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 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 UFC Lightweight Rankings.
*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 | 1 | Charles Oliveira | 831 |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | Justin Gaethje | 454 |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | Beneil Dariush | 435 |
| 4 | 5 | 5 | Islam Makhachev | 418 |
| 5 | 2 | 3 | Dustin Poirier | 383.5 |
| 6 | 6 | 11 | Gregor Gillespie | 272.5 |
| 7 | 7 | Grant Dawson | 242 | |
| 8 | 15 | 12 | Rafael Fiziev | 234 |
| 9 | NR | 7 | Rafael dos Anjos | 213 |
| 10 | 28 | 13 | Mateusz Gamrot | 199 |
| 11 | 8 | 8 | Tony Ferguson | 194.5 |
| 12 | 9 | Alexander Hernandez | 179 | |
| 13 | 11 | 9 | Dan Hooker | 159 |
| 14 | 12 | Jalin Turner | 156 | |
| 15 | 13 | 14 | Arman Tsarukyan | 145 |
| 16 | 14 | Drew Dober | 144.5 | |
| 17 | 47 | Clay Guida | 140.5 | |
| 18 | 16 | Scott Holtzman | 137.5 | |
| 19 | 17 | Vinc Pichel | 135 | |
| 20 | 18 | Jamie Mullarkey | 134 | |
| 21 | 19 | Jim Miller | 129 | |
| 21 | 19 | Joel Alvarez | 129 | |
| 23 | 21 | Rick Glenn | 128.5 | |
| 24 | 22 | Al Iaquinta | 120 | |
| 24 | 22 | 10 | Conor McGregor | 120 |
| 26 | 10 | 16 | Diego Ferreira | 113.5 |
| 27 | 25 | Bobby Green | 107.5 | |
| 28 | 27 | 6 | Michael Chandler | 104 |
| 29 | 29 | Jared Gordon | 96.5 | |
| 30 | 30 | Renato Moicano | 96 | |
| 31 | 24 | 15 | Brad Riddell | 95 |
| 32 | 31 | Joe Solecki | 92 | |
| 33 | 33 | Damir Hadzovic | 86 | |
| 34 | 34 | Ignacio Bahamondes | 80 | |
| 35 | 36 | Claudio Puelles | 76 | |
| 36 | 26 | Chris Gruetzemacher | 69 | |
| 37 | 35 | Devonte Smith | 64 | |
| 38 | 37 | John Makdessi | 60 | |
| 38 | 45 | Jordan Leavitt | 60 | |
| 40 | 32 | Leonardo Santos | 58 | |
| 41 | 38 | Nasrat Haqparast | 55.5 | |
| 42 | 39 | Mark O. Madsen | 55 | |
| 43 | 41 | Thiago Moises | 53 | |
| 44 | 42 | Joaquim Silva | 52 | |
| 45 | 43 | Rafael Alves | 50 | |
| 45 | 43 | Zhu Rong | 50 | |
| 47 | 46 | Jeremy Stephens | 42.5 | |
| 48 | 47 | Jai Herbert | 40 | |
| 48 | 47 | Terrance McKinney | 40 | |
| 50 | 50 | Marc Diakiese | 37 | |
| 50 | 51 | Matt Frevola | 37 | |
| 52 | 52 | Austin Hubbard | 36.5 | |
| 53 | 53 | Damir Ismagulov | 32 | |
| 54 | 54 | Christos Giagos | 29.5 | |
| 55 | 55 | Mike Davis | 28 | |
| 56 | 56 | Paddy Pimblett | 20 | |
| 56 | 56 | Steve Garcia | 20 | |
| 58 | 58 | Fares Ziam | 19 | |
| 59 | 59 | Uros Medic | 18 | |
| 60 | 61 | Luigi Vendramini | 16 | |
| 60 | 59 | Matt Sayles | 16 | |
| 62 | 62 | Michael Johnson | 14 | |
| 63 | 63 | Mason Jones | 10 | |
| 63 | 63 | Rafa Garcia | 10 | |
| 63 | 63 | Rodrigo Vargas | 10 | |
| 66 | 67 | Alexander Munoz | 0 | |
| 66 | 67 | Brandon Jenkins | 0 | |
| 66 | 67 | Charlie Ontiveros | 0 | |
| 66 | 67 | Dakota Bush | 0 | |
| 66 | 67 | David Onama | 0 | |
| 66 | 67 | Erick Gonzalez | 0 | |
| 66 | 67 | Mike Breeden | 0 | |
| 66 | 67 | Natan Levy | 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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