Fight Matrix

Don’t Blame The Fighter

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Ked Becker

UFC 169 was branded “10-decision, record-breaking catastrophe”, and the usual slamming of boring fighters, safe game planning soon followed.

Every time too many fights on a card drag too long, reach a decision or overall feel like the fighters are not making enough of an effort to try and finish, accusations are directed at them for not having the required ‘killer instinct’, not caring enough about the fans, or just being too calculated and careful in their fighting style. This is especially true regarding high profile fights, like championship bouts and main events.

I think what I’m about to say is quite obvious and is really known to everybody, but somehow I just don’t hear it enough, so I feel the need to state it out clearly:

THIS IS NOT THE FIGHTERS’ FAULTS!

You can’t blame anyone who is playing any kind of game or competing in any kind of competition for trying their best to win, and to keep on winning. You can’t blame a basketball player for trying to score hoops, you can’t blame a football player for trying to score touchdowns, and you can’ t blame an MMA fighter for trying to win rounds, because this is the way to win fights.

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Current AND All-Time MMA Rankings Updated (02-02-2014)

Posted on February 2, 2014 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 Fighter Profiles are Live!

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Jason

The outgoing Sherdog fighter profile links have been replaced with internal fighter profile pages. This is certainly long overdue and we’ll likely be making revisions to these over the coming weeks and months.

Example: Urijah Faber

The fighter profile pages currently include:

Basic Profile Information
Current Ranking Information
Highest Previous Ranking
All-Time Ranking
Quarterly Generated Ranking History
UFC Records
Fighter Statistics (Ranking Hover-Over)
Last Fight Information
Next Fight Information

Soon, we hope to add information from MMA Records & Statistics as well as MMA Awards and eventually, Lineal Championship History.

Furthermore, there will very likely be odd movement within the quarterly generated histories that is not so obvious in the history pages themselves (highly ranked fighters taking one-off matches in other divisions). If you see any of this, please shout.

Fight Matrix Program: UFC 169 (02-01-2014)

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Jason

Bantamweight Championship (135)
[#1/#10DD/#6P4P] Renan Barao (31-1-0, -286) vs. [#2] Urijah Faber (30-6-0, +227)
Renan Barao is the All-Time #3 ranked Bantamweight fighter.
Urijah Faber is the All-Time #4 ranked Bantamweight and #10 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Renan Barao (3-0-0)
2013-09-21: W vs. [#6BW] Eddie Wineland (21-9-1) via TKO (Spinning Back Kick and Punches) in 0:35 of round 2
2013-02-16: W vs. [#11BW] Michael McDonald (16-3-0) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 3:57 of round 4
2012-07-21: W vs. [#2BW] Urijah Faber (30-6-0) via UD (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)

Last 3 Fights: Urijah Faber (3-0-0)
2013-12-14: W vs. [#11BW] Michael McDonald (16-3-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 3:22 of round 2
2013-08-17: W vs. [#19BW] Iuri Alcantara (28-5-0) via UD (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
2013-04-13: W vs. [#20FLY] Scott Jorgensen (14-8-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:16 of round 4

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Renan Barao 133, Urijah Faber 49
Previous Match-up Record: Renan Barao leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 4 win(s) against common opposition.
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Featherweight Championship (145)
[#1/#5DD/#3P4P] Jose Aldo (23-1-0, -618) vs. [#8] Ricardo Lamas (13-2-0, +446)
Jose Aldo is the All-Time #1 ranked Featherweight and #9 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Jose Aldo (3-0-0)
2013-08-03: W vs. [#23FW] Chan Sung Jung (13-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:00 of round 4
2013-02-02: W vs. [#3FW] Frankie Edgar (16-4-1) via UD (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
2012-01-14: W vs. [#2FW/#9P4P] Chad Mendes (16-1-0) via KO (Knee) in 4:59 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Ricardo Lamas (3-0-0)
2013-01-26: W vs. [#73FW] Erik Koch (13-3-0) via TKO (Elbows) in 2:32 of round 2
2012-06-22: W vs. [#21FW] Hatsu Hioki (26-7-2) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2011-11-12: W vs. [#4FW] Cub Swanson (20-5-0) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 2:16 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jose Aldo 182, Ricardo Lamas 371
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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Heavyweight (265)
[#9] Alistair Overeem (36-13-0, -331) vs. [#11] Frank Mir (16-8-0, +259)
Alistair Overeem is the All-Time #14 ranked Heavyweight fighter.
Frank Mir is the All-Time #8 ranked Heavyweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Alistair Overeem (1-2-0)
2013-08-17: L vs. [#6HW+] Travis Browne (16-1-1) via KO (Front Kick and Punches) in 4:08 of round 1
2013-02-02: L vs. [#4HW+] Antonio Silva (18-5-1) via KO (Punches) in 0:25 of round 3
2011-12-30: W vs. [*] Brock Lesnar (5-3-0) via TKO (Kick to the Body and Punches) in 2:26 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Frank Mir (0-3-0)
2013-08-31: L vs. [#10HW+] Josh Barnett (33-7-0) via TKO (Knee) in 1:56 of round 1
2013-04-20: L vs. [#3HW+] Daniel Cormier (13-0-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2012-05-26: L vs. [#2HW+] Junior dos Santos (16-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:04 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Alistair Overeem 168, Frank Mir 154
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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Current MMA Rankings Updated (01-26-2014)

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Jason

Notable Info

Stay tuned – as we are debuting our “fighter profile” pages very soon.

