Fight Matrix

Lineal Championship History: Middleweights

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Jason

First, a run-down of the particulars:

Due to potential metric conversion issues and weight class changes, a limit of 187 pounds is observed for this list.
Inception of the championship occured on 5/18/1989, the first fight in the division.
Sporadic periods of inactivity were observed throughout the first half of the lineage. Clear “top contender” matches took place to determine the next champion.

Your current lineal Middleweight champion is Anderson Silva

The full history is below. Note, the colored backgrounds indicate a title change.

MMA Middleweight Lineal Championship History

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FightMatrix Program: DREAM 17 (9-24-2011)

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Jason

Lightweight (155)
[#4] Shinya Aoki (28-5-0) vs. [#187] Rob McCullough (19-7-0)
Shinya Aoki is the All-Time #3 ranked Lightweight and #22 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Shinya Aoki (3-0-0)
2011-05-29: W vs. [#189LW] Rich Clementi (40-20-1) via Submission (Neck Crank) in 2:17 of round 2
2011-04-09: W vs. [#67LW] Lyle Beerbohm (15-2-0) via Submission (Neck Crank) in 1:33 of round 1
2010-10-24: W vs. [NA] Yokthai Sithoar (0-1-0) via Submission (Keylock) in 1:00 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Rob McCullough (2-1-0)
2011-03-12: L vs. [#65LW] Patricky Freire (9-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:11 of round 3
2010-09-09: W vs. [#734LW] Corey Hill (4-4-0) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
2010-07-09: W vs. [#146FW] Isaac DeJesus (9-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:31 of round 1

Featherweight (145)
[#10LW] Tatsuya Kawajiri (28-7-2) vs. [#12] Joachim Hansen (22-10-1)

Last 3 Fights: Tatsuya Kawajiri (2-1-0)
2011-07-16: W vs. [#105WW] Drew Fickett (41-16-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:41 of round 1
2011-04-09: L vs. [#3LW] Gilbert Melendez (19-2-0) via TKO (Elbows) in 3:14 of round 1
2010-12-31: W vs. [#28LW] Josh Thomson (18-4-0) via UD ()

Last 3 Fights: Joachim Hansen (3-0-0)
2011-05-29: W vs. [#28FW] Mitsuhiro Ishida (20-7-1) via SD ()
2010-10-29: W vs. [#193FW] Sami Aziz (5-3-1) via Submission (Armbar) in 3:47 of round 2
2010-09-25: W vs. [#6BW] Hideo Tokoro (30-23-1) via Submission (Triangle Choke) in 2:48 of round 1

Featherweight (145)
[#18] Takeshi Inoue (20-5-0) vs. [#25] Caol Uno (26-14-5)
Takeshi Inoue is the All-Time #18 ranked Featherweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Takeshi Inoue (2-1-0)
2011-05-29: W vs. [#47FW] Koichiro Matsumoto (13-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 6:51 of round 1
2011-04-29: W vs. [#53FW] Taiki Tsuchiya (9-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:27 of round 2
2010-09-25: L vs. [#19FW] Kazuyuki Miyata (11-8-0) via UD ()

Last 3 Fights: Caol Uno (1-2-0)
2011-05-29: W vs. [#56FW] Akiyo Nishiura (11-7-1) via UD ()
2010-12-31: L vs. [#19FW] Kazuyuki Miyata (11-8-0) via UD ()
2010-03-31: L vs. [#19LW] Gleison Tibau (23-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:13 of round 1

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Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)

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

[#7 W105] Moeri Suda

[#11 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: [#37 W105] Honoka Shigeta
Last 5: L L L W W

Friday, March 20th 2026: Professional Fighters League PFL Madrid - Van Steenis vs. Edwards 2

[#8 MW] Costello Van Steenis

[#13 MW] Fabian Edwards

Last Fight Date: 7/19/2025 [PFL]
Last Opponent: [#14 MW] Johnny Eblen
Last 5: W L W W W

