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 not. 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 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 five year time limit, so if they have fought less than 10 times in past five 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, last column is official UFC ranking from UFC.com)
Stats | Last | UFC | Total | |
Rank | Rank | Rank | ||
1 | 4 | 3 | Cory Sandhagen | 242.5 |
1 | 2 | 1 | Petr Yan | 242.5 |
3 | 3 | 2 | Aljamain Sterling | 229.5 |
4 | 5 | 7 | Marlon Moraes | 163 |
5 | 7 | 4 | Rob Font | 143.5 |
6 | 9 | 9 | Pedro Munhoz | 128 |
7 | 10 | 6 | Jose Aldo | 126 |
8 | 11 | Marlon Vera | 125.5 | |
9 | 8 | 10 | Jimmie Rivera | 118 |
10 | 13 | 15 | Song Yadong | 112 |
11 | 12 | 8 | Frankie Edgar | 103 |
12 | NR | 14 | Cody Stamann | 97 |
13 | 16 | 16 | Casey Kenney | 96 |
14 | 6 | 12 | Dominick Cruz | 80 |
15 | 17 | Raoni Barcelos | 75.5 | |
15 | 18 | Eddie Wineland | 72.5 | |
17 | 19 | Rani Yahya | 70.5 | |
18 | 20 | Nathaniel Wood | 70 | |
19 | 21 | Said Nurmagomedov | 68.5 | |
20 | 22 | Louis Smolka | 63 | |
21 | 23 | Alejandro Perez | 60.5 | |
22 | 24 | Sean O’Malley | 60 | |
23 | 25 | 13 | Merab Dvalishvili | 57.5 |
24 | 26 | Jonathan Martinez | 54 | |
25 | 27 | 11 | Raphael Assuncao | 53.5 |
26 | 28 | Luke Sanders | 39.5 | |
27 | 30 | Miles Johns | 33 | |
28 | 31 | Andre Ewell | 32.5 | |
29 | 32 | Kyler Phillips | 29.5 | |
29 | 32 | Montel Jackson | 29.5 | |
31 | 34 | Chris Gutierrez | 25.5 | |
32 | 35 | Adrian Yanez | 25 | |
32 | 35 | Julio Arce | 25 | |
32 | NR | Umar Nurmagomedov | 25 | |
35 | 37 | Nathan Maness | 24.5 | |
36 | 38 | Enrique Barzola | 23 | |
37 | 39 | Khalid Taha | 22.5 | |
38 | 40 | Jose Alberto Quinonez | 22 | |
39 | 41 | Gustavo Lopez | 20 | |
40 | 42 | Randy Costa | 19 | |
41 | 43 | Davey Grant | 17.5 | |
41 | 49 | Thomas Almeida | 17.5 | |
43 | 44 | Mark De La Rosa | 15.5 | |
44 | 45 | Jack Shore | 14 | |
45 | 46 | Hunter Azure | 13 | |
46 | 47 | Danaa Batgerel | 10 | |
47 | 48 | Heili Alateng | 8.5 | |
48 | 49 | Guido Cannetti | 8 | |
49 | 50 | Frankie Saenz | 7.5 | |
50 | 51 | Anderson dos Santos | 5 | |
50 | 51 | Tony Gravely | 5 | |
50 | 51 | Tony Kelley | 5 | |
53 | 54 | Anthony Birchak | 4.5 | |
53 | 54 | Irwin Rivera | 4.5 | |
55 | 57 | Aiemann Zahabi | 4 | |
55 | 57 | Geraldo de Freitas | 4 | |
57 | 59 | Aaron Phillips | 0 | |
57 | 59 | Ali AlQaisi | 0 | |
57 | 59 | Cameron Else | 0 | |
57 | 59 | Gabriel Silva | 0 | |
57 | NR | Gaetano Pirrello | 0 | |
57 | 59 | John Castaneda | 0 | |
57 | 59 | Journey Newson | 0 | |
57 | 59 | Kevin Natividad | 0 | |
57 | 59 | Mark Striegl | 0 | |
57 | 59 | Ray Rodriguez | 0 | |
57 | NR | Sergey Morozov | 0 | |
57 | 59 | Trevin Jones | 0 | |
57 | 59 | Victor Rodriguez | 0 | |
57 | NR | Vincent Cachero | 0 |
Check back Friday for our flyweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Lightweight
Featherweights
Flyweights
Women’s Feather/Bantamweights
Women’s Flyweights
Women’s Strawweights
Pound for Pound
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