UFC 169: Bantamweight Lineal Championship

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Jason

We have declared (at least for our historical purposes) that Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber II will continue the Bantamweight Championship lineage.

Although they fought before, we did not believe (via our rankings) that it was definitively the best match-up possible in the division, whereas now, it most definitely is. With Cruz out of the picture (again) and having relinquished the only organizational championship that matters, it only seems accurate that the winner of this fight would become the new “lineal” champion.

UFC Title Picture – 2014 Preview

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Oleg

It’s a new year – a good time to reflect on the past, and speculate about what the future may hold. For the UFC, the new year comes amid some turmoil at the highest levels of the sport: with George St. Pierre vacating his title, Anderson Silva suffering an injury that may be career-ending, and Dominic Cruz finally being stripped of the belt that he has not defended in over two years, we could see a lot of new faces wearing the gold in 2014. Here’s a preview of what each divisional title picture will look like in the coming year.

Heavyweight

The heavyweight division is cursed. There is no other way to put it. Just when it seems like things are looking up for this weight class, it all falls apart again in a mess of injuries, suspensions, contract disputes, etc – there are always some unforeseen circumstances which put a damper on the HW title picture. Once again, the reigning champion Cain Velasquez is sidelined with a recurrent shoulder injury that will likely keep him out of action for most of year. As for contenders… we have [#5] Fabricio Werdum and [#6] Travis Browne, both on impressive win streaks, facing off at UFC on Fox 11 in April for a chance to take on the champion – whenever he’s ready to return. Beyond that, the division looks fairly bleak. [#2] Junior Dos Santos is 1-2 against the champ; he may still be the next best fighter in the division but will need to win a few fights to earn another title shot. [#3] Daniel Cormier is slimming down to try his luck at 205 lbs; [#4] Antonio Silva is out for most of the year with a PED suspension, and the remainder of the Top 10 with the exception of Mark Hunt are all coming off losses. The upcoming fight between [#11] Stipe Miocic and [#14] Gabriel Gonzaga could determine the next contender after Werdum/Browne, though I won’t wager on the HW title being defended more than once in 2014, but if you want to take the risk BitBet.com is a good choice.

Light-heavyweight

With Anderson Silva losing his middleweight title and GSP vacating the welterweight belt, light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones became UFC’s longest-reigning title holder with 6 consecutive defenses. He will get the opportunity to make it 7 when he faces [#6] Glover Texeira at UFC 172. But before that, two other high-profile bouts are on deck for the 205lbs division: [#2] Rashad Evans vs [#3 HW] Daniel Cormier, and [#4] Alexander Gustafsson vs [#17] Jimi Manuwa. The winner of either fight could make a solid case for the next title shot – or they could face off for the #1 contender eliminator. Meanwhile, [#3] Phil Davis has quietly amassed a 3-fight winning streak, and though he doesn’t currently have a fight scheduled, Davis has to be mentioned among the potential contenders in the upcoming year.

Middleweight

This is where things start to get really interesting. About a year ago, a rumored matchup between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort failed to materialize. Instead Chris Weidman went on to beat Anderson Silva twice in 2013, capturing and defending the middleweight title, while Belfort racked up wins against Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold, and Dan Henderson – all three by head kick KO. Weidman and Belfort are now ranked #1 and #2 in the division, and will finally meet later this year (date not yet scheduled) with gold on the line. With the previous champion [#4] Anderson Silva out for most of the year (if not permanently), there are a few fresh faces waiting to challenge the winner of Weidman/Belfort. [#3] Lyoto Machida vs [#10 LHW] Gegard Mousasi and [#5] Rolando Souza vs [#7] Francis Carmont are the matchups most likely to produce the next middleweight contender. A few other names in the proverbial mix include [#6] Luke Rockhold, [#8] Michael Bisping, [#13] Tim Kennedy, [#14] Thales Leites, [#18] Brad Tavares, and [#20] Yoel Romero Palacio – all of them are coming off big wins and could find themselves in the title picture under the right circumstances.

