UFC Rankings: Good Calls and Bad Calls Following UFC Fight Night 59
With a dominant performance against UFC veteran Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 59, Conor McGregor earned a shot at featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
Although McGregor was only ranked No. 5 among 145-pound contenders heading into his bout on Sunday, he's already done enough to earn a spot in a championship bout only five contests into his UFC career. It doesn't hurt him that all the contenders ranked above him have already lost to Aldo.
Now considered the biggest threat to Aldo's belt, McGregor's position in the rankings is bound to be reconsidered. Was a win over Siver enough to push him higher up the 145-pound ladder?
Pound-for-Pound
1 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| 1 | Jon Jones |
| 2 | Jose Aldo |
| 3 | Demetrious Johnson |
| 4 | Chris Weidman |
| 5 | Anthony Pettis |
| 6 | Cain Velasquez |
| 7 | TJ Dillashaw (+2) |
| 8 | Ronda Rousey (-1) |
| 9 | Anderson Silva (-1) |
| 10 | Renan Barao |
| 11 | Robbie Lawler |
| 12 | Johny Hendricks |
| 13 | Dominick Cruz |
| 14 | Vitor Belfort |
| 15 | Alexander Gustafsson |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Bad Calls
TJ Dillashaw Moves Above Ronda Rousey
I have no problem with Dillashaw surpassing Silva in the pound-for-pound rankings. The Spider has not competed in over 12 months, and no longer has UFC gold around his waist, while Dillashaw does and has also defended his championship.
That said, Dillashaw should not be ranked above women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. While Dillashaw only has one title defense as 135-pound champion, Rousey has already defended her belt on four separate occasions.
Rousey is the more dominant champion right now, and Dillashaw's only title defense should come with an asterisk of sorts, as it came against replacement opponent and UFC newcomer Joe Soto.
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 |
| 10 | Jimi Manuwa |
| 11 | Mauricio Rua |
| 12 | Rafael Cavalcante |
| 13 | Fabio Maldonado |
| 14 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira |
| 15 | Patrick Cummins |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No changes were made to the light heavyweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the light heavyweight rankings.
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Middleweight
4 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Chris Weidman |
| 1 | Anderson Silva |
| 2 | Ronaldo Souza |
| 3 | Lyoto Machida |
| 4 | Vitor Belfort |
| 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 | Mark Munoz (+1) |
| 14 | Tim Boetsch (-1) |
| 15 | Brad Tavares |
Analysis
Good Calls
Mark Munoz Rises Above Tim Boetsch
In July 2013, Munoz defeated Boetsch in a clear decision.
Since that win, Munoz has only lost to Top 10 middleweights Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi. Losing to opponents of that caliber shouldn't have led to Munoz losing ground to Boetsch in the rankings.
Boetsch did beat Dollaway, but he did so in a very controversial decision, and Dollaway's current No. 10 position would be debatable even had he been awarded that victory. With Francis Carmont no longer on the UFC roster, Dollaway does not own a win over a Top 15 middleweight right now.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in 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 | Hector Lombard |
| 6 | Matt Brown |
| 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 good calls were made in the welterweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Lorenz Larkin Snubbed Following UFC Fight Night 59 Win over John Howard
I maintain that Mike Pyle should have a spot among the Top 15 welterweights by virtue of his May 2013 decision win over No. 12 Rick Story. However, if Quicksand isn't going to be recognized, then Larkin should following his performance on Sunday.
Whereas, No. 15 Ryan LaFlare defeated John Howard via decision in a competitive matchup, Larkin picked Doomsday apart en route to an opening-round knockout win. It's not by a huge margin, but Larkin definitely deserves to be ranked above LaFlare right now.
Lightweight
6 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Anthony Pettis |
| 1 | Rafael dos Anjos |
| 2 | Khabib Nurmagomedov |
| 3 | Donald Cerrone |
| 4 | Gilbert Melendez |
| 5 | Benson Henderson |
| 6 | Edson Barboza |
| 7 | Josh Thomson |
| 8 | Myles Jury |
| 9 | Bobby Green |
| 10 | Eddie Alvarez |
| 11 | Jim Miller |
| 12 | Michael Johnson |
| 13 | Jorge Masvidal |
| 14 | Nate Diaz |
| 15 | Rustam Khabilov |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in the lightweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Benson Henderson Remains Behind Gilbert Melendez
While his loss to Donald Cerrone understandably prevented Henderson from moving above Cowboy in the lightweight rankings, the panel could have rewarded the former champion for his performance in a controversial loss that most MMA media members felt he should have won, according to MMADecisions.com.
Henderson defeated Melendez in April 2013 and has only lost to fighters currently ranked higher than El Nino since then. Having beaten Diego Sanchez in a competitive bout and lost to Anthony Pettis since his loss to Henderson, Melendez hasn't done enough to surpass the MMA Lab standout.
