Fight Matrix

2014 Awards: Rookies of the Year

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Jason

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

Current MMA Rankings Updated (12-31-2014)

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Jason

Notable Info

End-of-the-year ranking update.

Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)

Saturday, December 13th 2025: PFL Europe 4: 2025 Finals

[#1 W145] Cristiane Justino

[#3 W145] Sara Collins

Last Fight Date: 10/19/2024 [PFL]
Last Opponent: [#2 W145] Larissa Pacheco
Last 5: W W W W W

Last Fight Date: 9/14/2024 [BellatorFC]
Last Opponent: [#6 W145] Leah McCourt
Last 5: W W W W W

Sunday, December 14th 2025: Deep - Tokyo Impact 2025 6th Round

[#2 SW] Haruo Ochi

[#9 SW] Sora Sugiyama

Last Fight Date: 3/30/2025 [Rizin Fighting Federation]
Last Opponent: [#41 SW] Nobuyoshi Nakatsukasa
Last 5: W W W W W

Last Fight Date: 9/15/2025 [DEEP]
Last Opponent: [#41 SW] Nobuyoshi Nakatsukasa
Last 5: - - - W W

Saturday, December 13th 2025: PFL Europe 4: 2025 Finals

[#8 HW] Vadim Nemkov

[#10 HW] Renan Ferreira

Last Fight Date: 1/25/2025 [PFL]
Last Opponent: [#29 HW] Tim Johnson
Last 5: NC W W W W

Last Fight Date: 10/19/2024 [PFL]
Last Opponent: [#3 HW] Francis Ngannou
Last 5: W W W W L

Featured Fighters

[#1 LW]	Islam Makhachev	[#1 WW]	Jack Della Maddalena
[#15 WW]	Gabriel Bonfim	[#28 WW]	Uros Medic
[#2 LW]	Ilia Topuria	[#145 LW]	Ismael Bonfim
[#3 LW]	Charles Oliveira	[#1 MW]	Khamzat Chimaev
[#31 WW]	Randy Brown	[NR]	Khabib Nurmagomedov

2014 Awards: Most Improved Fighter

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Jason

Most Improved Fighter of the Year: Tom Gallicchio

Tom Gallicchio went 1-3 in 2011, took off 2012 entirely, and had something of a tune-up bout in 2013 — which left him toward the bottom of the Welterweight division. Whether it was improvement, or finding his optimal weight class, he has since moved to Lightweight and reeled off two wins over Kurt Southern in 2014. This boosted Gallicchio well into the Top 100.

Honorable Mention: Bubba Jenkins

2014 Awards: Upsets of the Year

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Jason

Note: We have two ways that we derive biggest “upsets” based on points difference between winner and loser.

“Most Noteworthy” (X minus Y)
“Most Lopsided” (X divided by Y)

Most Noteworthy: Andrei Arlovski KO(1) Antonio Silva

Arlovski turned back the clock in an unbelievably unexpected win against Silva. I’m not sure Arlovski himself saw this one coming.

Honorable Mentions: Anthony Johnson UD(3) Phil Davis, Ben Rothwell TKO(1) Alistair Overeem

Most Lopsided: T.J Dillashaw TKO(5) Renan Barao

When you’re roughly a 9.5-to-1 favorite as Barao was, you’re just expected to go out there and take care of business. Well, that didn’t happen and hopefully the sequel is on tap for early-mid 2015 as Cruz has again proven to be weak in the knees.

