Fight Matrix

FightMatrix Q&A with #11 Lightweight Brian Cobb

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Jason

You may have seen this week’s post regarding Brian Cobb and his fight on Friday. If you haven’t, click here. Furthermore, if you’ve been here a while, you’ve likely noticed his name being ranked toward the top of the Lightweight division — something you won’t see on other ranking sites.

Friday will do a whole bunch to determine whether or not that ranking is complete legit or even in the ballpark. We got a hold of Brian to ask him a few questions regarding FightMatrix and his fight on Friday.

FM: There are a lot of MMA ranking sites out there, though the FightMatrix system has been giving you the most praise over the past year or so, consistently ranking you right outside the Top 10. Do you follow your rank on our site and do you consider this an accurate ranking for yourself in the Lightweight division?

Cobb: I definitely follow the FightMatrix rankings. It is the only ranking website that I have bookmarked on my computer. I firmly believe rankings don’t help you win fights, that is why they have the fighters actually fight, but it is really nice to get so much respect from FightMatrix for my past few wins. I think their rankings are accurate because I feel like I can hang with anyone in the world for three to five rounds. It seems that people who do not consider me worthy of being in the top 10 do not acknowledge the people I have fought or believe it is unjustified because I am not currently in the UFC

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FightMatrix Program: MFC 32 (01-27-2012)

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Jason

Light Heavyweight (205)
[#66] Dwayne Lewis (13-7-0) vs. [*] Wilson Gouveia (12-8-0)

Last 3 Fights: Dwayne Lewis (2-1-0)
2011-02-25: L vs. [#19LHW] Ryan Jimmo (16-1-0) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in 3:13 of round 3
2010-11-12: W vs. [#91LHW] Razak Al Hassan (11-4-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
2010-09-10: W vs. [#149LHW] Mike Nickels (9-5-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:30 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Wilson Gouveia (0-3-0)
2010-05-07: L vs. [#19LHW] Ryan Jimmo (16-1-0) via UD (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
2009-12-12: L vs. [#16MW] Alan Belcher (17-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:03 of round 1
2009-02-21: L vs. [#8MW] Nate Marquardt (31-10-2) via TKO (Knee and Punches) in 3:10 of round 3

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Dwayne Lewis 336, Wilson Gouveia 630
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)
[#11] Brian Cobb (19-6-0) vs. [#36] Antonio McKee (26-4-2)

Last 3 Fights: Brian Cobb (3-0-0)
2011-06-10: W vs. [#101WW] Drew Fickett (41-16-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:44 of round 1
2011-05-20: W vs. [#101LW] Rad Martinez (11-2-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:41 of round 2
2010-10-30: W vs. [#31FW] Kazunori Yokota (14-5-3) via SD (28-28, 29-30, 28-28)

Last 3 Fights: Antonio McKee (2-1-0)
2011-08-26: W vs. [#323LW] Jai Bradney (12-7-1) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:54 of round 1
2011-01-01: L vs. [#20LW] Jacob Volkmann (14-2-0) via SD (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
2010-09-10: W vs. [#177LW] Luciano Azevedo (16-9-1) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in 3:11 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Brian Cobb 231, Antonio McKee 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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Welterweight (170)
[#387] Ryan McGillivray (11-5-1) vs. [#562] Diego Bautista (7-0-0)

Last 3 Fights: Ryan McGillivray (2-1-0)
2011-06-04: L vs. [#246WW] Shamar Bailey (13-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2010-09-10: W vs. [#602WW] Markhaile Wedderburn (10-10-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 2:42 of round 2
2010-07-09: W vs. [#181WW] Andrew Buckland (14-8-1) via Submission (Kimura) in 2:04 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Diego Bautista (3-0-0)
2011-01-02: W vs. [#316WW] Preston Scharf (14-13-0) via SD (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
2010-09-24: W vs. [NA] Tony Dalton (2-9-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 0:23 of round 1
2010-07-24: W vs. [NA] John Mowry (2-2-0) via KO (Punch) in 1:35 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Ryan McGillivray 237, Diego Bautista 390
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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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: [#32 SW] Tateo Iino
Last 5: W W L W W

Last Fight Date: 4/27/2025 [Pancrase]
Last Opponent: [#51 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

[#43 FLW]	Paulino Siller	[#1 MW]	Khamzat Chimaev
[NR]	Daniel Cormier	[#3 LW]	Charles Oliveira
[#1 WW]	Islam Makhachev	[#1 LHW]	Alex Pereira
[#2 LW]	Arman Tsarukyan	[NR]	Khabib Nurmagomedov
[#555 LW]	Anshul Jubli	[#159 BW]	Santiago Prieto

A quick word from a sponsor regarding fighter safety!

