Fight Matrix

Fight Matrix Program: UFC 196 (03-05-2016)

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Jason

Welterweight (170)
[#1FW/#5DD/#8P4P] Conor McGregor (19-2-0, -418) vs. [#9LW] Nate Diaz (18-10-0, +332)

Last 3 Fights: Conor McGregor (3-0-0)
2015-12-12: W vs. [#3FW] Jose Aldo (25-2-0) via KO (Punch) in 0:13 of round 1
2015-07-11: W vs. [#6FW] Chad Mendes (17-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:57 of round 2
2015-01-18: W vs. [#36FW] Dennis Siver (22-11-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:54 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Nate Diaz (2-1-0)
2015-12-19: W vs. [#11LW] Michael Johnson (16-10-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2014-12-13: L vs. [#1LW/#2DD/#4P4P] Rafael dos Anjos (25-7-0) via UD (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
2013-11-30: W vs. [#176LW] Gray Maynard (11-5-1) via TKO (Punches) in 2:38 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Conor McGregor 84, Nate Diaz 77
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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Women Bantamweight Championship (135)
[#1/#1DD/#1P4P] Holly Holm (10-0-0, -358) vs. [#4/#10DD/#8P4P] Miesha Tate (17-5-0, +282)
Holly Holm is the All-Time #15 ranked Women’s fighter.
Miesha Tate is the All-Time #9 ranked Women’s fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Holly Holm (3-0-0)
2015-11-14: W vs. [#2BW/#2DD/#4P4P] Ronda Rousey (12-1-0) via KO (Head Kick and Punches) in 0:59 of round 2
2015-07-15: W vs. [#22BW] Marion Reneau (6-3-0) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 30-26)
2015-02-28: W vs. [#9BW] Raquel Pennington (6-5-0) via SD (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)

Last 3 Fights: Miesha Tate (3-0-0)
2015-07-25: W vs. [#13BW] Jessica Eye (11-4-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2015-01-31: W vs. [#12BW] Sara McMann (8-3-0) via MD (29-27, 29-28, 28-28)
2014-09-20: W vs. [NA] Rin Nakai (16-1-1) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Holly Holm 112, Miesha Tate 224
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Holly Holm leads 2-1
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Light Heavyweight (205)
[#21] Ilir Latifi (11-4-0, -188) vs. [#33] Gian Villante (14-6-0, +161)

Last 3 Fights: Ilir Latifi (2-1-0)
2016-01-17: W vs. [#40LHW] Sean OConnell (17-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:30 of round 1
2015-07-18: W vs. [#99LHW] Hans Stringer (22-7-3) via KO (Punches) in 0:56 of round 1
2014-10-04: L vs. [#34LHW] Jan Blachowicz (18-5-0) via TKO (Kick to the Body and Punches) in 1:58 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Gian Villante (2-1-0)
2015-11-14: W vs. [*] Anthony Perosh (15-10-0) via KO (Punch) in 2:56 of round 1
2015-07-25: L vs. [#30LHW] Tom Lawlor (10-5-0) via TKO (Punch) in 0:27 of round 2
2015-04-18: W vs. [#19LHW] Corey Anderson (7-1-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:18 of round 3

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Ilir Latifi 48, Gian Villante 112
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Current MMA Rankings Updated (02-28-2016)

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Jason

Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)

Saturday, March 14th 2026: Pancrase - 361

[#4 SW] Yuta Miyazawa

[#9 SW] Kanji Funada

Last Fight Date: 11/09/2025 [Pancrase]
Last Opponent: [#33 SW] Tateo Iino
Last 5: W W L W W

Last Fight Date: 4/27/2025 [Pancrase]
Last Opponent: [#52 SW] Takafumi Ato
Last 5: W W W W W

Friday, March 6th 2026: RIZIN 52

[#5 W105] Saori Oshima

[#11 W105] Keito Oyama

Last Fight Date: 11/02/2025 [Rizin Fighting Federation]
Last Opponent: [#1 W105] Seika Izawa
Last 5: W L L W L

