MMA Stock Report for May: Who Rose, Who Fell, Who Stayed the Same

The UFC brought two events to your living room screen this May, and both delivered a lot of action.

UFC on FX 8 was capped off by one of the best knockouts of 2013. Vitor Belfort dropped Luke Rockhold with a spinning heel kick and finished him off with brutal punches on the canvas to solidify his spot as the No. 2 ranked middleweight.

UFC 160 saw both its top heavyweights finish their fights in impressive fashion. Junior dos Santos landed a spinning back kick of his own that dropped Mark Hunt and nailed him with a punch on the ground to end the fight. UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez dominated Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in just 81 seconds.

Other fighters impressed along the way, and some failed to meet expectations.

This is your MMA stock report for the month of May.

Stock Up: Flyweights

The flyweights came to fight in May. Two key matchups were put on the Facebook preliminary card of UFC on FX 8, and both fights delivered.

Jussier Formiga defeated Chris Cariaso in a fun tilt, and John Lineker finished Azamat Gashimov with his brutal power.

It's a shame that these 125-pound fighters were relegated to Facebook. They delivered extremely fun fights that should have at least been seen on Fuel, if not the main card itself. However, the performances in May could earn the division a little favor with the powers that be.

Showcasing fights like this will only help the flyweights earn spots higher up on cards. If the action continues, more fans will want to see them in action. That's a very good thing. All four flyweights that scrapped in May deserve a round of applause.

Stock Up: Yuri Alcantara

Yuri Alcantara picked up his first bantamweight win at UFC on FX 8, and he looked fantastic in the process.

The bantamweight division in one that could quickly see fighters shoot up the rankings. And it needs that. The division needs the new blood of fighters like Alcantara.

The Brazilian finished Iliarde Santos at just 2:31 of their fight.

Alcantara is a dangerous fighter at 135 pounds. He should have earned himself a bigger fight in the division after his performance, but we still have much to see from him. Regardless, he made an impression that saw his stock rise at UFC on FX 8.

Stock Down: Hacran Dias

Hacran Dias is one of the featherweight division's top prospects. He hails from the same camp as the champion Jose Aldo, Nova União.

Dias ran up against No. 9 ranked Nik Lentz, and he was taken out of his game.

Lentz did what he does best. He ground on Dias over the course of the fight and took a decision win. Dias made a valiant effort to come back in the third round, but it was too little, too late. Lentz is a tough competitor, but more was expected from Dias in this bout.

The prospect will have to head back to camp and work on his takedown defense. He will return better than before, and hopefully he will make a statement in his next bout.

Stock Steady: Nik Lentz

Nik Lentz defeated a very tough featherweight prospect, but his stock will hold steady for the time being.

Had he been able to dominate for all three rounds, perhaps it would rise just a bit, but he allowed Dias to turn it up in the third and final round.

The top of the featherweight division is stacked. It is a tough road to make a dent in. Lentz got the win he needed, but with the slew of contenders ahead of him won't earn himself a better ranking at this time.

The win will keep him exactly where he was before the fight.

Stock Down: Rafael dos Anjos

Rafael dos Anjos won his fight against Evan Dunham on the judge's scorecards, but not many of anyone else's.

"

Dunham got ROBBED!!!!

— Dana White (@danawhite) May 19, 2013"

Dos Anjos had been moving up the lightweight ladder, but this performance showed he isn't ready to make that leap just yet.

He may not even be able to hang on to his No. 10 ranking after the action of May. He has a lot to make up for in his next fight.

Stock Up: Jacare Souza

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza made his UFC debut, and he did so in impressive fashion.

Jacare dominated Chris Camozzi, and finished off the fight with an arm-triangle choke that put him to sleep at just 3:37 of the first round.

The result was what many expected. Jacare is simply a much better fighter than Camozzi. However, his stock is rising because not many casual fans knew who he was prior to his organizational debut.

Now, fans have seen Jacare do what he does best. There is an excitement around him that will help him earn bigger fights and put him on a shortlist of title contenders.

Stock Steady: Vitor Belfort and Luke Rockhold

Vitor Belfort delivered one of the best knockouts of 2013, but it doesn't raise his stock any.

That is not because it wasn't impressive. That is because Belfort does not have much higher to go with his stock. The only thing that could raise it is a title victory, and he isn't too far off from earning another shot at UFC gold.

Belfort is currently ranked No. 2 in the division, just behind Chris Weidman. He will likely move up to No. 1 after Weidman and champion Anderson Silva meet later this summer.

