UFC Rankings: Good Calls and Bad Calls Following UFC 183

At UFC 183, two of the more popular fighters in MMA history returned to the Octagon.

Following a gruesome broken leg in December 2013, it looked like Anderson Silva may never compete again. However, The Spider recovered surprisingly quickly and picked up a workmanlike decision win Saturday over former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz. With a failed drug test reported by Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, it looks like that win could be overturned, though: 

"

Anderson Silva AND Nick Diaz fail drug tests ... Silva's failure was on a PRE-FIGHT test. Diaz post-fight test for marijuana. Story coming

— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) February 4, 2015 "

Having retired following a loss to Georges St-Pierre, Diaz had been out of action for 22 months heading into his bout with Silva. Always one of the more well-conditioned fighters around, Diaz didn't show any rust, but he was no match for the best ever.

Did Silva improve his standing in the pound-for-pound rankings with his win over the weekend? Did Diaz reclaim a Top 15 spot by returning to competition?

Here are the latest official UFC rankings, via UFC.com, which are voted on by members of the MMA media.

Pound-for-Pound

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Rankings

No.	Fighter
1	Jon Jones
2	Jose Aldo
3	Demetrious Johnson
4	Chris Weidman
5	Anthony Pettis
6	Cain Velasquez
7	Ronda Rousey
8	Anderson Silva (+1)
9	T.J. Dillashaw (-1)
10	Robbie Lawler (+1)
11	Renan Barao (-1)
12	Johny Hendricks
13	Vitor Belfort
14	Dominick Cruz
15	Fabricio Werdum

Removed: None

Analysis

Good Calls

Robbie Lawler Claims Renan Barao's Top 10 Position

Now a UFC champion in one of MMA's toughest divisions, Robbie Lawler deserves a spot among the Top 10 pound-for-pound combatants. The new 170-pound king dethroned Johny Hendricks via a controversial decision in December, but the call was far from a robbery.

Because he's no longer a champion and was beaten so convincingly by T.J. Dillashaw, Renan Barao did deserve to fall below Lawler. With a rematch against Dillashaw scheduled for April, Barao will soon have a chance to recapture the bantamweight title, though.

If Barao does even the score with Dillashaw, he'd have a strong argument that he should retake his position above Lawler, as the welterweight champion isn't expected to defend his belt soon due to injury recovery.

Bad Calls

Anderson Silva Steals No. 8 Spot from T.J. Dillashaw

In terms of all-time accomplishments, Dillashaw is nowhere near Silva right now. However, Silva's win Saturday over Diaz was his first since October 2012.

No longer a champion, Silva shouldn't be ranked above any UFC champion, especially one like Dillashaw, who has defended his belt. The Spider has had a great career, but it's difficult to claim he's among the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters when his only victory in the past 27 months came against a fighter who usually competes at 170 pounds.

Silva has the ability to make another run at UFC gold, but his chances could be slim after failing his UFC 183 drug test. He will now probably need multiple wins before getting another crack at the 185-pound championship.

Heavyweight

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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

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Rankings

No.	Fighter
C	Jon Jones
1	Anthony Johnson
2	Alexander Gustafsson
3	Daniel Cormier
4	Rashad Evans
5	Ryan Bader
6	Glover Teixeira
7	Phil Davis (-1)
8	Ovince Saint Preux
9	Jimi Manuwa
10	Mauricio Rua
11	Rafael Cavalcante
12	Fabio Maldonado (+2)
13	Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
14	Patrick Cummins (+1)
15	Dan Henderson (-3)

Removed: None

Analysis

Good Calls

No good calls were made in the light heavyweight rankings.

Bad Calls

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Falls Behind 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 proved himself against elite light heavyweights. Having beaten No. 4 Rashad Evans, Nogueira has a far better resume than Maldonado.

Glover Teixeira Breaks Tie with Phil Davis

Although Phil Davis suffered a damaging loss to Ryan Bader recently, he should still be ranked higher than Glover Teixeira.

With nine takedowns, Davis defeated Teixeira relatively easily 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 sitting below Teixeira.

Dan Henderson Drops Three Spots Rather Than Being Removed

He competed at 185 pounds in his most recent appearance against Gegard Mousasi 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.

All that said, it does look like most voters are dropping Henderson from their light heavyweights lists. I would be surprised if he isn't removed in the next edition.