Last Fight Date: 8/21/2025 [PFL]
Last Opponent: [#29 MW] Dalton Rosta
Last 5: W L W W W

Saturday, February 7th 2026: PFL Dubai: Nurmagomedov vs. Davis

[#6 LW] Usman Nurmagomedov

[#16 LW] Alfie Davis

Last Fight Date: 10/03/2025 [PFL]
Last Opponent: [#15 LW] Paul Hughes
Last 5: W NC W W W

Last Fight Date: 8/15/2025 [PFL]
Last Opponent: [#17 LW] Gadzhi Rabadanov
Last 5: W L W W W

Featured Fighters

[#31 LW]	Salahdine Parnasse	[#30 MW]	Krzysztof Jotko
[#56 MW]	Kerim Engizek	[#8 LW]	Paddy Pimblett
[#5 LW]	Justin Gaethje	[NR]	Khabib Nurmagomedov
[#1 LW]	Ilia Topuria	[#1 WW]	Islam Makhachev
[NR]	Conor McGregor	[#6 FW]	Rajabali Shaidullaev

Lineal Championship History: Welterweights

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Jason

First, a run-down of the particulars:

Due to potential metric conversion issues and weight class changes, a limit of 172 pounds is observed for this list.
Inception of the championship occured on 1/13/1990, the first fight between two top fighters that resulted in a clear #1.
Sporadic periods of inactivity were observed throughout the first half of the lineage. Clear “top contender” matches took place to determine the next champion.

Your current lineal Welterweight champion is Georges St. Pierre

The full history is below. Note, the colored backgrounds indicate a title change.

MMA Welterweight Lineal Championship History

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Lineal Championship History: Lightweights

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Jason

First, a run-down of the particulars:

Due to potential metric conversion issues and weight class changes, a limit of 161 pounds is observed for this list.
Inception of the championship occured on 1/13/1990, the first fight between two top fighters that resulted in a clear #1.
Sporadic periods of inactivity were observed throughout the first half of the lineage. Clear “top contender” matches took place to determine the next champion.

Your current lineal Lightweight champion is Shinya Aoki

The full history is below. Note, the colored backgrounds indicate a title change.

MMA Lightweight Lineal Championship History

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Lineal Championship History: Featherweights

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Jason

First, a run-down of the particulars:

Due to potential metric conversion issues and weight class changes, a limit of 148 pounds is observed for this list.
Inception of the championship occured on 3/27/1992, the first known professional fight taking place at or below 148 pounds.
Only a period in the mid 2000s saw fighters leave the division without losing. These situations were easily resolved in quick fashion by “best available” match-ups featuring 1/2, 2/3 or 1/3 ranked fighters.

Your current lineal Featherweight champion is Jose Aldo

The full history is below. Note, the colored backgrounds indicate a title change.

MMA Featherweight Lineal Championship History

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“What Ever Happened to…?” Alex Owen

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Jonathan

Bristol, England pugilist Alex Owen (19 – 1 – 0) (last ranking [#52FW] in July 2008) was going somewhere in MMA. From 2002 to 2007, Owen tore through the British featherweight ranks, scoring victories over top fighters such as [#50BW] Paul McVeigh (18 – 6 – 0) and WEC veteran [#27BW] Brad Pickett (20 – 5 – 0).

By then he was 19-0, 14 of those wins coming by stoppage. However, following his first loss to [*] Emmanuel Fernandez (9 – 4 – 1) (another talented yet inexplicably inactive fighter), everything changed. An excerpt from an article written by Chris Cork on mmahitpit.com gives some details on the situation:

“…Like most British fighters, Owen trained and competed part-time while holding down a full-time day job. For the past eight-and-a-half years he has paid the bills serving as a Police Constable with Avon & Somerset Constabulary – a job which permitted him to fight professional MMA. That was until July 2007 when, following a loss to Emmanuel Fernandez, Owen was told he would no longer be allowed to fight…”

Owen has not fought since.

