There is constant debate about the “official” UFC fighter rankings, which are based on voting from a panel of journalists. Such is the case with something as subjective as voting – it’s totally based on voter’s opinion, and biases are bound to seep through, whether intentional or not. So to try to put a fresh, objective, data-driven spin on rankings, The MMA Manifesto has come up with a performance based ranking system, solely based on how a fighter has performed in the cage. Next up: The Light Heavyweights.
*stipulations: 1) any fighter currently suspended or 2) inactive for at least 12 months (without an upcoming fight scheduled) are excluded from the rankings
- Scoring based on a fighter’s past 10 UFC performances (we use a five year time limit, so if they have fought less than 10 times in past five years, only the fights within that time frame are counted)
- Points based on a fighter’s opponent’s UFC win/loss record (ie strength of schedule – the more successful a vanquished opponent is, the more points awarded), extra points given for finishes, extra points given for title fight wins.
- Points are weighed so most recent fights are worth more (ie most recent fight counts the most, 10th most recent fight the least)
- No points awarded for a loss
(first column performance based ranking, second column is last ranking, last column is official UFC ranking from UFC.com)
| Stats | Last | UFC | Total | |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | ||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Jon Jones | 376.5 |
| 2 | NR | Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza | 197 | |
| 3 | 2 | 4 | Anthony Smith | 176 |
| 4 | 6 | Ovince Saint Preux | 145 | |
| 5 | 4 | Chris Weidman | 142 | |
| 6 | 5 | 3 | Thiago Santos | 138 |
| 7 | 3 | 10 | Glover Teixeira | 133 |
| 8 | 7 | 9 | Volkan Oezdemir | 123 |
| 9 | 8 | 8 | Corey Anderson | 120 |
| 9 | 8 | Luke Rockhold | 120 | |
| 11 | 10 | 6 | Jan Blachowicz | 118 |
| 12 | 14 | 14 | Misha Cirkunov | 116.5 |
| 13 | 12 | 11 | Johnny Walker | 110 |
| 14 | 13 | 5 | Dominick Reyes | 107.5 |
| 15 | 15 | 13 | Ilir Latifi | 89 |
| 16 | 16 | 16 | Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua | 88 |
| 17 | 17 | 11 | Aleksandar Rakic | 85 |
| 18 | 18 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 84 | |
| 19 | 20 | Ion Cutelaba | 82 | |
| 20 | 11 | 15 | Nikita Krylov | 81 |
| 21 | 19 | Jimmy Crute | 70 | |
| 22 | 20 | Sam Alvey | 59 | |
| 23 | 22 | Paul Craig | 52 | |
| 24 | 24 | Gadzhimurad Antigulov | 48 | |
| 25 | 26 | Eryk Anders | 47 | |
| 26 | 23 | Khalil Rountree Jr | 43 | |
| 26 | 24 | Michal Oleksiejczuk | 43 | |
| 26 | 27 | Tyson Pedro | 43 | |
| 29 | 28 | Alonzo Menifield | 42.5 | |
| 30 | 29 | Ed Herman | 38 | |
| 31 | 30 | Gian Villante | 26 | |
| 32 | NR | Da Un Jung | 25 | |
| 32 | 31 | Klidson Abreu | 25 | |
| 34 | 32 | Justin Ledet | 24.5 | |
| 34 | 32 | Ryan Spann | 24.5 | |
| 36 | 34 | Gokhan Saki | 22.5 | |
| 37 | 35 | Devin Clark | 22 | |
| 38 | 36 | Dalcha Lungiambula | 20 | |
| 38 | 36 | Darko Stosic | 20 | |
| 40 | 38 | Magomed Ankalaev | 14 | |
| 41 | 39 | Patrick Cummins | 10.5 | |
| 42 | NR | Trevor Smith | 9.5 | |
| 43 | 40 | Mike Rodriguez | 9 | |
| 44 | 41 | John Allan | 5 | |
| 44 | 41 | Kennedy Nzechukwu | 5 | |
| 44 | 41 | Rashad Coulter | 5 | |
| 44 | 41 | Saparbek Safarov | 5 | |
| 48 | 45 | Dequan Townsend | 0 | |
| 48 | NR | Khadis Ibragimov | 0 | |
| 48 | 45 | Marcin Prachnio | 0 | |
| 48 | 45 | Nicolae Negumereanu | 0 | |
| 48 | 45 | Vinicius Moreira | 0 |
Check back Friday for our middleweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Lightweights
Featherweights
Bantamweights
Flyweights
Women’s Feather/Bantamweights
Women’s Flyweights
Women’s Strawweights
Pound for Pound
(The MMA Manifesto is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com)
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