Middleweight

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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
8	Tim Kennedy
9	Michael Bisping
10	Thales Leites (+1)
11	C.B. Dollaway (-1)
12	Costas Philippou
13	Mark Munoz (+1)
14	Tim Boetsch (-1)
15	Brad Tavares

Removed: None

Analysis

Good Calls

Thales Leites Surpasses C.B. Dollaway with UFC 183 Win

Since returning to the UFC roster, Thales Leites has gone undefeated in five outings. At this point, the Brazilian is looking like a legitimate title threat again.

On Saturday, he stopped Tim Boetsch with a submission in the second round. Only three fights removed from a decision loss to Boetsch, Dollaway clearly deserved to drop behind Leites in the middleweight rankings.

Now a Top 10 middleweight, Leites should have some huge fights coming his way and could be en route to a second shot at the 185-pound championship.

Tim Boetsch Loses No. 13 Position to Mark Munoz

In July 2013, Mark 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 controversial decision, and Dollaway's current No. 11 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

There were no bad calls in the middleweight rankings.

Welterweight

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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	Demian Maia (+1)
8	Tarec Saffiedine (+1)
9	Dong Hyun Kim (+1)
10	Kelvin Gastelum (-3)
11	Jake Ellenberger
12	Rick Story
13	Thiago Alves (NR)
14	Gunnar Nelson
15	Ryan LaFlare

Removed: Jordan Mein

Analysis

Good Calls

No good calls were made in the welterweight rankings.

Bad Calls

Kelvin Gastelum Falls Three Spots with Loss to Tyron Woodley

This could be a moot point, but Kelvin Gastelum should not have been penalized as heavily as he was in the welterweight rankings with a split-decision loss to the No. 3 welterweight contender.

Because he missed weight again prior to UFC 183, it is looking like Gastelum's future might be in the middleweight division, so it's possible he'll be removed from the welterweight rankings anyway. However, with such a close loss to Woodley, it could be argued Gastelum is closer to being Top Five and on his way out of the Top 10 in the 170-pound class.

Demian Maia is really the only one of the three fighters to surpass Gastelum who can make a strong case that his promotion was deserved. After all, Maia owns an opening-round submission win over Rick Story, who took Gastelum to a split decision 11 months ago.

Thiago Alves Bounces Jordan Mein from the Top 15 Rankings

With his impressive knockout win over Jordan Mein, Thiago Alves undoubtedly earned a spot in the welterweight rankings, but his opponent should not have been removed.

Mein is now only one bout removed from a quick knockout win over Mike Pyle, who owns a win over No. 12 contender Story and could arguably be ranked in the Top 15 right now. With a 3-2 record inside the Octagon, Mein hasn't quite realized his lofty potential, but he showed that he's a legitimate contender when he's on with that victory over Quicksand back in August.

Gunnar Nelson and Ryan LaFlare also have bright futures, but neither has recorded a victory as impressive as Mein's stoppage against Pyle only five months ago.

Lightweight

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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	Rustam Khabilov (+1)
15	Al Iaquinta (NR)

Removed: Nate Diaz

Analysis

Good Calls

No good calls were made in the lightweight rankings.

Bad Calls

Nate Diaz Removed from Lightweight Rankings, Al Iaquinta Grabs No. 15 Spot

He hasn't been overly active lately, but Nate Diaz is still among the best in the lightweight division. Having stepped into the Octagon less than two months ago, he shouldn't be penalized for inactivity right now either.

With three straight knockouts, Al Iaquinta is on the verge of title contention, but he needs one more win. Unlike Diaz, Iaquinta does not own a win over a Top 15 lightweight contender.

Diaz is coming off a loss, but he has wins over No. 3 Donald Cerrone, No. 10 Jim Miller and former title challenger Gray Maynard. If Iaquinta is going to have a spot in the Top 15, it shouldn't come at Diaz's expense.

Featherweight

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Rankings

No.	Fighter
C	Jose Aldo
1	Frankie Edgar (+1)
2	Chad Mendes (-1)
3	Conor McGregor
4	Ricardo Lamas
5	Cub Swanson
6	Dennis Bermudez
7	Dustin Poirier
8	Nik Lentz
9	Charles Oliveira
10	Jeremy Stephens
11	Clay Guida (+1)
12	Dennis Siver (-1)
13	Max Holloway
14	Darren Elkins
15	Hacran Dias

Removed: None

Analysis

Good Calls

Frankie Edgar Edges Chad Mendes for No. 1 Position

This could really go either way.

