Fight Matrix

Biggest Risers in Current MMA Rankings Update (07-31-2016)

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Richard Mann

Fight Matrix updates the Current MMA Rankings once a week. As the deepest and most inclusive ranking system in the sport, fights all over the globe can have a major impact on the rankings. Let’s take a look at the biggest risers in the divisional rankings. The number in parenthesis is the number of spots that the fighter moved up from the last issued rankings. For the purpose of this article, fighters who were unranked in the previous ranking iteration are excluded.

Heavyweight
Anthony Hamilton #40 (39)
Hamilton had the best striking performance of UFC career and finished Damian Grabowski in only 14 seconds. At #40 he has nearly returned to his Highest Quarterly Ranking which was #35 in 2014.

Light Heavyweight
Leonardo Silva de Oliveira #157 (59)
Oliveira last fought on June 25 when he scored a second-round knockout over Alexandre Nunes Brandao The Brazilian prospect is not 6-0 with five knockouts and one submission.

Middleweight
Trevin Giles #163 (70)
On Last Friday’s Resurrection Fighting Alliance show, Giles made his promotional debut and took home a submission victory over Josh Clark. The victory improved his professional record to 7-0 including four submissions and three knockouts. Giles is scheduled to return at Legacy FC 59 on Sept. 16 against Bellator veteran Isaac Villanueva.

Welterweight
Wendell de Oliveira Marques #215 (184)
Marques jumped up 184 spots in the rankings after receiving credit for his victory over Gilmar Dutra Lima at Imortal FC 5 “Road to Pancrase.” The X-Gym product has been competing professionally since 2006 and has built a 26-10 record. He has gone 2-1 since being released from the UFC in 2015 following losses to Santiago Ponzinibbio and Darren Till.
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All-Time MMA Rankings Updated (08-01-2016)

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Jason

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

Fight Matrix Program: UFC Fight Night – Caceres vs. Rodriguez (08-06-2016)

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Jason

Featherweight (145)
[#29] Yair Rodriguez (8-1-0, -296) vs. [#73] Alex Caceres (12-8-0, +236)

Last 3 Fights: Yair Rodriguez (3-0-0)
2016-04-23: W vs. [#75FW] Andre Fili (15-4-0) via KO (Head Kick) in 2:15 of round 2
2015-10-03: W vs. [#81FW] Dan Hooker (13-6-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
2015-06-13: W vs. [#107FW] Charles Rosa (11-2-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Last 3 Fights: Alex Caceres (2-1-0)
2016-06-04: W vs. [#94FW] Cole Miller (21-10-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
2016-01-30: W vs. [#669FW] Masio Fullen (10-6-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2015-06-06: L vs. [#46BW] Francisco Rivera (11-7-0) via KO (Punches) in 0:21 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Yair Rodriguez 105, Alex Caceres 63
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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Featherweight (145)
[#17] Dennis Bermudez (15-5-0, -214) vs. [#68] Rony Mariano Bezerra (14-5-0, +175)

Last 3 Fights: Dennis Bermudez (1-2-0)
2016-02-21: W vs. [#22FW] Tatsuya Kawajiri (35-9-2) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2015-07-11: L vs. [#9FW] Jeremy Stephens (25-12-0) via TKO (Knee and Punches) in 0:32 of round 3
2014-11-15: L vs. [#8FW] Ricardo Lamas (16-5-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 3:18 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Rony Mariano Bezerra (1-1-0, 1 NC)
2015-05-30: NC vs. [#95FW] Damon Jackson (9-1-1)
2014-05-31: L vs. [#128FW] Robbie Peralta (18-7-0) via SD (29-28, 30-27, 27-30)
2014-03-23: W vs. [#67FW] Steven Siler (29-15-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:17 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Dennis Bermudez 167, Rony Mariano Bezerra 434
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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Middleweight (185)
[#15] Thales Leites (25-6-0, -189) vs. [#22] Chris Camozzi (24-10-0, +160)

