UFC Rankings: Good Calls and Bad Calls Following UFC Fight Night 65
At UFC Fight Night 65, Stipe Miocic picked up a dominant win over Mark Hunt and emerged as one of the top contenders in the heavyweight division.
Though Miocic was putting a beating on Hunt, it looked like the judges would determine the outcome on Saturday. However, some Miocic ground-and-pound midway through the fifth and final round forced referee John Sharp to end the contest.
Was the victory enough to elevate Miocic's already lofty position in the heavyweight rankings? Did the loss result in Hunt's removal from the Top Five heavyweight contenders?
Here is a look at the good calls and bad calls made in the latest official UFC rankings.
Pound-for-Pound
1 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| 1 | Jose Aldo |
| 2 | Demetrious Johnson |
| 3 | Chris Weidman |
| 4 | Ronda Rousey (+1) |
| 5 | Cain Velasquez (-1) |
| 6 | TJ Dillashaw |
| 7 | Rafael dos Anjos |
| 8 | Robbie Lawler |
| 9 | Anderson Silva |
| 10 | Anthony Pettis |
| 11 | Renan Barao |
| 12 | Fabricio Werdum (+1) |
| 13 | Johny Hendricks (-1) |
| 14 | Vitor Belfort |
| 15 | Dominick Cruz |
Removed: None
Good Calls
Ronda Rousey Surpasses Cain Velasquez
As one of the most dominant UFC champions going, Ronda Rousey deserves to be ranked among the elite pound-for-pound fighters in the promotion.
With five straight UFC title defenses, Rousey is much more dominant in her division than Cain Velasquez has been in his. Injuries have played a part, but Velasquez currently sits with two consecutive title defenses.
In order to take the No. 4 spot back, he is going to need to remain healthy and start defending his belt more often.
Fabricio Werdum Overtakes Johny Hendricks
While a strong argument could be made that Johny Hendricks should still be welterweight champion, he shouldn't be ranked above UFC fighters with belts until he reclaims the 170-pound championship.
He's only an interim champion, but Fabricio Werdum does own UFC gold. In June, he will have a chance to become an undisputed titleholder when he meets Velasquez at UFC 188.
Should Vai Cavalo dethrone Velasquez in Mexico, there will be no disputing that he deserves to be ranked above Hendricks.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Heavyweight
2 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Cain Velasquez |
| 1 | Fabricio Werdum (IC) |
| 2 | Junior dos Santos |
| 3 | Travis Browne |
| 4 | Stipe Miocic |
| 5 | Josh Barnett (+1) |
| 6 | Mark Hunt (-1) |
| 7 | Andrei Arlovski |
| 8 | Alistair Overeem |
| 9 | Ben Rothwell |
| 10 | Frank Mir |
| 11 | Roy Nelson |
| 12 | Matt Mitrione |
| 13 | Antonio Silva |
| 14 | Stefan Struve |
| 15 | Mirko Cro Cop |
Removed: None
Good Calls
No good calls were made in the heavyweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Josh Barnett Steals Mark Hunt's Top Five Position
One bout removed from a knockout win over Frank Mir and having beaten Mark Hunt under the Pride FC banner, Josh Barnett has a strong case that he should be ranked above The Super Samoan.
Unfortunately, Barnatt has not competed in an MMA bout in more than 16 months. Due to his inactivity, he should arguably be removed from the heavyweight rankings rather than move upward in them.
Hunt has now been stopped in two straight outings. However, those losses came against Top Five heavyweights, and Hunt knocked out No. 11 Roy Nelson before his recent slump began.
Light Heavyweight
3 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | None |
| 1 | Anthony Johnson |
| 2 | Alexander Gustafsson |
| 3 | Daniel Cormier |
| 4 | Rashad Evans |
| 5 | Ryan Bader |
| 6 | Glover Teixeira |
| 7 | Ovince Saint Preux |
| 8 | Jimi Manuwa |
| 9 | Mauricio Rua |
| 10 | Rampage Jackson (+1) |
| 11 | Rafael Cavalcante (-1) |
| 12 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira |
| 13 | Fabio Maldonado |
| 14 | Patrick Cummins |
| 15 | Jan Blachowicz |
Removed: None
Good Calls
No good calls were made in the light heavyweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Rampage Jackson Moves Above Rafael Cavalcante
With a win over No. 13 205-pounder Fabio Maldonado, Rampage Jackson obviously earned a spot among the Top 15 UFC light heavyweights.
However, with only one UFC win since 2011, he should not move above Rafael Cavalcante and into the No. 10 position.
Although Cavalcante hasn't won since 2013, he owns a knockout win over Muhammed Lawal. Jackson, meanwhile, was unable to stop King Mo in his final appearance with Bellator MMA.
