Where do fighters rank in the UFC? I’ve seen all sorts of thoughts on rankings, so I will chime in and give my rankings, which of course are the best and most accurate. I am using a few guidelines.
- This is strictly UFC, not including fighters not yet signed in UFC from Pride. For example, Fedor would be on or near the top of the Heavyweight rankings, but he is yet to sign so he is not included
- This is based not on popularity or even record, but purely on who I perceive to be the best fighters
- I am putting the title holders at number one in each weight class, even though they might not be the best in that class, for example, I would not have Matt Serra as the best fighter in his class, but he is the belt holder.
- Some fighters are rising quickly and others are falling quickly (i.e. Tito and Cro Cop)
HEAVYWEIGHTS
1. Randy “The Natural” Couture
2. Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski
3. Gabriel Gonzaga
4. Cheick Kongo
5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
6. Tim Sylvia
7. Mirko “Cro Cop”
8. Brandon Vera
9. Frank Mir
10. Jeff Monson
11. Heath Herring
12. Fabricio Werdum
13. Assuerio Silva
(Note: Fedor, Josh Barnett, and even Aleksander Emelianko may have made the list had they signed. )
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
1. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
3. Dan Henderson
4. Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell
5. Wandelai Silva
6. Rashad Evans
7. Houston Alexander
8. Tito Ortiz
9. Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine
10. Forrest Griffin
11. Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira
12. Matt “The Hammer” Hamill
13. Micael Bisping
14. Ryoto Machida
15. Jason Lambert
16. Stephan Bonnar
17. Renato “Babalu” Sorbal
18. Wilson Gouveia
19. Marvin Eastman
(Note: I put Hamill above Bisping because I believe he beat Bisping in their fight. Even though Bisping got the win, Hammil looked better.)
MIDDLEWEIGHT:
1. Anderson Silva
2. Rich Franklin
3. Yushim Okami
4. Terry Martin
5. Nate Marquardt
6. Dan Henderson
7. Jason MacDonald
8. Patrick Cote
9. Kalib Starnes
10. Chris Leben
11. Martin Kampmann
12. Thales Leites
13. Ivan Salaverry
14. Nate “Rock” Quarry
15. Evan Tanner
16. Kendall Grove
17. Ed Herman
18. Travis Lutter
19. Dean Lister
20. Alessio Sakara
WELTERWEIGHT:
1. Matt Serra
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Matt Hughes
4. Diego Sanchez
5. Karo Parisyan
6. Josh Koschek
7. Jon Fitch
8. B.J. Penn
9. Marcus Davis
10. Mike Swick
11. Thiago Alves
12. Josh Burkman
13. Luigi Fioravanti
14. Nick Diaz
15. Chris Lytle
16. Edilberto “Crocota” de Oliveira
17. Jonathan Goulet
LIGHTWEIGHT:
1. Sean Sherk
2. B.J. Penn
3. Joe “Daddy” Stevenson
4. Roger Huerta
5. Kenny Florian
6. Hermes Franca
7. Nick Diaz
8. Joe Lauzon
9. Din Thomas
10. Marcus Davis
11. Clay Guida
12. Spencer Fisher
13. Frank Edgar
14. Melvin Guillard
15. Drew Fickett
16. Kurt Pellegrino
17. Terry Etim
18. Tyson Griffin
19. Marcus Aurelio
20. Sam Stout
21. Tiago Tavares
22. Nate Diaz
(Note: I listed to 22 because there are so many quality fighters and the last 12-15 of these guys are not far from one another in ranking, Some rankings have my number 19 Marcus Aurelio much higher, but come on, whose he gonna bump down?)
Let the disputing begin. I’d love to hear comments. Perhaps I left someone off included someone I shouldn’t have. Perhaps I have someone overrated or another underrated. Let me know what you think.
Filed under: Akihiro Gono, Alan Belcher, Alberto Crane, Aleksander Emelianenko, Alessio Sakara, Alvin Robinson, Anderson Silva, Andrei Arlovski, Antoni Hardonk, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Assuerio Silva, B.J. Penn, Bob Sapp, Brad Imes, Brandon Vera, Brock Lesnar, Carlos Condit, Charles McCarthy, Chase Bebee, Cheick Kongo, Chris Leben, Chris Lytle, Chris Wilson, Chuck Liddell, Clay Guida, Cole Miller, Colin Robinson, Corey Hill, Cub Swanson, Dan Henderson, Dan Lauzon, Dana White, Dave Menne, David Heath, Dean Lister, Demian Maia, Denis Kang, Denis Siver, Diego Sanchez, Din Thomas, Doug Evans, Doug Marshall, Drew Fickett, Drew McFedries, Dustin Hazelett, Ed Hermann, Eddie Sanchez, Eric Schafer, Evan Tanner, Fabricio Werdum, Fedor Emelianenko, Forrest Griffin, Forrest Petz, Frank Edgar, Frank Mir, Frank Shamrock, Frank Trigg, Gabriel Gonzaga, George Sotiroplous, Georges St. Pierre, Gilbert Melendez, Gleison Tibau, Gray Maynard, Hayato Sakurai, Heath Herring, Hermes Franca, Houston Alexander, Ivan Salaverry, Jake O'Brien, Jake Shields, James Irvin, James Lee, Jared Rollins, Jason Lambert, Jason MacDonald, Jason Reinhardt, Jeff Curran, Jeff Monson, Jens Pulver, Jeremy Horn, Jeremy Stephens, Jess Liaudin, Joe Doerksen, Joe Lauzon, Joe Riggs, Joe Silva, Joe Stevenson, Joe Veres, Jon Fitch, Jon Koppenhaver, Jonathan Goulet, Jordan Radev, Jorge Gurgel, Jorge Rivera, Josh Barnett, Josh Burkman, Josh Koscheck, Josh Neer, Kalib Starnes, Karo Parisyan, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Keith Jardine, Ken Shamrock, Kendall Grove, Kenny Florian, Kevin Randleman, Kimbo Slice, Kurt Pellegrino, Luigi Fiorvanti, Luke Cummo, Lyoto Machida, Mac Danzig, Manny Gamburyan, Marcus Aurelio, Marcus Davis, Mark Bocek, Mark Hunt, Martin Kampmann, Matt Arroyo, Matt Grice, Matt Hamill, Matt Hughes, Matt Lindland, Matt Serra, Matt Wiman, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Melvin Guillard, Michael Bisping, Michihiro Omigawa, Mike Swick, Mirko Cro Cop, Murilio "Ninja" Rua, Nate Diaz, Nate Marquardt, Nate Mohr, Nate Quarry, Nick Diaz, Patrick Cote, Paul Kelly, Paul Taylor, Pete Sell, Phil Baroni, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Randy Couture, Rashad Evans, Renato "Babalu" Sorbal, Ricardo Almeida, Ricardo Arona, Ricco Rodriguez, Rich Clementi, Rich Franklin, Roan Carneiro, Rob MacDonald, Rob McCullough, Roger Huerta, Rory Singer, Ryo Chonan, Sam Stout, Sean Sherk, Shonie Carter, Spencer Fisher, Stephan Bonnar, Tamdan McCory, Tank Abbott, Terry Etim, Terry Martin, Thales Leites, Thiago Alves, Thiago Silva, Thiago Tavares, Tim Sylvia, Tito Ortiz, Tommy Speer, Travis Lutter, Tyson Griffin, Urijah Faber, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Wilson Gouveia, Yushin Okami | Leave a comment »
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