The Rankings are just that – The MMA Manifesto’s rankings of the best fighters in mixed martial arts today. Check back every Monday and Friday for our rankings of a different weight class. Next up: The Flyweights Rankings.
Voting Panel: Jeff Fox, Daniel Vreeland, Ryan MacDonald, and Ricky Leone.
*stipulations: 1) any fighter currently suspended or 2) inactive for at least 12 months (without an upcoming fight scheduled) are excluded from the rankings
(click on fighter’s name for detailed scouting report)
The Flyweight Rankings
1) (Last ranking: 1) Demetrious Johnson – UFC Flyweight Champion – 40 points (out of a possible 40)
(Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
Record: 24-2-1
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 6-0 (W-Cejudo, W-Horiguchi, W-Bagautinov, W-Benavidez, W-Moraga, W-Benavidez)
Next Fight: vs TBA – TUF 24 Finale – Dec 3rd
Untouchable as champ? It’s looking that way.
2) (2) Joseph Benavidez – UFC – 36 points
Record: 24-4
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 3-2 (W-Bagautinov, W-Moraga, L-Johnson, W-Formiga, L-Johnson)
Next Fight: vs #3 Henry Cejudo – TUF 24 Finale – Dec 3rd
Will Joe Jitsu ever get to the top of the mountain?
3) (3) Henry Cejudo – UFC – 32 points
Record: 10-1
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Record vs Top 10: 1-1 (L-Johnson, W-Formiga)
Next Fight: vs #2 Joseph Benavidez – TUF 24 Finale – Dec 3rd
The Messenger, like everyone else, was no match for Mighty Mouse.
4) (4) Kyoji Horiguchi – UFC – 24 points
Record: 17-2
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Record vs Top 10: 0-1 (L-Johnson)
Next Fight: vs #7 Ali Bagautinov – UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs Hall 2 – Nov 19th
Supernova is back to his winning ways.
5) (5) Jussier ‘Formiga’ da Silva – UFC – 23 points
Record: 19-3
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Record vs Top 10: 2-2 (L-Cejudo, W-Reis, W-Makovsky, L-Benavidez)
Next Fight: TBA
Four wins out of his last five fights, all versus top talent, for Formiga.
6) (6) Wilson Reis – UFC – 20 points
Record: 21-6
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Record vs Top 10: 0-1 (L-Formiga)
Next Fight: TBA
Will Reis ever get his title shot now?
7) (7) Ali Bagautinov – UFC – 10 points
Record: 14-4
Last Five Fights: 3-2
Record vs Top 10: 0-2 (L-Benavidez, L-Johnson)
Next Fight: vs #4 Kyoji Horiguchi – UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs Hall 2 – Nov 19th
Bagautinov finally got off the schneid.
8) (NR) Matheus Nicolau – UFC – 7 points
Record: 12-1-1
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 1-0 (W-Moraga,
Next Fight: vs Ulka Sasaki – UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs Hall 2 – Nov 19th
The future is bright for the 23-year-old Brazilian
9) (tied) (NR) Magomed Bibulatov – WSOF Flyweight Champion – 7 points
Record: 13-0
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: TBA
13 up, 13 down for the WSOF champ.
9) (tied) (NR) Brandon Moreno – UFC – 7 points
Record: 12-3
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: vs Ryan Benoit – TUF 24 Finale – Dec 3rd
Losing early on TUF proved to be a blessing in disguise for Moreno, as he shocked Louis Smolka as a late replacement earlier this month.
9) (tied) (NR) John Moraga – UFC – 7 points
Record: 16-5
Last Five Fights: 2-3
Record vs Top 10: 0-3 (L-Nicolau, L-Benavidez, L-Johnson)
Next Fight: vs Zack Makovsky – UFC 206 – Dec 10th
Moraga is coming up on two years since his last win.
Dropped out: (8) Ian McCall, (9) Louis Smolka, (10) Justin Scoggins (moved to bantamweight)
Bubbling under: Ian McCall, Kairat Akhmetov, Ray Borg, Louis Smolka, Zach Makovsky, Dustin Ortiz
Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Lightweights
Featherweights
Bantamweights
Women’s Bantamweights
Women’s Strawweights
Pound for Pound
Non-UFC Fighters
Check back on Monday for our Women’s Bantamweight rankings.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!