Introducing Pound-for-Pound Rankings
As promised, here’s our first attempt at a traditional pound-for-pound ranking of top MMA fighters. Take a look and let us know what you think!
Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)
| Saturday, July 18th 2026: Professional Fighters League PFL Austin: Van Steenis vs. Eblen 2 | |||
 [#6 MW] Costello Van Steenis |  [#12 MW] Johnny Eblen | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 3/20/2026 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#16 MW] Fabian Edwards Last 5: L W W W W | Last Fight Date: 3/28/2026 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#50 MW] Bryan Battle Last 5: W W W L W | ||
| Saturday, June 27th 2026: Professional Fighters League PFL San Diego: McKee vs. Isbulaev | |||
| [#7 W125] Liz Carmouche |  [#13 W125] Viviane Araujo | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 8/15/2025 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#16 W125] Jena Bishop Last 5: W L W W W | Last Fight Date: 4/11/2026 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#60 W125] Shanna Young Last 5: W L W L W | ||
| Sunday, May 31st 2026: Shooto Professional Shooto 2026 Vol. 4 | |||
 [#11 SW] Koyuru Tanoue | [#12 SW] Kazusa Kurobe | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 11/16/2025 [Shooto] Last Opponent: [#243 FLW] Jo Arai Last 5: W W W W L | Last Fight Date: 1/18/2026 [Shooto] Last Opponent: [#38 SW] Ken Asahina Last 5: W W W W W | ||
Featured Fighters
| [#204 LW] |  Rustambek Nurzhanov | [#2 MW] |  Khamzat Chimaev | |
| [#1 MW] | Sean Strickland | [#861 LW] |  Daniel Holt | |
| [#4 FLW] | Tatsuro Taira | [#13 WW] |  Yaroslav Amosov | |
| [#1 LW] |  Ilia Topuria | [#1 WW] |  Islam Makhachev | |
| [#1 FLW] |  Joshua Van | [#1 LHW] | Alex Pereira |
Fight Matrix Program: UFC 165 (09-21-2013)
Light Heavyweight Championship (205)
[#1/#5DD/#2P4P] Jon Jones (18-1-0, -1014) vs. [#6] Alexander Gustafsson (15-1-0, +622)
Jon Jones is the All-Time #5 ranked Light Heavyweight and #15 ranked Absolute fighter.
Alexander Gustafsson is the All-Time #20 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Jon Jones (3-0-0)
2013-04-27: W vs. [#8LHW] Chael Sonnen (28-13-1) via TKO (Elbows and Punches) in 4:33 of round 1
2012-09-22: W vs. [#3MW] Vitor Belfort (23-10-0) via Submission (Keylock) in 0:54 of round 4
2012-04-21: W vs. [#4LHW] Rashad Evans (23-3-1) via UD (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
Last 3 Fights: Alexander Gustafsson (3-0-0)
2012-12-08: W vs. [#10LHW] Mauricio Rua (21-8-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
2012-04-14: W vs. [#19LHW] Thiago Silva (15-3-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
2011-12-30: W vs. [#30LHW] Vladimir Matyushenko (27-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:13 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jon Jones 147, Alexander Gustafsson 287
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Alexander Gustafsson leads 3-2
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Bantamweight Championship (135)
[#1/#8P4P] Renan Barao (30-1-0, -717) vs. [#8] Eddie Wineland (20-8-1, +491)
Renan Barao is the All-Time #6 ranked Bantamweight fighter.
