The next two updates will take place on Wednesday, December 24, 2008, and on Wednesday, December 31, 2008.
UFC’s Lightweight Division
To say that it has been a rough ride for the UFC’s 155 lbs division would be a bit of an understatement. The trouble began when the first champion of the weight class Jens Pulver left the organization in 2002 amidst a contract dispute. The UFC held a four-man tournament to crown a new champion, but failed to come up with a definitive winner when BJ Penn fought Caol Uno to a draw in the finals. And so the division was completely dismantled as the Zuffa-owned promotion was struggling financially at the time.
Fast forward to 2006: after the success of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality series boosted UFC’s popularity and momentum, the organization decided to reinstate the lightweight division and crowned a new champion with a matchup between Kenny Florian and Sean Sherk. But the troubles were not over – after Sherk’s very first title defense, Sean as well as the challenger Hermes Franca both tested positive for banned anabolics and were suspended by the California State Athletic Commission. With the title once again vacated, BJ Penn defeated Joe Stevenson then Sean Sherk in back-to-back bouts, staking his claim as the new lightweight king. However with Penn now set to challenge Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight title, the lightweight championship may once again be placed on hold if Penn wins.
All these tribulations left the division weakened: according to the latest Fightmatrix.com rankings, only 4 of the Top 10 and 8 of the Top 20 lightweights in the world compete in the UFC’s Octagon. But don’t let the lack of top-ranked fighters fool you; this is a very deep division beyond the Top 20, with over 30 ranked fighters competing in UFC at 155 lbs. Here is a closer look at the UFC’s 20 highest ranked lightweights.
Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)
| Saturday, August 22nd 2026: PFL Tampa: Cyborg vs. Vieira | |||
 [#1 W145] Cristiane Justino | [#4 W135] Ketlen Vieira | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 12/13/2025 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#2 W145] Sara Collins Last 5: W W W W W | Last Fight Date: 5/16/2026 [UFC] Last Opponent: [#10 W135] Jacqueline Cavalcanti Last 5: W L W L W | ||
| Thursday, September 10th 2026: Super RIZIN 5: Naniwa No Chou Fukkatsu Matsuri | |||
 [#5 FW] A.J. McKee |  [#6 FW] Rajabali Shaidullaev | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 6/27/2026 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#20 FW] Salamat Isbulaev Last 5: W L W W W | Last Fight Date: 4/12/2026 [Rizin Fighting Federation] Last Opponent: [#249 FW] Yuta Kubo Last 5: W W W W W | ||
| Thursday, September 10th 2026: Super RIZIN 5: Naniwa No Chou Fukkatsu Matsuri | |||
 [#1 W105] Natalia Kuziutina |  [#16 W105] Rena Kubota | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 4/12/2026 [Rizin Fighting Federation] Last Opponent: [#9 W105] Ayaka Hamasaki Last 5: W W W W W | Last Fight Date: 12/31/2025 [Rizin Fighting Federation] Last Opponent: [#2 W105] Seika Izawa Last 5: W L W W L | ||
Featured Fighters
| [#1 WW] | Islam Makhachev | [#178 WW] |  Namo Fazil | |
| [#5 WW] |  Ian Garry | [NR] | Khabib Nurmagomedov | |
| [#29 WW] | Myktybek Orolbai | [#2 LW] |  Ilia Topuria | |
| [#25 WW] | Neil Magny | [#1 FW] |  Alexander Volkanovski | |
| [#2 W115] | Mackenzie Dern | [#3 WW] | Carlos Prates |
Ratings Redo.
I noticed we had some incomplete and missing results from the weekend, so I decided to re-run the ratings update!
‘The Ultimate Fighter 8’ Finale Review
Another season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ passed by. This one was a bit painful to watch at times, what with the urination in the fruit salad and ejaculation in the sushi. Was the finale worthy of the buildup? Let’s take a look:
Junie Browning vs. Dave Kaplan (155 lbs)
TUF back-story: Both men stood out more for their drinking problems than their fighting abilities. While Junie was the unanimously despised, throwing glasses and fits – drunk, Kaplan was more of a happy, ‘punch-me-in-the-jaw-I-can’t-be-knocked-out’ drunk. It was only fitting that these two met in the finale.
A few glimpses of skill managed to shine through Junie’s bad attitude, and he controlled the bout from the beginning. While Kaplan was somewhat competitive in the first, Browning handily won the round then completely took over in the second, quickly taking down Kaplan then achieving dominant position and securing an armbar. Kaplan had no choice but to tap out. The fast-paced bout took the ‘Fight of the Night’ award.
Fight grade: 4/5
Aftermath: It is usually the case that the winners of all TUF finale fights get to stay in the UFC, while the losers are shown the door. In this case, ‘Fight of the Night’ may have earned Kaplan another fight in the Octagon (or perhaps a smaller version of it in the WEC).
MMA Rankings Updated: 12/14/08
Notable Info
- New rankings reflect changes due to shows from the previous week and weekend, including those from Shooto, UFC, KOTC, Adrenaline, and many others.
