UFC Lightweight Rankings

FAQ & Rankings Criteria

FAQ for UFC Rankings

* These rankings are not official, nor do they reflect any affiliation with, sponsorship, or endorsement by the UFC. The official UFC Fighter Rankings can be found here.

UFC Rankings are comprised of all fighters currently signed to the UFC.

So, how do we compile our rankings? What separates us from other web sites that formulate rankings?

Here is our rankings criteria:
- Activity in the last 3 years
- Last 5 fights
- Most recent performance
- Strength of competition
- Performance against top competition
- Estimated ability against future competition

To make it simple, we only look at fights that have happened in the last 3 years of action. Thus, currently it is 2014, so the only fights that can be factored into a ranking are from the years 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. Anything before then is essentially wiped clean. Why is that? Fighters develop and decline rapidly. In order to provide rankings that are current and reflect what has happened in the now, rather than the past, we confine a fighter's activity to this 3-year window.

From there, we heavily utilize the fighter's last 5 fights. We look at these fights more so than any other action that may have happened in 2011 or 2012. We want our rankings to reflect how the fighter is currently performing. Therefore, if a fighter fights 12 times in the last 3 years, we will heavily emphasize their performance over the last 5 fights, rather than the previous ones.

There are many fighters sporting undefeated records from developing fight scenes, especially abroad. Something we take into consideration is the strength of competition they have faced. If a fighter has compiled a bunch of wins against competition that is lackluster they will likely have a difficult time moving up in the rankings until they face stiffer competition in order for us to accurately predict how they would perform against exceedingly tougher competition.

If a fighter has fought elite competition and fallen short, we factor in how they performed. If a fighter fairs well against a higher-ranked adversary, they could still move up in the rankings.

We watch every fight, including the prelims to try and provide our readers with the best rankings possible.

* (NR) = Not Ranked
Reasons for exclusions from rankings:
- Inactivity over 18 months
- Changing weight classes. A fighter must debut in their new weight class in order to officially be ranked there. Upon their debut, they will immediately be removed from their former weight class.
- Yet to debut in UFC. A fighter will not be officially ranked until they debut in the UFC.
- Retirement. Once a fighter is presumed retired based on interviews or lack of activity, they are removed from the rankings until further clarification is provided.

Men’s Weight Classes
Flyweight (125) – Bantamweight (135) – Featherweight (145) – Lightweight (155) – Welterweight (170) – Middleweight (185) – Light Heavyweight (205) – Heavyweight (265)
Women’s Weight Classes
Women’s Strawweight (115) – Women’s Bantamweight (135) – Women’s Featherweight (145)

