is the All-Time #5 ranked Middleweight and #10 ranked Absolute fighter.
Gegard Mousasi is the All-Time #17 ranked Middleweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Dan Henderson (1-2-0)
2014-05-24: L vs. [#2LHW] Daniel Cormier (15-1-0) via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:53 of round 3
2014-03-23: W vs. [#14LHW] Mauricio Rua (22-10-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:31 of round 3
2013-11-09: L vs. [#3MW] Vitor Belfort (24-10-0) via KO (Head Kick) in 1:17 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Gegard Mousasi (1-2-0)
2014-09-05: L vs. [#4MW] Ronaldo Souza (21-3-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 4:30 of round 3
2014-05-31: W vs. [#17MW] Mark Munoz (13-5-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:57 of round 1
2014-02-15: L vs. [#2MW/#8DD/#10P4P] Lyoto Machida (22-5-0) via UD (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Dan Henderson 245, Gegard Mousasi 141
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Dan Henderson leads 3-1
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Light Heavyweight (205)
[#5] Phil Davis (13-2-0, -246) vs. [#9] Ryan Bader (18-4-0, +191)
Phil Davis is the All-Time #16 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.
Ryan Bader is the All-Time #21 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Phil Davis (2-1-0)
2014-10-25: W vs. [#8LHW] Glover Teixeira (22-4-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2014-04-26: L vs. [#3LHW] Anthony Johnson (18-4-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2013-08-03: W vs. [#2MW/#8DD/#10P4P] Lyoto Machida (22-5-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Last 3 Fights: Ryan Bader (3-0-0)
2014-08-16: W vs. [#11LHW] Ovince St. Preux (17-6-0) via UD (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
2014-06-14: W vs. [#24LHW] Rafael Cavalcante (12-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2013-12-07: W vs. [#28LHW] Anthony Perosh (15-8-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Phil Davis 91, Ryan Bader 161
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Phil Davis leads 5-3
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Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)
| Friday, October 3rd 2025: PFL Champions Series 2: Nurmagomedov vs. Hughes 2 | |||
 [#4 LHW] Corey Anderson |  [#10 LHW] Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 7/19/2025 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#13 HW] Denis Goltsov Last 5: NC L W W W | Last Fight Date: 11/29/2024 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#21 MW] Impa Kasanganay Last 5: W W W W W | ||
| Friday, October 3rd 2025: PFL Champions Series 2: Nurmagomedov vs. Hughes 2 | |||
 [#9 LW] Usman Nurmagomedov (-164) |  [#14 LW] Paul Hughes (+128) | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 1/25/2025 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#14 LW] Paul Hughes Last 5: W W NC W W | Last Fight Date: 5/10/2025 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#51 LW] Bruno Miranda Last 5: W W W L W | ||
| Saturday, November 8th 2025: Dynamite MMA 4 - Nov. 8 | |||
 [#4 W105] Andressa Romero |  [#20 W105] Claire Lopez | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 9/20/2024 [Invicta FC] Last Opponent: [#2 W105] Elisandra Ferreira de Oliveira Last 5: W L L W L | Last Fight Date: 4/04/2025 [Invicta FC] Last Opponent: [#12 W105] Taynara Silva Last 5: W W L L L | ||
Featured Fighters
| [#3 FW] | Diego Lopes | [#1 LW] | Islam Makhachev | |
| [#2 LW] |  Ilia Topuria | [#19 FW] | Jean Silva | |
| [NR] | Matt Brown | [#4 LW] | Charles Oliveira | |
| [NR] |  Conor McGregor | [#1 MW] |  Khamzat Chimaev | |
| [NR] | Chris Lytle | [#90 WW] |  Daniil Donchenko |
Bang for Your Buck: UFC Fight Night 59
My original intent for the ‘Bang for Your Buck’ series was to analyze upcoming UFC PPV events to determine whether the fight card is worth the asking price. However, even before I was done writing the first installment in this series (UFC 182), it became readily apparent that most events will not meet this threshold. A part of the reason for this is the ever-increasing PPV prices. The other part is the also ever-increasing number of UFC events: in addition to the numbered PPV events, UFC holds a plethora of fight cards broadcast on Fox, Fox Sports 1, and Fight Pass network. Inevitably this leaves some of the cards stretched very thin, especially after the “injury bug” gets through with them.
