Rankings Update – January 14, 2013
All rankings have been updated. A few notes to pass along. The Strikeforce rankings have officially been removed from the site. Their last show goes down tomorrow night, and I am hopeful that many of their big stars will find success in the UFC. There were no fights over the weekend that involved any of our ranked fighters.
A few updates on each weight class in regards to our UFC rankings:
Flyweight
John Moraga
I moved John Moraga up the ranks and dropped Darren Uyenoyama down. Moraga struggled at times with Cariaso, but for him to score a finish victory over a solid fighter that #1 bantamweight contender Michael McDonald could not put away is impressive.
Darren Uyenoyama
Uyenoyama’s drop below Moraga and Tim Elliott is based more on Moraga and Elliott’s recent performances than anything else. Uyenoyama only has one win at flyweight, and he has yet to really put his signature on the division.
Bantamweight
Brian Bowles
I moved Brian Bowles up to 6th after briefly dropping him down to the 8th spot. Bowles’ inactivity has made it tough to rank him. I gave him the benefit of the doubt because his only 2 career losses are to Cruz and Faber. Jorgensen and Pickett will pass him up should either guy score a win over a Top 15 fighter.
Yuri Alcantara
I can’t wait for Yuri Alcantara’s bantamweight debut against Pedro Nobre later this month. Yuri was initially set to fight George Roop, but regardless of opponent, he is going to be a beast at 135. I would not be shocked if Alcantara were to end up fighting for the title by 2014.
Featherweight
Cub Swanson
I moved Cub Swanson ahead of Dennis Siver. They are both pretty even as far as recent accomplishments. Swanson’s 3 recent finishes are too hard to overlook, and factor in that he had Lamas on the ropes in the 1st round of their fight, leads me to boost Swanson slightly ahead of Siver. Siver would have benefited from fighting a higher ranked opponent than Nam Phan.
Jonathan Brookins
I dropped Jonathan Brookins down a few more spots. He has shown flashes at featherweight, but his career seems to be going down fast. Supposedly, he might be done with fighting too. Not a good sign for the TUF winner.
Lightweight
Jim Miller
I moved Jim Miller ahead of Donald Cerrone based on Miller’s last win over Lauzon. Miller is right in the title mix as is “Cowboy.” To me though, Miller has done enough to redeem himself after his last loss to Diaz.
Rafael dos Anjos
Next, I moved Rafael dos Anjos up ahead of Gomi. RDA has been on a solid run and his recent body of work has been better than Gomi’s. Gomi could change all that with a win over Diego Sanchez.
George Sotiropoulos
I also dropped George Sotiropoulos down a few more notches, right behind Danzig, Jury, and Michael Johnson. George has looked lethargic ever since losing a decision to Dennis Siver. He was never much of an athlete, but his lack of speed has grown more apparent with each fight.
Abel Trujillo
I moved Abel Trujillo down a few spots after watching a few of his fights outside of the UFC. Though his UFC debut was as good as anyone could have hoped for, I am not 100% convinced that his grappling will hold up against increasingly stiffer competition. I am waiting for him to prove me wrong so I can move him back up.
Welterweight
Mike Pyle
I finally moved Mike Pyle up ahead of Rick Story and Thiago Alves. Pyle’s winning streak has been impressive and his previous loss to Jake Ellenberger was erased due to our 3-year activity period standards. Pyle is 6-1 since the loss to Ellenberger and has done enough to overpower Story’s previous wins over Alves and Johny Hendricks. Story is going to need a Top 20 win of his own to stay relevant. Same goes for Thiago Alves who is on the mend due to injuries.
Siyar Bahadurzada
Siyar moved up a couple of spots ahead of Aaron Simpson and Dan Hardy. Just going through their records and the details of each of their fights, Siyar’s resumed seemed to be the most impressive. Hardy’s best wins were too long ago, and recent victories over Sadollah and Ludwig just aren’t enough. Simpson nearly finished the always-tough Mike Pierce, but instead was finished himself. He’s only 1-1 at WW and will need to rack up a couple of wins in hopes of earning another fight against a Top 15 fighter.
Matt Brown
I have always been suspect of Matt Brown’s submission defense. So, despite his amazing win streak in 2012, he still sits at only #23. His biggest win during the streak is over Swick, and the rest of the wins are either over already-released UFC fighters (Cope, Ramos) or unproven prospects (Thompson). I want Brown to succeed, but as he climbs up the ranks, I believe his fighting ability can only go so far.
Robert Whittaker
I moved the recent TUF: Smashes winner up a few more spots after watching a couple of his fights. He’s a good striker, but it remains to be seen how he will hold up against bigger, stronger wrestlers.
Middleweight
Tim Boetsch & Costa Philippou
This was probably the most significant move in our rankings. I had Philippou and Boetsch sitting at #6 and #7 in the MW division. Things just didn’t seem right. How could someone proven like Okami and Munoz be sitting below Philippou? So, I went back and I believe made the right decision. Boetsch was the only marquee win on Philippou’s record and Boetsch was a bit overrated to begin with. He lost most of his fight with Okami and didn’t look much better against Lombard. Yes, he beat both guys, but the circumstances of each of those wins has given me enough proof to drop him back down the rankings.
Chris Camozzi
I moved him up one spot ahead of C.B. Dollaway. Camozzi has looked decent as of late. He’s never overly impressive, but he has been able to beat good fighters in the UFC. Factor in Dollaway’s recent loss to Jared Hamman, and it was just enough for me to push Camozzi ahead.
Light Heavyweight
James Te Huna
I moved him back ahead of Brandon Vera, which is probably where he should have been all along. Te Huna lacks that big signature win, but in looking at Vera’s recent fights there is simply no reason to rank Vera ahead of him. Vera is 1-2 in the last 3 years, and that one win was extremely controversial as most felt Eliot Marshall should have gotten the decision or at least a draw.
Heavyweight
Stipe Miocic
I dropped him one spot, right below Mike Russow. I think Miocic has the skills to beat Russow, but then again I thought the same thing about Todd Duffee. Miocic has to get back in the winning column after being finished by Stefan Struve. Russow’s only career losses are to Werdum and Kharitonov, so I think the veteran is just a bit more proven.
Todd Duffee
I moved Duffee up one spot just ahead of Matt Mitrione. Duffee’s return to the UFC was much anticipated, but he didn’t look all that great in his win to De Fries. Yes, Duffee finished De Fries in the 1st round, but for a brief moment, De Fries had Duffee in a bad spot and nearly looked to be on the verge of an upset. Had that been any other UFC heavyweight, I’m not sure Duffee would have survived. He’s going to have to tighten up his overall game in order to become a legitimate contender. From what I saw against De Fries, he still has a ways to go.