#	Fighter	Last 3 Fights	Next Fight
	2017 UFC Signings: Justin Gaethje Desmond Green	2017 UFC Cuts: Alessandro Ricci Yusuke Kasuya J.C. Cottrell Jason Novelli Felipe Oliveiri Leandro Silva Tony Sims Brendan O'Reilly Lukasz Sajewski
01	Conor McGregor 21-3 (9-1 UFC)	W-Eddie Alvarez (TKO) W-Nate Diaz (DEC) L-Nate Diaz (SUB)
02	Khabib Nurmagomedov 24-0 (8-0 UFC)	W-Michael Johnson (SUB) W-Darrell Horcher (TKO) W-Rafael dos Anjos (DEC)
03	Tony Ferguson 22-3 (12-1 UFC)	W-Rafael dos Anjos (DEC) W-Lando Vannata (SUB) W-Edson Barboza (SUB)
04	Eddie Alvarez 28-5 (3-2 UFC)	NC-Dustin Poirier (NC) L-Conor McGregor (TKO) W-Rafael dos Anjos (TKO)
05	Nate Diaz 19-11 (14-9 UFC)	L-Conor McGregor (DEC) W-Conor McGregor (SUB) W-Michael Johnson (DEC)
06	Michael Johnson 17-11 (9-7 UFC)	L-Khabib Nurmagomedov (SUB) W-Dustin Poirier (KO) L-Nate Diaz (DEC)	Justin Gaethje 07/07/2017
07	Edson Barboza 19-4 (13-4 UFC)	W-Beneil Dariush (KO) W-Gilbert Melendez (DEC) W-Anthony Pettis (DEC)
08	Dustin Poirier 21-5 (13-4 UFC)	NC-Eddie Alvarez (NC) W-Jim Miller (DEC) L-Michael Johnson (KO)
09	Gilbert Melendez 22-6 (1-4 UFC)	L-Edson Barboza (DEC) L-Eddie Alvarez (DEC) L-Anthony Pettis (SUB)
10	Michael Chiesa 14-2 (7-2 UFC)	W-Beneil Dariush (SUB) W-Jim Miller (SUB) W-Mitch Clarke (DEC)	Kevin Lee 06/25/2017
11	Al Iaquinta 13-3-1 (8-2 UFC)	W-Diego Sanchez (KO) W-Jorge Masvidal (DEC) W-Joe Lauzon (TKO)
12	Beneil Dariush 14-3 (8-3 UFC)	L-Edson Barboza (KO) W-Rashid Magomedov (DEC) W-James Vick (KO)
13	Jim Miller 28-9 (17-8 UFC)	L-Dustin Poirier (DEC) W-Thiago Alves (DEC) W-Joe Lauzon (DEC)	Anthony Pettis 07/08/2017
14	Charles Oliveira 22-7 (10-7 UFC)	W-Will Brooks (SUB) L-Ricardo Lamas (SUB) L-Anthony Pettis (SUB)
15	Will Brooks 18-3 (1-2 UFC)	L-Charles Oliveira (SUB) L-Alex Oliveira (SUB) W-Ross Pearson (DEC)
16	Evan Dunham 18-6 (11-6 UFC)	W-Rick Glenn (DEC) W-Joe Lauzon (DEC) W-Ross Pearson (DEC)
17	Leonardo Santos 16-3-1 (5-0-1 UFC)	W-Adriano Martins (DEC) W-Kevin Lee (TKO) W-Tony Martin (SUB)
18	Kevin Lee 15-2 (8-2 UFC)	W-Francisco Trinaldo (SUB) W-Magomed Mustafaev (SUB) W-Jake Matthews (TKO)	Michael Chiesa 06/25/2017
19	Joseph Duffy 16-2 (4-1 UFC)	W-Reza Madadi (DEC) W-Mitch Clarke (SUB) L-Dustin Poirier (DEC)
20	Rashid Magomedov 20-2 (5-1 UFC)	W-Bobby Green (DEC) L-Beneil Dariush (DEC) W-Gilbert Burns (DEC)
21	Steven Ray 21-6 (5-1 UFC)	W-Joe Lauzon (DEC) W-Ross Pearson (DEC) L-Alan Patrick (DEC)	Paul Felder 07/16/2017
22	Francisco Trinaldo 21-5 (11-4 UFC)	L-Kevin Lee (SUB) W-Paul Felder (TKO) W-Yancy Medeiros (DEC)
23	Adriano Martins 28-8 (4-2 UFC)	L-Leonardo Santos (DEC) W-Islam Makhachev (TKO) W-Rustam Khabilov (DEC)
24	Rustam Khabilov 21-3 (7-2 UFC)	W-Jason saggo (DEC) W-Leandro Silva (DEC) W-Chris Wade (DEC)
25	Bobby Green 23-8 (4-3 UFC)	L-Rashid Magomedov (DEC) L-Dustin Poirier (KO) L-Edson Barboza (DEC)
26	James Vick 11-1 (7-1 UFC)	W-Polo Reyes (TKO) W-Abel Trujillo (SUB) L-Beneil Dariush (KO)
27	Islam Makhachev 14-1 (3-1 UFC)	W-Nik Lentz (DEC) W-Chris Wade (DEC) L-Adriano Martins (TKO)