So is the UFC making it up to the fans for buying the frankly overpriced PPVs by broadcasting free cards on other networks? Of course, anything that isn’t aired on Fox is not completely free: cards such as the upcoming Fight Night 59 on Fox Sports 1 – a cable network that may require a premium package, depending on your cable/satellite provider. On the other hand, it’s highly unlikely that you are paying your cable bill exclusively to watch UFC on FS1. This makes the price point of an event rather difficult to estimate, but I’ll give it a shot anyway:
Dish Network charges me $69.99 per month for a package which includes Fox Sports 1. After the various fees, taxes, etc., my monthly bill comes out to be near $100. (My actual bill is quite a bit higher than that but the number of TVs with extra HD receivers, or other premium packages I subscribe to, are really not relevant to this discussion). So let’s say $100 it is, which averages out to $3.29 per day. Researchers claim that the average American watches around 5 hours of television a day. This number seems a bit high to me, and for the sake of making the math easier, let’s say that I spend exactly 3.29 hours per day staring at the TV screen. This gives us the price point of $1 per hour, or $5 for a 5-hour UFC event on Fox Sports 1. If you don’t agree with this valuation, feel free to provide a better one in the comments section! Otherwise, keep reading to find out how FN 59 stacks up compared to this generous (imaginary) price point of $5.
Fight Matrix Program: UFC Fight Night (01-18-2015)
Featherweight (145)
[#7] Conor McGregor (16-2-0) vs. [#19] Dennis Siver (22-9-0)
Last 3 Fights: Conor McGregor (3-0-0)
2014-09-27: W vs. [#18FW] Dustin Poirier (16-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:46 of round 1
2014-07-19: W vs. [#52FW] Diego Brandao (18-10-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:05 of round 1
2013-08-17: W vs. [#15FW] Max Holloway (11-3-0) via UD (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Last 3 Fights: Dennis Siver (1-1-0, 1 NC)
2014-10-04: W vs. [#131FW] Charles Rosa (9-1-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2013-12-28: NC vs. [#10BW] Manny Gamburyan (14-8-0)
2013-07-06: L vs. [#6FW] Cub Swanson (21-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:24 of round 3
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Conor McGregor 113, Dennis Siver 106
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)
[#3] Donald Cerrone (26-6-0) vs. [#4] Ben Henderson (21-4-0)
Donald Cerrone is the All-Time #21 ranked Lightweight fighter.
Ben Henderson is the All-Time #4 ranked Lightweight and #23 ranked Absolute fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Donald Cerrone (3-0-0)
2015-01-03: W vs. [#12LW] Myles Jury (15-1-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2014-09-27: W vs. [#8LW] Eddie Alvarez (25-4-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2014-07-16: W vs. [#29LW] Jim Miller (24-5-0) via KO (Head Kick and Punches) in 3:31 of round 2
Last 3 Fights: Ben Henderson (2-1-0)
2014-08-23: L vs. [#2LW] Rafael dos Anjos (23-7-0) via KO (Punch) in 2:31 of round 1
2014-06-07: W vs. [#26LW] Rustam Khabilov (17-2-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:16 of round 4
2014-01-25: W vs. [#10LW] Josh Thomson (20-7-0) via SD (49-46, 47-48, 48-47)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Donald Cerrone 15, Ben Henderson 148
Previous Match-up Record: Ben Henderson leads 2-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Ben Henderson leads 4-3
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Middleweight (185)
[#26] Uriah Hall (9-4-0) vs. [#165] Ronald Stallings (12-5-0)
Last 3 Fights: Uriah Hall (2-1-0)
2014-07-05: W vs. [#64MW] Thiago Santos (9-3-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
2013-12-28: W vs. [*] Chris Leben (22-11-0) via TKO (Retirement) in 5:00 of round 1
2013-08-17: L vs. [#50WW] John Howard (22-10-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Last 3 Fights: Ronald Stallings (2-1-0)
2014-11-01: L vs. [#76MW] Tim Williams (10-1-0) via UD (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
2014-06-20: W vs. [#761WW] Joshua Williams (2-1-0) via TKO (Punches) in ? of round 3
