Notable Info
- Special ranking release to reflect changes from WEC 36.
WEC 36: How they stack up
We don’t usually do previews of the WEC shows, but I figured, why not? The main event is noteworthy as Urijah Faber has a chance to make a massive statement on the Division Dominance list with a win over Brown.
WEC Featherweight Championship
[#1] Urijah Faber vs. [#2] Mike Thomas Brown
Middleweight
[#2] Paulo Filho vs. [#23] Chael Sonnen
Featherweight
[#11] Jens Pulver vs. [#16] Leonard Garcia
Middleweight
[#133] Nissen Osterneck vs. [#191] Jake Rosholt
Lightweight
[#77] Donald Cerrone vs. [#92] Rob McCullough
Light Heavyweight
[#300] Aaron Simpson vs. [NR] David Avellan
Featherweight
[#25] Jose Aldo vs. [#43] Jonathan Brookins
Light Heavyweight
[#92] Carmelo Marrero vs. [#127] Steve Steinbeiss
Lightweight
[#189] Rafael Dias vs. [#450] Danny Castillo
Bantamweight
[#5] Yoshiro Maeda vs. [#9] Rani Yahya
Ranking Notes: Rankings are projected when a fighter is fighting in a new weight class. Gray font represents an approximate ranking. An asterisk represents a fighter who is ranked, but too low for an approximation. These two scenarios will clear up slightly as we move forward. “NR” means the fighter is not ranked, due to inactivity, or due to a rating that is at or below the default starter rating.
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 | ||
| Saturday, March 29th 2025: RIZIN 50 | |||
 [#3 SW] Haruo Ochi | [#12 SW] Nobuyoshi Nakatsukasa | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 12/08/2024 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [NR] Rikito Tago Last 5: W W W W W | Last Fight Date: 9/16/2024 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [NR] Rikito Tago Last 5: W W W L 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 | ||
Featured Fighters
| [#1 LHW] |  Magomed Ankalaev | [#5 LW] |  Justin Gaethje | |
| [#2 LHW] | Alex Pereira | [NR] |  Conor McGregor | |
| [#1 HW] | Jon Jones | [#44 FLW] | Rei Tsuruya | |
| [#13 W135] |  Nora Cornolle | [#4 MW] |  Khamzat Chimaev | |
| [#18 LW] | Ignacio Bahamondes | [#1 LW] | Islam Makhachev |
MMA Rankings Updated: 11/02/08
Notable Info
- Bouts added to database w/ recent shows from PURECOMBAT, Sengoku, CCFC, M-1, Strike and Submit, and some minor organizations.
- Added some old bouts from minor organizations.
UFC 90 Review
Only a week after UFC 89, which was broadcast on Spike TV from UK, UFC was back on pay-per-view with another event – their first one in Chicago, Illinois. UFC 90 was headlined by Anderson Silva defending his middleweight title against an unlikely contender in Patrick Cote. The card also featured four lightweight bouts, only two of which made the televised broadcast.
Tyson Griffin vs. Sean Sherk (155 lbs)
The broadcast began with one of the lightweight bouts: a matchup between two fighters with very similar styles. It turned out that Sherk was a little better than Griffin in every area. Sherk took Griffin down early in the first round and quickly took Tyson’s back but was shaken off. Sherk achieved several more takedowns over the course of the fight, but was not able to keep Griffin on the ground for more than a few seconds, while Tyson’s takedown attempts fell short.
By the middle of the second round, both fighters abandoned the idea of ground fighting, and the remainder of the bout was mainly a kickboxing match. On the feet Sherk had the edge as well with sharp uppercuts and knees and quick combinations of strikes. Griffin turned up the intensity of his attacks in the third round, but it was not enough as Sherk walked away with a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) . The bout earned the official ‘Fight of the Night’ award.
Aftermath: Sherk positions himself back in the lightweight title picture, and has mentioned his desire to face the winner of the upcoming bout between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson. Griffin lost but had a solid performance; this may be a good time to match him up with Nate Diaz, who is still undefeated in the Octagon.
Fight grade: 4/5
Anderson ties the record, Alves not far behind.