28	Daniel Hooker 14-7 (4-3 UFC)	W-Ross Pearson (KO) L-Jason Knight (DEC) W-Mark Eddiva (SUB)
29	Joe Lauzon 27-13 (14-10 UFC)	L-Steven Ray (DEC) W-Marcin Held (DEC) L-Jim Miller (DEC)
30	Diego Sanchez 27-10 (16-10 UFC)	L-Al Iaquinta (KO) W-Marcin Held (DEC) L-Joe Lauzon (TKO)
31	Ross Pearson 19-14 (11-11 UFC)	L-Dan Hooker (KO) L-Steven Ray (DEC) L-Jorge Masvidal (DEC)
32	Paul Felder 13-3 (5-3 UFC)	W-Alessandro Ricci (TKO) L-Francisco Trinaldo (TKO) W-Josh Burkman (DEC)	Steven Ray 07/16/2017
33	Michel Prazeres 22-2 (6-2 UFC)	W-Josh Burkman (SUB) W-Gilbert Burns (DEC) W-J.C. Cottrell (DEC)
34	David Teymur 6-1 (3-0 UFC)	W-Lando Vannata (DEC) W-Jason Novelli (KO) W-Martin Svensson (TKO)
35	Lando Vannata 9-2 (1-2 UFC)	L-David Teymur (DEC) W-John Makdessi (KO) L-Tony Ferguson (SUB)
36	Mairbek Taisumov 25-5 (5-1 UFC)	W-Damir Hadzovic (KO) W-Alan Patrick (TKO) W-Anthony Christodoulou (KO)
37	Chad Laprise 11-2 (4-2 UFC)	W-Thibault Gouti (TKO) L-Ross Pearson (DEC) L-Francisco Trinaldo (TKO)	Brian Camozzi 07/08/2017
38	Gilbert Burns 11-2 (4-2 UFC)	L-Michel Prazeres (DEC) W-Lukasz Sajewski (SUB) L-Rashid Magomedov (DEC)
39	Nik Lentz 27-8-2 (11-5-1 UFC)	L-Islam Makhachev (DEC) W-Michael McBride (TKO) W-Danny Castillo (DEC)
40	Erik Koch 15-4 (4-3 UFC)	W-Shane Campbell (SUB) L-Daron Cruickshank (TKO) W-Rafaello Oliveira (TKO)	Clay Guida 06/25/2017
41	Olivier Aubin-Mercier 9-2 (5-2 UFC)	W-Drew Dober (SUB) W-Thibault Gouti (SUB) L-Carlos Diego Ferreira (DEC)
42	Gregor Gillespie 9-0 (2-0 UFC)	W-Andrew Holbrook (KO) W-Glaico Franca (DEC) W-Sidney Outlaw (DEC)
43	Marc Diakiese 12-0 (3-0 UFC)	W-Teemu Packalen (KO) W-Frankie Perez (DEC) W-Lukasz Sajewski (TKO)	Drakkar Klose 07/07/2017
44	Alan Patrick 14-1 (4-1 UFC)	W-Steven Ray (DEC) W-Damien Brown (DEC) L-Mairbek Taisumov (TKO)
45	John Makdessi 14-6 (7-6 UFC)	L-Lando Vannata (KO) W-Mehdi Baghdad (DEC) L-Yancy Medeiros (DEC)	Sage Northcutt 07/29/2017
46	Vinc Pichel 10-1 (3-1 UFC)	W-Damien Brown (KO) W-Anthony Njokuani (DEC) W-Garett Whiteley (DEC)
47	Joaquim Silva 10-0 (3-0 UFC)	W-Reza Madadi (DEC) W-Andrew Holbrook (KO) W-Nazareno Malegarie (DEC)
48	Magomed Mustafaev 13-2 (2-1 UFC)	L-Kevin Lee (SUB) W-Joe Proctor (TKO) W-Piotr Hallmann (TKO)
49	Damir Hadzovic 11-3 (1-1 UFC)	W-Marcin Held (KO) L-Mairbek Taisumov (KO) W-Ivan Musardo (TKO)
50	Chris Wade 11-3 (4-2 UFC)	L-Islam Makhachev (DEC) L-Rustam Khabilov (DEC) W-Mehdi Baghdad (SUB)	Frankie Perez 07/22/2017
51	Marcin Held 22-7 (0-3 UFC)	L-Damir Hadzovic (KO) L-Joe Lauzon (DEC) L-Diego Sanchez (DEC)
52	Abel Trujillo 14-8 (5-4 UFC)	L-James Vick (SUB) W-Jordan Rinaldi (DEC) W-Tony Sims (SUB)
53	Desmond Green 20-5 (1-0 UFC)	W-Josh Emmett (DEC) W-Martin Brown (DEC) W-James Freeman (DEC)
54	Nick Hein 14-2-1 (4-1 UFC)	W-Tae Hyun Bang (DEC) W-Yusuke Kasuya (DEC) W-Lukasz Sajewski (DEC)
55	Drew Dober 17-8 (3-4 UFC)	L-Olivier Aubin-Mercier (SUB) W-Jason Gonzalez (KO) W-Scott Holtzman (DEC)	Josh Burkman 07/29/2017