Honorable Mentions: Andrei Arlovski KO(1) Antonio Silva, Ben Rothwell TKO(1) Alistair Overeem

Fight Matrix Program: UFC 182 (01-03-2015)

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Jason

Light Heavyweight Championship (205)
[#1/#4DD/#1P4P] Jon Jones (20-1-0, -164) vs. [#2/#10P4P] Daniel Cormier (15-0-0, +136)
Jon Jones is the All-Time #1 ranked Light Heavyweight and #6 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Jon Jones (3-0-0)
2014-04-26: W vs. [#8LHW] Glover Teixeira (22-4-0) via UD (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
2013-09-21: W vs. [#6LHW] Alexander Gustafsson (16-2-0) via UD (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
2013-04-27: W vs. [*] Chael Sonnen (28-14-1) via TKO (Elbows and Punches) in 4:33 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Daniel Cormier (3-0-0)
2014-05-24: W vs. [#7LHW] Dan Henderson (30-12-0) via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:53 of round 3
2014-02-22: W vs. [#49LHW] Patrick Cummins (7-1-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:19 of round 1
2013-10-19: W vs. [#13HW+] Roy Nelson (20-10-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jon Jones 252, Daniel Cormier 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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Lightweight (155)
[#3] Donald Cerrone (25-6-0, -200) vs. [#8] Myles Jury (15-0-0, +164)
Donald Cerrone is the All-Time #20 ranked Lightweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Donald Cerrone (3-0-0)
2014-09-27: W vs. [#9LW] 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
2014-04-19: W vs. [#10LW] Edson Barboza (15-2-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:15 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Myles Jury (3-0-0)
2014-09-20: W vs. [#42LW] Takanori Gomi (35-10-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:32 of round 1
2014-03-15: W vs. [#22LW] Diego Sanchez (25-7-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2013-09-21: W vs. [#61LW] Mike Ricci (10-4-0) via SD (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Donald Cerrone 98, Myles Jury 105
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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Middleweight (185)
[#22] Nate Marquardt (33-13-2, -136) vs. [#28] Brad Tavares (12-3-0, +111)
Nate Marquardt is the All-Time #3 ranked Middleweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Nate Marquardt (1-2-0)
2014-06-28: W vs. [#87MW] James Te Huna (16-8-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 4:34 of round 1
2013-10-19: L vs. [#5WW] Hector Lombard (34-4-1) via KO (Punches) in 1:48 of round 1
2013-03-16: L vs. [#19WW] Jake Ellenberger (29-9-0) via KO (Punches) in 3:00 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Brad Tavares (1-2-0)
2014-08-16: L vs. [#14MW] Tim Boetsch (18-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:18 of round 2
2014-04-19: L vs. [#7MW] Yoel Romero (9-1-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2014-01-15: W vs. [#39MW] Lorenz Larkin (14-4-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Nate Marquardt 189, Brad Tavares 140
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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2014 Awards: Most Noteworthy Match of the Year

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Jason

Most Noteworthy Match of the Year: Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida

Weidman is on the winning side of the equation for two years straight. There’s not much to say here. This award is about combined relevance and this was a UFC Title Match featuring the undefeated champion and one of the best fighters in history.

Honorable Mentions: Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo vs. Ricardo Lamas

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2014 Awards: Comeback Fighter of the Year

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Jason

As a refresher, our “Comeback” award is about coming back from inactivity or major injury (that we know about) and in doing so, really impressing. You can see more details at the bottom of the post about specific qualifiers.

Comeback Fighter of the Year: Tito Ortiz

The award was wrapped and already assigned to Dominick Cruz, but it just doesn’t feel right giving him the award, as he once again tore his ACL. This is something of a disqualification as he is on the shelf again.

So, with a dominant win over the undersized, though huge favorite Alexander Shlemenko and a decision win over Stephan Bonnar, Tito Ortiz wins the award on a technicality.

Honorable Mention: Thiago Alves

To qualify, fighters must be in an active status at the end of the award year and did not have a fight in the previous calendar year or are coming off of a known major injury that caused an inactive period of 15+ months.

