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: Non-UFC Fighters
Voting Panel: Jeff Fox, Daniel Vreeland, Ryan MacDonald, Kurt Killberg 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
Non-UFC Fighter Rankings
1) (Last Ranking – 3) Ryan Bader – Bellator Heavyweight & Light Heavyweight Champion – 45 (out of 50) points
Record: 27-5
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 2-0 (W-Davis, W-Davis)
Next Fight: TBA
2) (2) Gegard Mousasi – Bellator Middleweight Champion – 40 points Record: 45-6-2
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 1-0 (W-MacDonald)
Next Fight: TBA
Mousasi put a beating on Rory Mac, proving he is indeed one of the best non-UFC fighters out there.
3) (1) Demetrious Johnson – ONE Championship Flyweight – 40 points
Record: 27-3-1
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Record vs Top 10: 1-0 (W-Horiguchi)
Next Fight: vs Yuya Wakamatsu – ONE Championship: A New Era – Mar 31st
It’s going to be odd seeing Mighty Mouse compete outside of the octagon.
4) (4) Rory MacDonald – Bellator Welterweight Champion – 31 points
Record: 20-5
Last Five Fights: 2-3
Record vs Top 10: 1-1 (L-Mousasi, W-Lima)
Next Fight: vs Jon Fitch – Bellator 220 – Apr 27th
Middleweight didn’t quite work out as planned for Rory MacDonald.
5) (tied) (5) Eddie Alvarez – ONE Championship Lightweight – 22 points
Record: 29-6, 1 NC
Last Five Fights: 2-2, 1 NC
Record vs Top 10: 1-1 (W-Chandler, L-Chandler)
Next Fight: vs Timofey Nastyukhin – ONE Championship: A New Era – Mar 31st
The Underground King is off to conquer yet another MMA organization.
Record: 26-2
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-1 (L-Johnson)
Next Fight: vs Ben Nguyen – Rizin 15 – Apr 21st
Supernova has been absolutely on fire since leaving the UFC – eight-straight wins, all at a weight class above his natural one.
7) (7) Michael Chandler – Bellator Lightweight Champion – 14 points
Record: 19-4
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Record vs Top 10: 1-1 (L-Alvarez, W-Alvarez)
Next Fight: TBA
The gold is back around Chandler’s waist once again.
8) (tied) (7) Vitaly Minakov – Bellator/EFN Heavyweight – 12 points
Record: 19-0
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: vs Cheick Kongo – Bellator 216 – Feb 16th
Minakov has managed to stay undefeated in the volatile heavyweight class for over eight years now.
8) (tied) (8) Ilima-Lei Macfarlane – Bellator Women’s Flyweight Champion – 12 points
Record: 9-0
Last Five Fights: 5-0
Record vs Top 10: 0-0
Next Fight: vs Veta Arteaga – Bellator 220 – Apr 27th
Bellator 213 was a superstar-making performance by The Ilimanator on her home turf of Hawaii.
Record: 30-7
Last Five Fights: 4-1
Record vs Top 10: 0-1 (L-MacDonald)
Next Fight: vs Paul Daley/Michael Page – TBA
Lima is on to the semi-finals of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix Tournament.
Bubbling under: Vadim Nemkov, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire, Phil Davis, Jon Fitch, Neiman Gracie, Michael Page, Anatoly Tokov, Henry Corrales
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