Frankie Edgar and Chad Mendes have both had close fights with Jose Aldo, and both contenders own multiple wins over ranked featherweights. That said, I give the nod to Edgar by a small margin.

Edgar is a former UFC champion and owns a more dominant win over a common opponent in Cub Swanson, who is ranked fifth. Believe it or not, Mendes is also lacking a UFC win over a current Top Five contender.

Dennis Siver Falls Behind Clay Guida

Following his loss to Conor 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.

Bad Calls

No bad calls were made in 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 (+1)
7	Takeya Mizugaki (-1)
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 good calls were made in the bantamweight rankings.

Bad Calls

Eddie Wineland Moves Above Takeya Mizugaki

Coming off a loss to No. 9 Johnny Eduardo, Eddie Wineland was already ranked higher than he should have been.

Wineland is one of the better fighters in the bantamweight division; however, he should be moving downward, or Eduardo should be moving upward.

Having only lost to Dominick Cruz in his past six bouts, Mizugaki has a stronger recent track record than Wineland. Though Wineland may have deserved a spot above the Japanese contender in the past, he doesn't right now.

Flyweight

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Rankings

No.	Fighter
C	Demetrious Johnson
1	John Dodson
2	Joseph Benavidez
3	Ian McCall
4	John Moraga
5	Jussier Formiga
6	Ali Bagautinov (+1)
7	John Lineker (-1)
8	Kyoji Horiguchi
9	Chris Cariaso
10	Zach Makovsky
11	Tim Elliott
12	Dustin Ortiz
13	Brad Pickett
14	Wilson Reis
15	Chico Camus

Removed: None

Analysis

Good Calls

John Lineker Falls One Spot Despite Win over Ian McCall

One could argue that John Lineker earned a Top Three position with his win over Ian McCall at UFC 183, but it's hard to reward a guy who came into a bout with a competitive advantage by missing weight.

On Friday, Lineker came in four pounds over the 126-pound weight limit. If it were a one-time thing, I'd consider giving Lineker a pass, but this is a recurring problem that is going to force the Brazilian up to the bantamweight division.

Having lost to Ali Bagautinov, Lineker was ranked a bit too high heading into UFC 183. Disregarding his win over McCall, which isn't exactly unfair, Lineker is placed where he belongs in the 125-pound rankings right now.

Bad Calls

No bad calls were made in the flyweight rankings.

Women's Bantamweight

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Rankings

No.	Fighter
C	Ronda Rousey
1	Cat Zingano
2	Miesha Tate
3	Alexis Davis (+1)
4	Sara McMann (-1)
5	Sarah Kaufman
6	Jessica Eye
7	Bethe Correia (+1)
8	Liz Carmouche (-1)
9	Amanda Nunes
10	Jessica Andrade
11	Julianna Pena
12	Raquel Pennington
13	Holly Holm
14	Germaine de Randamie
15	Leslie Smith

Removed: None

Analysis

Good Calls

Bethe Correia Rises to No. 7 Position

Liz Carmouche is a solid bantamweight and a former UFC title challenger, but she is now 1-3 inside the Octagon. Unless she turns things around quickly, Carmouche could be in danger of losing a spot among the Top 10 in the 135-pound division.

While she doesn't have a win over a current Top 10 contender, Bethe Correia is undefeated inside the Octagon and has picked up her wins against some tough competition. With a win over Julie Kedzie in her debut and wins over two Ronda Rousey teammates, Correia has done just enough to overtake Carmouche in the rankings. 

Set to meet Lauren Murphy in April, Carmouche will need a win in her next outing in order to remain within striking distance of Correia.

Bad Calls

Sara McMann Drops Below Alexis Davis

With such a close loss at UFC 183, Sara McMann was where she belongs: right behind opponent Miesha Tate in the women's bantamweight rankings.

However, the rankings panel opted to place McMann below Alexis Davis as a result of her loss over the weekend. They aren't far apart in accomplishments, but McMann definitely should have stayed above Davis for the time being.

McMann has only lost to elite bantamweights Rousey and Tate, while Davis has suffered more than a handful of losses in her MMA career.

Women's Strawweight

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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
11	Heather Clark
12	Juliana Lima
13	Angela Hill
14	Seo Hee Ham
15	Bec Rawlings

Removed: None

Analysis

Good Calls

No changes were made in the women's strawweight rankings.

Bad Calls

No changes were made in the women's strawweight rankings.