56	Mitch Clarke 11-4 (2-4 UFC)	L-Joseph Duffy (SUB) L-Michael Chiesa (DEC) W-Al Iaquinta (SUB)
57	Andrew Holbrook 11-2 (2-2 UFC)	L-Gregor Gillespie (KO) W-Jake Matthews (DEC) L-Joaquim Silva (KO)
58	Jake Matthews 10-3 (4-3 UFC)	L-Andrew Holbrook (DEC) L-Kevin Lee (TKO) W-Johnny Case (SUB)
59	Johnny Case 17-5 (4-1 UFC)	L-Jake Matthews (SUB) W-Yan Cabral (DEC) W-Francisco Trevino (DEC)	Tony Martin 06/25/2017
60	Jason Saggo 12-3 (3-2 UFC)	L-Rustam Khabilov (DEC) W-Leandro Silva (DEC) W-Justin Salas (TKO)
61	Josh Emmett 11-1 (2-1 UFC)	L-Desmond Green (DEC) W-Scott Holtzman (DEC) W-Jon Tuck (DEC)
62	Reza Madadi 14-6 (3-4 UFC)	L-Joaquim Silva (DEC) L-Joseph Duffy (DEC) W-Yan Cabral (TKO)
63	Tony Martin 11-3 (3-3 UFC)	W-Alex White (DEC) W-Felipe Oliveiri (SUB) L-Leonardo Santos (SUB)	Johnny Case 06/25/2017
64	Damien Brown 17-10 (2-2 UFC)	L-Vinc Pichel (KO) W-Jon Tuck (DEC) W-Cesar Arzamendia (KO)
65	Jon Tuck 10-4 (4-4 UFC)	W-Takanori Gomi (SUB) L-Damien Brown (DEC) L-Josh Emmett (DEC)
66	Felipe Silva 8-0 (1-0 UFC)	W-Shane Campbell (TKO) W-Anton Kuivanen (TKO) W-Carlos Irigoitia (SUB)
67	Josh Burkman 28-15 (6-10 UFC)	L-Michel Prazeres (SUB) L-Zak Ottow (DEC) L-Paul Felder (DEC)	Drew Dober 07/29/2017
68	Frankie Perez 10-3 (1-2 UFC)	L-Marc Diakiese (DEC) W-Sam Stout (TKO) L-Johnny Case (TKO)	Chris Wade 07/22/2017
69	Scott Holtzman 9-2 (2-2 UFC)	W-Michael McBride (DEC) L-Josh Emmett (DEC) W-Cody Pfister (DEC)
70	Teemu Packalen 8-2 (1-2 UFC)	L-Marc Diakiese (KO) W-Thibault Gouti (SUB) L-Mickael Lebout (DEC)
71	Martin Bravo 11-0 (1-0 UFC)	W-Claudio Puelles (TKO) W-Leonardo Rodriguez (DEC) W-Ilianovich Chalo (DEC)	Chris Gruetzemacher 08/05/2017
72	Alex White 11-3 (2-3 UFC)	L-Tony Martin (DEC) W-Artem Lobov (DEC) L-Clay Collard (DEC)
73	Jason Gonzalez 11-3 (1-1 UFC)	W-J.C. Cottrell (SUB) L-Drew Dober (KO) W-Chris Padilla (TKO)
74	Polo Reyes 6-2 (3-1 UFC)	L-Jim Miller (TKO) W-Jason Novelli (DEC) W-Dong Hyun Kim (KO)
75	Drakkar Klose 7-0-1 (1-0 UFC)	W-Devin Powell (DEC) W-Hugh Pulley (DEC) D-Joshua Aveles (DEC)	Marc Diakiese 07/07/2017
76	Takanori Gomi 35-13 (4-8 UFC)	L-Jon Tuck (SUB) L-Jim Miller (TKO) L-Joe Lauzon (TKO)
77	Dong Hyun Kim 14-8-3 (1-2 UFC)	W-Brendan O'Reilly (DEC) L-Polo Reyes (KO) L-Dominique Steele (KO)
78	Tae Hyun Bang 18-10 (2-3 UFC)	L-Nick Hein (DEC) W-Leo Kuntz (DEC) L-Jon Tuck (SUB)
79	Thibault Gouti 11-3 (0-3 UFC)	L-Chad Laprise (TKO) L-Olivier Aubin-Mercier (SUB) L-Teemu Packalen (SUB)
80	Jordan Rinaldi 12-5 (0-1 UFC)	L-Abel Trujillo (DEC) W-Lashawn Alcocks (SUB) W-Clay Harvison (SUB)	Alvaro Herrera 08/05/2017
81	Darrell Horcher 12-2 (0-1 UFC)	L-Khabib Nurmagomedov (TKO) W-Stephen Regman (TKO) W-Jordan Stiner (TKO)	Devin Powell 06/25/2017
82	Devin Powell 8-2 (0-1 UFC)	L-Drakkar Klose (DEC) W-Jonathan Lemke (SUB) W-Tom Marcellino (DEC)	Darrell Horcher 06/25/2017
83	Michael McBride 8-3 (0-2 UFC)	L-Scott Holtzman (DEC) L-Nik Lentz (TKO) W-Derek Loffer (SUB)
84	Claudio Puelles 7-2 (0-1 UFC)	L-Martin Bravo (TKO) W-Marcelo Rojo (DEC) W-Pablo Sabori (SUB)

