I typically publish these rankings after the major UFC event of each month, but the scheduling of major events on back-to-back weekends in October forced me to delay these longer than I'd like. As a result, there are three shows worth of changes included here: Fight Night 15, UFC 89 and UFC 90. The November rankings will be published after UFC 91 in just over two weeks.
Before we start, here's a brief disclaimer you'll need to read:
I call these UFC Total Rankings because they are based on a bunch of different factors: win-loss record, method of victory, competition the fighter is facing, and the push given to them by the UFC matchmakers. I try to picture each weight class in the same way that Joe Silva or Dana White would, which means I factor in marketability, current drawing power and other things that rankings typically don't account for.
They are wholly my opinion and should be treated as such. Champions are given top billing because they are champions and regarded by the company and mainstream fans as the best in their division by the company, regardless of the skills or overall record. This means that if a fighter ranked #7 one month defeats the champ for the belt, he will automatically jump to the #1 ranking. If a weight class has an interim champion, that fighter will assume the second position, with everyone else following.
A complete archive of my fighter rankings can be found here. These rankings are also published at Inside Fights, Bleacher Report and on my Houston Chronicle UFC blog.
HEAVYWEIGHT (206-265)
1. Randy Couture (Champion)
2. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera (Interim Champion)
3. Frank Mir
4. Gabriel Gonzaga
5. Brock Lesnar
6. Shane Carwin
7. Fabricio Werdum
8. Cain Velasquez
9. Junior De Los Santos
10. Cheick Kongo
NOTES: Some big movement in this division since the last rankings were published. Couture and Noguiera stay on top, but Fabricio Werdum's stunning knockout loss to newcomer Junior De Los Santos in the first round of their fight at UFC 90 sends him plummeting down the rankings. Werdum, who vocally complained before the fight about Brock Lesnar getting the title shot he felt was rightfully his, weighed in at 256 pounds and visibly looked out of shape...Shane Carwin, looking every bit like the highly touted prospect he is, finished Neil Wain in the first round and kept his undefeated record in the UFC. Carwin moves up to #6 in these rankings and will likely begin seeing better competition; a fight with Cheick Kongo on the main card in February or March could happen...Junior De Los Santos moves into the top ten with his stunning knockout of top contender Werdum. Santos showed a very good striking game that can elevate him to the top of the division if he's able to keep his fights standing...the biggest season of movement in this division in quite some time will begin November 15th, when Brock Lesnar challenges Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. In December, Antonio Rodrigo Nogeiura will defend the interim championship against Frank Mir, and the winners of the two title fights will likely meet in April 2009 to unify the belts.
- B/R Ticket Guide
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (186-205)
1. Forrest Griffin (Champion)
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Rashad Evans
5. Anderson Silva
6. Wanderlei Silva
7. Chuck Liddell
8. Keith Jardine
9. Mauricio Shogun Rua
10. Thiago Silva
NOTES: Keith Jardine moves back into the top ten after a convincing win over Brandon Vera at UFC 89....This division could look drastically different by the end of 2008. Forrest Griffin will defend his title against Rashad Evans at The Ultimate 2008, and Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva will meet on the undercard....rumors continue to swirl of a potential Anderson Silva vs. Chuck Liddell bout for early 2009.
MIDDLEWEIGHT (171-185)
1. Anderson Silva (Champion)
2. Dan Henderson
3. Michael Bisping
4. Yushin Okami
5. Nate Marquardt
6. Patrick Cote
7. Damien Maia
8. Jason MacDonald
9. Thales Leites
10.Martin Kampmann
NOTES: The major question in this division revolves around the status of Anderson Silva. The Spider's performance at UFC 90 against Patrick Cote has left many journalists with the impression that Silva is growing increasingly bored defending his belt against contenders who don't present a challenge for him. I firmly believe that Silva has likely fought his last bout at middleweight and will move to the light heavyweight division permanently. Silva has bulked his frame to 230 pounds in the past two months, and there's no way he's going to want to cut 45 pounds for every fight. The added size leads me to believe that Silva is planning on moving up for the challenges of facing Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, Wanderlei Silva and other top light heavyweight fighters...Michael Bisping moves within striking distance of a title shot after his win over Chris Leben at UFC 89. Bisping will coach the United Kingdom team on the winter edition of The Ultimate Fighter, and won't be fighting until the summer of 2009. With Rich Franklin declining to coach the United States team, it means that Dan Henderson will likely serve as the coach and will meet Bisping at the conclusion of the show. If Anderson Silva departs the division, that fight will probably be for the vacant middleweight championship.