Eddie Wineland is the All-Time #9 ranked Bantamweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Renan Barao (3-0-0)
2013-02-16: W vs. [#5BW] Michael McDonald (16-2-0) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 3:57 of round 4
2012-07-21: W vs. [#2BW] Urijah Faber (29-6-0) via UD (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
2012-02-04: W vs. [#36BW] Scott Jorgensen (14-7-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Last 3 Fights: Eddie Wineland (2-1-0)
2012-12-29: W vs. [#21BW] Brad Pickett (23-8-0) via SD (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
2012-06-08: W vs. [#36BW] Scott Jorgensen (14-7-0) via KO (Punches) in 4:10 of round 2
2011-08-14: L vs. [#2FLY/#8DD] Joseph Benavidez (19-3-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Renan Barao 217, Eddie Wineland 266
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Renan Barao leads 3-2
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Heavyweight (265)
[#21] Brendan Schaub (9-3-0, +107) vs. [#32] Matt Mitrione (6-2-0, -116)
Last 3 Fights: Brendan Schaub (1-2-0)
2013-02-23: W vs. [#42HW+] Lavar Johnson (17-7-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2012-04-21: L vs. [#20HW+] Ben Rothwell (33-9-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:10 of round 1
2011-08-27: L vs. [#12HW+] Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (34-8-1) via KO (Punches) in 3:09 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Matt Mitrione (1-2-0)
2013-04-06: W vs. [#87HW+] Philip De Fries (9-3-0) via KO (Punches) in 0:19 of round 1
2012-12-15: L vs. [#13HW+] Roy Nelson (19-8-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:58 of round 1
2011-10-29: L vs. [#23HW+] Cheick Kongo (18-8-2) via UD (30-27, 29-27, 29-28)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Brendan Schaub 210, Matt Mitrione 168
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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Stat of the Day: A Legendary “Can Crusher”
If you are a long-time viewer of the site, you are probably familiar with the term, “quality performance”. If not, we made a blog post about it and the associated decay way back in 2008. Simply put, a fighter registers a quality performance when they fight another fighter reasonably close to or above their own rating and they deliver an outcome that is not egregiously beneath what is expected based on the ratings difference. So, it is important to know that quality performances are relative.
In other words, Fedor Emelianenko in his prime would not have registered a quality performance over #500 ranked Joe Schmoe, regardless of the outcome. However, if Joe Schmoe managed a split decision loss against Fedor, Joe would earn the quality performance — so these CAN be earned even in losses.
When looking at fighters with at least 15 wins that have had winning records, one fighter stands way above the rest.
Coming Soon: Pound-for-Pound Rankings
For years, we’ve featured the Division Dominance rankings for Men and Women. Although similar to “pound-for-pound” rankings, these were not and are not the same thing.
Even though the posted definition at the top of the pages clearly states this, it seems many of our viewers cannot understand this or refuse to read it. As some of you know, these rankings are very mathematical in nature and only reflect the proportional point differences that top fighters possess over fighters considered to be their divisional peers. Throughout time, we added some conditional logic to eliminate outliers, but these lists continue to be mathematically specific and straightforward.
Within the next two weeks, we plan on launching “pound-for-pound” ranking lists for both genders. These lists will feature separate point ratings that are calculated side-by-side, chronologically, alongside the typical ratings you see on our site. However, the goal in mind is to make the rating points value the same factors that the fan and media lists do — but to do so consistently, accurately and timely. Eventually, we will expand this to our Generated Ranking Sets to allow for a “lookback” in time.
Ranking Page Update: Two New Filters Types (Region & Home State) & New “Last Fought In” Selection
Region
- The “region” parameter allows fighters to be filtered by groups of countries or continents rather than one single country — this utilizes the fighter nationality setting.
- Currently, we have nine regions to choose from and are open to adding more.
Home State
- A fighter’s home (US) state is assigned based on the state that the fighter most frequently fought in professionally, within the past three years. If there is a tie, the most recent state is used.
- A fighter with a US nationality can have no home state if they fight solely overseas. Likewise, a fighter with a non-US nationality can have a home state.
- Currently, no organizations are excluded, but we may consider dropping UFC from consideration.
- We are open to tweaking this criteria based on feedback.
Last Fought In
- “Outside of UFC & Bellator” is now an option for this search filter type.
Current MMA Rankings Updated (09-05-2013)
Another special update for the mid-week UFC card.
