UFC Rankings: Good Calls and Bad Calls Following UFC 178
Demetrious Johnson is becoming harder and harder to overlook as one of the best fighters in MMA.
At UFC 178, Mighty Mouse submitted Chris Cariaso to successfully defend his 125-pound championship for the sixth consecutive time. That mark ties the championship reigns of UFC legends Tito Ortiz and Matt Hughes, so Johnson is clearly dominating the flyweight class.
He may not be as popular as Ortiz and Hughes, but Johnson will eventually get his due attention as long as he keeps winning. Was an expected win over Cariaso enough to boost him in the pound-for-pound rankings?
With another UFC event in the books, here are the latest official UFC rankings via UFC.com, which are voted on by various members of the MMA media.
Pound-for-Pound
1 of 10
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| 1 | Jon Jones |
| 2 | Jose Aldo |
| 3 | Demetrious Johnson (+1) |
| 4 | Cain Velasquez (-1) |
| 5 | Chris Weidman |
| 6 | Anthony Pettis |
| 7 | Anderson Silva |
| 8 | Ronda Rousey |
| 9 | Johny Hendricks |
| 10 | Renan Barao |
| 11 | T.J. Dillashaw |
| 12 | Vitor Belfort |
| 13 | Daniel Cormier (+1) |
| 14 | Alexander Gustafsson (-1) |
| 15 | Dominick Cruz (NR) |
Analysis
Good Calls
With five straight title defenses, Johnson is quietly becoming one of the most dominant champions in UFC history.
Cain Velasquez may be on his way there as well, but he's not as far along as Johnson. The heavyweight champion has been hampered by injuries and only has two consecutive title defenses. He'll look for his third in a November bout with Fabricio Werdum.
The pound-for-pound rankings were created to give smaller fighters like Johnson the recognition that comes more easily for heavyweight titleholders, so the rankings panel got it right by elevating Mighty Mouse to the No. 3 position.
Furthermore, it might receive mixed reviews, but Dominick Cruz's addition to the Top 15 was a good move by the voting MMA media.
Doubt surrounding Cruz's long hiatus was the only reason he had been excluded before now. So, by proving he can still be the fighter he once was with a knockout win over Takeya Mizugaki, Cruz showed he's still an elite pound-for-pound fighter.
Bad Calls
He's looked great recently, but Daniel Cormier has not done enough to surpass Alexander Gustafsson in the pound-for-pound rankings.
The Strikeforce veteran has beaten some of the best in the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions. However, he hasn't met the 205-pound king.
Gustafsson has and nearly dethroned Jon Jones in September 2013. Until Cormier looks as good against Jones as Gustafsson did, he shouldn't be ranked above the Swedish contender.
Heavyweight
2 of 10
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Cain Velasquez |
| 1 | Fabricio Werdum |
| 2 | Junior dos Santos |
| 3 | Travis Browne |
| 4 | Stipe Miocic |
| 5 | Mark Hunt |
| 6 | Josh Barnett |
| 7 | Andrei Arlovski |
| 8 | Antonio Silva |
| 9 | Roy Nelson |
| 10 | Ben Rothwell |
| 11 | Alistair Overeem |
| 12 | Gabriel Gonzaga |
| 13 | Frank Mir |
| 14 | Stefan Struve |
| 15 | Matt Mitrione |
Analysis
Good Calls
No changes were made to the heavyweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the heavyweight rankings.
Light Heavyweight
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Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Jon Jones |
| 1 | Alexander Gustafsson |
| 2 | Daniel Cormier |
| 3 | Rashad Evans |
| 4 | Glover Teixeira |
| 5 | Anthony Johnson |
| 6 | Phil Davis |
| 7 | Ryan Bader (+1) |
| 8 | Dan Henderson (-1) |
| 9 | Mauricio Rua |
| 10 | Ovince Saint Preux |
| 11 | Jimi Manuwa |
| 12 | Rafael Cavalcante |
| 13 | Vitor Belfort |
| 14 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira |
| 15 | Fabio Maldonado |
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in this edition of the light heavyweight rankings.
Bad Calls
With losses in four of his past five fights, Dan Henderson is struggling, and the end of his MMA career could be nearing. However, he still has a stronger resume than Ryan Bader.
Ovince Saint Preux is the most highly ranked light heavyweight Bader has beaten, and the Strikeforce veteran currently sits at No. 10 in the 205-pound rankings. Henderson, meanwhile, is only one fight removed from a stunning knockout win over No. 9 Mauricio Rua.
It's only by a very slim margin, but Henderson should still be ranked above Bader right now.
