UFC Rankings: Good Calls and Bad Calls Following UFC on Fox 14
With a win over Alexander Gustafsson in Sweden, Anthony Johnson emerged as the top contender in the light heavyweight division and is expected to be booked for a championship bout opposite Jon Jones soon.
Rumble has had quite the career turnaround. Only three years ago, he was released by the UFC after missing weight prior to a middleweight bout with Vitor Belfort. Now, he's arguably the scariest striker at 205 pounds and has the ability to claim the light heavyweight belt with one punch.
Since Gustafsson was previously ranked No. 1 among light heavyweight contenders and in the Top 15 pound-for-pound UFC combatants, Johnson's win on Saturday is bound to cause some movement in the UFC rankings. Was it enough to vault Rumble into the pound-for-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 |
| 6 | Cain Velasquez |
| 7 | Ronda Rousey (+1) |
| 8 | TJ Dillashaw (-1) |
| 9 | Anderson Silva |
| 10 | Renan Barao |
| 11 | Robbie Lawler |
| 12 | Johny Hendricks |
| 13 | Vitor Belfort (+1) |
| 14 | Dominick Cruz (-1) |
| 15 | Fabricio Werdum (NR) |
Removed: Alexander Gustafsson
Analysis
Good Calls
Ronda Rousey Surpasses TJ Dillashaw
As has been made abundantly clear, these pound-for-pound rankings are being based around divisional dominance more than anything. With that said, TJ Dillashaw should not have been 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 could be accompanied by an asterisk of sorts, as it came against replacement opponent and UFC newcomer Joe Soto.
Fabricio Werdum Takes Alexander Gustafsson's No. 15 Position
With Johnson's win over previous No. 15 Gustafsson, some may have figured Rumble would slide into the pound-for-pound rankings.
However, Fabricio Werdum should have already had a place in these rankings. All other UFC titleholders except newly crowned Carla Esparza are ranked No. 11 or higher, so it's hard to say Vai Cavalo, albeit an interim champion, should have been excluded.
In June, Werdum will have a chance to justify his ranking in a title-merging bout with Cain Velasquez. He could either rise significantly or fall from the pound-for-pound rankings completely, depending on the result of that matchup.
Bad Calls
Dominick Cruz Falls Behind Vitor Belfort
Having recently undergone another knee surgery, Dominick Cruz is going to be out of action for several months. It's hard to penalize him for that, considering Cruz competed only four months ago, though.
Eventually, Cruz will be removed from the pound-for-pound rankings, but the UFC needs to implement a clear line for inactivity, such as 12 months, after which a fighter would no longer be eligible for ranking.
Seeing as he competed so recently and that Cruz never really lost the bantamweight title to an opponent, he should be ranked above Vitor Belfort right now.
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 | Anthony Johnson (+2) |
| 2 | Alexander Gustafsson (-1) |
| 3 | Daniel Cormier (-1) |
| 4 | Rashad Evans |
| 5 | Ryan Bader (+2) |
| 6 | Phil Davis (-1) |
| 6 | Glover Teixeira |
| 8 | Ovince Saint Preux |
| 9 | Jimi Manuwa (+1) |
| 10 | Mauricio Rua (+1) |
| 11 | Rafael Cavalcante (+1) |
| 12 | Dan Henderson (-3) |
| 13 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (+1) |
| 14 | Fabio Maldonado (-1) |
| 15 | Patrick Cummins |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Anthony Johnson Jumps Two Spots, Surpasses Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier
Following UFC on Fox 14, it is pretty clear Rumble deserves to be No. 1 among light heavyweight contenders. Undefeated since moving to 205 pounds and having stopped Gustafsson so quickly, Johnson is a legitimate threat to the light heavyweight champion.
Despite his loss on Saturday, Gustafsson did deserve to maintain his spot above Daniel Cormier. While Cormier has only lost to Jones, he wasn't quite as competitive with the champion as Gustafsson was in September 2013.
Ryan Bader Surpasses Phil Davis and Glover Teixeira
Though he lost to Glover Teixeira in September 2013, Ryan Bader has done enough to overtake the Brazilian in the light heavyweight rankings.
On Saturday, Bader edged Phil Davis on the scorecards. Considering Davis defeated Teixeira more recently than Bader lost to him, Bader's victory at UFC on Fox 14 greatly diminished the relevance of his loss to the former UFC title challenger.
Bader, Davis and Teixeira are clearly on a pretty level playing field, but, given most recent results, it's Bader who should be ranked the highest.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Takes No. 13 Spot from Fabio Maldonado
With four wins in his past five bouts, Fabio Maldonado has been a pleasant surprise in the light heavyweight division. However, he's still looking for a win over a Top 15 contender.
Fellow Brazilian Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is looking closer and closer to retirement with every injury he suffers, but he has proven himself against elite light heavyweights. Having beaten No. 4 Rashad Evans, Nogueira has a far better resume than Maldonado.
Bad Calls
Phil Davis Falls into Tie with Glover Teixeira
Although Davis suffered a damaging loss to Bader this past weekend, he should still be considered better than Teixeira.