Fight Matrix Program: UFC Fight Night 28 (09-04-2013)
Light Heavyweight (205)
[#9] Glover Teixeira (21-2-0, 206.0lb, -418) vs. [#10] Ryan Bader (15-3-0, 205.0lb, +375)
Ryan Bader is the All-Time #23 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Glover Teixeira (3-0-0)
2013-05-25: W vs. [#21LHW] James Te Huna (16-6-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 2:38 of round 1
2013-01-26: W vs. [#14LHW] Quinton Jackson (32-11-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2012-10-13: W vs. [#49LHW] Fabio Maldonado (19-6-0) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in 5:00 of round 2
Last 3 Fights: Ryan Bader (2-1-0)
2013-01-26: W vs. [#38LHW] Vladimir Matyushenko (26-7-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 0:50 of round 1
2012-08-04: L vs. [#3LHW] Lyoto Machida (19-4-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:32 of round 2
2012-02-26: W vs. [#14LHW] Quinton Jackson (32-11-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Glover Teixeira 102, Ryan Bader 221
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 2 win(s) against common opposition.
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Middleweight (185)
[#4] Yushin Okami (29-7-0, 185.0lb, +236) vs. [#6] Ronaldo Souza (18-3-0, 186.0lb, -240)
Yushin Okami is the All-Time #7 ranked Middleweight fighter.
Ronaldo Souza is the All-Time #20 ranked Middleweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Yushin Okami (3-0-0)
2013-03-03: W vs. [#5MW] Hector Lombard (32-4-1) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
2012-12-29: W vs. [#17MW] Alan Belcher (18-8-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
2012-08-11: W vs. [#68MW] Buddy Roberts (12-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:09 of round 2
Last 3 Fights: Ronaldo Souza (3-0-0)
2013-05-18: W vs. [#31MW] Chris Camozzi (19-6-0) via Technical Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 3:37 of round 1
2013-01-12: W vs. [#38MW] Ed Herman (21-9-0) via Submission (Kimura) in 3:10 of round 1
2012-08-18: W vs. [#24MW] Derek Brunson (10-2-0) via KO (Punches) in 0:41 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Yushin Okami 185, Ronaldo Souza 109
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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Flyweight (125)
[#2/#8DD] Joseph Benavidez (18-3-0, 126.0lb, -500) vs. [#10] Jussier da Silva (15-2-0, 126.0lb, +444)
Joseph Benavidez is the All-Time #19 ranked Flyweight fighter.
Jussier da Silva is the All-Time #4 ranked Flyweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Joseph Benavidez (2-1-0)
2013-04-20: W vs. [#11FLY] Darren Uyenoyama (8-4-0) via KO (Punch to the Body) in 4:50 of round 2
2013-02-02: W vs. [#5FLY] Ian McCall (12-4-1) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2012-09-22: L vs. [#1FLY/#6DD] Demetrious Johnson (18-2-1) via SD (48-47, 47-48, 49-46)
Last 3 Fights: Jussier da Silva (2-1-0)
2013-05-18: W vs. [#26FLY] Chris Cariaso (14-6-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2012-10-05: L vs. [#6FLY] John Dodson (14-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:35 of round 2
2012-06-29: W vs. [#75FLY] Sidney Lessa de Oliveira (9-5-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:45 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Joseph Benavidez 137, Jussier da Silva 109
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Joseph Benavidez leads 2-1
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UFC Shows in Brazil — Bet on the Brazilians, but Why?
In the past two years (and one week), we’ve seen 8 UFC shows take place in Brazil, with this amount steadily increasing — 1 in 2011, 3 in 2012, 7 in 2013 (3 still to come).
Given that a large majority of UFC shows and their fighter population reside outside of Brazil, how “fair” is it to these fighters that so many of their fights take place in Brazil against Brazilian opponents? When we say “fair”, we refer to two things — the “hometown advantage” and the matchmaking.
The “hometown advantage” is something we looked at very briefly a couple of years ago, when some bookmakers like Bwin started to claimed that in sports such as Poker, it can give you what you need to win. We found just under a 2% advantage for the home fighter (a hometown fighter with say… 98 rating points would have a 50/50 chance versus an outsider with 100 rating points). However, this included a slew of contests that involved neighboring entities (example — US vs. Canada) and I think we can all agree a United States vs. Brazil or even more extreme, Japan vs. Brazil at Brazil is a far cry from the aforementioned border wars. Plus, the database is much, much more mature now. A detailed re-visit of this analysis of this is better saved for another day.
