Fight Outcomes
[#10] Seth Bacyznski W-UD(3) [#4] Joe Henle
New Rankings After Episode 7 Results –
Quarterfinalists Only
1. Kyle Noke
2. Brad Tavares
3. Nick Ring
4. Josh Bryant
5. Court McGee
6. Seth Bacyznski
7. Kyacey Uscola
8. Jamie Yager
9. Kris McCray
Fightmatrix.com Mixed Martial Arts Rankings Archive has been updated with the rankings for March & April 2010.
We’ve made some technical improvements to our archives that should be transparent to our readers, but will allow us to update the archives more regularly.
| 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 |
[#10
SW] Sora Sugiyama |
||
|
|
|||
|
Last Fight Date: 3/30/2025 [Rizin Fighting
Federation] Last Opponent: [#42 SW] Nobuyoshi Nakatsukasa Last 5: W W W W W |
Last Fight Date: 9/15/2025 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [#42 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 |
||
| [#44 WW] |  Seok Hyeon
Ko |
[#18 HW] |  Ante
Delija |
|
| [#1 LW] | Islam
Makhachev |
[#2 LW] |  Ilia
Topuria |
|
| [#11 FW] |  Steve
Garcia |
[#1 WW] | Jack Della
Maddalena |
|
| [#63 WW] | Philip
Rowe |
[#1 MW] |  Khamzat
Chimaev |
|
| [#2 HW] |  Tom
Aspinall |
[NR] | Jon
Jones |
UFC 113 took place in Montreal, Canada and was headlined by a long-awaited rematch between the light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. Machida defeated Rua at UFC 104 in a highly controversial decision – most observers, including myself, disagreed with the judges and felt that Shogun deserved the nod in their first fight. The other featured matchup on the card was a welterweight title shot eliminator bout between Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley.
Alan Belcher vs. Patrick Cote (185 lbs)
Round 1: Belcher comes out throwing leg and body
kicks. Cote responds with punches. Belcher’s kicks are
finding their target until one lands in Cote’s groin. The
fight is paused briefly then they resume trading. Both
fighters land punches in an exchange. More kicks from Belcher
until Cote catches one and trips Alan to the ground. Cote
looks for a kimura, it’s locked in as he passes Belcher’s guard but
Belcher is able to sweep and ends up in top guard. Belcher
passes into half guard, attempts an arm triangle then steps over
into side control. Round 10-9 Belcher
Round 2: Belcher once again leads with low kicks. Referee Mario Yamasaki halts the action – turns out Belcher forgot to put his mouth guard back in between the rounds. The fight resumes and Cote flurries with punches, landing several solid ones. Belcher clinches and pushes Cote into the fence. They separate and trade punches; Cote gets the best of the exchange then follows up with a takedown. Belcher scrambles to his feet; Cote looks for another takedown but as he is attempting a double-leg, Belcher elevates him in the air and slams Patrick flat on his face! Cote is stunned and Belcher hops onto his back and locks in a rear naked choke. Cote submits, tapping on his opponent head.
Aftermath: Alan Belcher, continuing his rise up the middleweight ranks, should next fight Demian Maia. A #1 contenders match with Vitor Belfort is also a good possibility. Belcher earns the ‘Submission of the Night’ award for his performance.
Patrick Cote receives a harsh welcome back in his first fight since the loss to Anderson Silva, and should next take on CB Dollaway or Tim Credeur.
Ranking Impact: Alan Belcher rises 3 spots to #11 MW. Patrick Cote, unranked for inactivity, returns at #52 MW.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Light Heavyweight Championship
[#1] Lyoto Machida vs. [#4] Mauricio Rua
Welterweight
[#3] Josh Koscheck vs. [#10] Paul Daley
Lightweight
[#29] Sam Stout vs. [#81] Jeremy Stephens
Heavyweight
[#77] Kimbo Slice vs. [#342] Matt Mitrione
Middleweight
[#14] Alan Belcher vs. [Inactive] Patrick Cote
Middleweight
[#36] Joe Doerksen vs. [#83] Tom Lawlor
Welterweight
[#42] Marcus Davis vs. [Inactive] Jonathan Goulet
Welterweight
[#34] TJ Grant vs. [#69] Johny Hendricks
Heavyweight
[#43] Joey Beltran vs. [#71] Tim Hague
Welterweight
[#52] Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. [#63] Mike Guymon
Middleweight
[#33] Jason MacDonald vs. [#238] John Salter
Lightweight (160 lbs)
[#6] Eddie Alvarez vs. [#71] Josh Neer
Lightweight
[#33] Roger Huerta vs. [#92] Pat Curran
Lightweight
[#36] Toby Imada vs. [#196] Carey Vanier
Fight Outcomes
[#7] Nick Ring W-MD(3) [#3] Court McGee
New Rankings After Episode 6
Results
1. Kyle Noke
2. Brad Tavares
3. Nick Ring (+4)
4. Joe Henle
5. Josh Bryant
6. Court McGee* (-3)
7. Rich Attonito (-1)
8. Kyacey Uscola*
9. Jim Hammortree*
10. Seth Bacyznski
11. Jamie Yager
12. Kris McCray*
13. Charles Blanchard*
14. Clayton McKinney*
In extreme obscurity, a slimmed down Ricco Rodriguez fought an equally in-shape Travis Fulton on Saturday. Rodriguez was able to seal the deal with a knockout of Fulton. This will move Ricco up a few spots, while Fulton will drop outside of the Top 100, as the conqueror of tomato cans, yet again finds himself on the losing end against an opponent with name value.