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Middleweight
4 of 10
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Chris Weidman |
| 1 | Anderson Silva |
| 2 | Ronaldo Souza |
| 3 | Vitor Belfort |
| 4 | Lyoto Machida |
| 5 | Luke Rockhold |
| 6 | Yoel Romero (+4) |
| 7 | Tim Kennedy (-1) |
| 7 | Gegard Mousasi |
| 9 | Michael Bisping (-2) |
| 10 | CB Dollaway (-1) |
| 11 | Thales Leites (+1) |
| 12 | Costas Philippou (-1) |
| 13 | Tim Boetsch |
| 13 | Mark Munoz |
| 15 | Brad Tavares |
Analysis
Good Calls
Despite the controversy that resulted from him remaining on the stool when the third round was about to start, Yoel Romero did get his hand raised on Saturday.
Regardless of their opinions on the situation, the voters rightly recognized that result and moved Romero above Tim Kennedy, who has stated he'll appeal the outcome of his UFC 178 bout with the Cuban. Unless the result is overturned, though, the rankings panel should respect the actual results as they have in this position.
Aside from a late flurry in the second round, Romero did appear to be the better fighter than Kennedy prior to finishing the fight with a knockout in the third stanza. So, Romero's No. 6 position does seem well-earned.
Meanwhile, in an adjustment not impacted by this past weekend's fights, Thales Leites surpassed Costas Philippou.
The change was warranted.
Philippou is only two appearances removed from a poor showing against Francis Carmont and hasn't beaten a Top 15 opponent since then. Leites, meanwhile, is 4-0 since returning to the Octagon and knocked Carmont out in his most recent bout.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in this edition of the middleweight rankings.
Welterweight
5 of 10
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Johny Hendricks |
| 1 | Robbie Lawler |
| 2 | Rory MacDonald |
| 3 | Tyron Woodley |
| 4 | Carlos Condit |
| 5 | Matt Brown |
| 6 | Hector Lombard |
| 7 | Jake Ellenberger |
| 8 | Demian Maia |
| 9 | Tarec Saffiedine |
| 10 | Dong Hyun Kim |
| 11 | Kelvin Gastelum |
| 12 | Gunnar Nelson |
| 13 | Jordan Mein |
| 14 | Ryan LaFlare |
| 15 | Mike Pyle |
Analysis
Good Calls
No changes were made to the welterweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the welterweight rankings.
Lightweight
6 of 10
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Anthony Pettis |
| 1 | Gilbert Melendez |
| 2 | Khabib Nurmagomedov |
| 3 | Rafael dos Anjos |
| 4 | Donald Cerrone (+1) |
| 5 | Benson Henderson (-1) |
| 6 | Josh Thomson |
| 7 | Bobby Green |
| 8 | Myles Jury |
| 9 | Jim Miller |
| 10 | Eddie Alvarez (+4) |
| 11 | Michael Johnson (-1) |
| 12 | Edson Barboza (-1) |
| 13 | Jorge Masvidal (-1) |
| 14 | Rustam Khabilov (-1) |
| 15 | Nate Diaz (NR) |
Analysis
Good Calls
Eddie Alvarez's lack of experience against UFC lightweight was the only reason he sat outside the Top 10 heading into UFC 178. With a respectable showing against Donald Cerrone, the former Bellator MMA champion showed he is talented enough to be a Top 10 UFC lightweight.
When compared with No. 12 Edson Barboza, who was knocked down and submitted by Cerrone in April, Alvarez looked very good. So, it's not at all shocking to see him surpass the Brazilian, among others.
Additionally, Nate Diaz was only removed from the rankings due to a contract dispute, so it seems right that he be added back in now that he has a fight with Rafael dos Anjos booked. Considering he's submitted No. 9 Jim Miller, Diaz's stock should rise even more in the coming rankings updates.
Bad Calls
With five straight wins, Cerrone is clearly one of the top lightweights in the world, but some of his losses make it difficult for him to climb upward in the rankings. That is why I'm actually surprised he surpassed Benson Henderson for the No. 4 position.
Since joining the UFC roster, Henderson has only lost to champion Anthony Pettis and Dos Anjos. Considering Cerrone also has a recent loss to Dos Anjos, it's questionable that a loss to the Brazilian would drop Henderson below Cowboy, whom the former UFC titleholder beat twice in the WEC.
Featherweight
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Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Jose Aldo |
| 1 | Chad Mendes |
| 2 | Cub Swanson |
| 3 | Frankie Edgar |
| 4 | Ricardo Lamas |
| 5 | Conor McGregor (+4) |
| 6 | Chan Sung Jung |
| 7 | Dustin Poirier (-2) |
| 8 | Dennis Bermudez (-1) |
| 9 | Nik Lentz (-1) |
| 10 | Jeremy Stephens |
| 11 | Dennis Siver |
| 12 | Clay Guida |
| 13 | Darren Elkins |
| 14 | Charles Oliveira |
| 15 | Tatsuya Kawajiri |
Analysis
Good Calls
With his win over Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor is no longer an unknown commodity. His new Top Five position has been earned.