Last 3 Fights: Thales Leites (1-2-0)
2016-02-27: L vs. [#6MW] Gegard Mousasi (39-6-2) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
2015-07-18: L vs. [#1MW/#3DD/#7P4P] Michael Bisping (29-7-0) via SD (49-46, 48-47, 47-48)
2015-01-31: W vs. [#24MW] Tim Boetsch (19-10-0) via Technical Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 3:45 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Chris Camozzi (3-0-0)
2016-05-29: W vs. [#55MW] Vitor Miranda (12-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2016-02-21: W vs. [#124MW] Joe Riggs (41-17-0) via TKO (Knees) in 0:26 of round 1
2015-08-08: W vs. [#67MW] Tom Watson (17-9-0) via UD (29-27, 29-27, 30-26)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Thales Leites 161, Chris Camozzi 69
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Thales Leites leads 3-1
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Current MMA Rankings Updated (07-31-2016)

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Jason

Most Inactivity Before UFC Title Fight

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Jason

Fighter	Days	Result	Date
Carla Esparza^	706	WIN	2014-12-12
Jorge Patino	663	LOSS	1999-01-08
Cain Velasquez*	602	LOSS	2015-06-13
Georges St. Pierre*	567	WIN	2012-11-17
Vitor Belfort	560	LOSS	2015-05-23
Tyron Woodley	546	????	2016-07-30
Rose Namajunas^	517	LOSS	2014-12-12
Vitor Belfort	504	LOSS	2011-02-05
Dominick Cruz~	477	WIN	2016-01-17
Jon Jones~	476	WIN	2016-04-23

* – Champion
~ – Stripped of Championship Prior
^ – Was in recent TUF

Excludes tournament bouts

Fight Matrix Program: UFC 201 (07-30-2016)

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Jason

Welterweight Championship (170)
[#1/#10DD/#3P4P] Robbie Lawler (27-10-0, -210) vs. [*] Tyron Woodley (15-3-0, +171)
Robbie Lawler is the All-Time #3 ranked Welterweight and #18 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Robbie Lawler (3-0-0)
2016-01-02: W vs. [#5WW] Carlos Condit (30-9-0) via SD (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
2015-07-11: W vs. [#9WW] Rory MacDonald (18-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:00 of round 5
2014-12-06: W vs. [#10WW] Johny Hendricks (17-5-0) via SD (47-48, 48-47, 49-46)

Last 3 Fights: Tyron Woodley (2-1-0)
2015-01-31: W vs. [#6WW] Kelvin Gastelum (12-2-0) via SD (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
2014-08-23: W vs. [#14WW] Dong Hyun Kim (21-3-1) via TKO (Punches) in 1:01 of round 1
2014-06-14: L vs. [#9WW] Rory MacDonald (18-4-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Robbie Lawler 210, Tyron Woodley 546
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Robbie Lawler leads 4-2
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Women Strawweight (115)
[#6] Rose Namajunas (5-2-0, -237) vs. [#10] Karolina Kowalkiewicz (9-0-0, +192)

Last 3 Fights: Rose Namajunas (3-0-0)
2016-04-16: W vs. [#16SW] Tecia Torres (7-1-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2015-12-10: W vs. [#33SW] Paige VanZant (6-2-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:25 of round 5
2015-10-03: W vs. [#3SW] Angela Hill (5-3-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:47 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Karolina Kowalkiewicz (3-0-0)
2016-05-08: W vs. [#56SW] Heather Clark (7-5-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
2015-12-19: W vs. [#12SW] Randa Markos (6-3-0) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
2015-02-21: W vs. [#8FLY] Kalindra Faria (17-5-1) via SD (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Rose Namajunas 105, Karolina Kowalkiewicz 83
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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Welterweight (170)
[#13] Matt Brown (20-14-0, -310) vs. [#32] Jake Ellenberger (30-11-0, +248)
Jake Ellenberger is the All-Time #19 ranked Welterweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Matt Brown (1-2-0)
2016-05-14: L vs. [#3WW] Demian Maia (23-6-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:31 of round 3
2015-07-11: W vs. [#21WW] Tim Means (25-7-1) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 4:44 of round 1
2015-03-14: L vs. [#10WW] Johny Hendricks (17-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Last 3 Fights: Jake Ellenberger (1-2-0)
2016-01-30: L vs. [#25WW] Tarec Saffiedine (16-5-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2015-07-12: L vs. [#2WW] Stephen Thompson (13-1-0) via KO (Spinning Hook Kick) in 4:29 of round 1
2015-02-28: W vs. [*] Josh Koscheck (17-10-0) via Submission (North South Choke) in 4:20 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Matt Brown 77, Jake Ellenberger 182
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Matt Brown leads 3-2
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UFC Newcomer Against UFC Newcomer