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Middleweight
4 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Chris Weidman |
| 1 | Luke Rockhold |
| 2 | Ronaldo Souza |
| 3 | Vitor Belfort |
| 4 | Anderson Silva (+1) |
| 5 | Lyoto Machida (-1) |
| 6 | Yoel Romero |
| 7 | Gegard Mousasi |
| 8 | Tim Kennedy |
| 9 | Michael Bisping |
| 10 | Thales Leites |
| 11 | C.B. Dollaway |
| 12 | Costas Philippou |
| 13 | Tim Boetsch |
| 14 | Robert Whittaker (NR) |
| 15 | Roan Carneiro |
Removed: Brad Tavares
Good Calls
Robert Whittaker Replaces Brad Tavares in No. 14 Position
With a win over Brad Tavares, Robert Whittaker earned a spot among the Top 15 UFC middleweights.
Now 2-0 since moving to 185 pounds, Whittaker is looking like a blossoming title threat. Before Whittaker, only No. 13 Tim Boetsch had been able to stop Tavares.
Considering Whittaker finished Tavares more quickly than Boetsch did, an argument could be made that the New Zealand native should be ranked even more highly. However, Boetsch does have a longer track record of success, having also defeated Hector Lombard, C.B. Dollaway and Yushin Okami.
Bad Calls
Anderson Silva Surpasses Lyoto Machida
Not long ago, it would have been crazy to rank Anderson Silva below Lyoto Machida.
However, The Spider probably should have been removed from the middleweight rankings altogether. Other fighters have been removed due to suspensions, but Silva still finds himself among the Top Five middleweights despite failing UFC 183 drug tests.
Even had he not been busted for using performance-enhancing drugs, Silva's last win against a currently ranked middleweight came in February 2011, when he knocked out Vitor Belfort.
Welterweight
5 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Robbie Lawler |
| 1 | Johny Hendricks |
| 2 | Rory MacDonald |
| 3 | Tyron Woodley |
| 4 | Carlos Condit |
| 5 | Matt Brown |
| 6 | Demian Maia |
| 7 | Tarec Saffiedine |
| 8 | Dong Hyun Kim |
| 9 | Jake Ellenberger |
| 10 | Kelvin Gastelum |
| 11 | Rick Story |
| 12 | Thiago Alves |
| 13 | Gunnar Nelson |
| 14 | Ryan LaFlare |
| 15 | Neil Magny |
Removed: None
Good Calls
No changes were made to the welterweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the welterweight rankings.
Lightweight
6 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Rafael dos Anjos |
| 1 | Anthony Pettis |
| 2 | Khabib Nurmagomedov |
| 3 | Donald Cerrone |
| 4 | Gilbert Melendez |
| 5 | Michael Johnson |
| 6 | Benson Henderson |
| 7 | Edson Barboza |
| 8 | Myles Jury |
| 9 | Josh Thomson |
| 10 | Eddie Alvarez |
| 11 | Bobby Green |
| 12 | Tony Ferguson |
| 13 | Al Iaquinta |
| 14 | Beneil Dariush |
| 15 | Jorge Masvidal |
Removed: None
Good Calls
No changes were made to the lightweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the lightweight rankings.
Featherweight
7 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Jose Aldo |
| 1 | Chad Mendes |
| 2 | Frankie Edgar |
| 3 | Conor McGregor |
| 4 | Ricardo Lamas |
| 5 | Max Holloway |
| 6 | Cub Swanson |
| 7 | Dennis Bermudez |
| 8 | Nik Lentz |
| 9 | Charles Oliveira |
| 10 | Clay Guida |
| 11 | Jeremy Stephens |
| 12 | Dennis Siver |
| 13 | Darren Elkins |
| 14 | Hacran Dias |
| 15 | Dustin Poirier |
Removed: None
Good Calls
No changes were made to the featherweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the featherweight rankings.
Bantamweight
8 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | TJ Dillashaw |
| 1 | Renan Barao |
| 2 | Dominick Cruz |
| 3 | Urijah Faber |
| 4 | Raphael Assuncao |
| 5 | Michael McDonald |
| 6 | Eddie Wineland |
| 7 | Takeya Mizugaki |
| 8 | Aljamain Sterling (+1) |
| 9 | Johnny Eduardo (-1) |
| 10 | Bryan Caraway |
| 11 | Francisco Rivera |
| 12 | Iuri Alcantara |
| 13 | Frankie Saenz |
| 14 | Thomas Almeida (+1) |
| 15 | Erik Perez (-1) |
Removed: None
Good Calls
Aljamain Sterling Surpasses Johnny Eduardo
Undefeated in 11 pro bouts and coming off a win over No. 7 Takeya Mizugaki, Aljamain Sterling deserves to be ranked higher in the bantamweight division.