	Ineligible for Rankings

*	Justin Gaethje 17-0 (0-0 UFC)	W-Luiz Firmino (TKO) W-Brian Foster (TKO) W-Luis Palomino (TKO)	Michael Johnson 07/07/2017
*	Gleison Tibau 32-11 (17-9 UFC)	W-Abel Trujillo (SUB) L-Tony Ferguson (SUB) W-Norman Parke (DEC)	Suspension
*	Bryan Barberena 12-4 (3-2 UFC)	L-Colby Covington (DEC) W-Warlley Alves (DEC) W-Sage Northcutt (SUB)	Joe Proctor 04/22/2017
*	Clay Guida 32-17 (12-11 UFC)	L-Brian Ortega (KO) L-Thiago Tavares (SUB) W-Robbie Peralta (DEC)	Erik Koch 06/25/2017
*	James Krause 23-7 (4-3 UFC)	W-Johnny Nunez (SUB) W-Shane Campbell (DEC) W-Daron Cruickshank (SUB)	Inactivity over 15 months
*	Matt Wiman 16-7 (10-5 UFC)	W-Isaac Vallie-Flagg (DEC) L-T.J. Grant (KO) W-Paul Sass (SUB)	Inactivity over 15 months
*	Carlos Diego Ferreira 12-2 (3-2 UFC)	W-Olivier Aubin-Mercier (DEC) L-Dustin Poirier (KO) L-Beneil Dariush (DEC)	Suspension
*	Sage Northcutt 8-2 (3-2 UFC)	L-Mickey Gall (SUB) W-Enrique Marin (DEC) L-Bryan Barberena (SUB)	John Makdessi 07/29/2017
*	Kajan Johnson 21-11-1 (2-1 UFC)	W-Naoyuki Kotani (DEC) W-Zhang Lipeng (DEC) L-Tae Hyun Bang (KO)	Inactivity over 15 months
*	Joe Ellenberger 15-2 (1-1 UFC)	L-Brian Barberena (TKO) W-James Moontasri (DEC) W-Joe Wilk (TKO)	Inactivity over 15 months
	Alvaro Herrera 7-4 (1-1 UFC)	L-Vicente Luque (SUB) W-Vernon Ramos (KO) L-Hector Aldana (DEC)	Jordan Rinaldi 08/05/2017

jerjapan

Mitch Clark at 45 isn’t right.
yossgold

Sooooooo, Cerrone moves above Khabib who dominated Dos Anjos who dominated Cerrone and is #2 because he beat Alvarez (he may be considered a contender, but it has never been proven)? I don’t get that logic. I get RDA moving to second even though he lost to Khabib on account of Khabib’s inactivity, but I don’t see how Cerrone can move above Khabib until he either beats him or someone ranked above him (i.e. Not Eddie Alvarez).
Joe

