Obviously, opposition strength is an extremely important characteristic in determining who becomes a top-ranked fighter and who holds onto their high ranking in times of bad performances.

Here is the Top 10 list for fighters with the best opposition strength since 1/1/2007.  The ratings were normalized by division and a minimum of 3 fights is required for listing.

1> Dan Henderson (161.8)

2> Forrest Griffin (126.6)

3> Yasuhiro Urushitani (122.7)

4> Jens Pulver (120.8)

5> Quinton Jackson (120.7)

6> Mamoru Yamaguchi (112.1)

7> Wanderlei Silva (108.9)

8> Matt Hughes (105.9)

9> Georges St. Pierre (104.1)

10> Gabriel Gonzaga (102.8)

After the inaugural season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality series became an instant television hit, Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship quickly rounded up another load of up-and-coming MMA fighters and filmed another season.  The second season of ‘TUF’ featured heavyweights and welterweights, and notably did not feature the usual feud between coaches.  Instead, the coaches were friends, one-time training partners, and both UFC title holders at the time: Rich Franklin and Matt Hughes.  Let’s look at how the careers of the participants turned out since then.  I will examine the heavyweight class first, and the welterweights next week.

All in all, the heavyweight edition of TUF has been a failed experiment.  Of the ten fighters who participated, only two are still fighting in the UFC and both dropped down to 205 lbs, as did Mike Whitehead who has had an impressive win streak outside of the Octagon.   None of the true heavyweights of the group enjoyed great success in MMA since the Season 2 finale.

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Notable Info

• Ratings updated with effects from recent shows.  The most notable one being UFC 86.

We have a new king at Light Heavyweight and a new Top 10 entrant at Lightweight!

Notable Info

•  Ranks show the effects from the addition of recent shows and some old ones.

Here are the odds we dug up for the Griffin/Aurelio match-up:

Tyson Griffin -350 vs. Marcus Aurelio +250

Translated to an implied chance of winning, these odds suggest Griffin has a 78% chance of prevailing in the bout.

As for the FightMatrix points system, the difference between these two fighters is practically nothing.

Rank	Fighter	Record	Points
14	Marcus Aurelio Last Fight: 4/2/2008 [UFC]	16-5-0	102
15	Tyson Griffin Last Fight: 2/2/2008 [UFC]	11-1-0	100

We’re not necessarily declaring Aurelio as the winner, but we know a good bet when we see one.

Notable Info

• Minor bugfix affecting movement of those around the starter debut level.  This will cause some fluctuations in lower ranked fighters.
• Effects from quite a few shows: UFC TUF 7, KOTC Canada, Shooto Disco 5, RAW Combat, SportFight 23, Banner Promotions, etc.
• Effects from some older shows/bouts added.

This is a pretty big update, affecting just about every division!  A few minor shows were missed because the results were not available when I ran the latest update (Invincible, Phoenix Fight, GCM, FX3)

Last week, I examined the top contenders of the UFC’s Welterweight Division. Now, let’s look at the ten highest-ranked welterweights currently competing in other MMA organizations. The first two names on this list, WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit and his uncrowned Elite XC counterpart Jake Shields, are in a virtual tie – with Condit ahead by mere fractions of a percent due to more recent activity. Both men demonstrated the ability to perform at a very high level, and either could potentialy be ranked in the top five, however with all remaining top ten fighters locked into UFC contracts, Shields and Condit are held back by not being able to fight competitors at or above their level.

The remainder of this list is comprised of veterans who’ve been around the block many times, never quite reaching the top of their weightclass but ready to give any top contender a tough matchup. Several hold championship titles in smaller promotions, and most are familiar faces to American fans, having appeared in the UFC, IFL, and the now defunct BodogFIGHT league. Keep Reading

Fightmatrix.com MMA rankings are now officially recognized by the North American Boxing Council (http://nabc.net/) 

A word from the NABC President:

The NABC was the first boxing organization to sanction a MMA title fight when Jessie Chilton defeated Eddie Sanchez at Legends of Fighting 8 in Indianapolis to win the NABC 185lb MMA championship. NABC mixed martial arts championship matches have also been held by California Xtreme Fighting and have been televised on the HDNet cable channel and on Cage Fury Fighting Championships pay per view broadcasts.

The NABC has never charged MMA promoters or fighters for sanctioning title matchs. Our revenue model is based on sponsorships which allows us to bring greater exposure to fighters at no cost to them.

Your creation of an unbiased computerized MMA ratings system which isn’t influenced by promotions or broadcasters is another step to provide exposure to fighters at no cost to them and I’ll help pass the word along that it should be recognized as an official ranking.

Best Regards,
Ed Hutchison
President, NABC

Thanks Mr. Hutchison & NABC!

Notable Info

• Effects from EliteXC, Adrenaline 1, and DREAM 4.

In the past week, a major change of guard occurred in the UFC’s storied welterweight division, as the long time former champion Matt Hughes was dismantled and knocked out by Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves. With Alves establishing himself as the top contender to the winner of the upcoming title bout between the seemingly unstoppable champion Georges St. Pierre and the challenger Jon Fitch (currently on a record-tying eight win streak in the UFC), it’s a good time to take a step back and look at the current state of the 170 lbs weight class.

Between stars like St. Pierre, veterans such as Hughes & Matt Serra, top contenders like Alves and Fitch, and newcomers such as Dan Hardy & David Baron, UFC has a tight lock on the welterweight division. According to the latest Fightmatrix.com ranking, all of the Top 5, 8 of the Top 10, and 14 of the Top 20 welterweights in the world are currently under UFC contract. The division is so deep that there are over 30 ranked welterweights competing in the UFC today! Here’s a look at the top echelon of the 170 division:

The Champion: [#1] Georges St. Pierre

MMA Record: 16-2 (10-2 UFC)

Last bout: Defeated Matt Serra by TKO at UFC 83

Next bout: A title defense against Jon Fitch at UFC 87

The Canadian superstar has come a long way since earning a decision victory over Karo Parisyan in his Octagon debut. After losing his first title shot to then-champion Matt Hughes, St.Pierre steamrolled his opponents, stopping most in the first or second round. Georges finally received another shot at Hughes, and stopped him in the second round to win his first UFC title. He suffered a setback with an upset loss to Matt Serra in the following bout, but avenged his loss and regained the belt in UFC 83 (the first UFC event held in Canada). St. Pierre will look toward making his first title defense when he takes on Jon Fitch at UFC 87.

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