WELTERWEIGHT (156-170)
1. Georges St. Pierre (Champion)
2. Thiago Alves
3. Jon Fitch
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Matt Serra
6. Matt Hughes
7. Diego Sanchez
8. Marcus Davis
9. Karo Parisyan
10.Mike Swick
NOTES: I have removed B.J. Penn from these division rankings until after his fight with Georges St. Pierre in January. My logic behind including him was that he's fought in the division before, but it was rightly pointed out to me that it's been a long time since he's been a welterweight and the landscape of the division has totally changed...Thiago Alves moves into the top contender spot after a completely dominant performance against fellow contender Koscheck at UFC 90 and will meet the winner of the St. Pierre/Penn fight. Alves dominated Koscheck in every aspect of the fight, even completely stuffing Koscheck's takeown attempts. The gigantic Alves steps into the cage weighing around 200 pounds and will have a significant size advantage over either St. Pierre or Penn. He presents a real challenge for both.
LIGHTWEIGHT (146-155)
1. BJ Penn (Champion)
2. Kenny Florian
3. Sean Sherk
4. Tyson Griffin
5. Roger Huerta
6. Joe Stevenson
7. Clay Guida
8. Nate Diaz
9. Frankie Edgar
10.Spencer Fisher
NOTES: Sean Sherk cements himself as a top contender with a win over Tyson Griffin at UFC 90. Sherk will likely face the winner of the Kenny Florian/Joe Stevenson fight, a bout that would set the winner up for another title shot...Griffin remains at #4 due to the close nature of his loss to Sherk. Nate Diaz is likely next in the cards for Griffin...Diaz moves up to #8 after his victory over Josh Neer at Fight Night 15 in September...Spencer Fisher debuts in the top ten after his triangle choke victory over Shannon Gugerty at UFC 90.
POUND FOR POUND
1. Anderson Silva (Middleweight Champion)
2. Georges St. Pierre (Welterweight Champion)
3. BJ Penn (Lightweight Champion)
4. Forrest Griffin (Light Heavyweight Champion)
5. Randy Couture (Heavyweight Champion)
6. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera (Interim Heavyweight Champion)
7. Quinton Jackson
8. Lyoto Machida
9. Thiago Alves
10. Kenny Florian
NOTES: Fabricio Werdum falls out of the rankings after his loss to Junior De Los Santos at UFC 90...Thiago Alves enters the rankings at #9 after beating Josh Koscheck. The victory is the seventh in a row for Alves, extending a streak that dates to June 28, 2006, when he lost to Jon Fitch. During the streak, he's defeated Chris Lytle, Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck.
Jeremy Botter is the editor of Inside Fights and also serves as a MMA contributor for the Houston Chronicle. His personal blog can be found here.
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2 months ago
Just found your October rankings man. You got this in under the wire! Cool concept to include the added element of how Dana & Joe view of marketing of fighters. I can already see that some of your choices will create interesting debate =)
I am not sure that I agree with all of your choices but I am going to digest it before making a more in depth concept. I am sure you will be ready to defend your choices!
Keep up the solid work
2 months ago
Great job with a difficult task, all things considered.
2 months ago
Really solid rankings. Very accurate and astute. Two comments though...
1. Mauricio Shogun Rua suffered a tough defeat to Forrest Griffin. But, before that fight he was considered one of the top 5 fighters in the world. His resume is a list of who's who in MMA. There is absolutely no way Keith Jardine is a better fighter.
2. Frank Mir is not the third best heavyweight. Although he caught Lesnar with a great submission, he was clearly out matched. He was brutally TKO'd by Brandon Vera shortly before that. In all honesty, fighters like Werdum and Gonzaga, who are both black belts as well, pose huge style problems for him. Mir has very limited stand up, where as Werdum and Gonzaga have developed theirs.
from 2 months ago
You make great points, but you've gotta read my disclaimer at the top of the column. These rankings don't just indicate who I believe the better fighter is. I try to look at each weight class like Joe Silva would, which means I'm factoring in drawing power, how hot the fighter is at the moment, and a few other things. They're basically UFC rankings for the mainstream fans, because that's really all that matters to the UFC when booking fights.