The Irishman knocked Poirier out in the first round. Chan Sung Jung, meanwhile, had a much more competitive bout with Poirier in May 2012. So, McGregor deserved to surpass more than just The Diamond with his win on Saturday.
In defeat, Poirier fell below Jung in the 145-pound rankings. It's where Poirier should have been even before losing to McGregor, as none of his wins since losing to Jung have proved he's surpassed the South Korean.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in this edition of the featherweight rankings.
Bantamweight
8 of 10
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | T.J. Dillashaw |
| 1 | Renan Barao |
| 2 | Dominick Cruz (+8) |
| 3 | Urijah Faber (-1) |
| 4 | Raphael Assuncao (-1) |
| 5 | Michael McDonald (-1) |
| 6 | Takeya Mizugaki (-1) |
| 7 | Eddie Wineland (-1) |
| 8 | Iuri Alcantara (-1) |
| 9 | Johnny Eduardo (-1) |
| 10 | Bryan Caraway (-1) |
| 11 | Francisco Rivera |
| 12 | Alex Caceres (+1) |
| 13 | Erik Perez (-1) |
| 14 | Joe Soto |
| 15 | Masanori Kanehara |
Analysis
Good Calls
It's rare that a fighter moves up eight spots with one win, but Dominick Cruz was only ranked as low as he was before UFC 178 due to inactivity.
With a knockout win over Takeya Mizugaki, who hadn't been stopped since joining the UFC roster, Cruz proved he's still one of the best bantamweights in the world. A champion who never lost, Cruz even has an argument that he should be ranked in the No. 1 contender position, so his rise to No. 2 was the right call.
Cruz's opportunity to reclaim the bantamweight championship could be coming sooner than expected.
Bad Calls
Alex Caceres was lucky to be ranked No. 13 following a loss to Masanori Kanehara on September 20, but he's now moved up to No. 12 in an odd decision by the rankings panel.
First of all, the adjustment moved Caceres further above Kanehara, which makes little sense considering their recent meeting. However, the change is also puzzling when comparing Caceres' resume with Erik Perez's, whom he surpassed.
Caceres and Perez have a common opponent in Edwin Figueroa. While Caceres lost to Figueroa in a close decision, Perez coasted to a dominant win over Figueroa, scoring seven takedowns along the way. With little else to go by, Perez should be ranked above Caceres based on the two fighters' performances against Figueroa.
Flyweight
9 of 10
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Demetrious Johnson |
| 1 | John Dodson |
| 2 | Joseph Benavidez |
| 3 | Ian McCall |
| 4 | Jussier Formiga |
| 5 | John Moraga |
| 6 | Ali Bagautinov (+1) |
| 7 | John Lineker (-1) |
| 8 | Chris Cariaso |
| 9 | Zach Makovsky |
| 10 | Tim Elliott |
| 11 | Brad Pickett |
| 12 | Dustin Ortiz |
| 13 | Kyoji Horiguchi |
| 14 | Louis Gaudinot |
| 15 | Scott Jorgensen |
Analysis
Good Calls
The one change in the 125-pound rankings doesn't require much explanation.
Ali Bagautinov defeated John Lineker in February. Since then, Bagautinov has only lost to champion Demetrious Johnson. So, Bagautinov really should have already been ranked above Lineker heading into this past weekend.
In November, Lineker will have a chance to shake things up, as he meets Ian McCall in a potential title shot eliminator.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in this edition of the flyweight rankings.
Women's Bantamweight
10 of 10
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Ronda Rousey |
| 1 | Cat Zingano |
| 2 | Miesha Tate |
| 3 | Sara McMann |
| 4 | Alexis Davis |
| 5 | Sarah Kaufman |
| 6 | Jessica Eye |
| 7 | Liz Carmouche |
| 8 | Bethe Correia (+1) |
| 9 | Amanda Nunes (-1) |
| 10 | Jessica Andrade |
| 11 | Julianna Pena |
| 12 | Germaine de Randamie |
| 13 | Leslie Smith |
| 14 | Raquel Pennington |
| 15 | Holly Holm |
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in this edition of the women's bantamweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Despite her loss to Cat Zingano at UFC 178, Amanda Nunes should still be ranked above Bethe Correia.
Prior to Saturday, Nunes was coming off an opening-round knockout win over Germaine de Randamie, who happens to hold a win over Julie Kedzie, the fighter who accounts for Correia's most noteworthy victory.
Without a win over a Top 15 bantamweight, Correia should still be a step behind Nunes in the rankings.
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