2012-09-14: W vs. [*] Mike Massenzio (13-9-0) via KO (Knee to the Body) in 4:03 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Uriah Hall 197, Ronald Stallings 78
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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The Best Lightweights in MMA History: All-Time Rankings (Updated)
In response to this article posted at Sherdog today, I thought I’d show All-Time MMA Rankings for the Lightweight division in detail and how it has trended in the past 3 years (using current version):
| 3 Years Ago | Today | Diff | |
| BJ Penn | 2790 | 2944 | 5.5% |
| Frankie Edgar | 2300 | 2845 | 23.7% |
| Takanori Gomi | 3249 | 2714 | -16.5% |
| Ben Henderson | 263 | 2709 | 930.0% |
| Gilbert Melendez | 1470 | 2141 | 45.6% |
| Shinya Aoki | 2061 | 2136 | 3.6% |
| Anthony Pettis | 48 | 1795 | 3639.6% |
| Joachim Hansen | 1509 | 1521 | 0.8% |
| Vitor Ribeiro | 1463 | 1460 | -0.2% |
| Eddie Alvarez | 860 | 1340 | 55.8% |
Everyone that stayed steady or increased slightly only saw fluctuations based on changes in ratings of key opposition or additional points earned between then and the end of their Lightweight runs.
Gomi got hit hard, because the system thought he was basically done three years ago. On today’s run, it re-considered and suggested he was still at or near his prime when it saw him under-perform once hitting the UFC; essentially proving that he wasn’t all he was cracked up to be at one time. Note: I try to disqualify post-prime failures, but it is not completely preventable.
In the past month, we’ve worked on some tweaks for the All-Time Rankings. As fighter careers last longer (time-wise) we’ve seen the need to put more weight on quality and less weight on quantity. Honestly, this is pretty subjective, but there’s no great way to do All-Time Rankings unless you look at sums or peaks and neither works great on its own. Nevertheless, the same version was used in both sets provided above.
EDIT: Re-posted and re-explained. Today values were incorrect.
Current MMA Rankings Updated (01-11-2015)
Notable Info
- This will be the last set of current rankings featuring Cain Velasquez until he fights again. He will surpass the 450 day inactivity threshold this week.
Stat of the Day: Multiple UFC Events in the Same Calendar Month
In case you didn’t know, Donald Cerrone is now scheduled to fight again on UFC Fight Night (1/18) after fighting on UFC 182 (1/3).
This will only be the 4th occurrence of this happening:
Mike Thomas Brown | January 2011
(LOSS) – Diego Nunes – UFC 125 [2011-01-01]
(LOSS) – Rani Yahya – UFC – Fight for the Troops 2 [2011-01-22]
Lavar Johnson | May 2012
(WIN) – Pat Barry – UFC on Fox 3 [2012-05-05]
(LOSS) – Stefan Struve – UFC 146 [2012-05-26]
Dustin Pague | June 2012
(WIN) – Jared Papazian – UFC on FX 3 [2012-06-08]
(LOSS) – Ken Stone – UFC on FX 4 [2012-06-22]
The Rise and Fall of Tim Sylvia
With the news that Tim Sylvia was unable to fight this weekend, because he failed his medicals — weighing in at 371 pounds probably didn’t help matters — I decided to use our Generated Historical Rankings to show the rise and fall of Tim Sylvia using his rank in the Heavyweight division through time.
The format of the horizontal series labels is Year – Fights – Age, as of the first and midpoint of the year (no contests excluded). The major gridlines represent the first and midpoints of the year.
Bang for Your Buck: UFC 182
Happy New Year, readers!
It’s 2015, and after a somewhat lackluster year in MMA, UFC closed out 2014 with a bang, following up one of the better cards of the year in UFC 181 with an equally solid Fox event. 2015 also looks to be starting off on the right note, with four events slated just for the month of January: an Fox Sports 1 Fight Night and a ‘Big Fox’ event sandwiched between two major Pay-Per-Views.
Speaking of those pesky PPV’s… UFC has not had a good year in terms of buy rates. With an abundance of MMA events on network TV, basic cable, and internet streaming services, shelling out $60 or so for the numbered UFC fight cards seems like less of a necessity. Especially when you consider that with the sheer number of shows the UFC puts on, even their large fight roster is not enough from keeping the cards stretched thin, and the PPV events are often not that much better than the free cards.
