UFC: Power Ranking the Top 5 Divisions in the Promotion
The UFC has 10 divisions: flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight, women's strawweight and women's bantamweight.
Each of these divisions has its own storyline, champions, challengers, good guys and bad guys. But which division can claim the title of No. 1 in the promotion?
Taking in to account depth, talent and the amount of entertainment each weight class can provide, here are the rankings.
Honorable Mention: Flyweight
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Champion: Demetrious Johnson
Mighty Mouse is flying.
Johnson completed six successful title defenses after submitting Kyoji Horiguchi in April. To go along with his undisputed reign over the division, he is also ranked second in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings. And until someone figures him out, he will likely stay up there.
With that in mind, Johnson is good enough to earn an honorable mention by himself. However, the flyweight division would still be no joke even without the champion.
Fighters of the caliber of Joseph Benavidez and John Dodson should not be overlooked.
In one side we have Benavidez, who is one of the most well-rounded fighters in the UFC. The only fighters who have managed to defeat the 30-year-old veteran are Johnson and Dominick Cruz.
In the other side we have "The Magician" Dodson, who is coming off a pair of knockout wins against Darrell Montague and John Moraga.
Dodson has a bout against Zach Makovsky scheduled for May 23 and could well be looking at another shot at Johnson, if he manages to extend his winning streak.
Other standout names in the division include Ian McCall, Jussier Formiga and Moraga.
No. 5: Light Heavyweight
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Champion: Winner of Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson
It wasn't so long ago that the light heavyweight division was considered the elite division of the UFC.
Legends like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz captivated a legion of fans and left their legacies in the division.
Even though watching those legends was fun, what came after their departure was even more entertaining—an unprecedented period of instability, when holding the light heavyweight belt for more than one fight seemed to be impossible.
Following Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's victory over Liddell in May 2007, the division saw five different champions rise and fall in less than four years.
Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua all had their time with the belt. Machida and Jackson were the only ones to successfully defend the title at least once during that period.
The constant change of champions and memorable battles fought inside the Octagon from 2007 to 2011 showed how deep the light heavyweight class could be.
Nevertheless, the most electrifying part of it was watching a 23-year-old kid from Rochester, New York, rise through the rankings and become one of the most dominant fighters the sport has ever seen.
After dominating Rua in UFC 128, Jon "Bones" Jones made the division his own, until his off-the-Octagon antics culminated in Dana White taking away his belt.
That, however, might turn out to be a good thing for the division to an extent (losing an artist like Jones is never good).
First, watching who will rise to claim the title will be entertaining, to say the least.
The first two to get a shot will be Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier. Johnson is undeniably the most powerful striker in the division, while Cormier has an Olympic wrestling pedigree.
Next in line is Alexander Gustafsson, who is eager to bounce back from a first-round knockout loss in Sweden to Johnson.
Deeper down the rankings there are a few interesting fighters whose stories could place the division even higher in future rankings.
The returns of Evans and Jackson are two feel-good stories, which could well turn into problems for guys higher up in the rankings.
Even after being two years away from the Octagon and having a pair of knee surgeries, Evans is still ranked No. 4 in the division. That speaks to his fighting skills. He recently said he has been itching to step inside the Octagon again.
"I want to return in September. I'm so hungry, I'm so anxious and I just want to go out there and get a chance to compete," Evans told Damon Martin of Fox Sports. "Not being able to compete and sitting on the sidelines, watching everybody else compete really just made me a different fighter.
"It just made me appreciate the sport on a different level, and I'm excited when I get the chance to go out there and fight again."
As for Rampage, he said all we needed to know after he defeated Fabio Maldonado:
"I wanna get back to knocking people out," he told UFC correspondent Megan Olivi. "I wanna get back to having those devastating strikes and devastating punches."
No. 4: Middleweight
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Champion: Chris Weidman
Weidman stands tall in a division full of giants.
The champ remains undefeated at 12-0. After taking out Anderson Silva (twice) and Lyoto Machida, he is set to defend his title against one of the most dangerous fighters the UFC has to offer, Vitor Belfort.
Having this kid from Mineola, New York, dethrone one of the biggest legends this sport ever created gave the middleweight division something it lacked for a long time: a fresh change of pace.
With Weidman now solidifying his reign and Silva attempting to regain his footing before retiring, a megafight rematch could be in the future.
Silva might be 40 today, but he can still throw down with the best of them. The Spider proved it by defeating Nick Diaz in January.
Belfort is as dangerous as he has ever been. His record since 2007 is 10-2. His only losses came in title shots against Silva and Jon Jones. He did, however, have a good shot at dethroning Jones. The Phenom had Jones locked in an armbar, but the champ managed to slip out.
Next in line for a title shot is Luke Rockhold, who has been on a tear lately. The former Strikeforce champ is riding a four-fight winning streak, defeating Costas Philippou, Tim Boetsch, Michael Bisping and Lyoto Machida.