Welterweight

George St.Pierres’s hiatus from the sport left the welterweight division wide open. While [#1] Johnny Hendricks and [#2] Robbie Lawler will face off at UFC 171 for the vacant title, a number of fighters will be impatiently waiting for the outcome and an opportunity for a shot at the title. [#5] Jake Shields and [#9] Hector Lombard will meet on the undercard of Hendricks-Lawler, with the winner likely getting the contender nod. Looking beyond those two bouts, [#2] Carlos Condit, [#4] Rory MacDonald, [#10] Matt Brown, [#11] Dong Hyun Kim, [#11] Tyrone Woodley, and [#12] Tarec Saffedine will also be looking to make a big impact in 2014.

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Fight Matrix Program: UFC on FOX 10 (01-25-2014)

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Jason

Lightweight (155)
[#2/#8DD] Ben Henderson (19-3-0, -282) vs. [#9] Josh Thomson (20-5-0, +226)
Ben Henderson is the All-Time #3 ranked Lightweight and #25 ranked Absolute fighter.
Josh Thomson is the All-Time #25 ranked Lightweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Ben Henderson (2-1-0)
2013-08-31: L vs. [#1LW/#6DD/#7P4P] Anthony Pettis (17-2-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 4:31 of round 1
2013-04-20: W vs. [#3LW] Gilbert Melendez (22-3-0) via SD (48-47, 48-47, 47-48)
2012-12-08: W vs. [#10LW] Nate Diaz (17-9-0) via UD (50-45, 50-45, 50-43)

Last 3 Fights: Josh Thomson (2-1-0)
2013-04-20: W vs. [#10LW] Nate Diaz (17-9-0) via TKO (Head Kick and Punches) in 3:44 of round 2
2012-05-19: L vs. [#3LW] Gilbert Melendez (22-3-0) via SD (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
2012-03-03: W vs. [#75LW] K.J. Noons (12-7-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Ben Henderson 147, Josh Thomson 280
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 3 win(s) against common opposition.
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Heavyweight (265)
[#11] Stipe Miocic (10-1-0, -258) vs. [#14] Gabriel Gonzaga (16-7-0, +202)

Last 3 Fights: Stipe Miocic (2-1-0)
2013-06-15: W vs. [#13HW+] Roy Nelson (19-9-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2012-09-29: L vs. [#18HW+] Stefan Struve (25-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:50 of round 2
2012-05-26: W vs. [*] Shane del Rosario (11-2-0) via TKO (Elbows) in 3:14 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Gabriel Gonzaga (2-1-0)
2013-10-19: W vs. [#28HW+] Shawn Jordan (15-5-0) via KO (Punches) in 1:33 of round 1
2013-07-06: W vs. [#92HW+] Dave Herman (21-6-0) via KO (Punches) in 0:17 of round 1
2013-04-13: L vs. [#6HW+] Travis Browne (16-1-1) via KO (Elbows) in 1:11 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Stipe Miocic 224, Gabriel Gonzaga 98
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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Lightweight (155)
[#11] Donald Cerrone (21-6-0) vs. [#35] Adriano Martins (25-6-0)

Last 3 Fights: Donald Cerrone (2-1-0)
2013-11-16: W vs. [#31LW] Evan Dunham (14-5-0) via Submission (Triangle Choke) in 3:49 of round 2
2013-08-28: L vs. [#7LW] Rafael dos Anjos (20-6-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2013-05-25: W vs. [#75LW] K.J. Noons (12-7-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Last 3 Fights: Adriano Martins (3-0-0)
2013-11-09: W vs. [#80LW] Daron Cruickshank (13-4-0) via Submission (Straight Armbar) in 2:49 of round 2
2013-01-12: W vs. [#470LW] Jorge Gurgel (14-9-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
2012-03-31: W vs. [#874LW] Jimmy Donahue (6-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:02 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Donald Cerrone 70, Adriano Martins 77
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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The Argument for or against Cruiserweight: Revisited (Again x2)

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Jason

About a year ago, I posted the second update to my original post.

I feel the need to keep revisiting this as we get more data, because every few months I see this topic bubble up to the top of various sites and forums.

In summary, we started tracking weigh-in weights, and I wanted to see if the heavier fighters won more often than lighter fighters. Using the same ideals as before, with an even larger data set:

In 1,123 non-draw official pro fights where both fighters weighed in at different weights, but above 210 (our Light Heavyweight limit), 556 were won by the lighter fighter, and 567 won by the heavier fighter (50.5%).
When you allow for mismatches and include matches in which only one fighter had to weigh above 210, the total tally increases to 1322 and the heavier fighter only won 651 (49.2%).
For the record, across the board, the heavier fighter has won 52.6% of the time.

The results are nearly identical to before, though the heavier fighter (again) gained ground in all three statistics. There are a few possibilities to explain this and it could be a combination of:

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Current MMA Rankings Updated (01-19-2014)

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Jason