Notable Info
Fight Outcomes
[#6] Josh Bryant W-UD(3) [#9] Kris McCray
New Rankings
After Episode 5 Results
1. Kyle Noke
2. Brad Tavares
3. Court McGee
4. Joe Henle
5. Josh Bryant (+1)
6. Rich Attonito (-1)
7. Nick Ring
8. Kyacey Uscola*
9. Jim Hammortree* (+1)
10. Seth Bacyznski (+1)
11. Jamie Yager (+1)
12. Kris McCray* (-3)
13. Charles Blanchard*
14. Clayton McKinney*
Note: We are going to keep all active 14 fighters ranked due to “wildcard” possibilities. Fighters who have lost are tagged with an asterisk.
One of the biggest issues that onlookers have with the FightMatrix ranking system is how we initially rank fighters that move divisions.
Due to the nature of the point-based system, we cannot take away all of a fighter’s point balance and start them unranked, simply because they moved divisions. If this was the case, the opponents who beat them would gain nothing for doing so, and in all but the most extreme cases, this would be 100% incorrect. Fighters outside of the big organizations shift divisions all of the time, so its not as if a new division means its a new sport with new rules or even an entirely new crop of fighters.
We do reduce the point balances of fighters who move up in division, in order to represent the increased difficulty in fighting “bigger” fighters in more proven weight divisions. This is done at a rate of approximately 12-15% per division. I provided a range here, because some divisional jumps differ in size and we do take that into account. Note: This isn’t something we’ve always done. It was always planned, but we did not have enough divisional information until late 2009.
In order to make this work, we must do the inverse when a fighter moves down in division. This means a fighter’s points will actually increase, as they are moving into a division with smaller fighters. Current examples of this are Wanderlei Silva (#4 MW), and Wagnney Fabiano (#5 BW). Even if these fighters have only fought once in their latest tenure (or career) at the lower division, please understand that for the most part, their new divisional ratings should be considered as projection unless its a “rating-solidifying” result (big win, big loss, draw against equal-rated). This downward move is more controversial than the upward move, especially when a fighter makes a drastic weight cut that ultimately ends up being a bad idea.
When we debut our comprehensive historical month-by-month and all-time divisional rankings (ETA: Unknown), we’ll have enough data around the divisional moves to provide modified information as to whether or not the moves should have been compensated for.
After two weekends of sub-par MMA events, it was left up to the usually exciting WEC to wash out the bad taste left in the fans’ mouths after digesting UFC 112 and last week’s Strikeforce. The ‘Aldo vs. Faber’ event took place in Sacramento, CA – Urijah Faber’s hometown. The event was somewhat of an anomaly for WEC: normally the organizations events are broadcast on the Vs network; this one was broadcast on Pay-Per-View, with the preliminary card shown on Spike TV. Due to some sort of contractual issue between networks, the WEC brand was nowhere to be seen except for the championship belts. The event was branded simply as ‘Aldo vs. Faber’, and the usual WEC team of announcers and commentators was replaced by the UFC’s lineup of Joe Rogan, Mike Goldberg, and Bruce Buffer.
