UFC 123: How they stack up
Light Heavyweight
[#3] Lyoto Machida vs. [#4] Quinton Jackson
Welterweight
[#7] Matt Hughes vs. [#3 LW] B.J. Penn
Middleweight
[#34] Gerald Harris vs. [#70 HW] Maiquel Falcao
Light Heavyweight
[#27] Phil Davis vs. [#43] Tim Boestch
Lightweight
[#9] George Sotiropoulos vs. [#55] Joe Lauzon
Middleweight
[#33] Mark Munoz vs. [#52] Aaron Simpson
Welterweight
[#44] Brian Foster vs. [#86] Matt Brown
Welterweight
[#47] Dennis Hallman vs. [#62] Karo Parisyan
Lightweight
[#201] Edson Barboza vs. [#203] Mike Lullo
Lightweight
[#97] T.J. O’Brien vs. [#116] Paul Kelly
Lightweight
[#32] Tyson Griffin vs. [#45] Nik Lentz
Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)
| Friday, April 4th 2025: Invicta FC 61: Ferreira vs. Palacios | |||
 [#2 W105] Elisandra Ferreira de Oliveira |  [#7 W105] Ana Palacios | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 9/20/2024 [Invicta FC] Last Opponent: [#5 W105] Andressa Romero Last 5: L W W W W | Last Fight Date: 12/13/2024 [Invicta FC] Last Opponent: [NR] Monique Adriane Last 5: L L W W W | ||
| Sunday, March 23rd 2025: DEEP JEWELS 48 | |||
 [#3 W105] Ayaka Hamasaki | [#12 W105] Moeri Suda | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 11/17/2024 [Rizin Fighting Federation] Last Opponent: [NR] Yu Ri Shim Last 5: L L W L W | Last Fight Date: 12/22/2024 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [NR] Akari Kamise Last 5: W W L W W | ||
| Friday, April 4th 2025: Invicta FC 61: Ferreira vs. Palacios | |||
 [#7 W145] Jamie Edenden |  [#8 W145] Jackie Cataline | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 9/20/2024 [Invicta FC] Last Opponent: [NR] Abigail Montes Last 5: D W W W W | Last Fight Date: 8/09/2024 [Invicta FC] Last Opponent: [#24 W145] Kelly Ottoni Last 5: W L L W W | ||
Featured Fighters
| [#4 MW] |  Khamzat Chimaev | [#14 MW] |  Marvin Vettori | |
| [#9 MW] |  Roman Dolidze | [#1 LHW] |  Magomed Ankalaev | |
| [#6 LW] | Dustin Poirier | [#1 LW] | Islam Makhachev | |
| [#91 FW] |  Morgan Charriere | [#49 HW] | Ryan Spann | |
| [#37 BW] | DaMon Blackshear | [#1 HW] | Jon Jones |
MMA Rankings Updated: 11/14/2010
Notable Info
- Along with the usual update, we did some historical data corrections and updates. This will cause fluctuations throughout the ratings.
WEC 52 : How they stack up
Bantamweight
[#9 FW] Urijah Faber vs. [#10] Takeya Mizugaki
Featherweight
[#11] Chad Mendes vs. [#31] Javier Vazquez
Featherweight
[#25] Erik Koch vs. [*] Francisco Rivera
Bantamweight
[#2] Joseph Benavidez vs. [#6] Wagnney Fabiano
Bantamweight
[#60] Demetrious Johnson vs. [#34] Damacio Page
All-Time Rankings Updated
Notable Info (Things beyond the Top 10)
- Cain Velazquez enters the Top 25 Heavyweights after taking the UFC title away from Brock Lesnar.
- Hector Lombard finally gets a quality win which pushes him up 29 spots into the 74th position at Middleweight.
- Gilbert Melendez is now one spot from the Top 10. Frankie Edgar is right on his heels a few positions behind, but rising very quickly.
- Include Masakazu Imanari in the list of fighters who may soon displace some of the ancient Japanese names on the top Bantamweight list. He just rose to #11 with this update.
- Zoila Frausto jumps from #79 to #39 on the All-Time Women list with her recent win over Megumi Fujii. If she can hold her standing, she will climb the list rapidly, as it is incredibly weak beyond the Top 20.
