UFC Rankings: Good Calls and Bad Calls Following UFC Fight Night 58
At UFC Fight Night 58, Lyoto Machida rebounded from his loss to Chris Weidman and took his first step toward earning another shot at the middleweight championship.
Facing C.B. Dollaway, Machida wasted little time in front of his home fans in Brazil. Before his opponent had a chance to attempt a takedown, The Dragon landed a devastating kick to the body, which led to a knockout victory.
Was the win over Dollaway enough to earn Machida a spot in the pound-for-pound rankings? Did he gain any ground in the 185-pound rankings?
Pound-for-Pound
1 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| 1 | Jon Jones |
| 2 | Jose Aldo |
| 3 | Demetrious Johnson |
| 4 | Chris Weidman |
| 5 | Anthony Pettis (+1) |
| 6 | Cain Velasquez (-1) |
| 7 | Ronda Rousey |
| 8 | Anderson Silva |
| 9 | TJ Dillashaw |
| 10 | Renan Barao |
| 11 | Robbie Lawler |
| 12 | Johny Hendricks |
| 13 | Dominick Cruz |
| 14 | Daniel Cormier |
| 15 | Vitor Belfort |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in this edition of the pound-for-pound rankings.
Bad Calls
Anthony Pettis Takes Cain Velasquez's Top Five Position
With four consecutive stoppage wins, lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has the potential to turn into one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA. However, his resume is not as strong as Cain Velasquez's right now.
Velasquez is a two-time UFC champion with two straight title defenses, whereas Pettis is coming off his first successful title defense in his first UFC title reign. As Velasquez has battled injuries throughout his career, Pettis could have an opportunity to surpass the heavyweight champion soon, but he's still a bit behind at the moment.
Heavyweight
2 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Cain Velasquez |
| 1 | Fabricio Werdum (IC) |
| 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 | Matt Mitrione |
| 13 | Frank Mir |
| 14 | Gabriel Gonzaga |
| 15 | Stefan Struve |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No changes were made to the heavyweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the heavyweight rankings.
Light Heavyweight
3 of 11
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 | Ovince Saint Preux |
| 9 | Dan Henderson (-1) |
| 10 | Jimi Manuwa |
| 11 | Mauricio Rua |
| 12 | Rafael Cavalcante |
| 13 | Fabio Maldonado |
| 14 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira |
| 15 | Patrick Cummins (NR) |
Removed: Vitor Belfort
Analysis
Good Calls
Dan Henderson Falls Behind Ovince Saint Preux
With a quick knockout win over Mauricio Rua, Ovince Saint Preux deserves to be alone in the No. 8 position.
Dan Henderson has a more impressive overall resume than Saint Preux and also knocked Shogun out recently. However, Henderson is 1-4 over his past five appearances and was getting destroyed by Rua in March before landing a big shot out of nowhere in the third round.
With a 5-1 UFC record, Saint Preux has emerged as a serious contender in the light heavyweight division. Unless Henderson turns things around in a hurry, Saint Preux should be ranked higher than the fading legend.
Bad Calls
Patrick Cummins Enters Top 15 Rankings
With a win over Antonio Carlos Jr. at UFC Fight Night 58, Patrick Cummins has made his first appearance in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.
Having won three in a row, Cummins is certainly showing he has the potential to become a contender in the 205-pound class. However, he hasn't beaten the level of competition that would make his deserving of a spot in the Top 15 rankings.
Scheduled to compete in the middleweight division, Vitor Belfort was bound to lose his spot in the light heavyweight rankings eventually. However, guys such as Jan Blachowicz and Ilir Latifi have recorded more impressive UFC wins than Cummins has.
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Middleweight
4 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Chris Weidman |
| 1 | Anderson Silva |
| 2 | Ronaldo Souza |
| 3 | Lyoto Machida (+1) |
| 4 | Vitor Belfort (-1) |
| 5 | Luke Rockhold |
| 6 | Yoel Romero |
| 7 | Tim Kennedy |
| 8 | Gegard Mousasi |
| 9 | Michael Bisping |
| 10 | C.B. Dollaway |
| 11 | Thales Leites |
| 12 | Costas Philippou |
| 13 | Tim Boetsch |
| 14 | Mark Munoz |
| 15 | Brad Tavares |
Analysis
Good Calls
Lyoto Machida Rises as Vitor Belfort Falls
Belfort has one of the best resumes among all middleweight contenders, but he hasn't stepped into the Octagon in 13 months.