Preliminary Card (Spike TV)
Alex Karalexis vs. Anthony Pettis (155 lbs)
Round 1: The fighters circle for a bit, then Pettis lands a head kick that rocks Karalexis. Karalexis attempts a takedown; Pettis defends but it gives Alex a chance to recover. Pettis throws another kick; Karalexis catches it and tosses Pettis to the ground. Karalexis lands several punches from the top then Pettis escapes back to the feet. Pettis lighting up Karalexis with leg and body kicks. Karalexis goes for a takedown but doesn’t succeed. Pettis misses with a head kicks. More leg kicks from Pettis; Karalexis with another takedown attempt and drags Pettis down just as the round ends. Round 10-9 Pettis
Round 2: Karalexis comes out swinging, closes the
distance and takes Pettis down. Pettis escapes and lands more
solid leg kicks. Another takedown for Karalexis; Pettis
locks in a triangle from guard, while simultaneously pounding the
face of his trapped opponent until Alex taps
out.
Ranking Impact: Anthony Pettis rises 12 spots to #77 LW. Alex Karalexis remains unranked.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Fight Outcomes
[#11] Rich Attonito W-DQ(1) [#5] Kyacey Uscola
[#14] Jamie Yager W-TKO(1) [#8] Charles Blanchard
New Rankings
After Episode 4 Results
1. Kyle Noke
2. Brad Tavares
3. Court McGee
4. Joe Henle
5. Rich Attonito (+6)
6. Josh Bryant
7. Nick Ring
8. Kyacey Uscola* (-3)
9. Kris McCray
10. Jim Hammortree*
11. Seth Bacyznski (+1)
12. Jamie Yager (+2)
13. Charles Blanchard* (-5)
14. Clayton McKinney* (-1)
Note: We are going to keep all active 14 fighters ranked due to “wildcard” possibilities. Fighters who have lost are tagged with an asterisk.
For their second event on broadcast live on CBS, Strikeforce went all out, stacking the fight card with three title bouts. With the lightweight, middleweight, and light-heavyweight belts all on the line, and a worthy line-up of champions and challengers, this was promising to be an amazing night of MMA. Unfortunately things don’t always go as planned:
Champion Gegard Mousasi vs. Muhammed Lawal (205 lbs title bout)
Round 1: Mousasi leads with a high kick. Lawal uses a combination of punches to set up a takedown. Mousasi sprawls; Lawal eats several shots but completes the takedown. Mousasi attempts a triangle. Lawal passes into side control and tries to work his ground-and-pound. Mousasi regains guard, blocks most punches and counters with up-kicks. Mousasi back to the feet; he blocks another takedown attempt and punishes Lawal with punches. Lawal is persistent and scores another takedown but Mousasi gets up quickly. Round 10-9 Lawal
Round 2: Lawal is blocked on the first takedown attempt. He succeeds on the second one but Mousasi is active with hammer-fists and up-kicks off his back and Lawal can’t control him from the top. Mousasi gets up and is taken back down but once again does more damage off his back. They stand up and Mousasi lands a solid combo backing Lawal up, then jumps on his back and looks for a choke as the round ends. Round 10-9 Mousasi
Round 3: Lawal looks tired and Mousasi lights him up with kick and punch combinations. Nevertheless Lawal scores another takedown. Very little action on the ground; Lawal is laying on top of Mousasi throwing an occasional punch. Mousasi is starting to look tired as well, and is not able to get off his back. Round 10–9 Lawal
Round 4: Mousasi lands leg kicks to start the fourth round and is taken down again. Not much happens on the ground and the referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy calls for a standup. It doesn’t last long as Lawal takes Gegard right back down. Very little action on the ground; both fighters are tired and the fans boo. Round 10-9 Lawal
Round 5: Lawal’s face shows signs of damage. Mousasi needs a knockout or a sub at this point. Mousasi swings for the fences but is taken down again. Mousasi lands an up-kick as one of Lawal’s knees is on the ground; referee catches the foul and deducts a point from Gegard. They restart in the same position. Mousasi escapes and is looking to strike but Lawal slams him down again. Up and back down, not much action but Lawal has controlled almost every round for an easy win. Round 10–8 Lawal
‘King Mo’ Lawal defeats Gegard Mousasi by unanimous decision (49-46 on all scorecards). Lawal is the new Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.
Aftermath: Muhammed Lawal passes his first big test and wins a title. Unfortunately there is very little competition available for him at this weight outside of the UFC. Should he remain in Strikeforce, the only obviously available options for King Mo’s first title defense would be Renato Sobral or Dan Henderson.
Many fans have doubted Gegard Mousasi’s ability to defend against a strong wrestler, and he showed that the concerns were valid. Having recently signed a contract extension with Strikeforce, Mousasi is now facing the same problem as Lawal: lack of available competition at his chosen weight class.
Rankings Impact: Muhammed Lawal makes his debut at #4 LHW (he was previously ranked at #16 HW). Gegard Mousasi falls 6 spots to #10 LHW.
Fight Grade: 2/5