Because of that, Frank Mir is ranked third because he's the number one contender for Nog's belt and he's on The Ultimate Fighter getting huge exposure every week. It's also why I have Jardine over Shogun.
I know this isn't the typical style of rankings, but that's why I chose to do them this way -- because nobody else was doing it.
Thanks for the comment.
2 months ago
I know that Mir beat Brock, but that certainly wouldn't happen again.
I know Rashad is money, but I'm still not ready to put him that high up in the rankings yet....he certainly shouldn't be ranked over Wanderlei!
from 2 months ago
Rashad wasn't money until he knocked out Chuck Liddell. We won't know for sure for another 2 months, but that punch may have turned him into a star. I personally don't believe it did and that Evans will be dispatched back to the middle of the pack by Griffin, but that KO of Chuck is certainly what put him near the top. I'm trying to take into account the way that Joe Silva and Dana White view these weight classes when I do the rankings, and Rashad is the number one contender. To me, that's enough to rank him over Wanderlei.
At least for now...because it appears that the old Axe Murderer is back, and everyone in that class should be terrified.
2 months ago
Just a few questions. Where is the Ace? Come on, Jim Carreys evil twin must have a spot in there somewhere. I say he is champ once they let Bisping have it. Anyway, Why is Serra rated above Karo or Diego? Diego in particular. His last eight are far more impressive than say Kos. Just curious. I know you will have a difinitive answer for me. I have no doubt. I really like the fact that you have Tyson so high on the LW ladder. I think he is a contender not a pretender. I tend to disagree on your PFP, as I think Big Nog is better than Griffen as far as pure talent. Other than that, I am very glad I found these rankings. I may not agree but your opinion will always be valued in my corner. As for my recent lapse in judgement, I tend to wonder if your assesment is not more sound than my own. It will be on the back burner and I thank you for your take. Asta, buenos noches.
from 2 months ago
Todd, I agree with you on Rich Franklin. He is the 2nd best MW in the UFC, ever! And though he has left the division, we think, for 205, he has to be somewhere on one of the rankings! If just for name recognition alone. I would either take off Shogun Rua, because of inactivity, and put Franklin in at 9 or 10 OR throw him back on the MW ranking for now.
I would personally like to see Silva move permanently to 205 and Franklin move back to 185. There body types alone warrant this, let alone all the other factors. Anderson due the right thing. Let Ace, Hendo, and the Count battle it out for the MW belt along with the others. With the addition of Filho and the other rising BJJ aces this division will be just fine without you...in fact it might be better off.
I know Jeremy will have an excellent reason, but come on Mr. Botter! Franklin is still relevant to Dana & Joe, headlining UFC 93, and is definitely still marketable. And he is 11-2 inside the octagon. His only 2 losses were to....
I also agree with Diego. He should be ranked above Hughes/Serra.
Also your right, Tyson is in a great spot right behind Sean Sherk.
Again, Great Job putting together this list which is quite an undertaking!
from 2 months ago
Wow Jeremy, You are wearing me down here. I would still put Franklin over Shogun for a few reasons.
1) Shogun is 0-1 in the UFC while Franklin is 11-2, 1-0 at LHW.
2) Shogun has been inactive due to his injury for awhile and faded from peoples minds.
3) I dont weight what Shogun did in Pride as much as some might, this is as UFC ranking!
And lastly, Franklin vs. Henderson is the main event while Shogun vs Coleman is co-main. I know alot of that has to due with their respective opponents but that backs up the point further.
Franklin can garner a fight with Henderson because he is Franklin. Shogun on the other hand is being forced to fight an over the hill irrelevant fighter that the UFC brought in to fight Brock, until he got hurt.
So, that is my last retort for Franklin!