As for Rockhold, losing to Belfort is nothing to be ashamed about. And prior to suffering the effects of the spinning heel kick he was doing well against The Phenom.

Neither fighter won or lost anything other than the result from this fight. They both showed they deserve to be where they are currently at. It's tough to improve on stock that is already at a high.

Stock Up: George Roop

George Roop has been overlooked for quite a long time. Part of the reason is that he has found it difficult to get in any sort of run fighting the top of the bantamweight and featherweight divisions.

Since returning to bantamweight he is 2-0, and at UFC 160, he defeated No. 8 ranked Brian Bowles. That was a significant win for Roop.

Roop didn't move up in to the top 10 of the division, but he is close.

Another win like the one at UFC 160 and the lanky Roop will finally earn some long overdue respect.

Stock Down: Brian Bowles

Brian Bowles is a former WEC bantamweight champion, but injuries have taken their toll.

When Bowles made his return against George Roop it was expected that he would see him rebuild himself as one of the top bantamweights. That didn't happen.

Roop stopped Bowles in the second round.

Bowles' stock has dropped significantly over the past couple of years, and it continued the downward trend after UFC 160.

Stock Steady: Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated his bout with Abel Trujillo at UFC 160.

He looked every bit the part of a top-10 lightweight. So, why isn't his stock up after his dominant performance?

Unfortunately, Nurmagomedov came in overweight for his fight. No matter how he looked in the fight that cannot be overlooked. When fighters don't make weight it has to be taken in to consideration. It is always a black eye when a fighter tips the scale a bit too much.

Nurmagomedov erased a lot of that memory with his repeated takedowns of Trujillo, but until he returns on weight and delivers another good performance his stock will stay in the same place.

Stock Down: K.J. Noons

K.J. Noons was supposed to be a threat to Donald Cerrone on the feet.

He was not.

Noons was outclassed from bell to bell by "Cowboy". He was battered and bloodied for three full rounds. It was not a great UFC debut for Noons.

The fight really showed the difference between Noons and the upper echelon of the division. The former Elite XC champion has a lot of holes in his game that need fine-tuning before he makes a dent in the lightweight division.

Stock Up: TJ Grant

TJ Grant was 4-0 in the lightweight division entering UFC 160, but he didn't have a lot of fanfare behind him.

That is about to change.

Grant continued his rise up the lightweight rankings with a big win over Gray Maynard. A first-round TKO over someone the caliber of Maynard will make everyone notice you.

Grant moved up to No. 3 in the lightweight rankings following the fight, and he will challenge Benson Henderson for the divisional crown at some point in 2013. Grant earned the respect of many with his first-round win, and now he sets his sights on the UFC title.

Stock Down: Gray Maynard

Gray Maynard has long been one of the best lightweights in the world. He was close to capturing the gold twice against Frankie Edgar, but came up just a bit short.

After being away from the cage with a knee injury, Maynard finally got back in a contender's fight against TJ Grant. It wasn't the result he was looking for.

A first-round TKO loss saw him fall to No. 5 in the rankings.

However, the loss plays even worse in the eyes of fans. Maynard didn't get a chance to show his game in the fight. Maynard is still a fantastic lightweight, but UFC 160 dropped his stock significantly. He will want to make his next outing more impressive to put himself back in the mix.

Stock Steady: Glover Teixeira

Glover Teixeira entered and exited UFC 160 as the No. 4 ranked light heavyweight. Teixeira submitted James Te Huna in the first round.

Teixeira may be one of the best light heavyweights in the world, but he has yet to fight an official top-10 ranked fighter in the UFC. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson remains his biggest win to date. It is hard to say his stock rose any after his win over Te Huna.

Until we see him against some of the best the division has to offer his stock will hold steady.

Teixeira is undoubtedly deserving of holding a top-10 spot, but until we see him step up the level of competition his stock shouldn't rise to the level of a title contender.

Stock Steady: Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos

UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and No. 1 ranked Junior dos Santos did what they do at UFC 160.

Both came away with big wins, and they will meet for a third time later in 2013.

Their stock is virtually impossible to raise. They are head and shoulders above the rest of the heavyweight field. So, for them to not have their stock fall is impressive in its own right. Velasquez tore through Bigfoot, and Dos Santos added another highlight-reel finish to his resume.

Their stock goes unchanged, but their performances are worth a mention. They are truly the biggest, baddest men on the planet.