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 a 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 the 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 | 1 | 1 | Aljamain Sterling | 567 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | T.J. Dillashaw | 442 |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | Petr Yan | 429 |
| 4 | 8 | 4 | Jose Aldo | 277 |
| 5 | 4 | 15 | Song Yadong | 265 |
| 6 | 5 | 9 | Marlon Vera | 251.5 |
| 7 | 10 | 14 | Ricky Simon | 249.5 |
| 8 | 6 | 5 | Cory Sandhagen | 241.5 |
| 9 | 7 | 6 | Rob Font | 189 |
| 10 | 9 | 7 | Merab Dvalishvili | 179 |
| 11 | 15 | 13 | Sean O’Malley | 161.5 |
| 12 | 11 | Rani Yahya | 140.5 | |
| 13 | 12 | 10 | Marlon Moraes | 138 |
| 14 | 14 | Said Nurmagomedov | 135 | |
| 15 | 16 | Adrian Yanez | 121 | |
| 16 | 17 | Cody Stamann | 117.5 | |
| 17 | 18 | Kyler Phillips | 117 | |
| 18 | 20 | 12 | Frankie Edgar | 115 |
| 19 | 27 | 8 | Dominick Cruz | 112 |
| 20 | 21 | Timur Valiev | 109 | |
| 21 | 22 | Casey Kenney | 106 | |
| 22 | 23 | Nate Maness | 104 | |
| 23 | 13 | 11 | Pedro Munhoz | 101 |
| 24 | 24 | Raoni Barcelos | 98.5 | |
| 25 | 19 | Louis Smolka | 94.5 | |
| 26 | 28 | Montel Jackson | 79 | |
| 27 | 29 | Davey Grant | 78 | |
| 28 | 30 | Alejandro Perez | 75 | |
| 28 | 30 | Miles Johns | 75 | |
| 30 | 32 | Chris Gutierrez | 74.5 | |
| 31 | 33 | Julio Arce | 73.5 | |
| 32 | 26 | Raulian Paiva | 72 | |
| 33 | 36 | Mario Bautista | 62 | |
| 34 | 37 | Jonathan Martinez | 60 | |
| 34 | 37 | Saidyokub Kakhramonov | 60 | |
| 36 | 39 | Aiemann Zahabi | 55 | |
| 37 | 40 | Trevin Jones | 54 | |
| 38 | 57 | Vince Morales | 51.5 | |
| 39 | 34 | 16 | Raphael Assuncao | 50 |
| 39 | 41 | Umar Nurmagomedov | 50 | |
| 41 | 59 | Tony Kelley | 49 | |
| 42 | 42 | Kyung Ho Kang | 48.5 | |
| 43 | 43 | Jack Shore | 46 | |
| 44 | 44 | Danaa Batgerel | 44 | |
| 45 | 35 | Eddie Wineland | 40 | |
| 45 | 45 | Khalid Taha | 40 | |
| 47 | 46 | Douglas Silva de Andrade | 36 | |
| 47 | 46 | Gustavo Lopez | 36 | |
| 49 | 49 | Brandon Davis | 27 | |
| 50 | 48 | Randy Costa | 26 | |
| 50 | 50 | Tony Gravely | 26 | |
| 52 | 52 | John Castaneda | 20 | |
| 52 | 52 | Johnny Munoz | 20 | |
| 52 | 52 | Ronnie Lawrence | 20 | |
| 55 | 55 | Hunter Azure | 19 | |
| 56 | 56 | Heili Alateng | 17 | |
| 57 | 57 | Felipe Colares | 14 | |
| 58 | 59 | Guido Cannetti | 10 | |
| 58 | 59 | Mana Martinez | 10 | |
| 58 | 59 | Ricky Turcios | 10 | |
| 58 | 59 | Sergey Morozov | 10 | |
| 62 | 64 | Brady Hiestand | 0 | |
| 62 | 64 | Domingo Pilarte | 0 | |
| 62 | 64 | Gaetano Pirrello | 0 | |
| 62 | 64 | Jesse Strader | 0 | |
| 62 | 64 | JP Buys | 0 | |
| 62 | 64 | Kevin Natividad | 0 | |
| 62 | 64 | Kris Moutinho | 0 | |
| 62 | 64 | Liudvik Sholinian | 0 | |
| 62 | 64 | Marcelo Rojo | 0 | |
| 62 | 64 | Zviad Lazishvili | 0 |
Check back Monday for our flyweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Lightweights
Featherweights
Flyweights
Women’s Feather/Bantamweights
Women’s Flyweights
Women’s Strawweights
Pound for Pound
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