2 months ago
Regarding Franklin:
I'll try to explain my thinking behind not including Franklin this month. He was included last month, and I took a ton of heat for having him ranked #8 despite it being his first fight back at 205 in years. I believe that a fighter can get ranked in a division after one fight, which is why I put Anderson Silva there after he destroyed James Irvin in his 205 debut.
As I explained in my disclaimer before the rankings, I include a lot of stuff in these rankings besides just skill and recent fight history. That stuff is also included, but there are other things that I try to factor in. Anderson Silva is the best fighter in the world right now, and that obviously makes it even easier to put him at #5 despite only having one fight. I try to look at everything as a whole, and Anderson Silva as a whole is very easy to rank high.
Which brings me to Rich Franklin. Rich is a fantastic fighter, but in the end I believe that I made a mistake by putting him above both Shogun and Thiago Silva in September. Shogun lost to Forrest Griffin and hasn't fought in over a year, but he's still considered one of the top light heavyweights on the planet. I definitely take into account that Rich Franklin is popular and marketable, but in the end, I didn't feel like Rich's popularity could outweigh Shogun's record.
Rich beat Matt Hamill in his 205 debut, and while Matt is a good fighter and outstanding wrestler with a very likeable story, he's still not in Franklin's class. Neither is Travis Lutter. Those guys are the last two wins that Rich has, and I wouldn't consider either of them to be top ten fighters in the weight class. Some people might, but that's why rankings are so subjective.
Likewise, Anderson Silva debuted at 205 and faced a fighter who clearly wasn't in his league, but he destroyed him in spectacular fashion. James Irvin is no Matt Hamill and I'm not implying that he is, but I think Rich Franklin should have been able to finish Matt Hamill much earlier than he did with the liver kick. To me, Rich is one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time, a guy who has only lost in his entire career to Anderson Silva (twice) and Lyoto Machida. But I believed (and still do) that he should have been able to put Hamill away quickly, and he didn't.
I didn't think I could put Rich ahead of Wanderlei Silva. Silva had a good war with Chuck Liddell and then murdered Keith Jardine. I couldn't put him above Jardine, who beat Liddell and then beat Brandon Vera. I couldn't put him above Shogun, because despite losing to Griffin and not fighting in a year, Shogun is still one of the absolute best in the world. And I didn't think I could put him above Thiago Silva, who is undefeated, has been scary, and looks to be one of the top prospects in the division right now.
So that puts him out of the top ten. If what I've heard is true and both he and Dan Henderson are moving back to the middleweight division with Anderson moving up permanently, he will likely rocket to the very top of the middleweight division. But that's more a testament to how weak the division is than how convincing Rich as been lately.
Regarding Diego: I'll be honest with you -- I think my personal dislike for Diego probably weighs pretty heavily in my ranking of him. I'd like to think that I keep that stuff out of these rankings, but it doesn't always happen and I'm honest enough to admit it.
One reason I have Kos over Diego is that I believe Kos has fought much tougher guys recently. In 3 of his last 4 fights, Kos has fought Thiago Alves (a freak of nature), Chris Lytle (very hard puncher and gatekeeper) and Georges St. Pierre. He lost to St. Pierre, of course, but he also proved in the Alves fight that he's one of the toughest guys in the division. He took a man-sized beating for three rounds from one of the best in the division and never gave up, despite taking the fight on 2 weeks notice, getting his legs kicked to jelly and nearly getting knocked out in the first round. He took the loss, but he became a bigger star because of the way he lost.
The main reason I have for ranking Kos above Diego? Koscheck beat him the last time they met. If two fighters are closely ranked, I'll always put the guy who beat the other guy on top.
But mostly, I just don't like Diego. :-)
Regarding Griffin: Big Nog is definitely better than Griffin in the skill department. It's no contest. But again, I'm including other factors in these rankings, and the truth is this: in back to back fights, Forrest Griffin beat the two men who most considered to be the two best light heavyweights in the world. They weren't fluke wins. He schooled Rua before submitting him in a shocking upset. The Jackson fight was much closer, but Forrest still had his hand raised at the end of the day. Any time that you beat the two best in the world in your division, it's going to vault you to the top, and that's why Forrest is where he is.
