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 | Jan Blachowicz | 277.5 |
2 | 2 | 4 | Glover Teixeira | 163 |
3 | 4 | 2 | Thiago Santos | 138 |
4 | 11 | 10 | Johnny Walker | 134 |
5 | 3 | 3 | Dominick Reyes | 131 |
6 | 5 | Ovince Saint Preux | 121 | |
7 | 6 | 8 | Anthony Smith | 120 |
7 | 6 | 7 | Volkan Oezdemir | 120 |
9 | 9 | 14 | Jimmy Crute | 111 |
10 | 8 | 5 | Aleksandar Rakic | 100 |
11 | 10 | 9 | Nikita Krylov | 89 |
12 | 16 | 12 | Magomed Ankalaev | 80.5 |
13 | 12 | 15 | Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua | 77 |
14 | 14 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 74 | |
15 | 13 | 13 | Ryan Spann | 68 |
16 | 17 | 16 | Paul Craig | 62.5 |
17 | 15 | Ion Cutelaba | 62 | |
18 | 18 | Ed Herman | 47 | |
19 | 19 | Sam Alvey | 43.5 | |
20 | 20 | Khalil Rountree Jr | 43 | |
21 | 22 | 6 | Jiri Prochazka | 40 |
22 | 23 | Michal Oleksiejczuk | 38 | |
23 | 21 | Gadzhimurad Antigulov | 35 | |
24 | 24 | Alonzo Menifield | 33.5 | |
25 | 25 | Da Un Jung | 32.5 | |
26 | 26 | Devin Clark | 27.5 | |
27 | 28 | Gokhan Saki | 22.5 | |
27 | 28 | Klidson Abreu | 22.5 | |
27 | 27 | Modestas Bukauskas | 22.5 | |
30 | 30 | Justin Ledet | 21 | |
31 | 31 | Dalcha Lungiambula | 18 | |
32 | 32 | Darko Stosic | 17.5 | |
33 | 33 | Mike Rodriguez | 10.5 | |
34 | 34 | Jordan Wright | 10 | |
34 | 40 | Maxim Grishin | 10 | |
34 | NR | William Knight | 10 | |
37 | 34 | Aleksa Camur | 9 | |
38 | NR | Danilo Marques | 5 | |
38 | 36 | John Allan | 5 | |
38 | 36 | Kennedy Nzechukwu | 5 | |
38 | 36 | Roman Dolidze | 5 | |
38 | 36 | Shamil Gamzatov | 5 | |
43 | 40 | Andreas Michailidis | 0 | |
43 | 40 | Dustin Jacoby | 0 | |
43 | 40 | Ike Villanueva | 0 | |
43 | 40 | Marcin Prachnio | 0 | |
43 | 40 | Nicolae Negumereanu | 0 | |
43 | 40 | Vinicius Moreira | 0 |
Check back Monday 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
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