Using the fighter “nationality” setting you see on our ranking pages, I isolated 60 fights from the 8 previously mentioned UFC shows that involved a Brazil vs. non-Brazil fighter in Brazil, that resulted in non-draw, non-no contest outcomes. Brazilian fighters won 47 of these fights, a win rate of 78.33%. If we expand this window back to 1/1/2010 and include all organizations where we know the nationalities of both fighters (399 fights), this win rate drops significantly to 62.15% — though is still sizable.
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| So, how much of this is the mysterious “hometown advantage” and how much of this is matchmaking? |
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Fight Matrix Program: UFC 164 (08-30-2013)
Lightweight Championship (155)
[#1/#6DD] Ben Henderson (19-2-0, -113) vs. [#5] Anthony Pettis (16-2-0, +110)
Ben Henderson is the All-Time #4 ranked Lightweight and #24 ranked Absolute fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Ben Henderson (3-0-0)
2013-04-20: W vs. [#2LW] Gilbert Melendez (21-3-0) via SD (48-47, 48-47, 47-48)
2012-12-08: W vs. [#13LW] Nate Diaz (16-9-0) via UD (50-45, 50-45, 50-43)
2012-08-11: W vs. [#2FW] Frankie Edgar (16-4-1) via SD (46-49, 48-47, 48-47)
Last 3 Fights: Anthony Pettis (3-0-0)
2013-01-26: W vs. [#16LW] Donald Cerrone (20-6-0) via KO (Kick to the Body) in 2:35 of round 1
2012-02-26: W vs. [#33LW] Joe Lauzon (22-9-0) via KO (Head Kick and Punches) in 1:21 of round 1
2011-10-08: W vs. [#21FW] Jeremy Stephens (21-9-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Ben Henderson 133, Anthony Pettis 217
Previous Match-up Record: Anthony Pettis leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Ben Henderson leads 4-2
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Heavyweight (265)
[#7] Frank Mir (16-7-0, +158) vs. [#10] Josh Barnett (32-6-0, -169)
Frank Mir is the All-Time #8 ranked Heavyweight fighter.
Josh Barnett is the All-Time #3 ranked Heavyweight and #22 ranked Absolute fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Frank Mir (1-2-0)
2013-04-20: L vs. [#3HW+] Daniel Cormier (12-0-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2012-05-26: L vs. [#2HW+/#10DD] Junior dos Santos (16-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:04 of round 2
2011-12-10: W vs. [#12HW+] Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (34-8-1) via Technical Submission (Kimura) in 3:38 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Josh Barnett (2-1-0)
2013-01-12: W vs. [#57HW+] Nandor Guelmino (11-4-1) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 2:11 of round 1
2012-05-19: L vs. [#3HW+] Daniel Cormier (12-0-0) via UD (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)
2011-09-10: W vs. [*] Sergei Kharitonov (20-6-0) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 4:28 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Frank Mir 133, Josh Barnett 231
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Frank Mir leads 3-1
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Featherweight (145)
[#5] Clay Guida (30-13-0, +400) vs. [#6] Chad Mendes (14-1-0, -440)
Chad Mendes is the All-Time #8 ranked Featherweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Clay Guida (1-2-0)
2013-01-26: W vs. [#17FW] Hatsu Hioki (26-7-2) via SD (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
2012-06-22: L vs. [#11LW] Gray Maynard (11-2-1) via SD (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
2011-11-12: L vs. [#1LW/#6DD] Ben Henderson (19-2-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Last 3 Fights: Chad Mendes (3-0-0)
2013-04-20: W vs. [#9FW] Darren Elkins (17-3-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:08 of round 1
2012-12-15: W vs. [#64BW] Yaotzin Meza (20-8-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:55 of round 1
2012-07-07: W vs. [#73FW] Cody McKenzie (14-3-0) via KO (Punch to the Body) in 0:31 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Clay Guida 217, Chad Mendes 133
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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Recommended YouTube Viewing: “In the Car – UFC Fight Night 27: Main Card Breakdown”
Bryan Stone has another Fight Matrix-fueled preview for the upcoming UFC card. Check out his video below and give him some thumbs up!