Featherweight
7 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Jose Aldo |
| 1 | Chad Mendes |
| 2 | Frankie Edgar |
| 3 | Ricardo Lamas |
| 4 | Conor McGregor (+1) |
| 5 | Cub Swanson (-1) |
| 6 | Dennis Bermudez (+1) |
| 7 | Dustin Poirier (-1) |
| 8 | Nik Lentz |
| 9 | Charles Oliveira |
| 10 | Jeremy Stephens (+1) |
| 11 | Clay Guida (+1) |
| 12 | Dennis Siver (-2) |
| 13 | Max Holloway |
| 14 | Darren Elkins |
| 15 | Hacran Dias |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Conor McGregor Bulldozes Dennis Siver and Takes the No. 4 Position
With only five UFC appearances under his belt, it's hard to believe McGregor has truly earned a Top Five position so quickly, but he really has.
In July 2013, Cub Swanson took three rounds to finish Siver. He also defeated Dustin Poirier in a narrow decision during February 2013.
With a second-round knockout against Siver and an opening-round knockout against Poirier, McGregor has done enough to deserve a spot above Swanson.
Dennis Siver Falls Behind Clay Guida and Jeremy Stephens
Following his loss to McGregor, Siver is starting to lose his grip on a position in the Top 15 rankings.
Since December 2012, Siver has failed a drug test and recorded only one win over an unproven Charles Rosa. During that same period, Clay Guida defeated both Tatsuya Kawajiri and Hatsu Hioki, while Jeremy Stephens knocked out Rony Jason and edged Darren Elkins.
Given Siver's lack of recent success, he's lucky to have not fallen ever farther.
Bad Calls
Dustin Poirier Falls Behind Dennis Bermudez
Since he's scheduled to compete at lightweight in April, Poirier could be removed from the 145-pound rankings. However, if he's going to have a spot on them, it shouldn't be behind Dennis Bermudez.
In May 2013, Bermudez fought to a split decision with Max Holloway. Against that same opponent, Poirier recorded an opening-round submission win, and The Diamond has only lost to recent title challenger Chan Sung Jung and two Top Five featherweights since then.
Eventually, Poirier is going to be removed from the featherweight rankings, and this won't matter much. However, it simply looks incorrect to rank Poirier below Bermudez if he's going to be ranked at all.
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 |
| 13 | Alex Caceres |
| 14 | Mitch Gagnon |
| 15 | Joe Soto |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No changes were made to the bantamweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to 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 |
| 4 | Jussier Formiga (+1) |
| 6 | John Lineker |
| 7 | Ali Bagautinov |
| 8 | Kyoji Horiguchi |
| 9 | Chris Cariaso |
| 10 | Zach Makovsky |
| 11 | Tim Elliott |
| 12 | Dustin Ortiz |
| 13 | Wilson Reis (+1) |
| 14 | Brad Pickett (-1) |
| 15 | Chico Camus |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Jussier Formiga Draws Even With John Moraga
It could be argued either Formiga or Moraga should be ranked higher in the 125-pound division, so I have no issue with the two being tied in the No. 4 position.
Both Formiga and Moraga have been stopped by John Dodson in the second round. Both picked up victories over Chris Cariaso. Both have two Top 15 wins on their resumes.
So, with such similar UFC career to this point, Formiga and Moraga are about as close to even as it gets. The two were scheduled to settle the tie in December, but a Formiga injury led to the bout being scrapped.
Bad Calls
Brad Pickett Falls to No. 14 Position
Wilson Reis has looked very good in back-to-back wins, but this is less about the Brazilian and more about Chico Camus' position in relation to Pickett's ranking.
In his most recent outing, Camus defeated Pickett via split decision. As most split decisions are, it was a close contest, but Camus had his hand raised nonetheless.
The ruling was by no means a robbery, so Camus should be ranked above Pickett right now. At least this move puts him closer to being being ranked above the British fighter, who is expected to make a return to the bantamweight division.
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 | Joanne Calderwood (+1) |
| 6 | Tecia Torres (-1) |
| 7 | Randa Markos |
| 8 | Felice Herrig |
| 9 | Aisling Daly |
| 10 | Paige VanZant (+1) |
| 11 | Heather Clark (-1) |
| 12 | Juliana Lima |
| 13 | Angela Hill |
| 14 | Seo Hee Ham |
| 15 | Bec Rawlings |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Paige VanZant Reclaims No. 10 Spot from Heather Clark.
She's very early in her career, but VanZant has as many UFC wins as Clark and has only lost to Top Five strawweight Tecia Torres.
Clark gave herself some job security with a win over 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
Joanne Calderwood Steals No. 5 Position from Tecia Torres
Officially undefeated at 28 years old, Calderwood has the potential to reach the top of the 115-pound division, but it could be argued her biggest MMA win came in an exhibition match with Emily Kagan on The Ultimate Fighter 20.
Torres, meanwhile, has recorded a number of wins against elite female strawweights. Most notably, defeated Rose Namajunas at Invicta FC 6. Considering Namajunas was the one to bounce Calderwood from the TUF 20 competition, Torres deserves to be ranked above the Scottish fighter.
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