Fight Matrix

2018 Awards: Rookies of the Year

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Jason

You can’t argue with a 7-0 record in a calendar year and his opposition has been very good for a rookie fighter. We got the most recent win in the DB just a few minutes ago, so I expect him to get in or near the Top 100 on the next update.

Honorable Mentions: Khamzat Chimaev

Women: Kayla Harrison

It is tough to get excited over a fighter without an officially recognized division, but her 2018 performances have been good enough to net her this award.

Honorable Mention: Kay Hansen

2018 Awards: Most Noteworthy Match of the Year

Posted on January 5, 2019 by Jason

Most Noteworthy Match of the Year:

Henry Cejudo SD(5) Demetrious Johnson

The “most noteworthy” match of the year isn’t about box office or popularity, instead it is a pretty basic calculation — a sum of quality. This year’s choice is hard to argue against.. a #1 P4P fighter vs. a strong top contender for “the” title. It is a shame that Johnson is going to One, where it seems his career will likely wither away.

Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)

Thursday, December 31st 2026: Rizin FF Super Rizin 6: Shiwasu no Owarinagoya Gekokujo Matsuri

[#1 W105] Natalia Kuziutina

[#4 W105] Saori Oshima

Last Fight Date: 9/10/2026 [Rizin Fighting Federation]
Last Opponent: [#18 W105] Rena Kubota
Last 5: W W W W W

Last Fight Date: 7/18/2026 [Rizin Fighting Federation]
Last Opponent: [#13 W105] Ye Ji Lee
Last 5: L W L W W

Sunday, December 13th 2026: Deep - 135 Impact

[#3 SW] Sukai China

[#4 SW] Jo Arai

Last Fight Date: 5/04/2026 [DEEP]
Last Opponent: [#6 SW] Sora Sugiyama
Last 5: W W W W W

Last Fight Date: 9/13/2026 [DEEP]
Last Opponent: [#23 SW] Daichi Kitakata
Last 5: L L W L W

Sunday, December 13th 2026: Deep Tokyo Impact 2026 6th Round

[#6 SW] Sora Sugiyama

[#10 SW] Goal Makino

Last Fight Date: 9/20/2026 [DEEP]
Last Opponent: [NR] Musashi Musashi
Last 5: W W W L W

Last Fight Date: 9/06/2026 [DEEP]
Last Opponent: [#42 SW] Toshiya Takashima
Last 5: W W W W W

Featured Fighters

[#18 W125]	Lucia Szabova	[#1 WW]	Islam Makhachev
[#18 LW]	Renato Carneiro	[#1 FW]	Alexander Volkanovski
[#13 LW]	Tom Nolan	[#26 WW]	Jacobe Smith
[#102 W125]	Tainara Lisboa	[#1 LW]	Justin Gaethje
[#2 LW]	Ilia Topuria	[#8 HW]	Josh Hokit

2018 Awards: Comeback & Most Improved Fighter of the Year

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Jason

As a refresher, our “Comeback” award is about coming back from inactivity or major injury (that we know about) and in doing so, really impressing. You can see more details at the bottom of the post about specific qualifiers.

Comeback Fighter of the Year: Magomed Magomedkerimov

Magomedkerimov comes back in 2018 from nearly 2 years of inactivity, puts up a 5-0 record for 2018 and wins the $1 million prize over Ray Cooper III, who is our most improved fighter of the year. Chad Mendes had this award in the bag, but his recent loss and retirement freed up the award.

Most Improved Fighter of the Year: Ray Cooper III

A relative unknown, Ray Cooper III went from a basically unranked fighter, to a Top 50 fighter. Cooper and Magomedkerimov fed off of each other in these awards to some extent, but both are deserving.

2018 Awards: Upsets of the Year

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Jason

Note: We have two ways that we derive biggest “upsets” based on points difference between winner and loser.

“Most Noteworthy” (X minus Y)
“Most Lopsided” (X divided by Y)

Most Noteworthy: Vadim Nemkov SD(3) Phil Davis

Nemkov, a virtual unknown, manages to take a close decision over the perennial Top 10, Phil Davis.

Most Lopsided: Jared Cannonier TKO(2) David Branch

About 2.5 years prior, Cannonier fought at 241 pounds. Here, in his Middleweight debut, pulled off quite an impressive upset.

Current MMA Rankings Updated (12-31-2018)

Posted on January 1, 2019 by Jason

Notable Info

End-of-year current rankings update, even though it didn’t finish until 2019.
2018 awards to come in the next week or so.