Though Anderson Silva posted a somewhat lackadaisical performance in an anticlimactic victory over Patrick Cote at UFC 90, he reached an important milestone in his UFC career: eight consecutive wins in UFC bouts, matching the record first set by Royce Gracie and recently repeated by Jon Fitch. Silva also won his fifth championship bout, making for four consecutive title defenses. Every single one of Silva’s UFC fights has been the main even of the night, and Patrick Cote is the only opponent to make it into the third round.
Silva has five fights remaining on his UFC contract, and hinted at an early retirement after the contract is over. Should he win all five bouts, he will have an unprecedented thirteen consecutive wins inside the Octagon. His next fight is rumored to be at 205 lbs.
Not far behind Anderson is the welterweight contender Thiago Alves, whose unanimous decision win over Josh Koscheck marked his seventh consecutive UFC victory. Alves is slated to take on the winner of the upcoming battle between the lightweight champion BJ Penn and his welterweight counterpart Georges St. Pierre. Either matchup should produce fireworks, and both put the continuation of Thiago’s streak in great jeopardy.
Here are some more interesting UFC records:
Most Consecutive Wins in the UFC
MMA Rankings Updated: 10/20/08
Notable Info
- Bouts added to database w/ recent shows from UFC, KOTC, Pancrase, DEEP, Shooto, Superior Challenge, RAW Combat, and some minor organizations.
- Added some old bouts from minor organizations.
UFC 90: How they stack up
UFC Middleweight Championship
[#1] Anderson Silva vs. [#16] Patrick Cote
Welterweight
[#2] Thiago Alves vs. [#6] Josh Koscheck
Heavyweight
[#4] Fabricio Werdum vs. [#225] Junior dos Santos
Lightweight
[#8] Tyson Griffin vs. [#12] Sean Sherk
Lightweight
[#20] Gray Maynard vs. [#31] Rich Clementi
Middleweight
[#14] Thales Leites vs. [#51] Drew McFedries
Lightweight
[#29] Spencer Fisher vs. [#116] Shannon Gugerty
Middleweight
[#32] Dan Miller vs. [#46] Matt Horwich
Lightweight
[#33] Marcus Aurelio vs. [#39] Hermes Franca
Welterweight
[#29] Josh Burkman vs. [#300] Pete Sell
Ranking Note: Gray font represents an approximate ranking. An asterisk represents a fighter who is ranked, but too low for an approximation. These two scenarios will clear up slightly as we move forward. “NR” means the fighter is not ranked, due to inactivity, or due to a rating that is at or below the default starter rating.
Tracking the progress of The Ultimate Fighter 4 contestants – Part II
Last week, I examined the progress of the middleweight fighters who participated in The Ultimate Fighter 4. Lets now take a look at the welterweights of Season 4.
The welterweights were a very experienced group of fighters, with a combined record of 139-62-13 prior to the show. Two of the welterweights – Matt Serra and Rich Clementi – took charge of their respective teams, becoming the unofficial team captains. Even though Serra ended up winning the entire Season 4 tournament while Clementi was eliminated in the first round, today they are still the highest ranked fighters of the Season 4 welterweight group.
MMA Rankings Updated: 10/20/08
Notable Info
- Bouts added to database w/ recent shows from UFC, KOTC, and some minor organizations.
- Added some old bouts from minor organizations.
UFC 89 Review
UFC 89 took place in Birmingham, England, marking the third UFC event in England for 2008. The event was broadcast on Spike TV with a tape delay. The main event was a middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Chris Leben – the fight that was originally scheduled to take place at UFC 85 but was scratched from that card as Leben was serving a brief jail sentence stemming from a probation violation. The remainder of the televised portion of the card was split up between the welterweight and lightheavyweight divisions, with two matchups in both weight classes.
Marcus Davis vs. Paul Kelly (170 lbs)
The broadcast began with a welterweight matchup between undefeated Paul Kelly and ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ alumnus Marcus Davis, fresh off his first loss in twelve bouts. Davis controlled the action in the first round with superb footwork, staying out of Kelly’s range while landing punches and kicks from the outside. Davis took Kelly down late in the round, and was briefly caught in a guillotine before working out of it and pounding Kelly on the ground. Kelly got back to his feet but still lost the round.