UFC 121 Review
Taking place in Anaheim, UFC 121 shaped up to be one of the better cards of the year, in terms of significant matchups. The headline bout of Brock Lesnar defending his heavyweight title against Cain Velasquez was backed up by a very strong undercard, with the much anticipated UFC debut of Jake Shields taking second billing against Martin Kampmann. Here’s how it all went down:
Preliminary Card (Spike TV)
Patrick Cote vs Tom Lawlor (185 lbs)
Round 1: Lawlor is aggressive early, backing Cote up with punches and tying him up against the cage. Lawlor works knees to Cote’s legs from clinch. Eventually Lawlor pulls Cote down to the ground. Cote closes guard and waits for a standup. Lawlor with small punches from the top; very little action until Lawlor passes guard and locks in an arm triangle. Cote frees himself after a struggle but Lawlor takes his back as the round ends. Round 10-9 Lawlor
Round 2: Some mild standup exchanges then Lawlor goes for another takedown. Cote defends with a guillotine attempt. Lawlor breaks out of it and completes the takedown. Cote gets up then taken down again. Not much happening on the ground and referee Jon McCarthy stands them up, they trade punches to complete the second stanza. Round 10-9 Lawlor
Round 3: Cote looking to strike but gets taken down quickly again. Lawlor passes into side control and goes for another arm triangle. Cote escapes but now finds himself mounted. They struggle and eventually he regains guard. Lawlor methodical from the top, not doing any damage and eventually referee stands them up. Lawler with another takedown, clinching the fight. Round 10-9 Lawlor
Tom Lawlor wins a unanimous decision, 30-27 on all scorecards
Aftermath: This was a must-win fight for both opponents, and Tom Lawlor did exactly what he had to. His next opponent should be Kyle Noke or Court McGee. Patrick Cote failed to deliver, losing his third consecutive bout and falling to 4-7 in the UFC. He will likely have to take a fight or two in another promotion, though I expect to see him back in UFC eventually.
Ranking Impact: Tom Lawlor moves up 50 spots to #51 MW. Patrick Cote falls 22 spots to #74 MW.
Fight Grade: 2/5
MMA Rankings Updated: 10/24/2010 (Update)
Update: We are re-posting the MMA rankings as we got some late results in. Most notably, Paulo Filho’s loss in Brazil.
Just how good is UFC 121?
There have been sixty UFC cards with at least 10 fights. When you eliminate the cards that have at least one unranked fighter (by our accounts), you drop that list all the way down to nine cards [89,92,96,102,108,111,FN21,114,116].
Out of these nine, five had at least one fighter ranked #200 or worse.
This leaves four cards:
UFC 92 (10 fights / 2 title fights)
UFC 102 (11 fights / 0 title fights)
UFC 108 (10 fights / 0 title fights)
UFC 116 (11 fights / 1 title fight)
UFC 121 (11 fights / 1 title fight) will join this unique list.
* Rankings approximations were made for all cards, since we only started officially ranking fighters in 2008. This however, is accurate enough for this analysis.
UFC 121: How they stack up
Main Card:
FightMatrix/UFC Heavyweight Championship
[#1] Brock Lesnar vs. [#4] Cain Velasquez
JCS Prediction: Lesnar is on pace to crack our Top 10 Heavyweights of All-Time in a few years and I don’t expect his ascent to stop here. However, I do think this one will take a little longer than the oddsmakers think and take both men into the championship rounds for the first time. Lesnar TKO 4
Oleg’s Prediction: I have a very hard time picking a winner in this fight. If you put a gun to my head, I would go with Lesnar – the size advantage will be too much for Velasquez to deal with. Lesnar TKO 2
Welterweight
[#2 MW] Jake Shields vs. [#8] Martin Kampmann
JCS Prediction: Kampmann has never been submitted, but there is a first time for everything. Welcome to the big leagues Jake. Shields SUB 1
Oleg’s Prediction: Just as he did to Carlos Condit, Kampmann will spoil Jake’s UFC debut by outworking Shields on the feet and holding his own on the ground, in an extremely close fight. Kampmann SD
Welterweight
[#14] Paulo Thiago vs. [#25] Diego Sanchez
JCS Prediction: In a bit of a crossroads fight for both guys, I expect Thiago to send Sanchez back to Lightweight. Thiago UD
Oleg’s Prediction: Both fighters have had their ups and downs, but I have to agree with JCS and the UFC president Dana White: Sanchez belongs in the lightweight division. Thiago UD
Light Heavyweight
[#17] Matt Hamill vs. [#22] Tito Ortiz
JCS Prediction: Upset. I was never THAT sold on Hamill and I think Ortiz has enough skill and guile left to get a close decision win over Hamill. Ortiz SD
Oleg’s Prediction: This is a horrible matchup for Ortiz. He won’t be able to take Hamill down, and while Tito’s striking may be technically better than Matt’s, he will be facing a severe disadvantage in the punching power. All signs point to an protracted mauling by Hamill on the feet, resulting in a one-sided decision. Hamill UD
Heavyweight
[#16] Gabriel Gonzaga vs. [#43] Brendan Schaub
JCS Prediction: Interesting fight. Gonzaga seems to have had his fair share of abrupt outcomes in the UFC and I don’t think this one will be any different. I’ve gone back and forth on this fight and I think Gonzaga comes away with the first round finish. Gonzaga TKO1
Oleg’s Prediction: Gonzaga is the gatekeeper of the UFC’s heavyweight division. He loses to the elite fighters; everyone else is swiftly dispatched in a brutal fashion. I haven’t seen anything from Schaub to suggest that he has reached the elite level. Gonzaga TKO1
Undercard: Keep Reading
UFC 120 Review
Returning to the O2 Arena in London, UFC 120 was broadcast with taped delay on Spike TV in the US, and featured Michael Bisping taking on Yoshihiro Akiyama in a middleweight bout for the main event. The fight card lacked title matches or star power, and featured mainly the British and European competitors in most bouts.
