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 Middleweights.
*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
Let’s address the elephant in the room – Chris Weidman is still the #1 ranked fighter, despite losing three straight. So what gives? He earned massive points (due to finishing fights, quality of opponents, and title fight bonus points) due to his victories over Anderson Silva (twice), Lyoto Machida, and Vitor Belfort. However, as those performances get further into the rearview, so will Weidman’s ranking (unless he turns things around and starts winning fights again).
(first column performance based ranking, second column is official UFC ranking from UFC.com)
| Stats | UFC | Total | |
| Rank | Rank | ||
| 1 | 5 | Chris Weidman | 420 |
| 2 | Georges St-Pierre | 371 | |
| 3 | 3 | Luke Rockhold | 364 |
| 4 | 1 | Michael Bisping | 358 |
| 5 | 2 | Yoel Romero | 342 |
| 6 | 6 | Gegard Mousasi | 270 |
| 7 | 4 | Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza | 245 |
| 8 | 7 | Robert Whittaker | 235 |
| 9 | 8 | Anderson Silva | 185 |
| 10 | 16 | Dan Kelly | 148.5 |
| 11 | 15 | Tim Boetsch | 120 |
| 12 | Thiago Santos | 112.5 | |
| 13 | 12 | Thales Leites | 111 |
| 14 | 14 | Sam Alvey | 107 |
| 15 | 10 | Krzysztof Jotko | 99.5 |
| 16 | 9 | Derek Brunson | 97 |
| 17 | Johny Hendricks | 92 | |
| 18 | 11 | Vitor Belfort | 85 |
| 19 | Vitor Miranda | 84.5 | |
| 20 | Hector Lombard | 80 | |
| 21 | Elias Theodorou | 78.5 | |
| 22 | Rashad Evans | 76 | |
| 23 | Brad Tavares | 69.5 | |
| 24 | C.B. Dollaway | 68.5 | |
| 25 | 13 | Uriah Hall | 64.5 |
| 26 | Nate Marquardt | 64 | |
| 27 | Eric Spicely | 56 | |
| 28 | Magnus Cedenblad | 46 | |
| 29 | Jack Marshman | 45 | |
| 30 | Cezar Ferreira | 42 | |
| 31 | Gerald Meerschaert | 39 | |
| 32 | Rafael Natal | 31 | |
| 33 | Antonio Carlos Junior | 28.5 | |
| 34 | Jake Collier | 28 | |
| 35 | Brad Scott | 27 | |
| 36 | Chris Camozzi | 26 | |
| 36 | David Branch | 26 | |
| 38 | Alex Nicholson | 22.5 | |
| 39 | Gareth McLellan | 17.5 | |
| 40 | Andrew Sanchez | 14.5 | |
| 41 | Anthony Smith | 14 | |
| 41 | Scott Askham | 14 | |
| 43 | Trevor Smith | 13.5 | |
| 44 | Devin Clark | 10 | |
| 45 | Oluwale Bamgbose | 9 | |
| 45 | Marvin Vettori | 9 | |
| 47 | Marcelo Guimaraes | 8 | |
| 48 | Paulo Henrique Costa | 5 | |
| 49 | Alessio Di Chirico | 4.5 | |
| 49 | Jack Hermansson | 4.5 | |
| 49 | Ryan Janes | 4.5 | |
| 52 | Keith Berish | 0 |
Check back tomorrow for our welterweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
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