Fighters who have the luxury to train full-time should feel fortunate. A story like this illustrates the harsh reality that only a select few will be truly successful in the fight game. If a talent like Alex Owen could be forced to leave the sport he loved (and did remarkably well in) due to financial issues, then it could happen to any fighter. We can hope that as MMA continues to grow as a global sport, less and less talented fighters will have to suffer similar fates as Owen.

At the end of the article, Owen talks about his possible return to the cage, but unfortunately the article was written in May 2010. Perhaps (and hopefully) we have not seen the last of Alex Owen in MMA.

Full Article: http://www.mmahitpit.com/news/alexowenonhiswayback

Spinanga

Lineal Championship History: Bantamweights

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Jason

First, a run-down of the particulars:

Due to potential metric conversion issues and weight class changes, a limit of 137 pounds is observed for this list.
Inception of the championship occured on 7/29/1989, the fifth known professional fight taking place at or below 137 pounds, which included the first two winners of Bantamweight bouts in a previous event (the other two bouts were draws).
Periodic inactivity was a sporadic issue in the Bantamweight division. In early history, ranked fights were so sporadic, that the winners of these “best available” matches were used to fill gaps. Idea is to not allow title vacancy for more than 2 years. In later Bantamweight history, only fights between established 1/2, 1/3 or 2/3 were used.

Your current lineal Bantamweight champion is Dominick Cruz

The full history is below. Note, the colored backgrounds indicate a title change.

MMA Bantamweight Lineal Championship History

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Lineal Championship History: Flyweights

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Jason

First, a run-down of the particulars:

Due to potential metric conversion issues, a limit of 126 pounds was observed for this list.
Inception of the championship occured on 3/27/1992, the first known professional fight taking place at or below 126 pounds.
Periodic inactivity was not an issue for Flyweights.
Vacancies after permanent inactivity were filled by the next chronological winner in a Flyweight match. This was the perfect solution, as the permanent inactivity instances seen correlated with huge voids in known Flyweight history. I have a feeling that the other divisions won’t sort themselves out this easily.

Your current lineal Flyweight champion is Ian McCall.

The full history is below. Note, the colored backgrounds indicate a title change.

MMA Flyweight Lineal Championship History

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FightMatrix Program: Bellator 51 (9-24-2011)

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Jason

Bantamweight (135)
[#3] Joe Warren (7-1-0) vs. [#4FLY] Alexis Vila (9-0-0)

Last 3 Fights: Joe Warren (3-0-0)
2011-04-16: W vs. [#56BW] Marcos Galvao (9-4-1) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
2010-09-02: W vs. [#69FW] Joe Soto (9-2-0) via KO (Knee and Punches) in 0:33 of round 2
2010-06-24: W vs. [#5FW] Patricio Freire (17-1-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Last 3 Fights: Alexis Vila (3-0-0)
2011-02-12: W vs. [#31FLY] Lewis McKenzie (12-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:26 of round 2
2010-06-25: W vs. [*] Omar Choudhury (13-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:50 of round 3
2010-04-30: W vs. [#113FLY] Sean Hall (3-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:34 of round 2

Bantamweight (135)
[#44] Ed West (16-5-0) vs. [#76] Luis Alberto Nogueira (11-1-0)

Last 3 Fights: Ed West (2-1-0)
2011-03-18: W vs. [NA] Sam Rodriguez (4-3-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 1:22 of round 1
2010-10-14: L vs. [#9BW] Zach Makovsky (13-2-0) via UD (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
2010-09-23: W vs. [#55BW] Jose Vega (9-5-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Last 3 Fights: Luis Alberto Nogueira (3-0-0)
2011-04-23: W vs. [#266BW] Jerod Spoon (5-2-1) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
2010-10-17: W vs. [NA] Atila Lourenco (2-3-0) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 0:50 of round 2
2010-10-02: W vs. [#176FW] Mauricio Santos Jr (5-6-0) via UD ()