With nine takedowns, Davis defeated Teixeira with relative ease only three months ago. That earned him a spot comfortably above Teixeira in the rankings, which he should not have lost due to a controversial decision loss against Bader.
Considering that the MMA media was pretty much split on the decision between Bader and Davis, according to MMADecisions.com, Davis should be closer to a tie with Bader than Teixeira.
Dan Henderson Drops Three Spots Rather Than Being Removed
He competed at 185 pounds on Saturday and plans to continue on at that weight, according to MMA Junkie, so Dan Henderson should really no longer be ranked in the light heavyweight division.
If he is going to have a spot in the Top 15, it shouldn't be below Mauricio Rua. While he had to come from behind, Henderson knocked Shogun out only 10 months ago.
Preferably, Henderson would be completely removed from the 205-pound rankings in the next edition. If that's not the case, though, he should be ranked above Rua.
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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 | Gegard Mousasi (+1) |
| 8 | Tim Kennedy (-1) |
| 9 | Michael Bisping |
| 10 | C.B. Dollaway |
| 11 | Thales Leites |
| 12 | Costas Philippou |
| 13 | Tim Boetsch (+1) |
| 14 | Mark Munoz (-1) |
| 15 | Brad Tavares |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in the middleweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Gegard Mousasi Overtakes Tim Kennedy with Win over Dan Henderson
While Gegard Mousasi's knockout win over Dan Henderson on Saturday was impressive, it shouldn't have been enough for him to move above Tim Kennedy in the middleweight rankings.
In April, Kennedy picked up a clear decision win over Michael Bisping, who is currently ranked among the Top 10 in the 185-pound class. That win was bigger than any of Mousasi's wins since joining the UFC roster. The most highly ranked middleweight Mousasi has beaten was No. 14 contender Mark Munoz.
Yes, Mousasi's win over Henderson was noteworthy, and Hendo does have a knockout win over Bisping. However, Henderson's victory against Bisping came over five years ago and has expired in terms of relevance to determining current rankings.
Tim Boetsch Retakes No. 13 Position from Mark Munoz
In July 2013, Mark Munoz defeated Tim 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 C.B. 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.
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 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 |
| 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 changes were made to the lightweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the lightweight rankings.
Featherweight
7 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Jose Aldo |
| 1 | Chad Mendes |
| 2 | Frankie Edgar |
| 3 | Conor McGregor (+1) |
| 4 | Ricardo Lamas (-1) |
| 5 | Cub Swanson |
| 6 | Dennis Bermudez |
| 7 | Dustin Poirier |
| 8 | Nik Lentz |
| 9 | Charles Oliveira |
| 10 | Jeremy Stephens |
| 11 | Dennis Siver (+1) |
| 12 | Clay Guida (-1) |
| 13 | Max Holloway |
| 14 | Darren Elkins |
| 15 | Hacran Dias |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in this edition of the featherweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Conor McGregor Claims No. 3 Spot from Ricardo Lamas
He's been brilliant and is a huge star only five fights into his UFC career, but Conor McGregor's resume isn't as strong as the one Ricardo Lamas has built.
McGregor's biggest win came against No. 7 contender Dustin Poirier. While that is a very solid victory, Lamas owns a submission win over No. 5 contender Cub Swanson.
It's not by a huge margin, but Lamas does deserve to still be ranked more highly than McGregor.
Dennis Siver Surpasses Clay Guida, Despite Recent Loss to Conor McGregor
Following his loss to McGregor, Siver should be losing 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.
Given Siver's lack of recent success, he shouldn't be moving anywhere but downward in the rankings.
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 |
| 5 | 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 | Brad Pickett (+1) |
| 14 | Wilson Reis (-1) |
| 15 | Chico Camus |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Brad Pickett Rises to No. 13 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 Brad 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. He certainly shouldn't be falling farther behind the British fighter, who is expected to return to bantamweight for his next outing.
Bad Calls
John Moraga Breaks Tie with Jussier Formiga
It could be argued either Jussier Formiga or John Moraga should be ranked higher in the 125-pound division, so I had 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 this inside the Octagon in December, but a Formiga injury led to the bout being scrapped.
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 | Holly Holm (+1) |
| 14 | Germaine de Randamie (-1) |
| 15 | Leslie Smith |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No good calls were made in the women's bantamweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Holly Holm Rises Before UFC Debut
While Germaine de Randamie hasn't won inside the Octagon since July 2013, she's at least been tested in MMA and does own a win over Julie Kedzie.
The same can't be said about Holly Holm. She has huge potential and likely will deserve a spot above De Randamie soon, but Holm has not faced any high-level opponents. She'll get her first UFC bout in February opposite Raquel Pennington.
If Holm picks up a win in her debut, she'll then have earned that spot above De Randamie.
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 (+1) |
| 6 | Joanne Calderwood (-1) |
| 7 | Randa Markos |
| 8 | Felice Herrig |
| 9 | Aisling Daly |
| 10 | Paige VanZant |
| 11 | Heather Clark |
| 12 | Juliana Lima |
| 13 | Angela Hill |
| 14 | Seo Hee Ham |
| 15 | Bec Rawlings |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Joanne Calderwood Falls Behind 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.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in the women's strawweight rankings.
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