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Ked Becker

This weekend there was a bout between two heavyweight prospects: Francis Ngannou and Bojan Mihajlovic. Ngannou had two fights in the UFC prior to this one, while for Mihajlovic this was his Octagon debut. Both were coming off of impressive win streaks outside of the Octagon, but as we know the real test is when they come to the UFC.

So basically, the UFC paired two unknowns with impressive win streaks who are in their initial stages of their UFC careers against each other. This is not the first time UFC has done this; they actually tend to do that quite often.

I don’t understand why they do that. Of course, these fights have the potential of being fun fights, but that’s true for many fights. There is a lot of reason why not to do that, in my opinion. I am not addressing specifically the Ngannou – Mihajlovic fight, but the recurring match making of two UFC newcomers on winning streaks.

First of all, these kind of fights don’t really tell us a whole lot, at the end of the day. I mean, those are two fighters who were successful outside of the UFC against mediocre or weak competition. They come to the UFC, where they can fight better competition, fighters that are known to be good or decent, at least. Instead the UFC pits them against one another. Well, what do we learn when one fighter who beat nobodys beats another fighter who beat nobodys? Not much. We don’t really know what any of them is worth. They might be the two best guys in the world, so the fact that one of them lost to the other guy who will be champion one day, doesn’t mean he is not good. And vice versa, they might both be really weak compared to UFC caliber competition, so the fact that one of them beat the other doesn’t mean they deserve to stay in the UFC.

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Biggest Risers in Current MMA Rankings Update (07-24-2016)

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Richard Mann

Heavyweight
Francis Ngannou #50 (15)
After three UFC fights, Ngannou has made his way into the top 50. Last Saturday, he scored his third knockout in the promotion in only 94 seconds against debuting Bojan Mihajlovic. It will be interesting to see how the UFC matches him going forward since he is already 29 years old and still somewhat raw.

Middleweight
Chris Harris #163 (24)
Harris scored a first-round rear-naked-choke submission over Matt Foster on the undercard of Bellator 159. With the victory, he improved his professional record to 7-0. The Kansas native is now also 2-0 on Bellator undercards. He previously defeated Julian Marquez at Bellator 150.

Welterweight
Mike Perry #107 (101)
On May 14, Perry scored a second-round knockout over David Mundell in the main event of a Battleground show. The Team Sparta member holds a 6-0 record with all of his wins coming via knockout.
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Current MMA Rankings Updated (07-24-2016)

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Jason

TUF 24: How They Stack Up

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Oleg

Another season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality series looms on the horizon. This will be season 24, not counting the various unnumbered international spin-offs like TUF: Brazil and TUF: Latin America. In my opinion, this show is long past its expiration date and I stopped watching many years ago. However, this season will be a little different than most: coached by top UFC flyweights Joe Benavidez and Henry Cejudo, the cast features 16 flyweights who hold a title in one of various minor MMA leagues throughout the world. The winner will get a shot at the dominant reigning champion Demetrious Johnson, who is currently not only #1 in the world in his weight class, but also #1 on our Division Point Dominance list, #2 Pound for Pound (likely soon to be promoted to #1 with the pending suspension of Jon Jones), as well as the #1 flyweight fighter of all time. The coaches, who both already had their chance at DJ’s gold, will also square off at the conclusion of the season and the winner could likely be the next in line for another go-round at the title. This will be the first season of TUF in many years that I will be watching, even though I still hope that the new UFC ownership axes the incredibly stale series.

So how do the TUF 24 flyweight contenders stack up in the FightMatrix rankings? Keep reading to find out.

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