Other interesting notes…
- More action on the Flyweight list, as the two winners of the 114 and 123lb Shooto rookie tournament enter at #16, and #17 respectively.
- The UFC’s Jim Miller, winner of 8 straight, makes a surprising entry into the Lightweight Top 10 at #8.
- Pat Miletich pulled off a mild upset over fellow veteran Thomas Denny. However, Miletich is still far away from being ranked.
- Wilson Gouveia’s impressive win over Jason MacDonald propels him 13 spots, up to #16 in the Middleweight division. Can he actually make 185 again?
- Justin McCully re-enters the Top 40 of the Heavyweight division with a win over Eddie Sanchez.
- Jeff Monson took a unanimous decision over Ricco Rodriguez on Saturday. He is now the #17 ranked Heavyweight.
UFC ‘Fight for the Troops’ Review
UFC ‘Fight for the Troops’ was a charitable event, held to benefit the Intrepid Center – a medical center which helps U.S. veterans who suffered a traumatic brain injury. Ironically, several matches on the card ended with brutal concussion-inducing knockouts, along with other injuries.
Jim Miller vs. Matt Wiman (155 lbs)
This fight had a last-minute substitution: Wiman was originally slated to face Frankie Edgar, who pulled out with an injury only a week prior to the fight. Jim Miller stepped in on short notice, and performed admirably. After getting the better of Wiman in early exchanges, Miller pulled guard as Wiman was going to a takedown, and secured a very tight guillotine. Miller rolled over into mount as he attempted to finish the choke; Wiman held on to Miller’s trunks despite repeated warnings from the referee Mario Yamasaki. As Mario finally detached Wiman’s hand from Miller’s shorts, Matt was able to slip out of the guillotine. After briefly achieving the top position Wiman let Miller up and Jim finished the round strong on the feet.
The pace slowed down a bit in the remaining two rounds, but Miller thoroughly dominated Wiman both standing and on the ground for the rest of the match. Wiman hung in there but was never able to get an advantage, and lost all three rounds in a unanimous decision.
Fight Grade: 4.5/5
Aftermath: A dominant performance from Miller in his second UFC bout should earn him a spot in the lightweight Top 10. Wiman’s win streak is over with what has to be a very disappointing loss after his last performance. Both fighters earned an additional $30,000 for the official ‘Fight of the Night’.
MMA Rankings Updated: 12/7/08
Notable Info
- New rankings reflect changes due to shows from the previous week and weekend, including those from Pancrase, WEC, GCM, and many others.
- Note: I only have partial results from some shows.
Other interesting notes…
- I always get excited when I see new Flyweights entering the Top 25. Sad, I know. Last week we had one, and this week we have two! Isao Hirose came out of nowhere and enters at #10, while Jucie Formiga gets positioned at #22 with only his 2nd win. Its a weak division, what can I say?
- Bantamweight and Featherweight saw a ton of movement. Make sure you check those lists out.
- Tito Ortiz is on the slide, as he lost a position and now sits at #14 in the Light Heavyweight division.
- Stefan Struve (16-2) keeps inching up the Heavyweight division slowly, and he’s now at #46. Maybe this guy can score a big fight so we can see if he’s worthy of being in the Top 50.
WEC 37 Review
WEC 37 featured featherweight and bantamweight bouts on the televised portion of the card, and was highlighted by the bantamweight champion Miguel Torres defending his belt against the undefeated challenger Manny Tapia.
Joseph Benavidez vs. Danny Martinez (145 lbs)
The first televised bout turned out to be rather lackluster. Martinez worked hard for a takedown in the first round, but was unable to complete and ended up on his back as a result of a throw at the end round. In the second and third, Martines gave up on the takedown attempts and instead began swinging at Benavidez with widely telegraphed shots, most of which did not find their target. Benavidez on the other hand peppered Martinez with multiple combinations of punches and kicks, none of which seemingly did much damage. Benavidez won a unanimous decision: 30-27 on all three scorecards. This was the first MMA bout that I’ve seen where a woman (Kim Winslow) was the referee.
Fight grade: 2/5
MMA Rankings Updated: 11/30/08
Notable Info
- New rankings reflect changes due to shows from the previous week and weekend, including those from Shooto, Phoenix Fight, ZST, M-1, KOTC, and others.
Other interesting notes…
- Randy Couture drops to #5 in the Heavyweight division.
- Megumi Fujii is the new queen of the Women’s Open rankings due to Tara LaRosa’s inactivity.
- Takashi Nakakura steps into the crowded Top 20 of the Lightweight division with a win this weekend, improving his record to 11-2-1.
- Also at Lightweight, undefeated Rory McDonald scored a win over Clay French, which bumps him into the Top 100 at #65.
- Former Welterweight, Drew Fickett stepped down to the Lightweight division with a win, but is still ranked outside of the Top 100.
- With the weekend’s Shooto show comes an interesting potential match-up in the Featherweight division between Hatsu Hioki and Takeshi Inoue, who are in a virtual tie with one another. The decisive winner of that match-up would (at this time) be a clear #3 in the division.
