UFC Rankings: Good Calls and Bad Calls Following UFC Fight Night 57
With a dominant win over Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57, Frankie Edgar is back in the running for a shot at featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
Although Edgar has only made three appearances since losing to Aldo in February 2013, he's stopped Swanson and BJ Penn in back-to-back outings. The Answer also arguably came closer to dethroning Aldo than any other UFC title challenger.
Pound-for-Pound
1 of 10
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| 1 | Jon Jones |
| 2 | Jose Aldo |
| 3 | Demetrious Johnson |
| 4 | Chris Weidman |
| 5 | Cain Velasquez |
| 6 | Anthony Pettis |
| 7 | Anderson Silva (+1) |
| 8 | Ronda Rousey (-1) |
| 9 | Johny Hendricks |
| 10 | T.J. Dillashaw |
| 11 | Renan Barao |
| 12 | Dominick Cruz |
| 13 | Vitor Belfort |
| 14 | Daniel Cormier |
| 15 | Alexander Gustafsson |
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in this edition of the pound-for-pound rankings.
Bad Calls
Ronda Rousey Surpassed by Anderson Silva
I don't particularly like pound-for-pound rankings, and Ronda Rousey's position in them will always be heavily debated. However, divisional dominance is probably the most accurate way to rank fighters across different divisions, and Rousey might be the most dominant champion going.
Silva used to be a clear No. 1 in these rankings, but he's no longer a champion. Due to injuries, he's also gone 25 months without recording a win. Unless he regains his crown, he should be rated below current UFC champions in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Heavyweight
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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 | Matt Mitrione (+1) |
| 15 | Stefan Struve (-1) |
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in this edition of the heavyweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Matt Mitrione Takes No. 14 Position
Considering he hasn't competed in 20 months, Stefan Struve probably should start falling in the heavyweight rankings. However, that doesn't mean Matt Mitrione's move upward is warranted.
Mitrione is only two appearances removed from a loss to Brendan Schaub, who does not have a spot in the Top 15 rankings. While an argument could be made that Mitrione should be in the Top 15, Schaub still deserves to be somewhere above him.
Light Heavyweight
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Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Jon Jones |
| 1 | Alexander Gustafsson |
| 2 | Daniel Cormier |
| 3 | Anthony Johnson |
| 4 | Rashad Evans |
| 5 | Phil Davis |
| 6 | Glover Teixeira |
| 7 | Ryan Bader |
| 8 | Dan Henderson |
| 9 | Ovince Saint Preux |
| 10 | Jimi Manuwa |
| 11 | Mauricio Rua |
| 12 | Rafael Cavalcante |
| 13 | Fabio Maldonado |
| 14 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (-1) |
| 15 | Vitor Belfort |
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in this edition of the light heavyweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Falls Behind Fabio Maldonado
It's hard to dislike Fabio Maldonado. He's one of the more entertaining fighters in the 205-pound division, but that doesn't mean he deserves to be ranked above Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the light heavyweight division.
Nogueira isn't a legitimate title threat right now or anything, but he is only one appearance removed from a win over No. 4 light heavyweight Rashad Evans.
Maldonado, meanwhile, hasn't beaten anybody in the Top 15 rankings. The Brazilian also has losses to Kyle Kingsbury and Igor Pokrajac on his UFC record.
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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 |
| 7 | Tim Kennedy |
| 8 | Gegard Mousasi |
| 9 | Michael Bisping |
| 10 | CB Dollaway |
| 11 | Costas Philippou (+1) |
| 12 | Thales Leites (-1) |
| 13 | Tim Boetsch |
| 14 | Mark Munoz |
| 15 | Brad Tavares |
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in this edition of the middleweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Costas Philippou Overtakes Thales Leites
This was a very puzzling decision.
With four straight wins, Thales Leites has much more positive momentum than Costas Philippou. More importantly, though, he's coming off a win over Francis Carmont.
Philippou is only two bouts removed from a loss to Carmont, and he hasn't beaten a currently ranked opponent since then. It's hard to justify him surpassing Leites right now.
Welterweight
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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 | Kelvin Gastelum |
| 8 | Demian Maia |
| 9 | Tarec Saffiedine |
| 10 | Dong Hyun Kim |
| 11 | Jake Ellenberger |
| 12 | Rick Story |
| 13 | Jordan Mein |
| 14 | Gunnar Nelson |
| 15 | Ryan LaFlare |
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 |
| 5 | Benson Henderson |
| 6 | Edson Barboza (+5) |
| 6 | Josh Thomson |
| 8 | Myles Jury |
| 9 | Bobby Green (-2) |
| 10 | Jim Miller (-1) |
| 11 | Eddie Alvarez (-1) |
| 12 | Michael Johnson (-1) |
| 13 | Jorge Masvidal |
| 14 | Nate Diaz |
| 15 | Rustam Khabilov |
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in this edition of the lightweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Edson Barboza and Josh Thomson Tied in No. 6 Position
The rankings panel was right to boost Edson Barboza several spots, but he should be alone in the No. 6 spot right now.
