UFC Rankings: Good Calls and Bad Calls Following UFC Fight Night 60
At UFC Fight Night 60 on Saturday, Benson Henderson picked up a submission win over Brandon Thatch in his UFC welterweight debut.
The former lightweight champion made the move up in weight despite competing at 155 pounds less than one month earlier. While Henderson did seem to have trouble with Thatch's size early on, he was able to wear his larger opponent down thanks to conditioning and lock up a submission in the fourth round.
With losses in his last two lightweight contests, Henderson now must make a tough decision. Will he return to lightweight and take a long, hard road back to another title shot, or will he try to expedite his path to UFC gold in a new division?
Additional questions also arise from Henderson's win over Thatch. Was the victory enough to earn Henderson a spot in the welterweight rankings? Did it help his standing on the lightweight ladder in any way?
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 |
| 8 | T.J. Dillashaw (+1) |
| 9 | Anderson Silva (-1) |
| 10 | Robbie Lawler |
| 11 | Renan Barao |
| 12 | Johny Hendricks |
| 13 | Vitor Belfort |
| 14 | Dominick Cruz |
| 15 | Fabricio Werdum |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
T.J. Dillashaw Retakes No. 8 Position from Anderson Silva
Anderson Silva's win over Nick Diaz at UFC 183 was his first since October 2012, and it likely won't even stand due to his failed drug tests.
No longer a champion, Silva shouldn't be ranked above any current UFC champion, especially one like Dillashaw, who has defended his belt already. The Spider has had a great career, but it's difficult to claim he's among the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters right now when his only victory in the past 28 months came against a fighter who usually competes at 170 pounds.
Silva has the ability to make another run at UFC gold should he come back after his inevitable suspension. However, he will now probably need multiple wins before getting another crack at the 185-pound championship.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in this edition of the pound-for-pound rankings.
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 | Alexander Gustafsson |
| 3 | Daniel Cormier |
| 4 | Rashad Evans |
| 5 | Ryan Bader |
| 6 | Glover Teixeira |
| 7 | Phil Davis |
| 8 | Ovince Saint Preux |
| 9 | Jimi Manuwa |
| 10 | Mauricio Rua |
| 11 | Rafael Cavalcante |
| 12 | Fabio Maldonado |
| 13 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira |
| 14 | Patrick Cummins |
| 15 | Dan Henderson |
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 | Gegard Mousasi |
| 8 | Tim Kennedy |
| 9 | Michael Bisping |
| 10 | Thales Leites |
| 11 | C.B. Dollaway |
| 12 | Costas Philippou |
| 13 | Mark Munoz |
| 14 | Tim Boetsch |
| 15 | Brad Tavares |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
No changes were made to the middleweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to 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 (+1) |
| 6 | Hector Lombard (-1) |
| 7 | Demian Maia |
| 8 | Tarec Saffiedine |
| 9 | Dong Hyun Kim |
| 10 | Kelvin Gastelum |
| 11 | Jake Ellenberger |
| 12 | Rick Story |
| 13 | Thiago Alves |
| 14 | Ryan LaFlare (+1) |
| 15 | Gunnar Nelson (-1) |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Matt Brown Grabs Top Five Spot from Hector Lombard
Considering Hector Lombard failed his UFC 182 drug test, it's hard to feel bad for him losing ground in the welterweight rankings.
While that may have been a big reason for Lombard falling behind Matt Brown, one could argue that Brown's resume is stronger than Lombard's anyway.
Though he's won three in a row, Lombard does not own a UFC win over a currently ranked 170-pounder. Brown doesn't either, but he scored consecutive wins over Erick Silva, Mike Pyle and Jordan Mein, all of whom could be one win away from snagging a Top 10 position.
Ryan LaFlare Edges Gunnar Nelson for No. 14 Position
Gunnar Nelson has huge potential, but he failed in his first big test against Rick Story.
With as many UFC wins as Nelson and no UFC losses, LaFlare has at least equaled the Iceland native's accomplishments. Having beaten John Howard and Court McGee, a strong argument can be made that he has a better resume than Nelson at this moment.
In March, LaFlare will have a huge opportunity to prove himself opposite Demian Maia. Should he come up short against the Brazilian, we can reassess LaFlare's position in the welterweight rankings, but he deserves his spot above Nelson right now.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in 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 | Rustam Khabilov |
| 15 | Al Iaquinta |
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 | Frankie Edgar |
| 2 | Chad Mendes |
| 3 | Conor McGregor |
| 4 | Ricardo Lamas |
| 5 | Cub Swanson |
| 6 | Dennis Bermudez |
| 7 | Dustin Poirier |
| 8 | Nik Lentz |
| 9 | Charles Oliveira |
| 10 | Max Holloway (+3) |
| 11 | Jeremy Stephens (-1) |
| 12 | Clay Guida (-1) |
| 13 | Dennis Siver (-1) |
| 14 | Darren Elkins |
| 15 | Hacran Dias |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Max Holloway Surpasses Dennis Siver
He's still looking for his first win over a ranked featherweight, but Max Holloway has earned a spot above Dennis Siver.
