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. Next up: The Featherweights.
*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 last rankings, third column is official UFC ranking from UFC.com)
| Stats | Last | UFC | Total | |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | ||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Max Holloway | 511 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | Brian Ortega | 297 |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | Jose Aldo | 279 |
| 4 | 4 | 11 | Ricardo Lamas | 223.5 |
| 5 | 5 | 4 | Frankie Edgar | 214 |
| 6 | 6 | 5 | Alexander Volkanovski | 195.5 |
| 7 | 7 | Chad Mendes | 169.5 | |
| 8 | 8 | 12 | Yair Rodriguez | 122 |
| 9 | 9 | 7 | Jeremy Stephens | 118.5 |
| 10 | 10 | 15 | Darren Elkins | 117 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | Chan Sung Jung | 107 |
| 12 | 13 | 9 | Mirsad Bektic | 102 |
| 13 | 22 | Andre Fili | 101 | |
| 13 | 11 | 6 | Renato Moicano | 101 |
| 15 | 14 | Michael Johnson | 96 | |
| 16 | 15 | 10 | Josh Emmett | 91 |
| 17 | 16 | Chas Skelly | 80.5 | |
| 18 | 18 | Doo Ho Choi | 75 | |
| 19 | 19 | Gabriel Benitez | 74.5 | |
| 20 | 20 | 16 | Calvin Kattar | 72 |
| 21 | 21 | Arnold Allen | 63 | |
| 22 | 17 | Myles Jury | 59.5 | |
| 23 | 23 | 14 | Zabit Magomedsharipov | 52 |
| 24 | 24 | Bobby Moffett | 50 | |
| 25 | 26 | Makwan Amirkhani | 42 | |
| 26 | 27 | Rick Glenn | 37 | |
| 27 | 28 | Shane Burgos | 36.5 | |
| 28 | 25 | Alex Caceres | 35.5 | |
| 29 | 29 | 8 | Cub Swanson | 32.5 |
| 30 | 30 | Enrique Barzola | 31.5 | |
| 31 | 31 | Danny Henry | 29.5 | |
| 32 | 32 | Dan Ige | 27.5 | |
| 32 | 34 | Shane Young | 27.5 | |
| 34 | 33 | Julio Arce | 26.5 | |
| 35 | 34 | Jordan Rinaldi | 25 | |
| 35 | 34 | Sodiq Yusuff | 25 | |
| 37 | 37 | Humberto Bandenay | 24 | |
| 38 | NR | Luis Pena | 22.5 | |
| 39 | NR | Kron Gracie | 20 | |
| 39 | 39 | Martin Bravo | 20 | |
| 41 | 41 | Kevin Aguilar | 10 | |
| 41 | 41 | Kyle Bochniak | 10 | |
| 43 | 43 | Hakeem Dawodu | 9.5 | |
| 43 | 43 | Nad Narimani | 9.5 | |
| 43 | 43 | Sheymon Moraes | 9.5 | |
| 46 | 46 | Bryce Mitchell | 5 | |
| 46 | 51 | Chris Fishgold | 5 | |
| 46 | NR | Geraldo de Freitas | 5 | |
| 46 | 46 | Steven Peterson | 5 | |
| 50 | 46 | Austin Arnett | 4.5 | |
| 50 | 49 | Mads Burnell | 4.5 | |
| 52 | 50 | Brandon Davis | 4 | |
| 53 | 51 | Anderson dos Santos | 0 | |
| 53 | 51 | Daniel Teymur | 0 | |
| 53 | NR | Felipe Colares | 0 | |
| 53 | 51 | Jay Cucciniello | 0 | |
| 53 | 51 | Jordan Griffin | 0 | |
| 53 | 51 | Khalid Taha | 0 | |
| 53 | 51 | Kurt Holobaugh | 0 | |
| 53 | 51 | Matt Bessette | 0 | |
| 53 | 51 | Matt Sayles | 0 | |
| 53 | 51 | Mike Santiago | 0 | |
| 53 | 51 | Suman Mokhtarian | 0 | |
| 53 | 51 | Tyler Diamond | 0 |
Check back Monday for our bantamweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Lightweights
Bantamweights
Flyweights
Women’s Feather/Bantamweights
Women’s Flyweights
Women’s Strawweights
Pound for Pound
Shop all things UFC at Amazon!
(The MMA Manifesto is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
