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UFC Power Rankings
June 24, 2009
By Brad Young
VegasInsider.com
T he Ultimate Fighting Championship now prepares for the long awaited UFC 100 storm that will take place July 11 at Mandalay Bay. There are two championship fights on the card, along with the highly anticipated middleweight matchup between Dan Henderson and Michael 'The Count' Bisping.
There hasn't been too much movement on the updated version of our UFC Power Rankings since Diego 'Nightmare' Sanchez was the only 'ranked' fighter in our rankings that fought in The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale: Team USA vs Team UK. Sanchez won a three-round split-decision war, but hopes to avoid another letdown. 'Nightmare' was off impressive Fight Night victories over Karo Parisyan and Joe 'Diesel' Riggs before suffering back-to-back losses in the welterweight division.
With not much movement in our rankings, let's break down the updated UFC rankings for all the divisions.
| Lightweight standings (155 pounds) |
| Rank |
Boxer |
Skinny |
| 1 |
BJ 'The Prodigy' Penn (13-5-1) (champion) |
Penn remains one of the world's best lightweight fighters, but the popular Hawaiian has dropped his last three fights as a welterweight. 'The Prodigy' will remain in the lightweight division after his one-sided beatdown against welterweight Georges 'Rush' St. Pierre. Penn faces Kenny Florian at the UFC 101 card in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 8. |
| 2 |
Kenny Florian (11-3) |
Florian has earned the right for a title shot compliments of his current six-fight winning streak. The Boston native gets the next shot at BJ Penn in the lightweight division after his first-round destruction of Joe 'Daddy' Stevenson at UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar. This marks an interesting jiu-jitsu matchup with Penn, marking his second shot at the title after an October 2006 loss to Sean Sherk. |
| 3 |
Diego 'Nightmare' Sanchez (21-2) |
Sanchez now has two impressive victories as a lightweight after knocking off Clay 'The Carpenter' Guida at the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. Sanchez now becomes a major player in this division, and quite possibly a shot at the BJ Penn-Kenny Florian winner. 'Nightmare' now has six knockout victories on his resume, nine wins by submission along with six decisions. |
| 4 |
Gray 'The Bully' Maynard (7-0) |
Maynard has won his last four fights by unanimous decision after outlasting Jim Miller at UFC 96. The Xtreme Couture fighter has just one knockout victory to his credit, along with five wins by decision and one by 'other.' Maynard has a wrestling base, but has shown huge improvements with his standup game since being a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 5. |
| 5 |
Frankie 'The Answer' Edgar (10-1) |
Edgar was knocked out of our top-5 rankings after his unanimous-decision loss to Maynard last year. 'The Answer' has followed his lone blemish with a pair of unanimous decision victories over Hermes Franca and Sean 'The Muscle Shark' Sherk at UFC 98. Edgar executed his gameplan to perfection against Sherk to topple the former champ, and now moves towards the top of our rankings. | |
| Welterweight (170 pounds) |
| Rank |
Boxer |
Skinny |
| 1 |
Georges 'Rush' St. Pierre (18-2) (champion) |
St. Pierre pounded Penn in his latest fight, but now he faces another tough test against explosive Brazilian Thiago Alves. 'Rush' showed why he is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts, winning eight times by KO, four by submission along with five decisions. St. Pierre has now won his last five fights after his upset loss to Matt Serra. |
| 2 |
Thiago 'The Pitbull' Alves (16-3) |
Alves will enter the octagon at UFC 100 enjoying a seven-fight winning streak, and is coming off of notable victories over Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck. 'The Pitbull' recorded a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Koscheck at UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote to move up the rankings. However, the Brazilian has had some issues making weight in this division. |
| 3 |
Jon Fitch (18-3) |