On Saturday, Barboza soundly defeated Bobby Green. Meanwhile, Josh Thomson has not competed since a debatable July decision loss to Green.
Whether you believe Thomson won or lost again Green a few months ago, it's hard to deny Barboza looked better against that common adversary.
Green Falls Farther Behind Thomson
Green's recent win over Thomson was controversial, but he ultimately had his hand raised.
The media shouldn't allow their opinions on decisions to impact their rankings. Their ordering should be based on actual results.
Even if Thomson had beaten Green, that bout was so closely contested that the two lightweights should be ranked directly above and below each other unless Green goes on an awful skid or incredible winning streak.
Featherweight
7 of 10
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Jose Aldo |
| 1 | Chad Mendes |
| 2 | Frankie Edgar (+1) |
| 3 | Ricardo Lamas (+1) |
| 4 | Cub Swanson (-2) |
| 5 | Conor McGregor |
| 6 | Dustin Poirier |
| 7 | Dennis Bermudez |
| 8 | Dennis Siver |
| 9 | Nik Lentz |
| 10 | Jeremy Stephens |
| 11 | Clay Guida |
| 12 | Darren Elkins |
| 13 | Charles Oliveira |
| 14 | Max Holloway |
| 15 | Tatsuya Kawajiri |
Analysis
Good Calls
Cub Swanson Falls Behind Frankie Edgar and Ricardo Lamas
He had an impressive run, but Swanson hadn't really proved he was the second best featherweight contender on the UFC roster.
So, the rankings panel made a good call to drop the WEC veteran multiple spots following his UFC Fight Night 57 loss.
Edgar obviously deserved to surpass Swanson. And Lamas, who has only lost to Aldo since submitting Swanson, did as well.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in this edition of the featherweight rankings.
Bantamweight
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Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | T.J. Dillashaw |
| 1 | Renan Barao |
| 2 | Dominick Cruz |
| 3 | Urijah Faber |
| 4 | Raphael Assuncao |
| 5 | Michael McDonald |
| 6 | Eddie Wineland |
| 7 | Takeya Mizugaki |
| 8 | Iuri Alcantara |
| 9 | Johnny Eduardo |
| 10 | Bryan Caraway |
| 11 | Francisco Rivera |
| 12 | Erik Perez |
| 13 | Alex Caceres |
| 14 | Mitch Gagnon |
| 15 | Joe Soto |
Analysis
Good Calls
No changes were made to the bantamweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the bantamweight rankings.
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 | Tim Elliott |
| 10 | Zach Makovsky |
| 11 | Kyoji Horiguchi (+1) |
| 12 | Brad Pickett (-1) |
| 13 | Dustin Ortiz |
| 14 | Louis Gaudinot |
| 15 | Chico Camus (NR) |
Analysis
Good Calls
Ali Bagautinov Steals No. 6 Position from John Lineker
He should have already been ranked above John Lineker, but Ali Bagautinov is now in his rightful position.
In February, Bagautinov defeated Lineker on the scorecards. Since then, he's only lost to 125-pound champion Demetrious Johnson.
A loss to the titleholder is hardly a reason for a fighter to fall behind an opponent he so recently beat inside the Octagon.
Bad Calls
Chico Camus Enters Top 15, Remains Three Positions Below Brad Pickett
Despite beating Brad Pickett on Saturday, Chico Camus is still ranked below the Englishman.
It was only Camus' first win in the 125-pound class, but Pickett was relatively new to the flyweight division as well. If Camus hasn't done enough to be ranked higher in the weight class, then neither has Pickett.
The decision was controversial, but Camus came away with the win. He should be ranked higher than Pickett as a result.
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 |
| 9 | Amanda Nunes |
| 10 | Jessica Andrade |
| 11 | Julianna Pena |
| 12 | Germaine de Randamie |
| 13 | Raquel Pennington (+1) |
| 14 | Leslie Smith (-1) |
| 15 | Holly Holm |
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in this edition of the women's bantamweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Leslie Smith Falls Behind Raquel Pennington
This is what Leslie Smith gets for wanting to keep fighting while her ear is falling off her head?
Smith's recent loss to Jessica Eye prevented her from inching closer to the Top 10, but it shouldn't have caused her to fall in the women's bantamweight rankings.
The Peacemaker is only one fight removed from a knockout win over Jessamyn Duke, who took Raquel Pennington to a close decision on The Ultimate Fighter 18. Since Pennington's only official UFC win came against Roxanne Modafferi, who is no longer on the UFC roster, she hasn't proved she's better than Smith.
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