Last Fight Date: 11/02/2025 [Rizin Fighting Federation]
Last Opponent: [NR] Bo Mi Lee
Last 5: L W W W W

Sunday, March 8th 2026: Deep Osaka Impact 2026 1st Round

[#7 W105] Moeri Suda

[#10 W105] Namiko Kawabata

Last Fight Date: 9/15/2025 [DEEP]
Last Opponent: [#5 W105] Saori Oshima
Last 5: W W W W L

Last Fight Date: 5/25/2025 [DEEP]
Last Opponent: [#36 W105] Honoka Shigeta
Last 5: L L L W W

Featured Fighters

[#5 LW]	Justin Gaethje	[#11 LW]	Paddy Pimblett
[#1 LW]	Ilia Topuria	[#2 LW]	Arman Tsarukyan
[#1 WW]	Islam Makhachev	[NR]	Conor McGregor
[NR]	Khabib Nurmagomedov	[#1 MW]	Khamzat Chimaev
[#1 FW]	Alexander Volkanovski	[#7 LW]	Benoit St. Denis

UFC Fight Night 84: Silva vs. Bisping – Who’s Getting Paid?

Posted on February 26, 2016 by McKinley Noble

Amid all the crazy changes over UFC 196, it seems like UFC Fight Night 84 has been largely overshadowed this weekend. While that seems unfair, the card is still going to offer a pretty dynamite headliner as Michael Bisping gets his long-awaited match against former pound-for-pound kingpin Anderson Silva.

And despite this event getting squirreled away on UFC Fight Pass, there’s actually a pretty decent main card after everything’s said and done. With that in mind, let’s bask in the calm before next week’s storm and take a look at the most recent fighter salaries and Reebok payouts for all the main card talent showing up in London tomorrow.

Note: Divisional rankings via Fight Matrix. UFC salaries and Reebok figures via MMA Payout and MMA Junkie.

Anderson Silva [#15 MW]
$815,000 = $600,000/$200,000 [UFC 183]

Michael Bisping [#9 MW]
$425,000 = $275,000/$150,000 [TUF 14 Finale]

Analysis: “Anderson Silva money” has been a popular phrase for a while, and given the Brazilian’s history of disclosed pay, it’s not hard to see why. Silva has been consistently paid a base salary of $600,000 for a few years now, a relatively huge jump from his $200,000 mark — last seen at UFC 148 against Chael Sonnen.

For Bisping, the payment situation is much more curious, as he hasn’t had anything go public since beating up Jason Miller on a TUF Finale card in December 2011. Arguably the biggest draw the UFC has for England, you have to wonder if he’s making “Anderson Silva money” yet.

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Michael Bisping looks to end struggles against Top 15 competition at UFC Fight Night 84

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Richard Mann

Michael Bisping has had an impressive career in the UFC since winning the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” His quarterly ranking peaked at #5 in middleweight division in 2013. He is currently listed as #21 all-time in the weight class. However, he has struggled when facing higher level competition. On Saturday, at UFC Fight Night 84, he faces Anderson Silva. The former champion might be nearing the end of his career, but he is still one of the 15 best middleweights on the planet.

In his last 18 fights, Bisping has faced nine fighters ranked in the top 15 and another nine ranked below. Against competition ranked below #15, he went 9-0. Against fighters in the top 15, he went only 3-6.

Bisping vs. Sub 15

Opponent	Date	Contemporary Fight Matrix Ranking	W/L
Day	6/7/2008	41	W
Leben	10/18/2008	17	W
Kang	11/14/2009	30	W
Dan Miller	5/29/2010	33	W
Akiyama	10/16/2010	36	W
Rivera	2/27/2011	27	W
Mayhem	12/3/2011	42	W
Belcher	4/27/2013	17	W
Le	8/23/2014	17	W

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Fight Matrix Program: UFC Fight Night 84 – Silva/Bisping (02-27-2016)