Seeing as he last defeated No. 6 Eddie Wineland, the same could probably be said about Johnny Eduardo. However, the Brazilian has not competed in 12 months, so he's approaching that length of inactivity that would warrant removing him from the rankings.
Until Eduardo returns and proves he hasn't lost a step at 36 years old, he should be ranked below the up-and-coming Sterling.
Thomas Almeida Moves Above Erik Perez
Coming off a win over Yves Jabouin, Thomas Almeida defeated an opponent closer to being ranked at 135 pounds than any adversary Erik Perez has ever defeated.
In fact, Perez does not own a win over an active UFC competitor. He has big potential, but he has disappointed a bit against proven competition.
For that reason, Almeida deserves to be ranked higher than Perez right now.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in the bantamweight rankings.
Flyweight
9 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Demetrious Johnson |
| 1 | John Dodson |
| 2 | Joseph Benavidez |
| 3 | Ian McCall |
| 4 | Jussier Formiga (+1) |
| 5 | John Moraga (-1) |
| 6 | John Lineker |
| 7 | Kyoji Horiguchi |
| 8 | Henry Cejudo (+1) |
| 9 | Zach Makovsky (-1) |
| 10 | Chris Cariaso |
| 11 | Dustin Ortiz |
| 12 | Wilson Reis (+1) |
| 13 | Tim Elliott (-1) |
| 14 | Chico Camus |
| 15 | Brad Pickett |
Removed: None
Good Calls
Jussier Formiga Moves Above John Moraga
Having both beaten Chris Cariaso and lost to John Dodson, Jussier Formiga and John Moraga have comparable resumes.
That said, Formiga does have a slight edge over Moraga.
The Brazilian owns a win over Top 10 opponent Zach Makovsky. Meanwhile, Moraga's biggest win came against No. 11 Dustin Ortiz, and he earned victory in a split decision.
Zach Makovsky Falls Behind Henry Cejudo
While Henry Cejudo is still early on in his UFC career, he's made an immediate impact and has huge potential as a former Olympic wrestling gold medalist. In his most recent outing, he emerged as a contender by beating Top 10 125-pounder Cariaso.
That victory alone is enough to earn Cejudo a spot above Makovsky in the flyweight rankings.
Makovsky has more UFC wins than Cejudo, but his biggest victory came against No. 13 Tim Elliott. In May, Makovsky will have a chance to make a big move against No. 1 contender Dodson, though.
Wilson Reis Surpasses Tim Elliott
Wilson Reis has only made two appearances in the UFC flyweight division, but he's already earned his No. 12 spot in the weight class.
The Brazilian battled to split decision against bantamweight contender Iuri Alcantara before making the move to 125 pounds and has since picked up a win over former WEC bantamweight title challenger Scott Jorgensen.
Elliott, meanwhile, has come up short in three straight bouts with 125-pound contenders and has no wins over a currently ranked opponent.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in the flyweight rankings.
Women's Bantamweight
10 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Ronda Rousey |
| 1 | Cat Zingano |
| 2 | Miesha Tate |
| 3 | Alexis Davis |
| 4 | Sara McMann |
| 5 | Jessica Eye |
| 6 | Sarah Kaufman |
| 7 | Bethe Correia |
| 8 | Amanda Nunes |
| 9 | Liz Carmouche |
| 10 | Holly Holm |
| 11 | Marion Reneau (+1) |
| 12 | Julianna Pena (-1) |
| 13 | Jessica Andrade |
| 14 | Germaine de Randamie |
| 15 | Raquel Pennington |
Removed: None
Good Calls
Marion Reneau Surpasses Julianna Pena
With a win over No. 13 Jessica Andrade, Marion Reneau more than deserves her spot above Julianna Pena in the women's bantamweight rankings.
Pena has a bright future ahead, but she is still looking for a win over a currently ranked opponent. Until she gets that victory, it doesn't make much sense to have her ranked above Reneau.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in the women's bantamweight rankings.
Women's Strawweight
11 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Joanna Jedrzejczyk |
| 1 | Carla Esparza |
| 2 | Claudia Gadelha |
| 3 | Jessica Penne |
| 4 | Rose Namajunas |
| 5 | Tecia Torres |
| 6 | Randa Markos |
| 7 | Paige VanZant |
| 8 | Maryna Moroz |
| 9 | Joanne Calderwood |
| 10 | Felice Herrig |
| 11 | Aisling Daly |
| 12 | Heather Clark |
| 13 | Juliana Lima |
| 14 | Angela Hill |
| 15 | Valerie Letourneau |
Removed: None
Good Calls
No changes were made to the strawweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the strawweight rankings.
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