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 Middleweights.
*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 ranking, third column is official UFC ranking from UFC.com)
| Stats | Last | UFC | Total | |
| Rank | Rank | Rank | ||
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Robert Whittaker | 404 |
| 2 | 2 | 6 | Chris Weidman | 317 |
| 3 | 4 | 5 | Kelvin Gastelum | 312 |
| 4 | 5 | 3 | Luke Rockhold | 295 |
| 5 | 6 | 2 | Yoel Romero | 255 |
| 6 | 7 | 4 | Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza | 241 |
| 7 | 14 | 7 | Israel Adesanya | 187.5 |
| 8 | 9 | Tim Boetsch | 161 | |
| 9 | 8 | 9 | Derek Brunson | 154 |
| 10 | 10 | 11 | Brad Tavares | 153.5 |
| 11 | 12 | 8 | Paulo Costa | 120.5 |
| 12 | 11 | 12 | David Branch | 112 |
| 13 | 13 | Jack Hermansson | 110 | |
| 14 | 14 | 13 | Antonio Carlos Junior | 109 |
| 15 | 16 | Dan Kelly | 96 | |
| 16 | 17 | 15 | Elias Theodorou | 94.5 |
| 17 | 18 | Gerald Meerschaert | 89.5 | |
| 17 | 18 | 14 | Uriah Hall | 89.5 |
| 19 | 21 | Tom Breese | 71 | |
| 20 | 20 | Cezar Ferreira | 66.5 | |
| 20 | 22 | Krzysztof Jotko | 66.5 | |
| 22 | 23 | Omari Akhmedov | 61.5 | |
| 23 | 24 | C.B. Dollaway | 56 | |
| 24 | 25 | Darren Stewart | 52.5 | |
| 25 | NR | 10 | Jared Cannonier | 52 |
| 26 | NR | Ian Heinisch | 50 | |
| 26 | 26 | Khalild Murtazaliev | 50 | |
| 28 | 27 | Trevin Giles | 47.5 | |
| 29 | 28 | Jordan Johnson | 44.5 | |
| 30 | 30 | Alessio Di Chirico | 36 | |
| 31 | 31 | Hector Lombard | 35 | |
| 32 | 29 | Jack Marshman | 34 | |
| 33 | 33 | Andrew Sanchez | 30 | |
| 34 | 34 | Oskar Piechota | 26.5 | |
| 35 | 35 | Karl Roberson | 25 | |
| 36 | 35 | Charles Byrd | 22.5 | |
| 36 | 35 | Julian Marquez | 22.5 | |
| 36 | 35 | Markus Perez | 22.5 | |
| 39 | 39 | Antonio Braga Neto | 20 | |
| 40 | 40 | Marvin Vettori | 16 | |
| 41 | 41 | Trevor Smith | 14 | |
| 42 | 43 | Abu Azaitar | 5 | |
| 43 | 44 | Adam Yandiev | 0 | |
| 43 | 44 | John Phillips | 0 | |
| 43 | 44 | Kevin Holland | 0 | |
| 43 | 44 | Tim Williams | 0 |
Check back Friday for our welterweight rankings
Performance Based Rankings:
Heavyweights
Light Heavyweights
Welterweights
Lightweights
Featherweights
Bantamweights
Flyweights
Women’s Feather/Bantamweights
Women’s Flyweights
Women’s Strawweights
Pound for Pound
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