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Jason

If you train, be sure to pick up some mma head gear. Repeated blows to the head can cause repetitive head injury syndrome. Stay safe, protect your head – you’ll need it! Some headgear also provides a face shield or full face protection to protect your nose, from bruises, cuts and breaks if that’s a concern.

New Feature: ‘Outside of UFC’ filter

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Oleg

Introducing a minor new feature on our ranking pages: You can now use the ‘Last Fought In’ filter to quickly view all the ranked fighters in a weight class whose last fight was not in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

For example, here are all the ranked welterweights who last fought outside of the UFC:

http://www.fightmatrix.com/mma-ranks/welterweight/?OrgFilter=-1

Thanks to our reader GLF for the suggestion!

No Pressure Brian Cobb. On Friday, he puts his ranking up to the test.

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Jason

Brian Cobb (19-6-0) , #11 ranked Lightweight, has long been the topic of debate as being perhaps the most controversial ranking in the history of the FightMatrix ranking system — right next to Ray Mercer.

Although on a five fight win streak, he lost his two fights prior to that to fighters who have since fallen off the relevancy radar. Cobb also had the benefit of facing off against fighters who were momentarily peaking, like Drew Fickett, and Kazunori Yokota. Still, he has earned his FightMatrix ranking the traditional way, by earning points. His points though, will be on the line Friday against [#36 LW] Antonio McKee (26-4-2) in a five round MFC Lightweight title bout.

McKee is no slouch and a dominant win over McKee in his home organization would speak volumes. McKee fought nearly even with Jacob Volkmann just over a year ago and prior to that, hadn’t lost since 2003, with that loss being in a Welterweight fight.

We’ll be posting a “FightMatrix Program” for this card later in the week. Maybe we can also lure in a comment from Brian prior to the match-up.

MMA Rankings Updated: 1/22/2012

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Jason

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“Keep an Eye Out For…” UPDATE: Daniel Pineda

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Jonathan

On 9/19/11, I wrote this “Keep an Eye Out For…” article:

“[#35FW] Daniel Pineda (14 – 7 – 0) has rattled off 4 stoppage wins, after losing via kneebar to [*] Chas Skelly (7 – 0 – 0) at Bellator 19 in May 2010. These wins include

1st round rear naked choke on lightweight [*] Reynaldo Trujillo (8 – 7 – 0) in July 2010
1st round heel hook on lightweight prospect [#332LW] Levi Forrest (6 – 1 – 0) in January 2011
KO in under 1:00 of the 1st round over lightweight [*] Ray Blodgett (5 – 1 – 0) in April 2011
3rd round rear naked choke on WEC veteran [#141FW] Frank Gomez (10 – 4 – 0) in July 2011.

Pineda has won every one of his victories via stoppage, and he has only gone to a decision once in his career. These aren’t 0-1 fighters he is beating, they are legit prospects and tough veterans. At 26 years old, the Houston, Texas native has a lot of time to hone his skills and make it to the big show.”

Pineda is now ranked [#40FW] and sports a (15 – 7 – 0) record with a 5th stoppage win in a row in December 2011 over featherweight [*] Gilbert Jiminez (5 – 4 – 1). He will be making his UFC debut this friday at UFC on FX 1 against undefeated St. Paul, Minnesota fighter [#227FW] Pat Schilling (5 – 0 – 0). Pineda has the edge in experience, but Schilling is a finisher. In fact, 4 of Schilling’s 5 wins come by way of submission, while Pineda has lost 6 times by submission. With both of these guys being relatively unknown to the general UFC audience at this point, this could be either fighter’s coming out party.