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Jason

Middleweight (185)
[#9] Michael Bisping (27-7-0, +240) vs. [#15] Anderson Silva (33-6-0, -304)
Michael Bisping is the All-Time #21 ranked Middleweight fighter.
Anderson Silva is the All-Time #1 ranked Middleweight and #2 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Michael Bisping (2-1-0)
2015-07-18: W vs. [#11MW] Thales Leites (25-5-0) via SD (49-46, 48-47, 47-48)
2015-04-25: W vs. [#22MW] C.B. Dollaway (15-8-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2014-11-07: L vs. [#1MW/#1DD/#3P4P] Luke Rockhold (15-2-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 0:57 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Anderson Silva (0-2-0, 1 NC)
2015-01-31: NC vs. [#68WW] Nick Diaz (26-9-0)
2013-12-28: L vs. [#2MW/#5DD] Chris Weidman (13-1-0) via TKO (Leg Injury) in 1:16 of round 2
2013-07-06: L vs. [#2MW/#5DD] Chris Weidman (13-1-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:18 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Michael Bisping 224, Anderson Silva 392
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Anderson Silva leads 7-3
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Middleweight (185)
[#7] Gegard Mousasi (37-6-2, -321) vs. [#11] Thales Leites (25-5-0, +252)
Gegard Mousasi is the All-Time #16 ranked Middleweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Gegard Mousasi (2-1-0)
2015-09-26: L vs. [#10MW] Uriah Hall (12-6-0) via TKO (Flying Knee and Punches) in 0:25 of round 2
2015-05-16: W vs. [*] Costas Philippou (13-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2015-01-24: W vs. [#12MW] Dan Henderson (31-14-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:10 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Thales Leites (2-1-0)
2015-07-18: L vs. [#9MW] Michael Bisping (27-7-0) via SD (49-46, 48-47, 47-48)
2015-01-31: W vs. [#44LHW] Tim Boetsch (18-10-0) via Technical Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 3:45 of round 2
2014-08-23: W vs. [#20LHW] Francis Carmont (24-11-0) via KO (Punches) in 0:20 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Gegard Mousasi 154, Thales Leites 224
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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Welterweight (170)
[#49] Tom Breese (9-0-0, -1005) vs. [#65] Keita Nakamura (31-6-2, +634)

Last 3 Fights: Tom Breese (3-0-0)
2015-10-24: W vs. [*] Cathal Pendred (17-4-1) via TKO (Body Kick and Punches) in 4:37 of round 1
2015-05-30: W vs. [#247WW] Luiz Jorge Dutra Jr. (12-4-1) via TKO (Punches) in 4:58 of round 1
2014-11-15: W vs. [#282WW] Thibaud Larchet (9-2-1) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:57 of round 3

Last 3 Fights: Keita Nakamura (3-0-0)
2015-09-26: W vs. [#143WW] Jingliang Li (10-4-0) via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:17 of round 3
2015-07-20: W vs. [#226WW] Yuta Watanabe (19-6-4) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:00 of round 1
2015-02-28: W vs. [#455MW] Yoshiyuki Katahira (9-4-2) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:47 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Tom Breese 126, Keita Nakamura 154
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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Current MMA Rankings Updated (02-22-2016)

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Jason

Spinanga

A quick note about overturned/reversed decisions.

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Jason

Today, I saw a news report that Tibau/Trujillo will be changed from a win for Tibau, to a win for Trujillo due to Tibau’s failed drug test, I thought I’d address how we handle these types of situations.

As a general rule of thumb:

If a bout results in an actual outcome and is later changed to a no contest due to referee mistake, missed rule infraction, or failed drug test, we will honor the change. This is not a complete list, but should allow for understanding of the general idea.
If a bout resulted in a win for one fighter and is changed to a win for the other fighter, we will treat this as a “no contest” outside of two exceptions.
- If it is changed to a disqualification win for the losing fighter for an action that occurred in the fight, we will handle on a case-by-case basis.
- If it is changed to a win for the losing fighter for a missed weight at the weigh-in, we will not honor the change.
We’ll never treat a bout outcome as a “win” or “draw” for one fighter and a “no contest” for the other. This was talked about in Hunt/Silva.
A fight that never starts is not a win or loss for either fighter.