That inactivity should start to cost him in the rankings, and it has with his demotion to the No. 4 position. In February, Belfort will have a chance to earn his spot back and then some against Chris Weidman, but he should sit behind other middleweight contenders with comparable resumes until then.
With wins over three different Top 15 middleweights and a close bout with Weidman, Machida has proven he's among the best at 185 pounds. His new spot in the division's rankings is deserved.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in this edition of the middleweight rankings.
Welterweight
5 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Robbie Lawler |
| 1 | Johny Hendricks |
| 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 |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No changes were made to the welterweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the welterweight rankings.
Lightweight
6 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Anthony Pettis |
| 1 | Rafael dos Anjos |
| 2 | Khabib Nurmagomedov (-1) |
| 3 | Gilbert Melendez |
| 4 | Donald Cerrone |
| 5 | Benson Henderson |
| 6 | Edson Barboza |
| 7 | Josh Thomson |
| 8 | Myles Jury |
| 9 | Bobby Green |
| 10 | Eddie Alvarez (+1) |
| 11 | Jim Miller (-1) |
| 12 | Michael Johnson |
| 13 | Jorge Masvidal |
| 14 | Nate Diaz |
| 15 | Rustam Khabilov |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Eddie Alvarez Takes Top 10 Spot from Jim Miller
He's still looking for his first UFC win, but Eddie Alvarez has an outstanding resume outside the Octagon and fared better against Donald Cerrone than many lightweight contenders.
In September, Alvarez went the distance with Cowboy. It was a disappointing showing for Alvarez, but he was definitely more competitive with Cerrone than Jim Miller was only two months earlier.
Having suffered a knockout loss to Cerrone in July, Miller did not deserve his Top 10 spot over former Bellator MMA champion Alvarez.
Bad Calls
Khabib Nurmagomedov Falls Behind Rafael dos Anjos
Remember when Khabib Nurmagomedov took Rafael dos Anjos down six times en route to a clear decision victory in April? Well, apparently, the voting panel has forgotten.
With three straight wins since then, dos Anjos has been on a roll and is arguably the obvious No. 2 lightweight contender. However, it's hard to justify him being ranked above Nurmagomedov in the 155-pound rankings.
Nurmagomedov has not competed since that win over Dos Anjos. If the Russian were healthy, he'd be next in line to challenge lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, and there wouldn't be an argument.
Featherweight
7 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Jose Aldo |
| 1 | Chad Mendes |
| 2 | Frankie Edgar |
| 3 | Ricardo Lamas |
| 4 | Cub Swanson |
| 5 | Conor McGregor |
| 6 | Dustin Poirier |
| 7 | Dennis Bermudez |
| 8 | Nik Lentz (+1) |
| 9 | Dennis Siver (-1) |
| 10 | Charles Oliveira |
| 11 | Jeremy Stephens |
| 12 | Clay Guida |
| 13 | Max Holloway (+1) |
| 14 | Darren Elkins (-1) |
| 15 | Hacran Dias (NR) |
Removed: Tatsuya Kawajiri
Analysis
Good Calls
Nik Lentz Edges Dennis Siver to Claim No. 8 Position
With his win over Manny Gamburyan overturned, Dennis Siver doesn't have a stronger featherweight resume than Nik Lentz and shouldn't have been ranked above The Carny.
Siver's biggest win at 145 pounds came against Diego Nunes, whom Lentz has beaten just as convincingly. Lentz also has a legitimate win over Gamburyan on his record.
If Siver can upset Conor McGregor in January, he'd probably reverse this, but he belongs below Lentz right now.
Bad Calls
Darren Elkins Falls Below Max Holloway, Not Hacran Dias
Losing to an unranked Hacran Dias at UFC Fight Night 58, Darren Elkins was bound to see his standing in the featherweight rankings lowered. However, the rankings panel got it wrong.
With a win over Hatsu Hioki on his record and having only lost to now-ranked 145-pounders, Elkins still should be ranked slightly above Max Holloway. The Hawaiian has been impressive on a winning streak lasting four fights, but Holloway is still looking for a win over a fighter of Hioki's caliber.
Having beaten Elkins so recently, Dias should obviously be ranked above The Damage, but here he is clinging to the No. 15 position.