Twitter – @Jonathan_Grand

FightMatrix Program: UFC on FX (01-20-2011)

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Jason

Lightweight (156)
[#12] Jim Miller (20-3-0, 155.0lb) vs. [#24] Melvin Guillard (27-10-2, 156.0lb)
Jim Miller is the All-Time #24 ranked Lightweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Jim Miller (2-1-0)
2011-08-14: L vs. [#3LW] Ben Henderson (15-2-0) via UD (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)
2011-03-19: W vs. [#53LW] Kamal Shalorus (7-1-2) via TKO (Punches) in 2:15 of round 3
2010-12-11: W vs. [#100LW] Charles Oliveira (14-2-0) via Submission (Kneebar) in 1:59 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Melvin Guillard (2-1-0)
2011-10-08: L vs. [#11LW] Joe Lauzon (21-6-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 0:47 of round 1
2011-07-02: W vs. [#54LW] Shane Roller (10-5-0) via KO (Punches) in 2:12 of round 1
2011-01-22: W vs. [#37LW] Evan Dunham (12-2-0) via TKO (Knees) in 2:58 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jim Miller 159, Melvin Guillard 104
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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Welterweight (170)
[#35] Josh Neer (32-10-1, 171.0lb) vs. [#53] Duane Ludwig (21-11-0, 170.5lb)

Last 3 Fights: Josh Neer (3-0-0)
2011-10-01: W vs. [#114WW] Keith Wisniewski (28-13-1) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in 5:00 of round 2
2011-08-20: W vs. [#736WW] Blas Avena (7-6-0) via TKO (Punches and Elbows) in 2:54 of round 1
2011-06-25: W vs. [#73WW] Jesse Juarez (17-7-0) via TKO (Injury) in 5:00 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Duane Ludwig (2-1-0)
2011-08-14: W vs. [#60WW] Amir Sadollah (5-3-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2010-11-13: W vs. [#211WW] Nick Osipczak (5-3-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
2010-03-21: L vs. [#27FW] Darren Elkins (13-2-0) via TKO (Ankle Injury) in 0:44 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Josh Neer 111, Duane Ludwig 159
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)
[#49] Jared Papazian (14-6-0, 135.5lb) vs. [#65] Mike Easton (10-1-0, 135.0lb)

Last 3 Fights: Jared Papazian (3-0-0)
2011-09-15: W vs. [#296BW] Marvin Garcia (7-1-0) via UD (50-45, 48-47, 48-47)
2011-06-24: W vs. [#90BW] Abel Cullum (19-6-0) via UD (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
2011-03-27: W vs. [#129BW] Kana Hyatt (9-10-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Last 3 Fights: Mike Easton (3-0-0)
2011-10-01: W vs. [#252BW] Byron Bloodworth (6-2-0) via TKO (Knees and Punches) in 4:52 of round 2
2009-10-03: W vs. [#48FW] Chase Beebe (18-8-1) via SD (49-46, 46-49, 48-47)
2009-04-25: W vs. [#415BW] Josh Ferguson (8-4-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 4:06 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jared Papazian 127, Mike Easton 111
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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Gambling Analysis – UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Jason

When gambling on an MMA fight, it is essential to keep tabs on the betting odds for MMA. Anything can happen in such a volatile sport, but knowing who the consistent fighters are, as well as when the available odds understate their chance of winning will maximize your chances of earning money.

We’ve had a bit of a break from these gambling articles, but all four previous posts were 100% accurate in predicting the victor and extremely close in the type of victory. Taking a look at the upcoming main event on Friday, Jim Miller vs. Melvin Guillard, in this author’s opinion, is a moderately good bet.

Jim Miller is one of the most consistent fighters in the UFC Lightweight division. In all three fights he’s lost, he’s lost by decision, and in two of those losses, he’s lost to elite fighters within the division — with the jury still being out on Ben Henderson. Not only this, but he’s fought nearly his entire career in the same division, another mark of consistency. Guillard, has not been the mark of consistency, which can also make him a risky play. The current betting line on Miller is -213, which means you get a return of $100 for every $213 you bet on Miller. Without compensating for “the juice”, this line suggests Miller has a 68% chance of winning. I’d put Miller’s odds of winning closer to 75% and therefore, I think he is a good play for a moderate bet to win. I’ll take him by 2nd round submission.

Russian Prospect Nurmagomedov, biting off more than he can chew?