Given the above, Tibau/Trujillo will be treated as a “no contest” here.

Accurately recording performances is essential to the accuracy of the rating system.

If anyone thinks we’ve gone against the above at any point, please let me know. There may have been instances where fighters who missed weight were docked points and lost a decision that they would not have otherwise won. This is an interesting case and handling this may require additional analysis.

UFC Fight Night 83: Cowboy vs. Cowboy – Who’s Getting Paid?

Posted on February 19, 2016 by McKinley Noble

UFC Fight Night 83 is the first UFC card in a while to be completely ravaged by injuries and drug testing, and the subsequent result isn’t much to write home about. This Sunday night likely won’t have the most exciting results on paper, but what’s probably worse is how long it’ll take Fox Sports to get though all 13 bouts.

Thankfully, we’re only concerned about the upper half of this weekend’s bill, which still looks too long at six fights. But let’s do this damn thing anyway, as we break down all the previous UFC fighter salaries and recent Reebok payouts for each main carder.

Note: Divisional rankings via Fight Matrix. UFC salaries and Reebok figures via MMA Payout and MMA Junkie.

Donald Cerrone [#2 LW]
$109,000 = $79,000** + $30,000* [UFC on Fox 17]

Alex Oliveira [#58 LW]
$24,000 = $12,000/$12,000 [UFC Fight Night 70]

Analysis: Donald Cerrone’s defeat to Rafael dos Anjos was a huge setback, but monetarily, it could’ve been worse. With his UFC/Reebok tenure already maxed out, he’s currently banking $100,000 per fight in just base pay alone (even as a non-contender), which will add up quickly as he maintains his rapid schedule.

In terms of rankings, payscale, and general name value, it doesn’t really make sense for Cerrone to even be fighting Alex Oliveira — but since both are moving up to welterweight, this is likely better than giving them a natural 170-pounder right off the bat. It’s also too bad USADA caught Tim Means with a positive drug test, as he would have been a far more interesting matchup.

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UFC 196: dos Anjos vs McGregor

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Oleg

On March 5th, Ultimate Fighting Championship will return to Las Vegas with UFC 196: a card headlined by the newly crowned featherweight champion and arguably the sport’s biggest star, Conor McGregor, moving up in weight to challenge the reigning and defending lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. The co-main event features another title bout: Holly Holm, fresh off the unlikely victory over Ronda Rousey, will defend her bantamweight title against the long-time contender Miesha Tate. With such a strong main event and co-main I don’t expect much from the undercard, and while the line-up has not been officially finalized, the other matchups announced so far don’t have much in terms of highly ranked fighters or divisional implications.

While both title bouts are intriguing, for this column I will focus on the main event of Rafael dos Anjos (often abbreviated RDA, or ‘RDS’ if you ask Jon Jones) vs Conor McGregor. Conor opened as underdog to dos Anjos, but the lines have slowly shifted away from RDA, and now McGregor is coming into the fight as a slight favorite. Should the featherweight champion with no recent fights at 155 lbs really be favored over dos Anjos, or is RDA worth a small bet? I believe the opening lines – set by the bookmakers before they were shifted by the betting public – were closer to reflecting the reality of this matchup, which makes dos Anjos a good value.

