The Non-UFC Fighter Rankings: May 6/19

ryan bader knocks out king mo
The Non-UFC Fighter Rankings: May 6/19
Jan 26, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Ryan Bader (blue gloves) defeats Fedor Emelianenko (red gloves) during Bellator 214 at The Forum. 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, Kurt Killberg and Ricky Leone.

 

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*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 – 1 Ryan Bader – Bellator Heavyweight & Light Heavyweight Champion – 44 (out of 50) points
          Record: 27-5
          Last Five Fights: 5-0
          Record vs Top 10: 2-0 (W-Davis, W-Davis)
          Next Fight: TBA

The champ champ is still #1.

2) (2) Demetrious Johnson – ONE Championship Flyweight – 39 points
          Record: 27-3-1
          Last Five Fights: 4-1
          Record vs Top 10: 1-0 (W-Horiguchi)
Next Fight:
vs Tatsumitsu Wada – TBA

1-0 in ONE Championship for DJ.

 

3) (3)  Gegard Mousasi – Bellator Middleweight Champion – 34 points                 Record: 45-6-2
Last Five Fights:
5-0
Record vs Top 10:
1-0 (W-MacDonald)
Next Fight: 
vs Rafael Lovato Jr – Bellator London – Jun 22nd

Mousasi put a beating on Rory Mac, proving he is indeed one of the best non-UFC fighters out there.

4) (6) Kyoji Horiguchi – Rizin Bantamweight Champion – 25 points
          Record: 27-2
          Last Five Fights: 5-0
          Record vs Top 10: 0-1 (L-Johnson)
          Next Fight: vs Darrion Caldwell – Bellator 222 – Jun 14th

Supernova will be looking to add Bellator gold to his collection next month.

 

5) (4)  Rory MacDonald – Bellator Welterweight Champion – 21 points

The Non-UFC Fighter Rankings: May 6/19
Apr 27, 2019; San Jose, CA, USA; Rory Macdonald (with belt) reacts after his bout against Jon Fitch (not pictured) during Bellator 220 at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Dave Mandel-USA TODAY Sports

          Record: 20-5-1
          Last Five Fights: 2-2-1
          Record vs Top 10: 1-1 (L-Mousasi, W-Lima)
Next Fight:
vs Neiman Gracie – Bellator 222 – Jun 14th

We might be seeing the beginning of the end of Rory Mac in the cage.

 

6) (7) Michael Chandler – Bellator Lightweight Champion – 20 points
          Record: 19-4
          Last Five Fights: 4-1
          Record vs Top 10: 0-0
          Next Fight: vs #10 Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire – Bellator 221 – May 11th

The gold is back around Chandler’s waist once again.

 

7) (8) Ilima-Lei Macfarlane – Bellator Women’s Flyweight Champion – 15 points

The Non-UFC Fighter Rankings: May 6/19
Nov 3, 2017; University Park, PA, USA; Ilima Macfarlane (red gloves) reacts after defeating Emily Ducote (not pictured) during Bellator 186 at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Record:  10-0
Last Five Fights:  5-0
Record vs Top 10:  0-0
Next Fight:  TBA

Bellator 213 was a superstar-making performance by The Ilimanator on her home turf of Hawaii.

 

8) (NR) Phil Davis – Bellator Light Heavyweight – 14 points
             Record: 20-5, 1 NC
             Last Five Fights: 3-2
             Record vs Top 10: 0-2 (L-Bader, L-Bader)
            Next Fight:  TBA
Mr Wonderful is back on the winning track.

 
 

9) (8) Douglas Lima – Bellator Welterweight – 12 points
          Record: 30-7
          Last Five Fights: 4-1
          Record vs Top 10: 0-1 (L-MacDonald)
          Next Fight: vs Michael Page – Bellator 221 – May 11th

Lima is on to the semi-finals of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix Tournament.

 

10) (NR) Brianna Van Buren – Invicta FC Strawweight Champion – 8 points
                Record: 8-2
                Last Five Fights: 5-0
                Record vs Top 10: 0-0
                Next Fight: TBA

AND NEW…..

 

Dropped off: (5) Eddie Alvarez, (10) Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire

Bubbling under: Vadim Nemkov, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire, Neiman Gracie, Jon Fitch, Anatoly Tokov, Lyoto Machida, Timofey Nastyukhin, Aung La Nsang, Bibiano Fernandes, Patrick Curran

 

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