In second round Kelly tried to unload on Davis but once again had a hard time dealing with Marcus’ footwork and finding his target. Kelly slammed Davis with an explosive takedown; Davis responded with a guillotine of his own and Paul Kelly was forced to tap out.
Aftermath: Back on the winning track, Marcus Davis asked to fight on UFC’s upcoming event in Dublin, Ireland in his post-fight interview. Considering how frequently Davis appears on UFC’s European events, his request is virtually a given, and Chris Lytle will be his likely opponent. Paul Kelly was dealt his first professional loss; he too will likely appear on the Dublin card and should face David Baron, who was choked out by Jim Miller on the same night in an untelevised preliminary bout.
Fight grade: 3/5
Tracking the progress of The Ultimate Fighter 4 contestants – Part I
After the third season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality series showed a significant drop-off in talent level from the previous two seasons, UFC decided to switch things up for Season 4. Instead of having sixteen up-and-coming MMA fighters compete for a chance to fight in the UFC, Season 4 featured sixteen veterans of the sport competing at a shot at the UFC title in the middleweight and welterweight divisions. Though all of the featured fighters have competed in the Octagon in the past, most of them had below .500 records in the UFC and have never come close to winning a title. Season 4 offered these fighters another chance to earn the gold, and was dubbed ‘the comeback season’.
Season 4 did not focus as heavily on the coaches as the previous seasons: instead of having two coaches mentoring the opposing teams, the show featured a number of UFC fighters and trainers who were made available to all contenders. Though the fight teams did not have an official leader, welterweights Matt Serra and Rich Clementi emerged as de-facto captains of their teams. I will take a look at the middleweights first, and examine the welterweights next week.
October Archives Updated
Fightmatrix.com MMA rankings archive has been updated with the rankings as of October 6, 2008.
MMA Rankings Updated: 10/13/08
Notable Info
- Bouts added to database w/ recent shows from EliteXC, Warriors Collide, UWC, SuperFights, and some other minor promotions.
- Added some old bouts from minor circuits.
MMA Rankings Updated: 10/06/08
Notable Info
- Bouts added to database w/ recent shows from EliteXC, Shooto, Cage Gladiators, TKO, Freestyle Cage, and others.
- Approximately 850 “old” bouts added to the database!
Elite XC Review
The latest installment of Elite XC’s ‘Saturday Night Fights’ on CBS was scheduled to feature the abysmal main event of Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock. In a bizarre turn of events, Shamrock received a cut to his eyebrow while sparring in preparation for the bout. The laceration required stitches, and the Florida Athletic Commission barred Shamrock from participating in the event. This left EXC scrambling for a last minute replacement to salvage the main event; they ended up pitting Kimbo against Seth Petruzelli, a lightheavyweight who was scheduled to face Aaron Rosa on the untelevised undercard.
Murillo Rua vs Benji Radach (185 lbs bout)
The televised portion of the event began with a #1 contender bout for the Elite XC’s middleweight title, which will be defended by Robbie Lawler against Joey Villasenor on November 8th. Radach came out of the gates swinging, throwing relentless hooks that staggered Rua and dropped him to his knees. Rua recovered and fired back, and twice in the first round both fighters found themselves knocked down simultaneously for a moment. Rua secured a takedown late in the round and worked for a leg lock, but Radach resisted and survived the round.
In the second, Rua seemingly figured out Radach’s stand up game, and was landing flying knees to the body of Benji, backing him up against the fence. Rua threw another flying knee; Radach countered with a jab which knocked Rua off-balance and dropped him. Rua was slow to cover up, and Radach landed several huge punches to his downed opponent, knocking ‘Ninja’ out cold. A great brawl to start off the evening.
Aftermath: Radach will go on to face the winner of the Lawler-Villasenor for the title – that is if the Elite XC organization survives beyond the November event. Rua suffers a very brutal knockout, another setback to his rollercoaster of a career.
Fight Grade: 5/5