Current MMA Rankings Updated (12-28-2014)

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Jason

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Fight Matrix Program: DEEP (12-31-2014)

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Jason

Lightweight (155)
[#82] Satoru Kitaoka (34-13-9) vs. [#89] Yoshiyuki Yoshida (17-6-0)

Last 3 Fights: Satoru Kitaoka (2-1-0)
2014-10-05: W vs. [#381LW] Richie Whitson (12-6-0) via UD ()
2014-04-29: W vs. [#228LW] Naoto Miyazaki (11-3-3) via UD ()
2013-12-31: L vs. [#74LW] Ramazan Esenbaev (7-1-1) via KO (Punches) in 0:19 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Yoshiyuki Yoshida (3-0-0)
2014-03-22: W vs. [#173LW] Shigetoshi Iwase (14-16-4) via UD ()
2013-11-24: W vs. [#810LW] Won Sik Park (10-5-1) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:46 of round 2
2012-10-13: W vs. [#305LW] Niko Puhakka (28-17-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 0:00 of round 3

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Satoru Kitaoka 87, Yoshiyuki Yoshida 284
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Yoshiyuki Yoshida leads 1-0
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Bantamweight (135)
[#67] Takafumi Otsuka (18-12-1) vs. [#105] Shintaro Ishiwatari (18-6-4)

Last 3 Fights: Takafumi Otsuka (3-0-0)
2014-10-26: W vs. [#310BW] Toshinori Tsunemura (7-4-4) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 4:46 of round 3
2014-04-29: W vs. [#95BW] Kenji Osawa (20-11-2) via UD ()
2013-11-24: W vs. [#112BW] Toshiaki Kitada (17-7-4) via UD ()

Last 3 Fights: Shintaro Ishiwatari (2-1-0)
2014-11-02: L vs. [#56BW] Jonathan Brookins (15-7-0) via UD ()
2014-05-11: W vs. [#472BW] Trevor Ward (4-1-0) via TKO (Corner Stoppage) in 5:00 of round 1
2014-02-02: W vs. [#136BW] Yo Saito (15-10-3) via UD ()

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Takafumi Otsuka 66, Shintaro Ishiwatari 59
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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Featherweight (145)
[#38] Isao Kobayashi (16-1-4) vs. [#85] Kazunori Yokota (21-5-3)

Last 3 Fights: Isao Kobayashi (3-0-0)
2014-10-04: W vs. [#351FW] Takeshi Inoue (21-10-0) via UD ()
2014-03-30: W vs. [#133LW] Kuniyoshi Hironaka (23-9-0) via TKO (Punch and Soccer Kick) in 3:58 of round 3
2013-09-29: W vs. [#498LW] Yoshiaki Takahashi (10-5-2) via MD (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)

Last 3 Fights: Kazunori Yokota (3-0-0)
2014-08-23: W vs. [#413FW] Yusuke Kagiyama (16-10-2) via Submission (Kimura) in 2:38 of round 1
2014-04-29: W vs. [#345FW] Katsunori Tsuda (8-3-1) via UD ()
2013-11-24: W vs. [#1602FW] Doo Ri Song (1-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:00 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Isao Kobayashi 88, Kazunori Yokota 130
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 Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 6 (Final)

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Jason

The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 1 | #25 – #15
The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 2 | #14 – #10
The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 3 | #9 – #5
The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 4 | #4 – #3
The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 5 | #2

If you missed the first parts, you can visit w/ the links above.

#1…

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The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 5

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Jason

#25 – #15: The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 1
#14 – #10: The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 2
#9 – #5: The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 3
#4 – #3: The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 4

If you missed the first parts, you can visit w/ the links above.

#2…

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The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 4

Posted on December 21, 2014 by Jason

#25 – #15: The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 1
#14 – #10: The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 2
#9 – #5: The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 3

If you missed the first parts, you can visit w/ the links above.

#4 – Chad Mendes (Rep Avg: #121.3 | Fight Matrix: #48)

Mendes is taking the Jon Fitch road, but at 145. Practically glued to the Top 5, tons of top-quality fights and wins while fighting for the UFC, but just can’t get over the hump to win the gold. Having him outside of the Top 100 is absolutely ridiculous.

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Current MMA Rankings Updated (12-21-2014)

Posted on December 21, 2014 by Jason

The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 3

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Jason

#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.

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The Most Underrated MMA Fighters of All-Time: Part 2

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Jason

#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.

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