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Fight Matrix Program: UFC Fight Night 82 – Cowboy/Cowboy (02-21-2016)

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Jason

Welterweight (170)
[#2LW] Donald Cerrone (28-7-0, -285) vs. [#58LW] Alex Oliveira (13-3-1, +226)

Last 3 Fights: Donald Cerrone (2-1-0)
2015-12-19: L vs. [#1LW/#2DD/#4P4P] Rafael dos Anjos (25-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:06 of round 1
2015-05-23: W vs. [#71LW] John Makdessi (13-5-0) via TKO (Head Kick) in 4:44 of round 2
2015-01-18: W vs. [#11WW] Ben Henderson (23-5-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Last 3 Fights: Alex Oliveira (3-0-0)
2015-11-07: W vs. [#103LW] Piotr Hallmann (15-5-0) via KO (Punch) in 0:51 of round 3
2015-06-27: W vs. [#805WW] Joe Merritt (6-2-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2015-05-30: W vs. [#139LW] K.J. Noons (13-9-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:51 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Donald Cerrone 64, Alex Oliveira 106
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Middleweight (185)
[#15] Derek Brunson (14-3-0, -360) vs. [#16] Roan Carneiro (20-9-0, +282)

Last 3 Fights: Derek Brunson (3-0-0)
2015-08-08: W vs. [#30MW] Sam Alvey (26-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:19 of round 1
2015-01-31: W vs. [#17LHW] Ed Herman (23-11-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:36 of round 1
2014-08-30: W vs. [#26WW] Lorenz Larkin (16-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Last 3 Fights: Roan Carneiro (3-0-0)
2015-02-28: W vs. [*] Mark Munoz (14-6-0) via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:40 of round 1
2014-10-03: W vs. [#129WW] Brock Larson (42-10-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2014-10-03: W vs. [*] Trey Houston (11-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:11 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Derek Brunson 197, Roan Carneiro 358
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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Bantamweight (135)
[#39] Cody Garbrandt (7-0-0, -309) vs. [#215] Augusto Mendes (5-0-0, +241)

Last 3 Fights: Cody Garbrandt (3-0-0)
2015-07-11: W vs. [#200BW] Enrique Briones (16-5-1) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2015-01-03: W vs. [#91BW] Marcus Brimage (7-5-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:50 of round 3
2014-10-04: W vs. [#657BW] Charles Stanford (6-5-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:37 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Augusto Mendes (3-0-0)
2015-07-17: W vs. [NA] Donald Williams (3-7-0) via Submission (Triangle Choke) in 1:20 of round 2
2015-02-13: W vs. [#639BW] Evan Martinez (4-1-0) via TKO (Elbows) in 3:26 of round 2
2014-11-14: W vs. [NA] Richard Delfin (1-2-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 0:49 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Cody Garbrandt 225, Augusto Mendes 219
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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Fight Matrix Program: Bellator 149 – Gracie vs. Shamrock III (02-19-2016)

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Jason

Heavyweight (999)
[*] Royce Gracie (14-2-3, -110) vs. [NA] Ken Shamrock (28-16-2, -113)
Royce Gracie is the All-Time #13 ranked Heavyweight fighter.
Ken Shamrock is the All-Time #18 ranked Heavyweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Royce Gracie (1-1-1)
2007-06-02: W vs. [#999WW] Kazushi Sakuraba (26-17-1) via UD ()
2006-05-27: L vs. [*] Matt Hughes (45-9-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:39 of round 1
2005-12-31: D vs. [#143BW] Hideo Tokoro (33-28-2) via Draw in 10:00 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Ken Shamrock (1-2-0)
2015-06-19: L vs. [#254HW+] Kimbo Slice (5-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:22 of round 1
2010-11-25: L vs. [*] Mike Bourke (10-16-1) via TKO (Punches) in 2:00 of round 1
2010-10-16: W vs. [#406HW+] Johnathan Ivey (32-54-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Royce Gracie 3184, Ken Shamrock 245
Previous Match-up Record: Royce Gracie leads 1-0-1
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 4 win(s) against common opposition.
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Heavyweight (265)
[#254] Kimbo Slice (5-2-0, -408) vs. [*] Dhafir Harris (2-0-0, +316)