Bantamweight (135)
[#38FW] Wilson Reis (12-3-0) vs. [#65] Eduardo Dantas (10-2-0)
Eduardo Dantas is the All-Time #24 ranked Bantamweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Wilson Reis (2-1-0)
2011-04-16: L vs. [#5FW] Patricio Freire (17-1-0) via KO (Punches) in 3:29 of round 3
2011-03-19: W vs. [#234FW] Zac George (20-5-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:09 of round 1
2010-10-21: W vs. [#24FW] Deividas Taurosevicius (13-5-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Last 3 Fights: Eduardo Dantas (3-0-0)
2010-12-11: W vs. [NA] Samuel de Souza (1-2-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 0:20 of round 1
2010-05-30: W vs. [#114BW] Hiromasa Ogikubo (8-2-2) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:21 of round 3
2009-11-28: W vs. [NA] Carlos Roberto (1-9-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:46 of round 2

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New Feature: Upcoming Events

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Oleg

Introducing another new feature at FightMatrix.com: Upcoming Events.

We will be publishing a list of upcoming MMA events and scheduled or rumored bouts – showing how the opponents stack up against each other according to our rankings, of course.

This data is provided courtesy of Sherdog.com and will be updated weekly. If you notice any errors or omissions, please report a correction to Sherdog!

Lineal Championships: The Man Who Beat The Man

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Jason

In the upcoming week or two, I plan to research all lineal championships from the beginning of MMA up until now, starting with Flyweight. I wanted to post this announcement in an effort to get any type of brainstorming from our members on how to consider particular types of scenarios. The challenges are:

Inception – Where does the championship start? Is it different for each weight division?
Inactivity – Does a lineal championship “die” when the champion goes inactive or retires? Does a new fighter pick up the championship? How is this decided?
Weight Divisions – Divisional info isn’t always available and sometimes weight classes change throughout time. Decisions will be made as to where the upper-limit barriers are.

These decisions and Flyweight.. coming soon.

FightMatrix Program: Strikeforce Challengers (9-23-2011)

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Jason

Light Heavyweight (205)
[#90MW] Nick Rossborough (19-14-0) vs. [#81] Lorenz Larkin (11-0-0)

Last 3 Fights: Nick Rossborough (3-0-0)
2011-09-09: W vs. [#220LHW] Hank Weiss (35-18-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 1:18 of round 2
2011-03-18: W vs. [#174MW] John Kafer (9-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:41 of round 1
2010-10-16: W vs. [#194LHW] Jason Guida (18-26-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Last 3 Fights: Lorenz Larkin (3-0-0)
2011-06-24: W vs. [#167LHW] Gian Villante (8-3-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2011-04-01: W vs. [#248LHW] Scott Lighty (7-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:15 of round 2
2011-02-25: W vs. [#299LHW] Mike Cook (11-9-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:32 of round 2

Lightweight (155)
[#796] Ryan Couture (2-1-0) vs. [#2946] Maka Watson (4-1-0)

Last 3 Fights: Ryan Couture (2-1-0)
2011-06-24: L vs. [#353LW] Matt Ricehouse (5-0-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2011-02-18: W vs. [#1000LW] Lee Higgins (2-1-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:41 of round 3
2010-08-13: W vs. [#2841LW] Lucas Stark (2-5-0) via Submission (Triangle Choke) in 1:15 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Maka Watson (2-1-0)
2011-07-22: L vs. [#1411LW] Bill Cooper (1-0-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:39 of round 2
2008-08-09: W vs. [NA] Richard Augustin (0-1-0) via TKO in ? of round 1
2008-06-28: W vs. [NA] Wyatt Leong (0-3-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in ? of round 1

Welterweight (170)
[#32] Jason High (14-3-0) vs. [#204] Todd Moore (14-4-0)

