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 | 524 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | Henry Cejudo | 121.5 |
| 3 | 3 | 8 | Brandon Moreno | 73 |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | Ray Borg | 70 |
| 5 | 6 | Ryan Benoit | 65 | |
| 6 | 10 | 10 | Dustin Ortiz | 63 |
| 7 | 7 | 11 | John Moraga | 61 |
| 7 | 7 | 5 | Jussier Formiga | 61 |
| 9 | 9 | 6 | Sergio Pettis | 58 |
| 10 | 5 | Louis Smolka | 55 | |
| 11 | 11 | 9 | Ben Nguyen | 49.5 |
| 12 | 12 | 15 | Deiveson Figueiredo | 46 |
| 12 | 12 | Ulka Sasaki | 46 | |
| 14 | 14 | 7 | Wilson Reis | 41 |
| 15 | NR | 12 | Matheus Nicolau | 39 |
| 16 | 15 | Hector Sandoval | 30.5 | |
| 17 | 17 | Justin Scoggins | 29 | |
| 18 | 16 | 14 | Alexandre Pantoja | 26.5 |
| 19 | 18 | Alex Perez | 25 | |
| 19 | 18 | Joseph Morales | 25 | |
| 21 | 21 | Marco Beltran | 18 | |
| 22 | 22 | Matt Schnell | 10 | |
| 23 | 23 | 16 | Magomed Bibulatov | 9 |
| 24 | 24 | Eric Shelton | 5 | |
| 24 | 24 | Naoki Inoue | 5 | |
| 26 | 26 | Jarred Brooks | 4.5 | |
| 27 | 27 | Jenel Lausa | 4 | |
| 28 | 28 | Ashkan Mokhtarian | 0 | |
| 28 | 28 | 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 Feather/Bantamweights
Women’s Fly/Strawweights
Pound for Pound
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