Last 3 Fights: Kimbo Slice (2-1-0)
2015-06-19: W vs. [NA] Ken Shamrock (28-16-2) via TKO (Punches) in 2:22 of round 1
2010-05-08: L vs. [#25HW+] Matt Mitrione (9-5-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:24 of round 2
2009-12-05: W vs. [#123LHW] Houston Alexander (16-13-1) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Last 3 Fights: Dhafir Harris (2-0-0)
2011-02-12: W vs. [NA] Tim Papp (1-10-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:50 of round 1
2010-03-05: W vs. [NA] Cedric James (0-6-0) via KO (Punches) in 2:34 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Kimbo Slice 245, Dhafir Harris 1833
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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Light Heavyweight (205)
[#15] Emanuel Newton (25-9-1, -131) vs. [#29] Linton Vassell (15-5-0, +108)

Last 3 Fights: Emanuel Newton (1-2-0)
2015-09-19: L vs. [#5LHW] Phil Davis (15-3-0) via Submission (Kimura) in 4:39 of round 1
2015-02-27: L vs. [#9LHW] Liam McGeary (11-0-0) via UD (48-46, 48-47, 48-47)
2014-10-24: W vs. [#29LHW] Linton Vassell (15-5-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 0:47 of round 5

Last 3 Fights: Linton Vassell (1-2-0)
2015-09-19: L vs. [#11HW+] Muhammed Lawal (19-4-0) via UD ()
2015-02-27: W vs. [#144HW+] Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (16-14-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:18 of round 2
2014-10-24: L vs. [#15LHW] Emanuel Newton (25-9-1) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 0:47 of round 5

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Emanuel Newton 153, Linton Vassell 153
Previous Match-up Record: Emanuel Newton leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Emanuel Newton leads 2-0
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Current MMA Rankings Updated (02-14-2016)

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Jason

Examining The Recent Bellator Signing Spree

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Richard Mann

Bellator MMA was able to move the needle last week with the signing of former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. They attempted to keep the momentum going by announcing the signing of heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov. Any time a promotion other than the UFC can sign a fighter inside the Fight Matrix top 20 it is a victory. However, Bellator still faces an up-hill battle when it comes to competing with the biggest promotion in the history over MMA.

Let’s compare the difference from the last Fight Matrix ranking to come out before the signing of Henderson and Kharitonov (1/31/2016) to the one published roughly one year previous (2/1/2015).

In the 1/31/2016 ranking, with the addition of Henderson (#10 welterweight) and Kharitonov (#20 heavyweight) Bellator has 21 fighters on their roster that are within the top 20 of their respective division (heavyweight through bantamweight). (This number includes fighters who are currently in odd contract situations like Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Vitaly Minakov.)

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Current MMA Rankings Updated (02-07-2016)

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Jason

UFC Fight Night 82: Hendricks vs. Thompson – Who’s Getting Paid?

Posted on February 4, 2016 by McKinley Noble

UFC Fight Night 82 definitely isn’t as attractive as the once-planned UFC 196 card, but it looks like the Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez rematch will have to wait. That’s more than fine, though, since the UFC did the right thing for once and moved the PPV to television.

That brings us to our new headliner, starring Stephen Thompson and former UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks, supported by a pretty decent undercard of prospect action. There’s a lot to cover with this one, so let’s cut into our usual breakdown of previous UFC fighter salaries (plus most-recent Reebok payouts) for every main card combatant.

Note: Divisional rankings via Fight Matrix. UFC salaries and Reebok figures via MMA Payout and MMA Junkie.

Johny Hendricks [#2 WW]
$150,000** [UFC 181]

Stephen Thompson [#17 WW]
$47,000 = $21,000/$21,000 +$5,000* [TUF 21 Finale]

Analysis: Fan opinion may have soured on Hendricks in recent years, but at least he’s getting paid comparatively well for his troubles. While there’s probably little chance of any title shot as long as Robbie Lawler sits atop the division’s peak, Hendricks will certainly net some big pay bumps if he continues to build on his 17 UFC and WEC bouts with another winning streak.

And although it’s a little old-hat to keep harping on this point, Stephen Thompson should definitely be looking at a pay raise win or lose. After all, despite a stellar 10-1 record with six UFC wins, he barely makes half of the salary that Sage Northcutt commands.

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