- Jared McMahan gets his 10th win, moving to 10-0-1. He is now #22 in the Bantamweight division and on a similar career path to that of Abel Cullum, who lost valiantly to Wilson Reis earlier this year.
- A rare new entry into the Flyweight Top 25 was made by Atsushi Takeuchi, who scored a win over a decent opponent.
A look back…. at Lightweights.
The FightMatrix Lightweight division is one where there aren’t clearly distinguishable tiers of fighters. Subjectively, you can probably make a case for 30 different guys being in the Top 15. Jumping back two years, the situation wasn’t much different. In fact, it was even tighter.
November 29, 2006
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Points | |
| 1 |  Takanori GomiLast Fight: 11/5/2006 [PRIDE] |
26-3-0 |
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| 2 | Mitsuhiro Ishida Last Fight: 11/5/2006 [PRIDE] |
14-2-1 |
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| 3 |  Marcus AurelioLast Fight: 11/5/2006 [PRIDE] |
14-4-0 |
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| 4 | Tatsuya Kawajiri Last Fight: 10/14/2006 [Shooto] |
19-3-2 |
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| 5 | Hayato Sakurai Last Fight: 8/26/2006 [PRIDE] |
29-7-2 |
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| 6 | Gesias Cavalcante Last Fight: 10/9/2006 [K-1] |
15-1-1 |
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| 7 | Vitor Ribeiro Last Fight: 9/30/2006 [Cage Rage] |
16-1-0 |
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| 8 | Shinya Aoki Last Fight: 11/5/2006 [PRIDE] |
10-2-0 |
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| 9 |  Gilbert MelendezLast Fight: 8/26/2006 [PRIDE] |
13-0-0 |
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| 10 | Sean Sherk Last Fight: 10/14/2006 [UFC] |
33-2-1 |
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MMA Rankings Updated: 11/23/08
Notable Info
- New rankings reflect changes due to shows from the previous week and weekend, including those from Shooto, Strike force, Ring of Combat, M-1, and others.
- Added a few hundred old bouts that were not being considered. This will cause minor fluctuations in the rankings.
The case for Dos Santos at #7
I’ve seen a lot of negative comments on MMA forums about Junior dos Santos being ranked #7 at Heavyweight. At first, I agreed… but after analyzing the Heavyweight division and reminding myself of a core principle we abide by, the ranking makes perfect sense.
Before reading the rest of this post, please consider that core principle I just spoke of:
- A winning fighter is placed over the losing fighter by a margin that is dependent on the type of win.
A look back…. at Welterweights.
St. Pierre was still the king, but the rest of the division looked a bit different than it does today.
November 19, 2006
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Points | |
| 1 |  Georges St. PierreLast Fight: 11/18/2006 [UFC] |
13-1-0 |
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| 2 | Matt Hughes Last Fight: 11/18/2006 [UFC] |
41-5-0 |
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| 3 | Diego Sanchez Last Fight: 8/17/2006 [UFC] |
16-0-0 |
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| 4 | Jon Fitch Last Fight: 10/14/2006 [UFC] |
15-2-0 |
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| 5 | Jake Shields Last Fight: 9/9/2006 [Full Contact Promotions] |
16-4-1 |
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| 6 | B.J. Penn Last Fight: 9/23/2006 [UFC] |
10-4-1 |
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| 7 |  Karo ParisyanLast Fight: 8/17/2006 [UFC] |
15-4-0 |
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| 8 | Rory Markham Last Fight: 11/2/2006 [IFL] |
12-2-0 |
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| 9 | Nick Thompson Last Fight: 10/21/2006 [Twin Cities Throwdown] |
29-9-1 |
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| 10 | Josh Burkman Last Fight: 7/8/2006 [UFC] |
17-4-0 |
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UFC 91 Review
UFC 91 featured the return of the briefly retired heavyweight champion Randy Couture, taking on the challenger Brock Lesnar in the first leg of a four-man heavyweight title tournament. The matchup was billed as ‘biggest in UFC history’ and so the undercard of this event was overlooked: the only bout besides the main event to receive any publicity was a #1 contender eliminator between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson for a shot at the lightweight title. Three other lightweight bouts took place in the preliminary portion of the event.
Nate Quarry vs. Demian Maia (185 lbs)
The televised card began with a striker vs. grappler matchup, and the grappler Maia wasted no time bringing the fight to the ground. From there he easily passed Quarry’s guard and achieved mount, then back control, and finished with a rear naked choke forcing a tapout less than halfway through the first round.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Aftermath: Maia once again demonstrates impeccable jiu-jitsu, gaining his fourth victory in the UFC. Since there are no clear-cut contenders for Anderson Silva’s middleweight belt, undefeated Maia can make a good case for demanding a title shot. However he instead asks for Michael Bisping in the post-fight interview, stirring up rumors that he may become the coach on the next season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, opposite of Bisping.
Quarry suffers his second loss in the UFC, dashing any hopes of title contendership in the foreseeable future. Perhaps he can take on Kendall Grove in his next bout.
MMA Rankings Updated: 11/16/08
Notable Info
- New rankings reflect changes due to shows from the weekend, including UFC and JEWELS.