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 Bantamweights.
*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 | 3 | T.J. Dillashaw | 361 |
| 2 | 2 | Dominick Cruz | 299 |
| 3 | 1 | Cody Garbrandt | 235.5 |
| 4 | 5 | John Lineker | 154 |
| 5 | 11 | Eddie Wineland | 123 |
| 6 | 15 | Joe Soto | 121 |
| 7 | 7 | Bryan Caraway | 114 |
| 8 | 4 | Raphael Assuncao | 107.5 |
| 9 | 6 | Jimmie Rivera | 101 |
| 10 | 9 | Aljamain Sterling | 91 |
| 11 | 14 | Pedro Munhoz | 75.5 |
| 12 | 10 | Thomas Almeida | 74.5 |
| 13 | 8 | John Dodson | 73.5 |
| 14 | 13 | Iuri Alcantara | 69.5 |
| 15 | Felipe Arantes | 54.5 | |
| 16 | Rani Yahya | 52.5 | |
| 17 | 16 | Rob Font | 52 |
| 18 | Mitch Gagnon | 46.5 | |
| 19 | Damian Stasiak | 42.5 | |
| 20 | Justin Scoggins | 34.5 | |
| 21 | Frankie Saenz | 33.5 | |
| 22 | Kyung Ho Kang | 32.5 | |
| 22 | Chris Holdsworth | 32.5 | |
| 24 | 12 | Johnny Eduardo | 29.5 |
| 25 | Marco Beltran | 28.5 | |
| 26 | Alejandro Perez | 28 | |
| 27 | Patrick Williams | 27 | |
| 27 | Luke Sanders | 27 | |
| 29 | Tom Duquesnoy | 25 | |
| 30 | Russell Doane | 24.5 | |
| 30 | Douglas Silva de Andrade | 24.5 | |
| 32 | Ian Entwistle | 22.5 | |
| 33 | Marlon Vera | 21 | |
| 34 | Henry Briones | 20 | |
| 34 | Matthew Lopez | 20 | |
| 36 | Michinori Tanaka | 16 | |
| 37 | Jose Quinonez | 14 | |
| 38 | Guido Cannetti | 10 | |
| 39 | Augusto Mendes | 9 | |
| 40 | Albert Morales | 5 | |
| 40 | Brett Johns | 5 | |
| 40 | Ricardo Ramas | 5 | |
| 40 | Aiemann Zahabi | 5 | |
| 44 | Davey Grant | 4.5 | |
| 45 | Reginaldo Vieira | 4 | |
| 46 | Norifumi ‘Kid’ Yamamoto | 0 | |
| 46 | Kwan Ho Kwak | 0 | |
| 46 | Andre Soukhamthath | 0 |
Check back tomorrow for our featherweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Lightweights
Featherweights
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