Kevin Lee – 6 wins over absolutely no one, no UFC wins; Norman Parke – 3 legit UFC wins, a draw against a BJJ world champ who was on a 6 fight win streak and TUF Brazil winner which many thought he won and without it he’d be on a 9 fight win streak. How on heaven’s earth can he be ranked under Kevin Lee????
- Joe
  
  Kevin Lee is ranked WAY too high … he’s done absolutely nothing.
  - D.C. Ross
    
    Lee does hold a win over Mansour Barnaoui, who is considered one of the top Lightweights prospects in the world right now. Lee looked pretty darn good against Iaquinta as well. Parke is on a solid winning streak, but the jury is still on whether he can beat an accomplished wrestler. Parke should have gotten the decision over Santos. I definitely will go back and look at their last few fights to see if I have Lee ranked too high.
D.C. Ross

He is moving to Featherweight, and because he officially has been booked for a fight at 145 lbs. he was removed from the Lightweight rankings. His profile can now be found in the Featherweight rankings.
cblo

Miles Jury needs to be moved up. Handed ‘Menace’ a whooping and is now 4-0 in ufc.
- D.C. Ross
  
  I understand ranking him above Johnson due to his dominating win over him, but do you think Jury should be ranked ahead of Lauzon, Tibau, Barboza, Masvidal, and Pearson as well?
  
  Let me see what your 11-20 rankings would look like, so I can have a better idea of what you’re thinking. The way I see it is Johnson leapfrogged a bunch of guys because of his win over Lauzon, who was clearly Top 15 at the time, thanks to finish wins over Varner and Guillard.
lou

It seems odd that Michael Johnson is so much higher than Jury, no?
- D.C. Ross
  
  I could definitely see the argument that Johnson should be lower in the rankings, but then I would have to drop Lauzon as well, who has recent finish victories over Varner and Guillard. Jury is a top notch talent, but ranking him above guys like Tibau, Varner, Barboza, Pearson, etc. is probably just a bit too soon for him.
  
  The Lauzon win was huge for Johnson and gave him a big push up the ranks. Meanwhile, Jury has sort of been stuck in neutral. He picked up a dominant win over Ramsey Nijem, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Even a win over Ricci won’t move Jury up the ranks too much. Wins over lesser ranked competition just don’t mean as much as a win over Lauzon, which is why Johnson currently sits ahead of Jury.
  
  Do you think Jury should be ranked ahead of the following: Gleison Tibau, Edson Barboza, Jamie Varner, Ross Pearson, Melvin Guillard, Jorge Masvidal, or Joe Lauzon. Jury is on the brink of a top ranking, but until he beats one of those guys I mentioned, he’s likely stuck around that 20-30 range.
  
  If you want, provide me with your own Top 25 rankings, so I can maybe see how you would be ranking the division. Thanks for the comment.
Joe

Pat Healy’s suspension not accounted for?

(Suspended by NJSACB until July 19th, 2013)
- D.C. Ross
  
  Totally forgot, since Healy was included in the ufc.com/rankings, it slipped past me. Thanks for the save.
Leo Corrêa

Khabib Nurmagomedov might be in a better position. Guys, look at his record… why he’s on 9th position in this rank, while fighters like Dos Anjos, Cerrone and Pettis are above it?
- rankingmma
  
  Nurmagomedov is not ranked above the guys you mentioned because he has yet to win consistently against top-level competition. His most notable win is over Gleison Tibau, but to most people who watched and scored that fight, it was a very controversial decision. His 19-0 record is remarkable, and I believe he has a very bright future in the sport. Khabib has been calling out Nate Diaz, and that is likely the type of fight that could propel him into title contention.
  
