UFC Rankings: Good Calls and Bad Calls Following UFC Fight Night 66
At UFC Fight Night 66, Frankie Edgar bested Urijah Faber to cement his place as next in line for a shot at the 145-pound championship.
Edgar has now won four in a row since losing in a decision against Jose Aldo in his featherweight debut. During his streak, The Answer beat former UFC champion B.J. Penn and a former WEC champion in Faber.
Meanwhile, Faber slipped up on an opportunity to get back into the 145-pound title shot conversation. As a result, it seems likely The California Kid will return to the bantamweight division, where he has competed over the past several years.
Was the win enough to earn Edgar a spot in the top-15 pound-for-pound rankings? Did it elevate him to the No. 1 contender position in the featherweight rankings?
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 | Cain Velasquez (+1) |
| 5 | Ronda Rousey (-1) |
| 6 | TJ Dillashaw |
| 7 | Rafael dos Anjos |
| 8 | Robbie Lawler |
| 9 | Anderson Silva |
| 10 | Anthony Pettis |
| 11 | Renan Barao |
| 12 | Fabricio Werdum |
| 13 | Johny Hendricks |
| 14 | Frankie Edgar (NR) |
| 15 | Vitor Belfort (-1) |
Removed: Dominick Cruz
Good Calls
Frankie Edgar Slides into No. 14 Position
Having been a former champion and battled to a close decision against the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Edgar has earned a spot on this Top 15 list.
Unlike Vitor Belfort, Edgar has been tested by the champion in his division. While he failed that test, The Answer took Aldo to the limits and wasn't all that far from dethroning the 145-pound Brazilian.
Next weekend, Belfort will have a chance to flip the script against Chris Weidman. If he beats Weidman or even comes close to doing so, Belfort would have a strong case that he should move back above Edgar in these rankings.
Bad Calls
Ronda Rousey Falls Behind 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, Velasquez should need to remain healthy and start defending his belt more often.
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 |
| 6 | Mark Hunt |
| 7 | Alistair Overeem (+1) |
| 8 | Andrei Arlovski (-1) |
| 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
Alistair Overeem Surpasses Andrei Arlovski
I never thought I'd be saying that Andrei Arlovski deserves to be ranked higher than he already is when he holds a Top 10 position in 2015, but that's the situation.
With a win over Antonio Silva in his most recent outing, Arlovski should be ranked higher than Alistair Overeem.
Although Overeem has looked good in victories over Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve in his past two outings, he's been largely inconsistent inside the Octagon. Considering Overeem suffered a knockout loss to Silva not all that long ago, it's hard to argue strongly that he has earned a spot above Arlovski.
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 |
| 11 | Rafael Cavalcante |
| 12 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira |
| 13 | Fabio Maldonado |
| 14 | Patrick Cummins |
| 15 | Jan Blachowicz |
Removed: None
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
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Chris Weidman |
| 1 | Luke Rockhold |
| 2 | Ronaldo Souza |
| 3 | Vitor Belfort |
| 4 | Lyoto Machida (+1) |
| 5 | Anderson Silva (-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 |
| 15 | Roan Carneiro |
Removed: None
Good Calls
Anderson Silva Falls Behind 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.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in the middleweight rankings.
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 | Neil Magny (+1) |
| 14 | Gunnar Nelson (-1) |
| 15 | Ryan LaFlare (-1) |
Removed: None
Good Calls
Neil Magny Moves Up Two Positions
He's still looking for his first win over a ranked opponent, but Neil Magny has now won seven in a row.
Gunnar Nelson and Ryan LaFlare might have better potential than Magny, but they are both also still in search of a win over a Top 15 welterweight. Considering that and the fact that both lost in their most recent outings, Magny has earned a spot above Nelson and LaFlare for now.
With so many wins in a row, it would be shocking to see Magny compete against anyone outside the Top 15 again the next time appears.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in 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 |
| 5 | Benson Henderson (+1) |
| 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
Benson Henderson Draws Even with Michael Johnson
Although Benson Henderson has lost his past two lightweight bouts, those defeats came against elite 155-pounders Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone.