Siver is also without a win over a Top 15 featherweight and doesn't have the momentum going for him that Holloway does. Additionally, Siver should be penalized somewhat in the rankings for having so recently failed a drug test.
Even more notably, Holloway went the distance with upcoming title challenger Conor McGregor, who stopped Siver in the second round.
Bad Calls
Jeremy Stephens and Clay Guida Fall Behind Max Holloway
While it doesn't hurt him so much in comparison to Siver, Holloway's lack of a win over a current featherweight contender should prevent him from being ranked above Jeremy Stephens or Clay Guida.
Stephens owns a win over No. 14 contender Darren Elkins. Guida, while he doesn't have a win over a Top 15 opponent at 145 pounds, has beaten Tatsuya Kawajiri and Hatsu Hioki, who are both closer to being ranked than anybody Holloway has defeated.
He's not far behind, but Holloway should still need that breakthrough win in order to be ranked above proven veterans like Stephens and Guida.
Bantamweight
8 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | T.J. Dillashaw |
| 1 | Renan Barao |
| 2 | Dominick Cruz |
| 3 | Urijah Faber |
| 4 | Raphael Assuncao |
| 5 | Michael McDonald |
| 6 | Takeya Mizugaki (+1) |
| 7 | Eddie Wineland (-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
Takeya Mizugaki Reclaims No. 6 Spot from Eddie Wineland
Coming off a loss to No. 9 Johnny Eduardo, Eddie Wineland was 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.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in the bantamweight rankings.
Flyweight
9 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Demetrious Johnson |
| 1 | John Dodson |
| 2 | Joseph Benavidez |
| 3 | Ian McCall |
| 4 | Jussier Formiga (+1) |
| 5 | John Moraga (-1) |
| 6 | Ali Bagautinov |
| 7 | John Lineker |
| 8 | Kyoji Horiguchi |
| 9 | Zach Makovsky (+1) |
| 10 | Chris Cariaso (-1) |
| 11 | Dustin Ortiz (+1) |
| 12 | Timothy Elliott (-1) |
| 13 | Wilson Reis (+1) |
| 14 | Brad Pickett (-1) |
| 15 | Chico Camus |
Removed: None
Analysis
Good Calls
Jussier Formiga Moves Above John Moraga
Their resumes are similar, but Jussier Formiga deserves a spot slightly above John Moraga right now.
In his most recent outing, Formiga picked up his most noteworthy UFC win, a decision nod over No. 9 contender Zach Makovsky. That win was slightly more impressive than any victory Moraga has earned inside the Octagon.
Dustin Ortiz is the most highly ranked featherweight Moraga has beaten, and he currently sits two spots below Makovsky.
With Win over Timothy Elliott, Zach "Fun Size" Makovsky Surpasses Chris Cariaso
Though he battled Demetrious Johnson for the title in his latest outing, Chris Cariaso has not beaten a current Top 15 flyweight contender.
At UFC Fight Night 61, Makovsky defeated No. 12 contender Timothy Elliott. In four UFC appearances, Fun Size has also only lost to Formiga, who also owns a win over Cariaso.
In his short time on the UFC roster, Makovsky has made a noticeable impact. While his overall UFC resume might still be behind Cariaso's, Makovsky has done more at 125 pounds.
Elliott Falls Behind Dustin Ortiz
With three straight losses, Elliott has more to worry about than his ranking. Despite still owning a spot in the Top 15, his UFC career will likely depend on his next showing.
Conversely, Dustin Ortiz has been trending upward recently.
Ortiz did lose in his latest appearance, but he went the distance with Joseph Benavidez, a former title challenger who submitted Elliott. Ortiz also took No. 5 contender Moraga to a split decision, which makes him a bit better than Elliott at this point.
Brad Pickett Falls to No. 14 Position
Wilson Reis has looked 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 won nonetheless.
The ruling was by no means a robbery, so Camus should be ranked above Pickett right now. While he still isn't, this was a move in the right direction.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in the flyweight rankings.
Women's Bantamweight
10 of 11
Rankings
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Ronda Rousey |
| 1 | Cat Zingano |
| 2 | Miesha Tate |
| 3 | Alexis Davis |
| 4 | Sara McMann |
| 5 | Sarah Kaufman |
| 6 | Jessica Eye |
| 7 | Bethe Correia |
| 8 | Liz Carmouche |
| 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
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 |
| 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.
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