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 Middleweight Rankings.
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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
- 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
| Performance Ranking | Last Ranking | Official Ranking | Fighter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Israel Adesanya | 737 |
| 2 | 2 | 5 | Derek Brunson | 403 |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | Robert Whittaker | 306 |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | Marvin Vettori | 295 |
| 5 | 5 | 7 | Sean Strickland | 292 |
| 6 | 6 | 12 | Brad Tavares | 251 |
| 7 | 9 | 10 | Uriah Hall | 247 |
| 8 | 7 | 4 | Jared Cannonier | 243.5 |
| 9 | 10 | Chris Curtis | 210 | |
| 10 | 11 | 16 | Chris Weidman | 172 |
| 11 | 12 | Gerald Meerschaert | 167 | |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | Andre Muniz | 164 |
| 12 | 13 | 9 | Darren Till | 164 |
| 14 | 8 | 8 | Jack Hermansson | 161 |
| 15 | 16 | Robbie Lawler | 130 | |
| 16 | 17 | Dricus du Plessis | 128 | |
| 17 | 18 | Bruno ‘Blindado’ Silva | 121 | |
| 17 | 18 | 13 | Nassourdine Imavov | 121 |
| 19 | 20 | Anthony Hernandez | 120 | |
| 20 | 21 | Ian Heinisch | 109 | |
| 21 | 22 | 15 | Kevin Holland | 104 |
| 22 | 23 | Makhmud Muradov | 101 | |
| 23 | 24 | Edmen Shahbazyan | 100.5 | |
| 24 | 26 | Abdul Razak Alhassan | 90.5 | |
| 25 | 27 | Gregory Rodrigues | 89 | |
| 26 | 28 | Joaquin Buckley | 88 | |
| 26 | 28 | Misha Cirkunov | 88 | |
| 28 | 31 | 11 | Kelvin Gastelum | 82 |
| 29 | 33 | Alessio Di Chirico | 69 | |
| 30 | 30 | Punahele Soriano | 68 | |
| 31 | 32 | Marc-Andre Barriault | 66 | |
| 31 | 35 | Rodolfo Vieira | 66 | |
| 33 | 36 | Phil Hawes | 59 | |
| 34 | 37 | Andre Petroski | 55 | |
| 34 | 39 | Bryan Battle | 55 | |
| 36 | 38 | Julian Marquez | 54 | |
| 37 | 40 | Eryk Anders | 41 | |
| 38 | 41 | Alex Pereira | 40 | |
| 39 | 42 | Krzysztof Jotko | 35 | |
| 40 | 43 | Jun Yong Park | 31 | |
| 40 | 43 | Roman Dolidze | 31 | |
| 42 | 45 | Dalcha Lungiambula | 29 | |
| 42 | 51 | Nick Maximov | 29 | |
| 44 | 46 | Jordan Wright | 28 | |
| 45 | NR | Chidi Njokuani | 20 | |
| 45 | 47 | Jacob Malkoun | 20 | |
| 47 | 51 | Jamie Pickett | 19 | |
| 48 | 49 | Dusko Todorovic | 15 | |
| 49 | 51 | Albert Duraev | 10 | |
| 50 | 54 | Abu Azaitar | 9 | |
| 50 | 54 | Andreas Michailidis | 9 | |
| 50 | 54 | Kyle Daukaus | 9 | |
| 53 | 58 | Wellington Turman | 5 | |
| 54 | 59 | Cody Brundage | 0 | |
| 54 | 59 | Dustin Stoltzfus | 0 | |
| 54 | 59 | Gilbert Urbina | 0 | |
| 54 | NR | Joseph Holmes | 0 | |
| 54 | 59 | Micheal Gillmore | 0 | |
| 54 | 59 | Nick Diaz | 0 | |
| 54 | 59 | Roman Kopylov | 0 | |
| 54 | NR | Tresean Gore | 0 |
Check back Monday for our welterweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Welterweights
Lightweights
Featherweights
Bantamweights
Flyweights
Women’s Feather/Bantamweights
Women’s Flyweights
Women’s Strawweights
Pound for Pound
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