The other main contenders in the division are Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Yoel Romero.
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No. 3: Welterweight
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Champion: Robbie Lawler
The post-Georges St-Pierre era in the welterweight division has been interesting. Here is a quick timeline:
Carlos Condit took the interim belt in 2012. St-Pierre vacated the title in 2013. Johny Hendricks claimed the belt after defeating Lawler in March 2014. Later that year, they had a rematch, and Lawler got his revenge in a split decision.
Now, 25-year-old Rory MacDonald will finally get his shot at the belt. Fighting against Lawler only gives the "Red King" some extra motivation, since he lost their first fight in a close split decision back in 2013.
Regardless of the result of that title bout, it is hard to imagine anybody holding that welterweight belt for too long. Jake Ellenberger gave a good explanation in an interview to Submission Radio.
"I think Robbie's a fantastic fighter and I do think he is deserving of that title, but I don't think he's going to keep it. This division is so stacked. It's funny, I was listening to an interview with Georges St. Pierre—he was on Chael Sonnen's podcast—and it's always fun listening to Georges talk and he has great analysis of the division, and Chael was talking about the division not having a champion like George St. Pierre again which is true, and I think there's a couple of reasons.
I think the first one is the level of competition has gotten so tough. You know what I mean? If you look at the era of Matt Hughes. I mean there were some great fighters, but you could succeed with being elite in one area, and these days that's just not true. You gotta be good everywhere. There's really not anybody in that division that is going to keep the title, I think. You look at Johny Hendricks, Robbie Lawler, Rory MacDonald. I think they're all good enough to win the belt.
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Ellenberger was on point when he said those three are all good enough to win the belt. Lawler and Hendricks have already split a pair of title bouts. It wouldn't be surprising to see MacDonald enter the rotation.
Tyron Woodley, Carlos Condit, Matt Brown and Demian Maia are the next four in the contention rankings.
No. 2: Featherweight
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Champion: Jose Aldo
Not only is the featherweight division one of the deepest and most talented in the UFC, but lately it has sparked the biggest and flashiest mixed martial arts rivalry since the Silva-Sonnen saga.
In one corner, we have the natural killer instinct and skill of reigning champion Jose Aldo. In the other is a "Notorious" Irishman who truly believes he can make Jose Aldo's record 25-2.
If calling out the pound-for-pound best wasn't enough, Conor McGregor also thought it was a good idea to steal the featherweight belt during a press conference in Dublin.
They will settle their differences in Las Vegas on July 11.
While the Aldo-McGregor rivalry has taken center stage, there is still a ton of talent hidden behind the curtains in the featherweight division.
Chad Mendes is still the No. 1 contender, according to the UFC rankings. He might have lost to Aldo recently, but he didn't look too bad during the rematch. Maybe the third time could be the charm for the American wrestler.
Not far behind we have Frankie Edgar, who is also looking to get another shot at the belt soon.
"I do think this is the best I've ever been," Edgar told Damon Martin of Fox Sports. "I don't put all this work in to maintain—I put all this work in to get better. If I'm not getting better, I'm doing something wrong."
Since losing a decision to Aldo in 2013, The Answer retired BJ Penn and submitted No. 6 Cub Swanson. Now he has a crucial bout against Urijah Faber scheduled for May 16.
Other than the top four, the featherweight division also houses many other dangerous fighters. Ricardo Lamas, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira are only a few of the names topping the list of skilled martial artists fighting at 145.
Only one weight class is more deep and talented.
No. 1: Lightweight
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Champion: Rafael dos Anjos
The lightweight division has no shortage of talent. From the new champion Rafael dos Anjos to the No. 13 contender Al Iaquinta, none of the fighters in the division are pushovers.
The champion said it best when he was questioned about Conor McGregor moving up to the lightweight division.
"I don't see any way [McGregor could beat him]. I can stop the fight with him in my closed guard, I can stop [the fight] on bottom. Whatever position he wants. There's no way he can beat me," Dos Anjos told Submission Radio. "I don't see, like any way. He's a good fighter, but he needs to take care of the featherweight division first. Man, lightweight division is a shark tank, you know? He better stay in featherweight division."
"Shark tank" is indeed the best way to describe a division where any of the top eight guys have the potential to make a challenge for the belt.
For example, No. 8 contender Myles "Fury" Jury has an almost impeccable 15-1 record. His only loss came against Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.
Cerrone has been also on a tear lately. The last fight he lost was a decision to Dos Anjos in 2013. Since then, he has run over fighters like former champion Benson Henderson and No. 7 contender Edson Barboza.
Other sharks swimming in the lightweight tank include recently dethroned champion Anthony Pettis, former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez and last but not least the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov.
With this amount of talent and depth at their disposal, Dana White and his crew should have no problem promoting entertaining lightweight bouts over the next few years.
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