  Why do you think Nurmagomedov should be ranked ahead of Anthony Pettis or Donald Cerrone? I would understand your argument for possibly ranking him above Dos Anjos, but the other guys not so much.
Mario Rabelo

I liked this ranking a lot. Most people dont see dos Anjos so high but he has showed tremendous development on his last fights. Guillard is a little overated. But everything else looks great. Congratulations!
- admin
  
  Thank you. Dos Anjos is on a solid winning streak and a lot of the other fringe contenders have suffered recent losses (Tibau, Dunham, Guillard, Barboza, Bocek). I think dos Anjos could surprise, his loss to Guida was due to injury, and that fight was going to be a close decision. Otherwise, the Tibau loss is dos Anjos’ only recent blemish.
MrOrange

I don’t see Guillard as even a top 15 lw. definately not a top 10.
- admin
  
  Guillard’s winning streak in 2010 is the reason he hasn’t fallen farther. When Guillard finished Dunham, he was on the verge of a title shot. People forget that Dunham was scheduled to face Kenny Florian in what may have been a #1 contender fight for the LW division. Guillard’s only losses have come to the elite of the division (Diaz, Miller, Cerrone). All the fighters ranked below him have lost to lesser fighters in recent years. I do think Guillard is overrated, but the guys below him have never beaten a top guy.
MrOrange

To admin

Ive stuck in there with your site. Glad you have it running much better, good job bro. 🙂
- admin
  
  Thank you for the support!
dWd

Q. What do you get if you cross a Jim Miller with a Nate Diaz A. a T.J.Grant
- admin
  
  I was sleeping on Grant going into his fight with Dunham. Many people forget that he nearly knocked off Johny Hendricks at WW. Grant can do some damage at LW, and definitely can give guys like Guida, Lauzon, or Guillard a run for their money. Can’t wait for him to get a crack at a Top 10 fighter.
dWd

Nurmagomedov should be ranked ahead of Tibau,who could be ranked higher here.i think barboza is overrated at the moment.
- admin
  
  The lightweight division from 10-20 is a complete mess. Nurmagomedov beat Tibau in a very debatable decision. Should Nurmagomedov be rewarded for that decision by being ranked above Rafael Dos Anjos, Jeremy Stephens, Sotiropoulos? At this point, Nurmagomedov moved up the ranks significantly with the close decision win, but I can’t justify putting him with the mid-tier elite of the division just yet.
  
  Barboza’s ranking is overrated, but his skills aren’t. Barboza won a couple of close decisions over Pearson and Njokuani before the highlight-reel KO of Terry Etim. That knockout definitely had him on the verge of title contention. Considering the recent losses by Tibau, Stephens, and Sotiropoulos, he is still hanging around between 11-15.
  - dWd
    
    YES HE SHOULD. all those guys you mention, AND mark bocek deserve to be ranked ahead of barboza right now. i will watch the tibau vs nurmagomedov fight again but i don’t remember being anything but impressed with him getting a “unanimous decision” over one of the best in the division.
    - admin
      
      I am hoping the lightweight scene sorts itself out soon. Bocek needs a signature win. He has proven his merits against mid-level competition and gave Jim Miller all he could handle, but the fact remains, he has never beaten a top 20 fighter (Lentz was around #25).
      
      Terry Etim was a bordline Top 20 fighter prior to Barboza beating him. Also, it wasn’t just a decision win for Barboza, it was a huge knockout.
      
      It comes down to Barboza’s wins over Etim and Pearson outweighing the guys ranked below him. Rafael Dos Anjos is on a solid run, but his recent loss to Tibau holds him back. Same thing for Tibau, he was looking solid up until the decision loss to Nurmagomedov. Stephens’ biggest win in recent years is Marcus Davis, in a fight he was losing until a 3rd round knockout. All of these fighters have some sort of hiccup on their resume. I’m not trying to discount Barboza’s loss against Varner, but all of the guys below him have experienced the same thing.
      
