Fightmatrix.com MMA rankings archive has been updated with the rankings as of December 7, 2008.
A trip in the wayback machine.. Heavyweights
Five years ago, there was a two-headed dragon at the top of the Heavyweight division, as the rating system would’ve had Fedor and Nog in a virtual tie. Fedor did have a decision win over Nog earlier in the year, but Fedor took the easy road for the remainder of 2003, while Nog knocked off Ricco Rodriguez and Mirko Filipovic. Both were top heavyweights at the time of those bouts, and still were at the end of 2003.
Heavyweights – December 20, 2003
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Points | |
| 1 |  Antonio Rodrigo NogueiraLast Fight: 11/9/2003 [PRIDE] |
21-2-1 |
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| 2 |  Fedor EmelianenkoLast Fight: 8/10/2003 [PRIDE] |
15-1-0 |
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| 3 |  Josh BarnettLast Fight: 10/13/2003 [NJPW] |
16-1-0 |
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| 4 | Tim Sylvia Last Fight: 9/26/2003 [UFC] |
18-1-0 |
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| 5 |  Mirko FilipovicLast Fight: 11/9/2003 [PRIDE] |
7-1-2 |
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| 6 | Pedro Rizzo Last Fight: 11/21/2003 [UFC] |
14-5-0 |
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| 7 | Ricco Rodriguez Last Fight: 11/21/2003 [UFC] |
14-4-0 |
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| 8 |  Andrei ArlovskiLast Fight: 9/26/2003 [UFC] |
5-3-0 |
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| 9 | Heath Herring Last Fight: 11/9/2003 [PRIDE] |
21-9-0 |
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| 10 | Mark Coleman Last Fight: 6/8/2003 [PRIDE] |
13-5-0 |
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A look back…. at Lightweights.
The FightMatrix Lightweight division is one where there aren’t clearly distinguishable tiers of fighters. Subjectively, you can probably make a case for 30 different guys being in the Top 15. Jumping back two years, the situation wasn’t much different. In fact, it was even tighter.
November 29, 2006
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Points | |
| 1 |  Takanori GomiLast Fight: 11/5/2006 [PRIDE] |
26-3-0 |
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| 2 | Mitsuhiro Ishida Last Fight: 11/5/2006 [PRIDE] |
14-2-1 |
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| 3 | Marcus Aurelio Last Fight: 11/5/2006 [PRIDE] |
14-4-0 |
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| 4 | Tatsuya Kawajiri Last Fight: 10/14/2006 [Shooto] |
19-3-2 |
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| 5 | Hayato Sakurai Last Fight: 8/26/2006 [PRIDE] |
29-7-2 |
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| 6 | Gesias Cavalcante Last Fight: 10/9/2006 [K-1] |
15-1-1 |
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| 7 | Vitor Ribeiro Last Fight: 9/30/2006 [Cage Rage] |
16-1-0 |
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| 8 | Shinya Aoki Last Fight: 11/5/2006 [PRIDE] |
10-2-0 |
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| 9 | Gilbert Melendez Last Fight: 8/26/2006 [PRIDE] |
13-0-0 |
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| 10 | Sean Sherk Last Fight: 10/14/2006 [UFC] |
33-2-1 |
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A look back…. at Welterweights.
St. Pierre was still the king, but the rest of the division looked a bit different than it does today.
November 19, 2006
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Points | |
| 1 |  Georges St. PierreLast Fight: 11/18/2006 [UFC] |
13-1-0 |
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| 2 | Matt Hughes Last Fight: 11/18/2006 [UFC] |
41-5-0 |
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| 3 | Diego Sanchez Last Fight: 8/17/2006 [UFC] |
16-0-0 |
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| 4 | Jon Fitch Last Fight: 10/14/2006 [UFC] |
15-2-0 |
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| 5 | Jake Shields Last Fight: 9/9/2006 [Full Contact Promotions] |
16-4-1 |
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| 6 | B.J. Penn Last Fight: 9/23/2006 [UFC] |
10-4-1 |
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| 7 |  Karo ParisyanLast Fight: 8/17/2006 [UFC] |
15-4-0 |
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| 8 | Rory Markham Last Fight: 11/2/2006 [IFL] |
12-2-0 |
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| 9 | Nick Thompson Last Fight: 10/21/2006 [Twin Cities Throwdown] |
29-9-1 |
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| 10 | Josh Burkman Last Fight: 7/8/2006 [UFC] |
17-4-0 |
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November Archive Updated
Fightmatrix.com MMA rankings archive has been updated with the rankings as of November 2, 2008.
October Archives Updated
Fightmatrix.com MMA rankings archive has been updated with the rankings as of October 6, 2008.
A look back…. at Middleweights.
Anderson Silva undoubtedly rules the Middleweight division today, but what would a FightMatrix Top 10 snapshot of the division look like two years ago?
September 15, 2006
| Rank | Fighter | Record | Points | |
| 1 | Rich Franklin Last Fight: 3/4/2006 [UFC] |
22-2-0 |
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| 2 | Kazuo Misaki Last Fight: 8/26/2006 [PRIDE] |
17-6-2 |
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| 3 | Paulo Filho Last Fight: 8/26/2006 [PRIDE] |
13-0-0 |
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| 4 | Matt Lindland Last Fight: 9/9/2006 [IFL] |
19-4-0 |
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| 5 | Dan Henderson Last Fight: 8/26/2006 [PRIDE] |
20-5-0 |
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| 6 | Denis Kang Last Fight: 8/26/2006 [PRIDE] |
27-7-1 |
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| 7 | Nathan Marquardt Last Fight: 3/4/2006 [UFC] |
23-6-2 |
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| 8 | Anderson Silva Last Fight: 6/28/2006 [UFC] |
16-4-0 |
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| 9 | Yushin Okami Last Fight: 8/26/2006 [UFC] |
21-3-0 |
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| 10 | Akihiro Gono Last Fight: 8/26/2006 [PRIDE] |
26-11-7 |
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Interestingly enough, Yushin Okami is in the same exact position today.
EDIT: Upon further review, Marquardt was not placed correctly. He would’ve actually ranked 7th. Since this was still on the front page, I’ve made changes to the rankings.
September Archives Updated
Fightmatrix.com MMA rankings archive has been updated with the rankings as of September 1, 2008.
August Archives Updated
Fightmatrix.com MMA rankings archive has been updated with the rankings as of August 4, 2008.
Rankings Archive Updated
Fightmatrix.com historical ranking archive updated with the rankings as of July 6, 2008.
Archive Update
Fightmatrix.com MMA ranks archive has been updated with the rankings as of June 1, 2008.
Rankings Archive Updated
Fightmatrix.com MMA ranks archive has been updated with the rankings as of May 3, 2008.
Archive Update
The historical rankings archive has been updated with the rankings as of April 3rd, 2008.
Archive: New Feature
We’ve added a new feature to our historical rankings archive. Each archive issue now includes a movement tracker, to indicate the progress fighters made since the last issue.
Archive Updated
The rank archive has been updated with the official rankings as of March 3, 2008. Remember, we will be archiving a snapshot of the current rankings on a monthly basis.