Current & All-Time MMA Rankings Updated (12-30-2018)

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Jason

Notable Info

Jon Jones jumped from #5 to #3 on the Absolute list, after his win at last night’s UFC. He is in a virtual tie with Jose Aldo, Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko for the runner-up position.
Regardless of Dana White’s opinions of the All-Time standing of Amanda Nunes, she remains at #3 on the All-Time Women’s list, as her career achievements are not yet at the level of Ronda Rousey or Cris Cyborg. However, last night’s win gave her a comfortable lead over the #4, Joanna Jedrzedczyk, whose name I almost spelled correctly on the first try.

Fight Matrix Program – UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 (12-29-2018)

Posted on December 23, 2018 by Jason

Light Heavyweight Championship (205)
[*] Jon Jones (22-1-0, -279) vs. [*] Alexander Gustafsson (18-4-0, +223)
Jon Jones is the All-Time #1 ranked Light Heavyweight and #5 ranked Absolute fighter.
Alexander Gustafsson is the All-Time #20 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Jon Jones (2-0-0, 1 NC)
2017-07-29: NC vs. [#1HW+/#2DD/#1P4P] Daniel Cormier (22-1-0)
2016-04-23: W vs. [#17LHW] Ovince St. Preux (23-12-0) via UD (50-44, 50-45, 50-45)
2015-01-03: W vs. [#1HW+/#2DD/#1P4P] Daniel Cormier (22-1-0) via UD (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

Last 3 Fights: Alexander Gustafsson (2-1-0)
2017-05-28: W vs. [#5LHW] Glover Teixeira (27-7-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:07 of round 5
2016-09-03: W vs. [#8LHW] Jan Blachowicz (23-7-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2015-10-03: L vs. [#1HW+/#2DD/#1P4P] Daniel Cormier (22-1-0) via SD (47-48, 48-47, 49-46)

Odds Favorite (Implied): Jon Jones – Win%: 70.39
Elo Favorite (Standard): Jon Jones (2366.85) [+318.97] – Win%: 81.11
Elo Favorite (Modified): Jon Jones (2367.71) [+291.36] – Win%: 78.17
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jon Jones 518, Alexander Gustafsson 580
Previous Match-up Record: Jon Jones leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 4 win(s) against common opposition.
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Women Featherweight Championship (145)
[#1BW/#1DD/#1P4P] Amanda Nunes (16-4-0, +211) vs. [#1/#2DD/#3P4P] Cristiane Justino (20-1-0, -264)
Amanda Nunes is the All-Time #3 ranked Women’s fighter.
Cristiane Justino is the All-Time #1 ranked Women’s fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Amanda Nunes (3-0-0)
2018-05-12: W vs. [#6BW] Raquel Pennington (9-7-0) via TKO (Elbows and Punches) in 2:36 of round 5
2017-09-09: W vs. [#1FLY/#4DD/#5P4P] Valentina Shevchenko (16-3-0) via SD (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
2016-12-30: W vs. [*] Ronda Rousey (12-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:48 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Cristiane Justino (3-0-0)
2018-03-03: W vs. [#11BW] Yana Kunitskaya (11-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:25 of round 1
2017-12-30: W vs. [#3BW/#9DD] Holly Holm (12-4-0) via UD (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
2017-07-29: W vs. [#13BW] Tonya Evinger (19-7-0) via TKO in 1:56 of round 3

Odds Favorite (Implied): Cristiane Justino – Win%: 69.28
Elo Favorite (Standard): Amanda Nunes (1895.59) [+10.50] – Win%: 51.20
Elo Favorite (Modified): Cristiane Justino (1890.09) [+45.36] – Win%: 54.95
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Amanda Nunes 231, Cristiane Justino 301
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 2 win(s) against common opposition.
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Welterweight (170)
[#41] Carlos Condit (30-12-0, +150) vs. [#33LW] Michael Chiesa (14-4-0, -181)
Carlos Condit is the All-Time #6 ranked Welterweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Carlos Condit (0-3-0)
2018-04-14: L vs. [#20WW] Alex Oliveira (20-6-1) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 3:17 of round 2
2017-12-30: L vs. [#17WW] Neil Magny (21-7-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
2016-08-27: L vs. [#15WW] Demian Maia (25-9-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:52 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Michael Chiesa (1-2-0)
2018-07-07: L vs. [#10LW] Anthony Pettis (21-8-0) via Submission (Triangle Armbar) in 0:52 of round 2
2017-06-25: L vs. [#7LW] Kevin Lee (17-4-0) via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:37 of round 1
2016-04-16: W vs. [#19LW] Beneil Dariush (15-4-1) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:20 of round 2

Odds Favorite (Implied): Michael Chiesa – Win%: 61.68
Elo Favorite (Standard): Michael Chiesa (1806.78) [+40.94] – Win%: 54.66
Elo Favorite (Modified): Michael Chiesa (1781.86) [+3.84] – Win%: 50.42
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Carlos Condit 259, Michael Chiesa 175
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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Current MMA Rankings Updated (12-23-2018)

Posted on December 23, 2018 by Jason

Current MMA Rankings Updated (12-16-2018)

Posted on December 16, 2018 by Jason

Notable Info

Fixed bug which incorrectly weighted lopsided decisions. This affected over 500 bouts, so there will be fluctuations throughout the rankings.