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Jason

[#151 WW] Habib Nurmagomedov (16-0) will be accomplishing many firsts on Friday. Not only is he debuting in the UFC, but it is also his first fight outside of Russia and Ukraine. Furthermore, he’s dropping to Lightweight for the first time according to our records. He’s also never faced an opponent as legit as [#53] Kamal Shalrous (7-1-2), whose record is much better than Nurmagomedov’s average opponent — roughly 4-2, and let’s not even discuss THEIR collective opposition.

Will the Russian prospect start his career at 17-0? How about 17 wins without a split or majority decision? Or will he also walk away with his first loss?

Stat of the Day: Most Fights Without a Decision

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Jason

Shannon Ritch has the 2nd most pro fights at 127 and honestly, we’re likely missing a few. In these 127 pro fights, he has NEVER went to a decision. This is the record, by far.

Not only that, he has only been past the first round 5 times.

MMA Rankings Updated: 1/15/2012

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Jason

FightMatrix Program: UFC 142 (1-14-2011)

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Jason

Featherweight Championship (145)
[#1/#6DD] Jose Aldo (20-1-0) vs. [#5] Chad Mendes (11-0-0)
Jose Aldo is the All-Time #2 ranked Featherweight and #21 ranked Absolute fighter.
Chad Mendes is the All-Time #12 ranked Featherweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Jose Aldo (3-0-0)
2011-10-08: W vs. [#3FW] Kenny Florian (14-6-0) via UD (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
2011-04-30: W vs. [#26FW] Mark Hominick (20-10-0) via UD (48-45, 48-46, 49-46)
2010-09-30: W vs. [#20FW] Manny Gamburyan (11-7-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:32 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Chad Mendes (3-0-0)
2011-08-06: W vs. [#29FW] Rani Yahya (16-7-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2011-02-05: W vs. [#32FW] Michihiro Omigawa (13-10-1) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2010-11-11: W vs. [#23FW] Javier Vazquez (16-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jose Aldo 98, Chad Mendes 161
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)
[#8] Vitor Belfort (20-9-0) vs. [#11WW] Anthony Johnson (10-3-0)

Last 3 Fights: Vitor Belfort (2-1-0)
2011-08-06: W vs. [#63MW] Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-4-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:52 of round 1
2011-02-05: L vs. [#1MW/#1DD] Anderson Silva (31-4-0) via KO (Front Kick and Punches) in 3:25 of round 1
2009-09-19: W vs. [#13LHW] Rich Franklin (28-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:02 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Anthony Johnson (2-1-0)
2011-10-01: W vs. [#32WW] Charlie Brenneman (14-3-0) via KO (Head Kick) in 2:49 of round 1
2011-03-26: W vs. [#44WW] Dan Hardy (23-10-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2009-11-21: L vs. [#5WW] Josh Koscheck (16-5-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:47 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Vitor Belfort 161, Anthony Johnson 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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Welterweight (170)
[#25] Mike Pyle (21-8-1) vs. [#241] Ricardo Funch (8-2-0)

Last 3 Fights: Mike Pyle (2-1-0)
2011-08-06: L vs. [#13WW] Rory MacDonald (12-1-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:54 of round 1
2011-03-19: W vs. [#30WW] Ricardo Almeida (13-5-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2010-10-16: W vs. [#39WW] John Hathaway (15-1-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Last 3 Fights: Ricardo Funch (1-2-0)
2011-12-03: W vs. [#318WW] Ryan Quinn (6-3-1) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2010-06-12: L vs. [#37WW] Claude Patrick (14-2-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 1:48 of round 2
2009-12-12: L vs. [#7WW] Johny Hendricks (12-1-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Mike Pyle 161, Ricardo Funch 42
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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MMA Rankings Updated: 1/8/2012

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Jason

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Cyborg’s positive steroid test sparks change in our 2011 Women Fighter of the Year Standings

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Jason

Cyborg, who took 2nd in our Women’s Fighter of the Year standing for 2011, just tested positive for stanozolol. Although a positive steroid test does not disqualify you from our awards, this also rendered her only 2011 fight a “no contest”.

As such, Tate will be moved up to #2, and Sarah Kaufman will move in at #3, for the third consecutive year.

In other award-related news, due to recent data changes at Sherdog, we re-assigned the men’s rookie of the year to Sultan Aliev. Sorry, Levan.

Maybe next year, we’ll wait a little longer to dish out these awards.