Fitch improved his UFC record to 9-1 after his impressive victory over Akihiro Gono at UFC 94. The former Purdue wrestler probably won't get another shot at the title anytime in the near future after getting throttled by St. Pierre last August. Fitch has four wins by knockout, five submission victories and eight wins by decision. His next bout is scheduled to be against Brazilian Paulo Thiago at UFC 100. |
| 4 |
Martin 'Hitman' Kampmann (15-2) |
Kampmann continues to climb up the UFC Power Rankings after upending Carlos Condit by split decision at UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann. 'Hitman' appears to be a force in this weight division after moderate success as a middleweight. The Denmark native has won seven times by knockout, five wins by submission along with two decisions and a victory by 'other.' |
| 5 |
Mike 'Quick' Swick (14-2) |
Swick remains in our top-five rankings after moving down from middleweight and winning his four fights at 170 pounds. The American Kickboxing Academy fighter has defeated Josh Burkman, Marcus Davis, Jonathan Goulet and now Ben Saunders with a second-round TKO victory at UFC 99: The Comeback. Swick is ahead of such fighers as Matt Hughes, Dan Hardy, Carlos Condit and Josh Koscheck in our rankings. | |
| Middleweight (185 pounds) |
| Rank |
Boxer |
Skinny |
| 1 |
Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva (24-4) (champion) |
The Brazilian Muay Thai fighter is atop many pound-for-pound rankings, but his last two performances have been underwhelming. 'The Spider' has stated that his job is to fight and protect the 185-pound title, but his next fight will be at light heavyweight against former champion Forrest Griffin. Silva has now won a record nine consecutive fights inside the octagon, and can certify his MMA status with a victory over Griffin. |
| 2 |
Yushin 'Thunder' Okami (23-4) |
Okami, the last fighter to beat Anderson Silva back in 2006, was scheduled to fight the champion in September before suffering a broken hand. The Japanese striker remains one of the elite middleweight fighters after winning his last three fights. Okami was slated to face Dan Miller at UFC 98, but was unable to compete after suffering a torn ligament. |
| 3 |
Nate 'The Great' Marquardt (28-8-2) |
Marquardt looked impressive in his third-round TKO victory over Wilson Gouveia at UFC 95. The 29-year-old has now gone 3-1 since losing to Anderson Silva, but it appears that another title shot isn't on the immediate horizon. Marquardt has six victories by knockout, 15 wins via submission along with seven decisions. |
| 4 |
Dan Henderson (24-7) |
Henderson stepped up with a split-decision victory over Rich 'Ace' Franklin at UFC 93 at light heavyweight, and will now move back down to middleweight and eventually face Michael 'The Count' Bisping. Henderson held two belts in PRIDE before the UFC bought out its Japanese rival, and now has back-to-back victories inside the octagon. |
| 5 |
Michael 'The Count' Bisping (17-1) |
Bisping is coaching the British and Irish fighters on The Ultimate Fighter 9: USA vs. UK before squaring off against Henderson at UFC 100. Since suffering his lone defeat to former light heavyweight champion Rashad 'Sugar' Evans, Bisping has recorded three straight victories. A pair of TKO victories over Charles McCarthy and Jason Day was followed by a unanimous decision victory over Chris Leben. | |
| Light-Heavyweight (205 pounds) |
| Rank |
Boxer |
Skinny |
| 1 |
Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida (15-0) (champion) |
Machida captured the belt in dramatic fashion with a second-round KO victory over previously unbeaten Rashad Evans. How dominant has 'The Dragon' been with the UFC? The Brazilian has not lost a round during his seven fights inside the octagon. The past two light heavyweight champions lost their first defense, and Machida's first test will come against former title holder Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson later this year. |
| 2 |
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (30-7) |
Jackson was originally scheduled to get the first shot at Evans, but had to pull out after suffering an injury during his unanimous-decision victory over Keith Jardine. 'Rampage' passed on a chance to battle Machida for the title so he can coach on TUF for Season 10 against Evans. Jackson is the last champion in this division to defend the title after he beat Dan Henderson at UFC 75. |
| 3 |