Michael Johnson has been on a roll, but he also hasn't competed against anybody at that level. A win over Edson Barboza in his last outing was definitely enough to earn Johnson the No. 6 position, but it was questionable to rank him above a former lightweight champion who has only lost to Top Five adversaries.
Henderson's last appearance came at 170 pounds, but that bout came on short notice, and there is a good chance he will come back to the lightweight division now. Until Henderson loses against someone outside the Top Five or Johnson beats somebody inside the Top Five, the former champion should not be ranked below the up-and-comer.
Bad Calls
No bad calls were made in 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 | Raphael Assuncao (+1) |
| 4 | Urijah Faber (-1) |
| 5 | Michael McDonald |
| 6 | Eddie Wineland |
| 7 | Takeya Mizugaki |
| 8 | Aljamain Sterling |
| 9 | Johnny Eduardo |
| 10 | Bryan Caraway |
| 11 | Francisco Rivera |
| 12 | Iuri Alcantara |
| 13 | Frankie Saenz |
| 14 | Thomas Almeida |
| 15 | Erik Perez |
Removed: None
Good Calls
No good calls were made in the bantamweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Urijah Faber Falls Behind Raphael Assuncao
Since beating Raphael Assuncao under the WEC banner, Faber has only lost to current or former UFC champion. Faber's loss to Edgar on Saturday was his first UFC defeat outside of championship bouts.
If Faber's move to 145 pounds was permanent, it might make sense for him to start falling in the bantamweight rankings. However, with his loss to Edgar, there is a good chance Faber returns to 135 pounds immediately.
Assuncao has been hot, with seven straight wins, but he still has a bit of work to do to prove he's surpassed The California Kid.
Flyweight
9 of 11
| No. | Fighter |
| C | Demetrious Johnson |
| 1 | John Dodson |
| 2 | Joseph Benavidez |
| 3 | Ian McCall |
| 4 | Jussier Formiga |
| 5 | John Moraga |
| 6 | John Lineker |
| 7 | Kyoji Horiguchi |
| 8 | Henry Cejudo |
| 9 | Zach Makovsky |
| 10 | Chris Cariaso |
| 11 | Wilson Reis (+1) |
| 12 | Dustin Ortiz (-1) |
| 13 | Tim Elliott |
| 14 | Chico Camus |
| 15 | Brad Pickett |
Removed: None
Good Calls
No good calls were made in the flyweight rankings.
Bad Calls
Wilson Reis Surpasses Dustin Ortiz
Wilson Reis has only made two appearances in the UFC flyweight division. He's looked good in those two appearances, but he hasn't quite done as much as Dustin Ortiz at 125 pounds.
Ortiz has three wins in the UFC flyweight division and was competitive in losses to Top Five opponents Joseph Benavidez and John Moraga. Having taken the latter to a split decision, Ortiz could be on the verge of breaking into a Top 10 position.
When he meets Jussier Formiga later this month, Reis will have a chance to prove he does belong above Ortiz, but that has not yet been proven.
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 |
| 12 | Julianna Pena |
| 13 | Jessica Andrade |
| 14 | Germaine de Randamie |
| 15 | Raquel Pennington |
Removed: None
Good Calls
No changes were made in the women's bantamweight rankings.
Bad Calls
No changes 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 | Valerie Letourneau (+1) |
| 15 | Angela Hill (-1) |
Removed: None
Good Calls
Valerie Letourneau Surpasses Angela Hill
Neither Valerie Letourneau nor Angela Hill are considered serious title threats at the moment, but the former has done a bit more inside the Octagon.
Letourneau has gone 2-0 since joining the UFC roster. Meanwhile, Hill has only picked up one win, as she's still waiting to make her second appearance under the UFC banner.
Considering neither woman has a win over a ranked opponent, it makes sense to rank Letourneau higher than Hill for now.
Bad Calls
No changes were made to the strawweight rankings.
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