      Thanks for the solid info. I agree with a lot of your points. I am not trying to persuade you to why I ranked so-and-so, I’m just trying to point out how I am seeing things at this current stage.
  - dWd
    
    i just watched the tibau vs khabib fight again,i don’t have a problem with the result,khabib pressed the action the whole way using wild striking to get in on single leg takedowns over and over,tibau stuffed everyone of em and even landed a couple solid knees to khabib as he was coming in ,but khabib walked through them and was rellentless keeping tibau backed up to the cage and defending for the whole fight. tibau did land two takedowns,but khabib popped straight back up and went back on the attack.
    - admin
      
      I remember it being close as well. It was the fallout of the rankings that I had trouble with. Does Nurmagomedov really deserve to be ranked ahead of Dos Anjos, Sotiropoulos, and Bocek for one controversial decision win? I couldn’t punish Tibau either because he has proven his skills against Dos Anjos and Stephens.
      
      I am doing the same thing that I previously did with all of the wild Leonard Garcia decisions. I wasn’t going to penalize Chan Sung Jung or Nam Phan because the judges couldn’t get the scorecards right.
      
      Like I said, I will watch the fight again and see if Nurmagomedov did enough to win the fight. Obviously the judges thought so, but pretty much every website doing play-by-play had Tibau winning that fight.
admin

Siver announced his move down to the UFC featherweight division following his loss to Cerrone.
admin

Penn has been added to the UFC welterweight division.
Andy

i cant believe Edson Barboza lost it’s been my favorita since he joined the UFC
SVN

why is edson barboza in n16 and donald cerrone in number 8 if barboza is 4-0 in ufc and cerrone 4-1? and barboza has greatest knockouts than cerrone…
- admin
  
  Cerrone has faced stiffer competition thus far in his career. Barboza may be 4-0 in the UFC, but 2 of his wins were razor-thin decisions over Anthony Njokuani and Ross Pearson. Barboza may be the next big thing in the 155-pound division, but he will have to prove himself against high-level competition first.
Beighz

Nate Diaz – OVER-RATED
- admin
  
  Overrated at 170 maybe, but at 155 Diaz was fairly solid. He lost to Gray Maynard in a close fight and easily defeated Melvin Guillard. He lost a couple of fights to Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida, who simply held Diaz down for 3 rounds. I think Diaz needs a big win at 155 to show he is still a factor.

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UFC Rankings are comprised of all fighters currently signed to the UFC. So, how do we compile our rankings? What separates us from other web sites that formulate rankings? Here is our rankings criteria: - Activity in the last 3 years - Last 5 fights - Most recent performance - Strength of competition - Performance against top competition - Estimated ability against future competition To make it simple, we only look at fights that have happened in the last 3 years of action. Thus, currently it is 2014, so the only fights that can be factored into a ranking are from the years 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. Anything before then is essentially wiped clean. Why is that? Fighters develop and decline rapidly. In order to provide rankings that are current and reflect what has happened in the now, rather than the past, we confine a fighter's activity to this 3-year window. From there, we heavily utilize the fighter's last 5 fights. We look at these fights more so than any other action that may have happened in 2011 or 2012. We want our rankings to reflect how the fighter is currently performing. Therefore, if a fighter fights 12 times in the last 3 years, we will heavily emphasize their performance over the last 5 fights, rather than the previous ones. There are many fighters sporting undefeated records from developing fight scenes, especially abroad. Something we take into consideration is the strength of competition they have faced. If a fighter has compiled a bunch of wins against competition that is lackluster they will likely have a difficult time moving up in the rankings until they face stiffer competition in order for us to accurately predict how they would perform against exceedingly tougher competition. If a fighter has fought elite competition and fallen short, we factor in how they performed. If a fighter fairs well against a higher-ranked adversary, they could still move up in the rankings. We watch every fight, including the prelims to try and provide our readers with the best rankings possible. * (NR) = Not Ranked Reasons for exclusions from rankings: - Inactivity over 18 months - Changing weight classes. A fighter must debut in their new weight class in order to officially be ranked there. Upon their debut, they will immediately be removed from their former weight class. - Yet to debut in UFC. A fighter will not be officially ranked until they debut in the UFC. - Retirement. Once a fighter is presumed retired based on interviews or lack of activity, they are removed from the rankings until further clarification is provided.