Forrest Griffin (16-5) |
Griffin hasn't fought since losing his title to Evans, winning the first two rounds on all three scorecards before getting knocked out. The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner has recovered from a broken hand, and is now scheduled to fight Anderson 'The Spider' Silva at UFC 101 in Philadelphia. Griffin has three victories by knockout, seven wins by submission along with six decisions while losing three times by knockout and twice by decision. |
| 4 |
'Sugar' Rashad Evans (13-1-1) |
Evans lost his belt with his first loss in MMA, and it will be interesting to see how the former Michigan State Spartans wrestler rebounds. 'Sugar' was knocked out in spectacular fashion in his first title defense, and now he must begin the climb back up the proverbial ladder. Evans is now coaching on TUF 10, and will fight 'Rampage' later this year. |
| 5 |
Luis 'Banha' Arthur Cane (10-1) |
Cane edges out fighters such as Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, Keith Jardine, Thiago Silva and others for the fifth slot in our rankings. 'Banha' only loss was to James Irvin when he was disqualified for a knee to the head of a downed opponent. Cane beat Steve Cantwell at UFC 97 by unanimous decision, meaning eight of his 10 victories have been by knockout along with one submission. | |
| Heavyweight (206-265 pounds), |
| Rank |
Boxer |
Skinny |
| 1 |
Frank Mir (12-3) (interim champion) |
Mir recorded a second-round TKO over 'Minotauro' Nogueira at UFC 92 while cashing tickets as a decided $3.05 underdog. Mir is a two-time UFC heavyweight champion, returning from a brutal motorcycle accident that ended his first run as champ. Now the Las Vegas native will have to battle current champion Brock Lesnar a second time after submitting the former WWE star last year with a first-round kneebar. This fight has been pushed back from UFC 98 to UFC 100 after Mir had his left knee scoped. |
| 2 |
Antonio Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira (31-5-1) |
Nogueira has fought the best mixed martial artists in the sport, and was never knocked out until facing Mir. Now the 32-year-old Brazilian is now scheduled to face former champion Randy 'The Natural' Couture this summer in Portland. 'Minotauro' remains one of the best jiu-jitsu fighters in the UFC, not just the heavyweight division as evidenced by his 20 submission victories. |
| 3 |
Brock Lesnar (3-1) (champion) |
Lesnar is not a classic mixed martial artist that can win by any combination of submission moves, head kicks or stand up. But the 6' 2'' 265-pound bruiser is lethal at ground and pound, and can take opponents to the canvas compliments of his decorated wrestling background. Lesnar's jiu jitsu defense will get severely tested once again with his rematch with Mir at UFC 100 in July. |
| 4 |
Randy 'The Natural' Couture (16-9) |
Couture returned to the octagon after a year-long layoff due to various issues and lost to a bigger, faster, stronger fighter in Brock Lesnar. 'The Natural' would have been a great fit to headline the UFC's first foray into Germany, but is now slated to fight in Portland against Nogueira. Couture remains a force in this division despite being 45 years old, although a solid crop of youngsters might soon knock him into retirement. |
| 5 |
Shane Carwin (11-0) |
Carwin had many skeptics before knocking out Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96. Every one of Carwin's fights ave ended in the first round, with six of those wins occurring by knockout and the other five victories secured with a submission. The 34-year-old edges out such fighters as Junior dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum and, Cain Velasquez for this slot. | |
Schedule of upcoming UFC events: *
UFC 102, August 29, Portland, Oregon
UFC Fight Night 19, September 16, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
UFC 103, September 19, Dallas, Texas
UFC 104, October 24, Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Ultimate Fighter 10, December 5, The Pearl at The Palms, Las Vegas, Nevada
*The schedule of upcoming events is subject to change due to various reasons. The list is from numerous internet sources that includes ufc.com.
Brad Young can be reached at byoung@vegasinsider.com |
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