Noguiera is one of my favorite fighters, and I'm actually predicting that he's going to win this little heavyweight title tournament. He's going to run right through Frank Mir, and I don't believe either Lesnar or Couture can beat him. If he's standing there six months from now as the undisputed heavyweight champion, then he'll easily be ranked ahead of Griffin, and he'll probably be ranked ahead of either Penn or St. Pierre as well. I just can't put him above Forrest right now.
I wrote waaaay too much for this comment. I should just start turning these into stand alone articles.
from 2 months ago
Wow Jeremy, You are wearing me down here. I would still put Franklin over Shogun for a few reasons.
1) Shogun is 0-1 in the UFC while Franklin is 11-2, 1-0 at LHW.
2) Shogun has been inactive due to his injury for awhile and faded from peoples minds.
3) I dont weight what Shogun did in Pride as much as some might, this is as UFC ranking!
And lastly, Franklin vs. Henderson is the main event while Shogun vs Coleman is co-main. I know alot of that has to due with their respective opponents but that backs up the point further.
Franklin can garner a fight with Henderson because he is Franklin. Shogun on the other hand is being forced to fight an over the hill irrelevant fighter that the UFC brought in to fight Brock, until he got hurt.
So, that is my last retort for Franklin!
from 2 months ago
1. Shogun may be 0-1 in the UFC, but to ignore everything he's done in his career seems silly. The UFC is my favorite fighting company, but I'm also well aware of what Rua did while in PRIDE and to ignore it just because it didn't happen in the UFC would be myopic. They're called UFC rankings because they cover fighters on the UFC roster, not because they only cover the action that happens in the UFC. I don't weigh PRIDE stuff more than UFC stuff, I simply look at the overall picture...which has to include PRIDE.
2. I could also argue that Shogun hasn't really faded from people's minds because he was never IN their minds to begin with. He was nearly a complete unknown to UFC fans when he debuted, much like Cro Cop and Nog were. If it had been anyone else who was debuting in the UFC, that loss to Griffin would have ensured that they weren't in the top ten. Shogun's reputation and his stellar career outside the UFC dictates that he still deserves top ten status. I'm surprised anyone is arguing that Rua should be ranked lower; most of the feedback I've gotten in the past has said that I have him ranked too low.
Franklin and Henderson are known commodities by UFC fans while Shogun isn't. His lack of marketability hurts him in my rankings; if he was a gigantic star to mainstream fans, I would no doubt have him ranked higher, possibly up around #4, even with the 0-1 record in the UFC. Because he's not a known commodity to mainstream fans, having him in the main event of any PPV would be silly. The majority of UFC fans don't know who he is. And it's for that exact reason that Rua is fighting Mark Coleman -- to give him a dramatic, quick victory over someone who is a name fighter.
The Shogun Rua that you saw fighting Forrest Griffin is NOT the same Shogun Rua from Japan. He can blame it on a training injury or being out of shape, but the end result is that there was a marked difference between the UFC Shogun and the PRIDE Shogun. I'm hoping his injuries have healed and that he returns to form, because I believe the old Shogun can beat anyone currently in the light heavyweight division outside of Anderson Silva, and he might even be able to give him a run for his money.
2 months ago
Jeremy, in that case, the list looks even better. As of now, you are absolutely right, Mir would be placed higher than the aforementioned heavyweights b/c of his marketability and other such factors. Really solid rankings.
from 2 months ago
Thanks, Jordan. I appreciate the comments. This style of doing rankings certainly isn't what people are used to, so I usually find myself explaining it at least 3 times on each set. I should probably make the disclaimer text a bright pink color like I do when they are published to my Houston Chronicle blog -- people seem to actually read the text when I make it a really bright color.
Thanks again for the comments.
2 months ago
Matt Serra at number five and ranked a spot above Matt Hughes? Serra is 9-5 while Hughes is 41-7. I know Hughes has lost three out of his last five, but those losses were to GSP (2) and Thiago Alves. Maybe I'm biased, but I just don't think Serra is any good.
I'm sure you've got a good reason for putting him there, I'm just curious as to what it is.
Also, you're a brave soul to put up a list like this. You have exactly 60 different arguments waiting to happen. That being said, I hope you keep doing it, it's a great read.
But Serra at number 5?! Heavens to Betsy.
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