Cyrille Diabate vs. Alexander Gustafsson (205 lbs)
Round 1: The fighters exchange leg kicks and circle. Eventually Gustafsson comes forward with a flurry and drops Diabate. Gustafsson follows to the ground, landing in side control. Gustafsson keeps Diabate down and lands punches. Diabate eventually gets back to the feet. They clinch and trade, and Gustafsson drops Diabate again with an uppercut. Gustafsson looking to follow up on the ground but Diabate is up quickly and returns fire. Diabate landing solid body and leg kicks. Gustafsson closes the distance and puts Diabate on his back with a trip. Gustafsson punches away from side control as the round ends. Round 10-9 Gustaffson
Round 2: Diabate opens up with his hands; Gustafsson clinches and slams Diabate to the ground. Gustafsson in side control again, passing into north-south then mount. Diabate gives up his back and Gustafsson is looking for a choke. It’s not there and so he opens up with punches from the back. Another choke attempt then more punches, another adjustment and this time the choke is locked in and Diabate taps quickly.
Aftermath: After being stifled and submitted by Phil Davis in his previous fight, the Swedish striker Gustafsson rebounds with an impressive win, dominating Diabate in every aspect. Brandon Vera would be the perfect test for Gustafsson’s next bout.
The veteran kickboxer Diabate looked every bit of his 37 years against Gustafsson. The loss ends a six-win streak for the Frenchman, who knocked out Luis Arthur Cane in his Octagon debut. After being matched up with other strikers in his first two UFC bouts, he should face a wrestler such as Jason Brilz or Vladimir Matyushenko to measure his viability in the division.
Ranking Impact: Gustafsson rises 36 spots to #27 LHW. Diabate falls 13 spots to #36 LHW.
Fight Grade: 4/5
UFC 120: How they stack up
Middleweight
[#11] Michael Bisping vs. [#29] Yoshihiro Akiyama
Welterweight
[#6] Dan Hardy vs. [#12] Carlos Condit
Welterweight
[#16] John Hathway vs. [#28] Mike Pyle
Heavyweight
[#16] Cheick Kongo vs. [#55] Travis Browne
Welterweight
[#66] Claude Patrick vs. [#256] James Wilks
Light Heavyweight
[#23] Cyrille Diabate vs. [#63] Alexander Gustafsson
Heavyweight
[#52] Rob Broughton vs. [#204] Vinicius Kappke de Quieroz
Light Heavyweight
[#39] Stanislov Nedkov vs. [#70] Steve Cantwell
Lightweight
[#73] Paul Sass vs. [#328] Mark Holst
Lightweight
[#67] Spencer Fisher vs. [#454] Curt Warburton
Light Heavyweight
[#60 HW] Fabio Maldonado vs. [#152 HW] James McSweeney
Womens Division Re-alignment
Effective the next update, our women’s division weight ranges will be changing.
- Featherweight+ = 140+ (from 141+)
- Bantamweight = 129-139 (from 131-140)
- Super Flyweight = 119-128 (from 121-130)
- Flyweight = 111-118 (from 111-120)
- Strawweight = 110 and under (Unchanged)
This is being changed to better handle division processing for catchweight fights, which are plentiful in Womens MMA. We will also make a more assertive effort to place female fighters in their usual divisions, as opposed to their most recent catchweight agreements.
Of course, all this is subjective to change but expect a re-alignment of some kind on our next update.