UFC Performance Based Fighter Rankings: Lightweights: Apr 30/21

justin gaethje
UFC Performance Based Fighter Rankings: Lightweights: Apr 30/21
July 19, 2020; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Grant Dawson launches a flying knee against Nad Narimani of England in their bout during UFC Fight Night at the Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via USA TODAY Sports

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 a voter’s opinion, and biases are bound to seep through, whether intentional or no.  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 Lightweights.

 

*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 the 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, third column is official UFC ranking from UFC.com)

Stats Last UFC Total
Rank Rank Rank
1 1 2 Justin Gaethje 576
2 2 3 Charles Oliveira 534.5
3 3 1 Dustin Poirier 473.5
4 6 9 Beneil Dariush 371.5
5 5 11 Islam Makhachev 353
6 4 5 Tony Ferguson 350
7 8 6 Conor McGregor 273
8 22 Grant Dawson 242
9 7 8 Dan Hooker 230
10 10 12 Diego Ferreira 221
11 9 7 Rafael dos Anjos 213
12 14 14 Gregor Gillespie 196
13 15 Drew Dober 190.5
14 12 10 Paul Felder 178.5
15 13 Alexander Hernandez 159
16 18 Vinc Pichel 150
17 16 Scott Holtzman 138
18 24 Rafael Fiziev 134
19 26 4 Michael Chandler 130
20 17 Jim Miller 124.5
21 20 Leonardo Santos 119
22 25 Damir Hadzovic 112.5
23 29 Arman Tsarukyan 112
23 29 Herbert Burns 112
25 28 Jalin Turner 110
25 48 Joe Solecki 110
27 19 Renato Moicano 109.5
28 31 Chris Gruetzemacher 108
29 22 Khama Worthy 104
30 69 Mateusz Gamrot 100
31 21 Yancy Medeiros 99
32 34 Ottman Azaitar 98
33 35 Devonte Smith 88
34 37 Joel Alvarez 87
35 NR Joaquim Silva 83
36 40 Thiago Moises 79
37 NR Mike Grundy 72
38 42 Roosevelt Roberts 71
39 45 Bobby Green 69
40 32 Luis Pena 68
40 36 Nasrat Haqparast 68
40 44 Rick Glenn 68
43 33 Jeremy Stephens 62
43 40 John Makdessi 62
45 69 Jamie Mullarkey 60
46 46 Marc Diakiese 55.5
47 51 Don Madge 55
48 54 Austin Hubbard 54
48 52 Brad Riddell 54
50 53 Frank Camacho 50.5
51 55 Jordan Leavitt 50
51 43 Lando Vannata 50
53 38 Clay Guida 49
54 47 Kevin Aguilar 48
55 NR Claudio Puelles 46
56 57 Matt Frevola 44
57 59 Alexander Yakovlev 40
58 50 Alan Patrick 38
59 58 Christos Giagos 35
60 60 Mike Davis 28
61 NR Damir Ismagulov 27
62 56 Michael Johnson 25
63 61 Luigi Vendramini 20
63 61 Uros Medic 20
65 63 Fares Ziam 10
65 63 Guram Kutateladze 10
65 69 Rodrigo Vargas 10
68 65 Alex da Silva 9
69 67 Jessin Ayari 5
69 67 Justin Jaynes 5
71 69 Aalon Cruz 0
71 69 Alexander Munoz 0
71 NR Dakota Bush 0
71 NR Ignacio Bahamondes 0
71 69 Jai Herbert 0
71 69 Mason Jones 0
71 69 Rafa Garcia 0
71 NR Rong Zhu 0

 

Check back Monday for our featherweight rankings

Performance Based Rankings:

Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Featherweights
Bantamweights
Flyweights
Women’s Feather/Bantamweights
Women’s Flyweights
Women’s Strawweights
Pound for Pound

 

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