All in all, being an MMA fan can be a rather expensive hobby. Just how expensive? I aim to find out, with the new series of articles that we’ll publish before each UFC event in 2015 – evaluating the value of the event (in my humble opinion) versus it’s monetary cost.
So here we go with the first event of the year: UFC 182. It’s headlined by a huge, highly anticipated and long awaited match-up between the Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones , and the challenger Daniel Cormier. Beyond the main even, the quality of the fights drops off significantly. But is the card worth the sticker price, at least on paper? Keep on reading to find out.
UFC 182: Stat of the Day
The match-up between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier is the first UFC title fight where the fighters have 35 or more combined wins with only 1 or fewer combined losses.
When throwing in non-title fights, this has only occurred once, when Brock Larson (21-1) faced Keita Nakamura (15-0) back in 2006.
2014 Awards: Men’s Fighters of the Year
As a recap, most “Fighter of the Year” awards on other sites are really “Breakout Fighter of the Year” awards in that fighters who win, were usually not top fighters in the beginning of the year, but became so by the end of the year.
A fighter like this can and has won our FotY awards, but our award is more about maintaining a high standing during the award year by performing well a sufficient number of times and against sufficient quality of opponents. It is more comparable to a season MVP, not a playoffs/surprise MVP.
Winner: Jose Aldo
It was a quiet year for elite fighters, but Aldo held steady, again, defending his UFC title twice in the same year. As low as twice sounds, try finding better in 2014.
Runner-Up: Demetrious Johnson
After winning the award in 2013, Aldo edges him out for 2014. Like Aldo, he defended his UFC title twice but against lesser competition.
3rd Place: Robbie Lawler
Surely the pick for FotY from a “breakthrough” perspective, Lawler finally made it to the top of the Welterweight mountain just before the year ended. After going 3-1 in 2014, it will be interesting to see if Lawler can stay at the top of the heap.
2014 Awards: Women’s Fighters of the Year
As a recap, most “Fighter of the Year” awards on other sites are really “Breakout Fighter of the Year” awards in that fighters who win, were usually not top fighters in the beginning of the year, but became so by the end of the year.
A fighter like this can and has won our FotY awards, but our award is more about maintaining a high standing during the award year by performing well a sufficient number of times and against sufficient quality of opponents. It is more comparable to a season MVP, not a playoffs/surprise MVP.
Winner: Ronda Rousey
This is the 3rd straight win for Rousey, who maintains “status quo” as the best female fighter in the sport. She again, remained #1 all year, beating two quality opponents within the first round to further cement her dominance within the sport.
Runner-Up: Jessica Aguilar
Those dubbing Carla Esparza as the top Strawweight, may have forgotten about Aguilar. In 2014, she defended her lesser regarded WSOF championship three times against respectable, but not elite competition. She has not lost a fight in over 4 years.
3rd Place: Herica Tiburcio
In her first fight away from Brazil, she found success in her first fight at 105,which is probably the best weight class for her. She throttled the “Karate Hottie” in 2014 to gain the only 105lb title belt that really matters. Her options in this division are limited, with a rematch against Waterson and a fight against Hamasaki as the only two fights that make sense unless a ranked Strawweight drops down.
2014 Awards: Rookies of the Year
Men: Chris de la Rocha
Ending his year with a win over the respectable DJ Linderman, the Heavyweight from the northwest is 3-0 heading into 2015 with a ranking well inside of the Top 100 in the Heavyweight division.
Honorable Mentions: Alvaro Correa, Zelimkhan Umiev, Chris Padilla
Women: Jessica Miele
Getting into the Top 5 at 3-1 speaks partially for her triumphs and partially for being in what is likely the weakest division in the entire sport. Nevertheless, her latest two wins were over a previously 5-0 fighter that was once ranked in the Top 15. Our honorable mentions may be the fighters to watch moving forward as they have undefeated records in a division that the UFC observes, but I would not be surprised to see Miele on a major card (Invicta) before Santos and Moroz.
Honorable Mentions: Marilia Santos, Maryna Moroz