Bantamweight
8 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | TJ Dillashaw |
| 1 | Renan Barao |
| 2 | Dominick Cruz |
| 3 | Urijah Faber |
| 4 | Raphael Assuncao |
| 5 | Michael McDonald |
| 6 | Takeya Mizugaki |
| 7 | Eddie Wineland |
| 8 | Iuri Alcantara |
| 9 | Johnny Eduardo |
| 10 | Bryan Caraway |
| 11 | Francisco Rivera |
| 12 | Erik Perez (+1) |
| 13 | Alex Caceres (-1) |
| 14 | Mitch Gagnon |
| 15 | Joe Soto |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Alex Caceres Falls Behind Erik Perez to No. 13
This isn't so much about comparing Alex Caceres and Erik Perez as it is about Bruce Leeroy's position in comparison to Masanori Kanehara.
Caceres and Perez actually have very comparable resumes. Looking solely at those two fighters, an argument could be made that either fighter should be ranked higher than the other.
However, Caceres needs to be lowered in the bantamweight rankings if Kanehara is going to continue to be left out. Kanehara defeated Caceres in September and still does not have a place in the Top 15 rankings.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in this edition of the bantamweight rankings.
Flyweight
9 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Demetrious Johnson |
| 1 | John Dodson |
| 2 | Joseph Benavidez |
| 3 | Ian McCall |
| 4 | John Moraga |
| 5 | Jussier Formiga |
| 6 | John Lineker |
| 7 | Ali Bagautinov |
| 8 | Chris Cariaso |
| 9 | Zach Makovsky |
| 10 | Tim Elliott |
| 11 | Kyoji Horiguchi |
| 12 | Dustin Ortiz (+1) |
| 13 | Brad Pickett (-1) |
| 14 | Chico Camus |
| 15 | Wilson Reis (NR) |
Removed: Louis Gaudinot
Analysis
Good Calls
Dustin Ortiz Bumps Brad Pickett to No. 13 Position
With a loss to Chico Camus in his most recent outing, Brad Pickett is really still ranked too high.
Dustin Ortiz has been excellent since joining the UFC, having only lost to Top Five contenders Joseph Benavidez and John Moraga. With a controversial split-decision loss to Moraga, Ortiz could make a case that he should have a spot in the Top 10.
Expected to return to the bantamweight division, Pickett probably won't have a spot in the flyweight rankings much longer.
Wilson Reis Steals Louis Gaudinot's No. 15 Spot
Louis Gaudinot has a win over No. 6 John Lineker on his record, so it's hard to say he doesn't deserve to be ranked. However, he hasn't won since that May 2012 bout and more recently lost to No. 10 Tim Elliott, so it's clear that Gaudinot has taken a couple of steps backward.
Reis, meanwhile, is going nowhere but upward.
The Brazilian has won two in a row, most recently submitting Scott Jorgensen in the opening round. That's something No. 9 contender Zach Makovsky wasn't able to do, so Reis certainly has earned a spot in the Top 15 rankings.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in this edition of the flyweight rankings.
Women's Bantamweight
10 of 11
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 | Raquel Pennington |
| 13 | Germaine de Randamie |
| 14 | Holly Holm |
| 15 | Leslie Smith |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No changes were made to the women's bantamweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the women's bantamweight rankings.
Women's Strawweight
11 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Carla Esparza |
| 1 | Joanna Jedrzejczyk |
| 2 | Claudia Gadelha |
| 3 | Jessica Penne |
| 4 | Rose Namajunas |
| 5 | Tecia Torres |
| 6 | Joanne Calderwood |
| 7 | Randa Markos |
| 8 | Felice Herrig |
| 9 | Aisling Daly |
| 10 | Paige VanZant (+1) |
| 11 | Heather Clark (-1) |
| 12 | Juliana Lima |
| 13 | Angela Hill |
| 14 | Bec Rawlings |
| 15 | Seo Hee Ham |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Paige VanZant Claims No. 10 Spot from Heather Clark
She's very early in her career, but Paige VanZant has as many UFC wins as Heather Clark and has only lost to Top Five strawweight Tecia Torres.
Clark gave herself some job security with a win over Bec Rawlings in her UFC debut, but that was undoubtedly the biggest win in her MMA career. Unlike VanZant, Clark has also been beaten by lesser competition than Torres.
It's a close call, but I like ranking VanZant above Clark at the moment.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in this edition of the women's strawweight rankings.
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