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 Light Heavyweights.
*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 | 1 | 1 | Jon Jones | 396 |
2 | 10 | 7 | Jan Blachowicz | 183 |
3 | 2 | 4 | Anthony Smith | 176 |
4 | 3 | Luke Rockhold | 175 | |
5 | 4 | 2 | Dominick Reyes | 152.5 |
6 | 6 | Ovince Saint Preux | 145 | |
7 | 7 | 8 | Volkan Oezdemir | 143.5 |
8 | 8 | 3 | Thiago Santos | 138 |
9 | 5 | 6 | Corey Anderson | 134.5 |
10 | 9 | 10 | Glover Teixeira | 133 |
11 | 11 | Chris Weidman | 120 | |
12 | 12 | 13 | Misha Cirkunov | 116.5 |
13 | 14 | 12 | Johnny Walker | 98 |
14 | 13 | 14 | Nikita Krylov | 97 |
15 | 15 | 16 | Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua | 88 |
16 | 16 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 84 | |
17 | 17 | Ion Cutelaba | 82 | |
18 | 18 | 11 | Aleksandar Rakic | 75 |
19 | 19 | Jimmy Crute | 70 | |
20 | 20 | Sam Alvey | 59 | |
21 | 21 | Paul Craig | 52 | |
21 | 21 | Ryan Spann | 52 | |
23 | 23 | Gadzhimurad Antigulov | 48 | |
24 | 24 | Ed Herman | 43 | |
24 | 24 | Khalil Rountree Jr | 43 | |
24 | 24 | Michal Oleksiejczuk | 43 | |
27 | 27 | Alonzo Menifield | 42.5 | |
27 | 27 | Magomed Ankalaev | 42.5 | |
29 | 29 | Da Un Jung | 32.5 | |
30 | 32 | Gokhan Saki | 22.5 | |
30 | 32 | Klidson Abreu | 22.5 | |
32 | 35 | Devin Clark | 21 | |
32 | 31 | Justin Ledet | 21 | |
34 | 36 | Dalcha Lungiambula | 18 | |
35 | 34 | Darko Stosic | 17.5 | |
36 | NR | Aleksa Camur | 10 | |
37 | 37 | Mike Rodriguez | 8 | |
38 | NR | Jamahal Hill | 5 | |
38 | 38 | Kennedy Nzechukwu | 5 | |
38 | 38 | Saparbek Safarov | 5 | |
38 | 38 | Shamil Gamzatov | 5 | |
42 | NR | Dequan Townsend | 0 | |
42 | 41 | Khadis Ibragimov | 0 | |
42 | 41 | Nicolae Negumereanu | 0 | |
42 | 41 | Vinicius Moreira | 0 |
Check back Friday for our middleweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Middleweights
Welterweights
Lightweights
Featherweights
Bantamweights
Flyweights
Women’s Feather/Bantamweights
Women’s Flyweights
Women’s Strawweights
Pound for Pound
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