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. We’ll roll these rankings out daily for the next couple of weeks until all weight classes have been revealed. Next up: The Featherweights.
*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 official UFC ranking from UFC.com)
| Stats | UFC | Total | |
| Rank | Rank | ||
| 1 | 1 | Jose Aldo | 507 |
| 2 | 2 | Max Holloway | 273 |
| 3 | 4 | Ricardo Lamas | 183 |
| 4 | 3 | Frankie Edgar | 182 |
| 4 | 8 | Anthony Pettis | 182 |
| 6 | 14 | Renan Barao | 170 |
| 7 | 7 | Chan Sung Jung | 160 |
| 8 | 10 | Brian Ortega | 133 |
| 9 | Charles Oliveira | 120 | |
| 10 | 6 | Jeremy Stephens | 115.5 |
| 11 | 12 | Darren Elkins | 114.5 |
| 12 | Chas Skelly | 111.5 | |
| 13 | 16 | Myles Jury | 110.5 |
| 14 | 5 | Cub Swanson | 110 |
| 15 | 11 | Dennis Bermudez | 97 |
| 16 | 9 | Yair Rodriguez | 93 |
| 17 | B.J. Penn | 90 | |
| 18 | 13 | Doo Ho Choi | 85 |
| 19 | Godofredo Pepey | 67.5 | |
| 20 | Ryan Hall | 64.5 | |
| 21 | Rony Jason | 63.5 | |
| 22 | Hacran Dias | 51 | |
| 23 | Alex Caceres | 43 | |
| 24 | Arnold Allen | 42.5 | |
| 25 | Gabriel Benitez | 41.5 | |
| 26 | Dennis Siver | 40 | |
| 26 | Renato Moicano | 40 | |
| 28 | 15 | Mirsad Bektic | 39.5 |
| 29 | Makwan Amirkhani | 36.5 | |
| 30 | Ning Guangyou | 35.5 | |
| 31 | Diego Rivas | 34.5 | |
| 32 | Shane Burgos | 34 | |
| 33 | Jason Knight | 33 | |
| 33 | Teruto Ishihara | 33 | |
| 35 | Dan Hooker | 28.5 | |
| 36 | Jimy Hettes | 28 | |
| 37 | Clay Guida | 26.5 | |
| 38 | Sam Sicilia | 25.5 | |
| 38 | Artem Lobov | 24.5 | |
| 40 | Mike De La Torre | 22 | |
| 41 | Mizuto Hirota | 20 | |
| 42 | Gray Maynard | 19.5 | |
| 43 | Jeremy Kennedy | 14.5 | |
| 44 | Kyle Bochniak | 10 | |
| 45 | Enrique Barzola | 9 | |
| 46 | Charles Rosa | 8 | |
| 47 | Rick Glenn | 5 | |
| 47 | Gavin Tucker | 5 | |
| 49 | Chris Gruetzemacher | 4.5 |
Check back tomorrow for our bantamweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Lightweights
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