The Non-UFC Fighter Rankings: Aug 13/18

Bellator Performance Based Fighter Rankings: Pound for Pound: Feb 16/22
The Non-UFC Fighter Rankings: Aug 13/18
May 12, 2018; San Jose, CA, USA; Ryan Bader (red gloves) defeats King Mo Lawal (blue gloves) during Bellator 199 at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Dave Mandel-USA TODAY Sports

The Rankings are just that – The MMA Manifesto’s rankings of the best fighters in mixed martial arts today.  Check back every Monday and Friday for our rankings of a different weight class.  Next up: Non-UFC Fighters

Voting Panel: Jeff Fox, Daniel Vreeland, Ryan MacDonald and Ricky Leone.

 

*stipulations: 1) any fighter currently suspended or 2) inactive for at least 12 months (without an upcoming fight scheduled) are excluded from the rankings

Non-UFC Fighter Rankings

 

1) (Last Ranking – 2)   Gegard Mousasi – Bellator Middleweight Champion – 36 (out of 40) points

The Non-UFC Fighter Rankings: Aug 13/18
Oct 20, 2017; Uncasville, CT, USA; Gegard Mousasi (red gloves) before fighting Alexander Shlemenko (blue gloves) during Bellator 185 at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dave Mandel-USA TODAY Sports


Record: 
44-6-2
Last Five Fights: 
5-0
Record vs Top 10: 
0-0
Next Fight: 
vs #3 Rory MacDonald – Bellator 206 – Sept 29th

The Bellator belt is the fifth championship Mousasi has won in major promotions.

 

2) (3) Ryan Bader – Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion – 34 points
          Record: 25-5
          Last Five Fights: 5-0
          Record vs Top 10: 2-0 (W-Davis, W-Davis)
          Next Fight: vs Matt Mitrione – Bellator 207 – Oct 12th

Darth will be looking to add the Bellator heavyweight strap to his collection very soon.  Two more wins to go.

 

3) (1)  Rory MacDonald – Bellator Welterweight Champion – 33 points
          Record: 20-4
          Last Five Fights: 3-2
          Record vs Top 10: 1-0 (W-Lima)
Next Fight: 
vs #1 Gegard Mousasi – Bellator 206 – Sept 29th

Speaking of adding straps to a collection, Rory Mac will try to add the Bellator middleweight one to his this fall.

 

4) (5) Ben Askren – ONE Welterweight Champion – 19 points
          Record: 18-0, 1 NC
          Last Five Fights: 4-0, 1 NC
          Record vs Top 10: 1-0 (W-Lima)
          Next Fight: TBA

For a supposedly ‘retired’ fighter, Funky sure is in the news often with rumors of future fights.

 

5) (4) Kyoji Horiguchi – Rizin Bantamweight Champion – 18 points
          Record: 25-2
          Last Five Fights: 5-0
          Record vs Top 10: 0-0
          Next Fight: TBA

Supernova has been absolutely on fire since leaving the UFC – seven-straight wins, all a weight class above his natural one.

 

6) (7)   Phil Davis – Bellator Light Heavyweight – 16 points

The Non-UFC Fighter Rankings: Aug 13/18
May 25, 2018; London, UK; Phil Davis (red) reacts to fight against Linton Vassell (blue) at SSE Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports

            Record: 19-4, 1 NC
            Last Five Fights: 4-1
            Record vs Top 10: 0-2 (L-Bader, L-Bader)
            Next Fight: TBA

Mr. Wonderful ran his winning streak to two after head-kicking Linton Vassell in London.

 

7) (6) Vitaly Minakov – Bellator/EFN Heavyweight – 14 points
          Record: 19-0
          Last Five Fights: 5-0
          Record vs Top 10: 0-0
          Next Fight: TBA

Minakov has managed to stay undefeated in the volatile heavyweight class for over eight years now.

 

8) (NR) Michael Chandler – Bellator Lightweight – 10 points
             Record: 18-4
             Last Five Fights: 4-1
             Record vs Top 10: 0-0
             Next Fight: TBA

Over a year since losing his belt in fluky fashion, Michael Chandler is still waiting on his rematch.

                     

9) (tied) (8) Douglas Lima – Bellator Welterweight – 8 points
                    Record: 29-7
                    Last Five Fights: 3-2
                    Record vs Top 10: 0-2 (L-MacDonald, L-Askren)
                    Next Fight: vs Andrey Koreshkov – Bellator 206 – Sept 29th

He was a game opponent, but The Phenom still dropped his belt to Rory MacDonald.

 

9) (tied) (NR) Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire – Bellator Featherweight Champion – 8 points
              Record: 27-4
              Last Five Fights: 3-2
              Record vs Top 10: 0-0
              Next Fight: TBA

Pitbull has his first title defense of this title reign successfully under his belt.

 

9) (tied) (9) Jon Fitch – Bellator – 8 points
                    Record: 31-7-1, 1 NC
                    Last Five Fights: 5-0
                    Record vs Top 10: 0-0
                    Next Fight: vs #3 Rory MacDonald – TBA

At 40 years young, Jon Fitch is still going strong, now inside the Bellator cage. And his first round matchup in the welterweight grand prix is a championship fight.

 

Dropped off: (9) Bibiano Fernandes

Bubbling under: Bibiano Fernandes,  Lyoto MachidaPatricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire,  Benson Henderson

 

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