Last 3 Fights: Jason High (3-0-0)
2011-06-24: W vs. [#87WW] Quinn Mulhern (15-2-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2011-01-28: W vs. [#190MW] Rudy Bears (13-8-0) via Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 0:51 of round 1
2010-12-31: W vs. [#104WW] Hayato Sakurai (35-12-2) via SD ()

Last 3 Fights: Todd Moore (2-1-0)
2011-06-18: W vs. [#205WW] Mike Bronzoulis (13-3-1) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2010-11-12: W vs. [#1553WW] Lee King (14-17-1) via TKO (Punches) in 0:36 of round 2
2010-07-31: L vs. [#203WW] Brian Melancon (5-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:00 of round 1

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“Keep an Eye Out For…” Daniel Pineda

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Jonathan

[#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.

He 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.

MMA Rankings Updated: 09/18/2011

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Jason

Notable Info

Bantamweight expanded to Top 200.
Fighters now placed in divisions based on their last “weigh in” weight, if available. This was done retroactively to reflect weights recorded since 4/1/11. Please note, that this variable can be overridden in a similar manner to how the old method was for temporary cases. This will be monitored to determine if this is a more “accurate” method to use.

Fightmatrix Program – Bellator 50 (9/17/11)

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Jonathan

Middleweight (185)
[#24] Alexander Shlemenko (40-7-0, 185.5lb) vs. [#141] Zelg Galesic (10-5-0, 184.5lb)

Last 3 Fights: Alexander Shlemenko (3-0-0)
2011-08-05: W vs. [#1083MW] Marcos Antonio Santana (10-5-0) via TKO (Punch) in 1:29 of round 1
2011-05-14: W vs. [#100MW] Brett Cooper (13-7-0) via UD (30-27, 30-28, 29-28)
2011-03-12: W vs. [#181LHW] Nick Wagner (7-3-0) via KO (Punch) in 3:13 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Zelg Galesic (1-2-0)
2011-03-05: W vs. [#528MW] Lee Chadwick (10-9-1) via KO (Punch) in 2:40 of round 1
2009-10-25: L vs. [#182WW] Kazushi Sakuraba (26-15-1) via Submission (Kneebar) in 1:40 of round 1
2008-09-23: L vs. [#13MW] Ronaldo Souza (14-3-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 1:27 of round 1

Middleweight (185)
[#30] Bryan Baker (15-2-0, 184.2lb) vs. [#83] Jared Hess (11-2-1, 185.5lb)

Last 3 Fights: Bryan Baker (2-1-0)
2011-05-07: W vs. [#122MW] Joe Riggs (34-14-0) via KO (Punch) in 3:53 of round 2
2010-09-23: W vs. [#54LHW] Jeremy Horn (88-21-5) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
2010-06-24: L vs. [#24MW] Alexander Shlemenko (40-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:45 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Jared Hess (2-1-0)
2011-04-23: W vs. [#412LHW] Chris Bell (11-4-0) via Submission (Triangle Choke) in 1:40 of round 1
2010-05-27: L vs. [#24MW] Alexander Shlemenko (40-7-0) via TKO (Knee Injury) in 2:20 of round 3
2010-04-29: W vs. [*] Ryan McGivern (13-7-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 1:54 of round 2

Middleweight (185)
[#97] Victor ODonnell (10-2-0, 185.5lb) vs. [#146] Brian Rogers (7-2-0, 185.5lb)

Last 3 Fights: Victor ODonnell (2-1-0)
2011-02-05: W vs. [#494MW] Andrew Riddles (5-1-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 2:40 of round 2
2010-12-10: W vs. [#265MW] Isaiah Larson (12-6-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2010-11-20: L vs. [#61LHW] Marcus Vanttinen (20-3-0) via UD ()

Last 3 Fights: Brian Rogers (3-0-0)
2011-03-05: W vs. [#644MW] Ian Rammel (4-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:23 of round 1
2011-01-15: W vs. [#381MW] Robert Conner (10-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:07 of round 1
2010-10-23: W vs. [#378MW] Marcus Reynolds (8-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:32 of round 1

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