Fight Matrix Program – UFC on FOX 31: Iaquinta vs. Lee 2 (12-15-2018)

Posted on December 13, 2018 by Jason

Lightweight (155)
[#6] Kevin Lee (17-3-0, -318) vs. [#16] Al Iaquinta (14-4-1, +250)
Kevin Lee is the All-Time #40 ranked Lightweight fighter.
Al Iaquinta is the All-Time #47 ranked Lightweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Kevin Lee (2-1-0)
2018-04-21: W vs. [#10LW] Edson Barboza (19-6-0) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in 2:18 of round 5
2017-10-07: L vs. [#2LW/#8DD/#9P4P] Tony Ferguson (24-3-0) via Submission (Triangle Choke) in 4:02 of round 3
2017-06-25: W vs. [#31LW] Michael Chiesa (14-4-0) via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:37 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Al Iaquinta (2-1-0)
2018-04-07: L vs. [#1LW/#5DD/#8P4P] Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0-0) via UD (50-44, 50-43, 50-43)
2017-04-22: W vs. [#56WW] Diego Sanchez (28-11-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:38 of round 1
2015-04-04: W vs. [#11WW] Jorge Masvidal (32-13-0) via SD (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

Odds Favorite (Implied): Kevin Lee – Win%: 72.69
Elo Favorite (Standard): Kevin Lee (2106.90) [+111.50] – Win%: 62.47
Elo Favorite (Modified): Kevin Lee (2061.22) [+132.84] – Win%: 64.14
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Kevin Lee 238, Al Iaquinta 252
Previous Match-up Record: Al Iaquinta leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Kevin Lee leads 1-0
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Lightweight (155)
[#10] Edson Barboza (19-6-0, -114) vs. [#17] Dan Hooker (17-7-0, -110)
Edson Barboza is the All-Time #27 ranked Lightweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Edson Barboza (1-2-0)
2018-04-21: L vs. [#6LW] Kevin Lee (17-3-0) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in 2:18 of round 5
2017-12-30: L vs. [#1LW/#5DD/#8P4P] Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0-0) via UD (30-25, 30-25, 30-24)
2017-03-11: W vs. [#19LW] Beneil Dariush (15-4-1) via TKO in 4:35 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Dan Hooker (3-0-0)
2018-07-07: W vs. [#28LW] Gilbert Burns (14-3-0) via KO (Punch) in 2:28 of round 1
2018-04-21: W vs. [#40LW] Jim Miller (29-12-0) via KO (Knee) in 3:00 of round 1
2017-12-30: W vs. [#182LW] Marc Diakiese (12-3-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 0:42 of round 3

Odds Favorite (Implied): Edson Barboza – Win%: 50.42
Elo Favorite (Standard): Edson Barboza (1943.31) [+93.86] – Win%: 60.56
Elo Favorite (Modified): Edson Barboza (1925.90) [+83.72] – Win%: 59.06
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Edson Barboza 238, Dan Hooker 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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Bantamweight (135)
[#4FLY] Sergio Pettis (17-4-0, +142) vs. [#22] Rob Font (15-4-0, -172)

Last 3 Fights: Sergio Pettis (1-2-0)
2018-10-06: L vs. [#3FLY] Jussier da Silva (22-5-0) via UD (30-26, 29-28, 29-28)
2018-06-09: W vs. [#5FLY] Joseph Benavidez (26-5-0) via SD (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
2017-12-02: L vs. [#1FLY/#6DD/#6P4P] Henry Cejudo (13-2-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Last 3 Fights: Rob Font (1-2-0)
2018-07-07: L vs. [#6BW] Raphael Assuncao (27-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2018-01-20: W vs. [#56BW] Thomas Almeida (21-3-0) via TKO (Head Kick and Punches) in 2:24 of round 2
2017-10-28: L vs. [#11BW] Pedro Munhoz (17-3-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 4:03 of round 1

Odds Favorite (Implied): Rob Font – Win%: 60.48
Elo Favorite (Standard): Sergio Pettis (1753.24) [+29.37] – Win%: 53.35
Elo Favorite (Modified): Rob Font (1715.40) [+18.67] – Win%: 52.04
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Sergio Pettis 70, Rob Font 161
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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