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 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 Flyweights.
*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 seven year time limit, so if they have fought less than 10 times in past seven 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 | Demetrious Johnson | 509.5 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | Joseph Benavidez | 112.5 |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | Ray Borg | 81 |
| 4 | 3 | 8 | Brandon Moreno | 73 |
| 5 | 5 | 15 | Louis Smolka | 67 |
| 6 | 12 | 5 | Sergio Pettis | 66.5 |
| 7 | 6 | Ulka Sasaki | 53 | |
| 8 | 18 | 12 | Dustin Ortiz | 51 |
| 9 | 7 | 9 | Ben Nguyen | 49.5 |
| 9 | 7 | 5 | Wilson Reis | 49.5 |
| 11 | 9 | Ryan Benoit | 46 | |
| 12 | 10 | 7 | Jussier Formiga | 43.5 |
| 13 | 11 | 11 | John Moraga | 43 |
| 14 | 13 | Deiveson Figueiredo | 40 | |
| 15 | 14 | 3 | Henry Cejudo | 37.5 |
| 16 | 15 | Hector Sandoval | 30.5 | |
| 17 | 24 | 14 | Alexandre Pantoja | 29.5 |
| 18 | 17 | Justin Scoggins | 29 | |
| 19 | NR | Joseph Morales | 25 | |
| 19 | 20 | Marco Beltran | 25 | |
| 21 | 21 | 10 | Tim Elliott | 21.5 |
| 22 | 22 | 13 | Ian McCall | 13 |
| 23 | 23 | 16 | Magomed Bibulatov | 10 |
| 24 | NR | Jarred Brooks | 5 | |
| 24 | 24 | Naoki Inoue | 5 | |
| 26 | 26 | Jenel Lausa | 4.5 | |
| 27 | 27 | Ashkan Mokhtarian | 0 | |
| 27 | 27 | Carls John de Tomas | 0 | |
| 27 | 27 | Eric Shelton | 0 | |
| 27 | 27 | Matt Schnell | 0 | |
| 27 | NR | Roberto Sanchez | 0 |
Check back Monday for our women’s featherweight/bantamweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Lightweights
Featherweights
Bantamweights
Women’s Featherweights/Bantamweights
Women’s Strawweights
Pound for Pound
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