Official Set #3 will debut on 2/3/08, on the morning after UFC 81.  In the future, we are going to release official updates directly after the major shows.  If there is a sizable break between major shows, we will provide periodic updates during these breaks.

Set #3 will show the effects of UFC 81, some Shooto cards, as well as a plethora of minor bouts.  As always, we continue to add shows from past years, so expect minor fluctuations throughout, especially in the Heavyweight division.

Furthermore, the Top 25s will be expanded to Top 30s, while the Top 50s will be expanded to Top 60s!  This is just another “baby step” in the pursuit of global MMA rating domination.  To keep moving forward, we need help with the unknown division list.

With the release of Official Set #2, we now display the movement tracker that shows a fighter’s movement since the last released set. This will enable you to see movement that has taken place due to the recent UFC Fight Night and other minor cards. Please note that there are widespread minor fluctuations due to newfound historical bouts.

On a side note, some of the weight ranges for the lower weight classes have been adjusted in order to better handle “catchweight” bouts.

UFC 80 had the most notable effect on the ranking of the following fighters:

• BJ Penn moves from #6 to #3 in the Lightweight division after his victory over Joe Stevenson.  Stevenson drops from #10 to #16.
• Fabricio Werdum moves from #9 to #4 with his victory over Gabriel Gonzaga.  Gonzaga drops from #4 to #7.

Check out the complete, updated rankings!  We now rank the Top 50 in Lightweight and above; Top 25 in Bantamweight, Featherweight, and Women’s Openweight; and Top 10 in Flyweight.

Latest Rankings:

Heavyweight (206+ lbs)

Light Heavyweight (188-205 lbs)

Middleweight (176-187 lbs)

Welterweight (162-175 lbs)

Lightweight (146-161 lbs)

Featherweight (136-145 lbs)

Bantamweight (126-135 lbs)

Flyweight (under 126 lbs)

Women (Open Weight)

The first official release of the rankings have been released today. In future releases, the ranking pages will contain a movement tracker, displaying a fighter’s movement between the previous release and the present one. As for frequency of updates… we are still giving this some thought.

There is now a ranking page that will list the highest-ranked fighters without a division assignment.  If you would like to help us tackle this list and determine divisions for these fighters, we invite you to please help us out!!  If your investigation turns up anything, please e-mail jcs at fightmatrix.com with your findings, and information source, with this source preferably being weigh-in and/or organization profile information.

Lightweight and above have been expanded to Top 50.

UFC Lightweight Championship
[#6] BJ Penn vs. [#10] Joe Stevenson

Heavyweights
[#4] Gabriel Gonzaga vs. [#9] Fabricio Werdum

Welterweights
[#18] Marcus Davis vs. [#30] Jess Liaudin

Light Heavyweights
[#13] Jason Lambert vs. [#44] Wilson Gouveia

Middleweights
[#54] Kendall Grove vs. [#89] Jorge Rivera

Heavyweights
[#100] Antoni Hardonk vs. [*] Colin Robinson

Welterweights
[#115] Paul Kelly vs. [#150] Paul Taylor

Light Heavyweights
[#33] James Lee vs. [#65] Alessio Sakara

Lightweights
[#32] Sam Stout vs. [#49] Per Eklund

Ranking Note: Gray font represents an approximate ranking. An asterisk represents a fighter who is ranked, but too low for an approximation. These two scenarios will clear up slightly as we move forward. “NR” means the fighter is not ranked, due to inactivity, or due to a rating that is at or below the default starter rating.

– Due to some overly aggressive initial placements for recently debuting fighters, pre-bout calculation bonuses for quality performances in debuts have been reduced by 25-50% depending on the specific scenario.

In other words, debuting fighters who break onto the scene with a quality performance, are not given as much of a bonus as they were before. This will have small changes throughout the divisions.

– Heavyweight through Lightweight rankings have been expanded to Top 40s.

– Bantamweight, Featherweight, and Women rankings have been expanded to Top 25s.

Ranked fighters’ records are now displayed in the ranking pages. If you see a record that you think is incorrect, please e-mail jcs at fightmatrix.com.

Featherweight, Bantamweight, and Women (ALL), have been expanded from Top 15s to Top 20s.

We are taking the ranking expansion one step at a time, to verify that fighters entering the lists have the correct nationality and divisional settings. If you think a fighter is placed in the incorrect division, find a nationality error, or think a fighter should be ranked, but can’t find them, please write a comment in response to this post.

Lightweight and above have been expanded from Top 25 to Top 30.