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 | 445.5 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | Brian Ortega | 339 |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | Jose Aldo | 287 |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | Frankie Edgar | 214 |
| 5 | 5 | 6 | Chad Mendes | 207 |
| 6 | 6 | 11 | Chan Sung Jung | 148 |
| 7 | 8 | 12 | Alexander Volkanovski | 140.5 |
| 8 | 9 | 13 | Ricardo Lamas | 140 |
| 9 | 10 | 14 | Darren Elkins | 138 |
| 10 | 11 | Michael Johnson | 123 | |
| 11 | 7 | 7 | Jeremy Stephens | 118.5 |
| 12 | 24 | 5 | Renato Moicano | 114.5 |
| 13 | 13 | 10 | Mirsad Bektic | 102 |
| 14 | 14 | Chas Skelly | 96 | |
| 15 | 15 | 9 | Josh Emmett | 91 |
| 16 | 16 | 15 | Yair Rodriguez | 82.5 |
| 17 | 17 | Myles Jury | 78.5 | |
| 18 | 18 | Doo Ho Choi | 75 | |
| 19 | 19 | Gabriel Benitez | 74.5 | |
| 20 | 21 | Arnold Allen | 63 | |
| 21 | 20 | Andre Fili | 61 | |
| 21 | 22 | Jason Knight | 61 | |
| 23 | 23 | Calvin Kattar | 53 | |
| 24 | 25 | Gilbert Melendez | 48 | |
| 25 | 26 | 16 | Zabit Magomedsharipov | 47.5 |
| 26 | 28 | Alex Caceres | 42 | |
| 26 | 28 | Makwan Amirkhani | 42 | |
| 28 | 30 | Rick Glenn | 41.5 | |
| 29 | 31 | Dennis Bermudez | 36 | |
| 29 | 31 | Shane Burgos | 36 | |
| 31 | 27 | 8 | Cub Swanson | 32.5 |
| 32 | 33 | Enrique Barzola | 31.5 | |
| 33 | 34 | Danny Henry | 29.5 | |
| 33 | 34 | Julio Arce | 29.5 | |
| 35 | 37 | Humberto Bandenay | 27 | |
| 36 | 38 | Dan Ige | 25 | |
| 36 | 38 | Raoni Barcelos | 25 | |
| 36 | 38 | Shane Young | 25 | |
| 39 | NR | Zubaira Tukhugov | 24 | |
| 40 | 44 | Martin Bravo | 20 | |
| 41 | 45 | Artem Lobov | 19.5 | |
| 42 | 46 | Kyle Bochniak | 11.5 | |
| 43 | 47 | Rolando Dy | 9.5 | |
| 44 | 49 | Brad Katona | 5 | |
| 44 | 49 | Bryce Mitchell | 5 | |
| 44 | 56 | Hakeem Dawodu | 5 | |
| 44 | NR | Nad Narimani | 5 | |
| 44 | 56 | Sheymon Moraes | 5 | |
| 44 | 49 | Steven Peterson | 5 | |
| 44 | 49 | Wang Guan | 5 | |
| 51 | 53 | Brandon Davis | 4.5 | |
| 51 | 53 | Mads Burnell | 4.5 | |
| 53 | 56 | Austin Arnett | 0 | |
| 53 | 56 | Bharat Kandare | 0 | |
| 53 | 56 | Daniel Teymur | 0 | |
| 53 | 56 | Jay Cucciniello | 0 | |
| 53 | NR | Khalid Taha | 0 | |
| 53 | 56 | Kurt Holobaugh | 0 | |
| 53 | 56 | Matt Bessette | 0 | |
| 53 | NR | Matt Sayles | 0 | |
| 53 | 56 | Mike Santiago | 0 | |
| 53 | 56 | 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
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