Tag Archives: Conor McGregor

UFC Rankings Matrix – November 2015

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Since I posted my last UFC Rankings in October there have been 4 UFC events, and 50 fights (including 2 title fights).

In the past month we witnessed the head-kick heard round the world as huge underdog Holly Holm knocked out, and dethroned arguably the biggest star in the sport in Ronda Rousey. We also saw the vicious Joanna Jedrzejczyk defend her belt yet again in another brutal yet beautiful performance on that same night.

There were also 3 smaller shows which featured some important fights between top contenders in the welterweight division. As well as a 3rd (and hopefully final) fight between Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson. There was a good amount of movement in the rankings after a slow October, and things look to change even more after the next 4 shows scheduled for December.

Here are my UFC Rankings Matrices for November 2015:

(Click on Images to see them Full Size) (Champions in bold):

Past Rankings: (May 2015 – June 2015 – July 2015 – August 2015 – September 2015 – October 2015)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Women’s Strawweight (115lbs)

 

 

W115

* I included the fights from the 20th Season of the The Ultimate Fighter even though they were technically “Exhibition” matches because they were part of the tournament that crowned the inaugural champ. The fighters TUF records are in parentheses next to their MMA Records.

Biggest Move

#5 Valerie Letourneau up 6 spots from #11

Upcoming Fights

#8 Tecia Torres vs Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger on December 12th @UFC194

#9 Rose Namajuanas vs #11 Paige VanZant  on December 10th @UFN80

#10 Randa Markos vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz on December 19h @UFConFOX17

#18 Nina Ansaroff vs Justine Kish on January 2nd @UFC195

#26 Kailin Curran vs #29 Emiliy Kagan on December 10th @UFN80

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Women’s Bantamweight (135lbs)

W135

Biggest Move

#1 Holly Holm up 9 spots from #10

Upcoming Fights

#1 Holly Holm vs #2 Ronda Rousey on TBA

#7 Sarah Kaufman vs #17 Germaine de Randamie on December 19th @UFConFOX17

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flyweight (125lbs)

 125

Biggest Move

#4 Henry Cejudo up 5 spots from #9

Upcoming Fights

#1 Demetrious Johnson vs #4 Henry Cejudo on TBA

#27 Joby Sanchez vs Geane Herrera on December 11th @TUF22Finale

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bantamweight (135lbs)

135

Biggest Move

None (This division hasn’t changed much since last month)

Upcoming Fights

#1 TJ Dillashaw vs #3 Dominick Cruz on January 17th @UFN81

#4 Urijah Faber vs #14 Frankie Saenz on December 12th @UFC194

#6 Aljamain Sterling vs #12 Johny Eduardo on December 10th @UFN80

#17 Brad Picket vs #21 Erik Perez on February 27th @UFN83

#30 Joe Soto vs Michinory Tanaka on January 2nd @UFC195

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Featherweight (145lbs)

145

Biggest Move

#12 Hacran Dias up 3 spots from #15

#13 Darren Elkins up 3 spots from #16

#16 Thiago Tavarez up 3 spots from #19

Upcoming Fights

#1 Jose Aldo vs #2 Conor McGregor on December 12th @UFC194

#3 Chad Mendes vs #4 Frankie Edgar on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#6 Max Holloway vs #9 Jeremy Stephens on December 12th @UFC194

#8 Charles Oliveira vs #11 (155lbs) Myles Jury on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#11 Nik Lentz vs #27 (155lbs) Danny Castillo on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#14 Diego Brandao vs #15 Brian Ortega on January 2nd @UFC195

#18 Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Jason Knight on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#23 Makwan Ammirkhani vs Mike Wilkinson on February 27th @UFN83

#25 Maximo Blanco vs TBA on January 17th @UFN81

#28 Cole Miller vs Jim Alers on December 19th @UFConFOX17

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lightweight (155lbs)

155

Biggest Move

Former #5 Ben Henderson dropped from 155lbs Rankings (Now fights at 170lbs)

Upcoming Fights

#1 Rafael Dos Anjos vs #3 Donald Cerrone  on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#2 Anthony Pettis vs #5 Eddie Alvarez on January 17th @UFN81

#7 Michael Johnson vs #14 Nate Diaz on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#8 Edson Barboza vs #9 Tony Ferguson on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#15 Jim Miller vs #24 Michael Chiesa on December 10th @UFN80

#16 Evan Dunham vs #19 Joe Lauzon on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#20 Dustin Porier vs #25 Joseph Duffy on January 2nd @UFC195

#21 Paul Felder vs Darren Cruickshank on January 17th @UFN81

#23 Rustam Khabilov vs #26 Norman Parke on February 27th @UFN83

#29 Kevin Lee vs Leonardo Santos on December 12th @UFC194

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welterweight (170lbs)

 170

Biggest Move

#8 Kelvin Gastelum introduced to 170lbs rankings

#9 Neil Magny up 8 spots from #17

#16 Gunnar Nelson down 3 spots from #13

#17 Ben Henderson introduced to 170lbs rankings (former 155lbs)

Upcoming Fights

#1 Robbie Lawler vs #5 Carlos Condit on January 2nd @UFC195

#7 Damian Maia vs #16 Gunnar Nelson on December 12th @UFC194

#8 Kelvin Gastelum vs Kyle Noke on January 2nd @UFC195

#13 Stephen Thompson vs TBA on January 2nd @UFC195

#14 Jake Ellenberger vs #15 Tarec Saffiedine on January 30th @UFConFOX18

#19 Ryan LaFlare vs Mike Pierce on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#20 Lorenz Larkin vs #27 Albert Tumenov on January 2nd @UFC195

#23 Tim Means vs John Howard on December 10th @UFN80

#25 Patrick Cote vs #29 Ben Saunders on January 17th @UFN81

#28 Warlley Alves vs #30 Colby Covington on December 12th @UFC194

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Middleweight (185lbs)

185

Biggest Move

#9 Robert Whittaker up 7 spots from #16

#10 Urija Hall down 4 spots from #6

Upcoming Fights

#1 Chris Weidman vs #2 Luke Rockhold on December 12th @UFC194

#3 Jacare Souza vs #4 Yoel Romero on December 12th @UFC194

#6 Gegard Mousasi vs #12 Michael Bisping on February 27th @UFN83

#12 CB Dolloway vs #25 Nate Marquardt on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#17 Tim Boetch vs #20 Ed Herman on January 17th @UFN81

#19 Antonio Carlos Jr vs Kevin Casey on December 10th @UFN80

#22 Thiago Santos vs #23 Elias Theodorou on December 10th @UFN80

#24 Josh Samman vs Tamdam McCory on December 19th @UFConFOX17

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lightheavyweight (205lbs)

205

* Even though #1 Jon Jones is technically not the champion anymore, I still have him ranked as #1 since he was stripped of the title and didn’t actually lose the belt to another fighter.

Biggest Move

#20 Fabio Maldonado down 5 spots from #15

Upcoming Fights

#2 Daniel Cormier vs #1 Jon Jones on TBA

#3 Anthony Johnson vs #5 Ryan Bader on January 30th @UFConFOX18

#19 Illir Latifi vs #23 Sean O’Connell on January 17th @UFN81

#22 Francimar Barroso vs Abdul-Kerim Edilov on January 17th @UFN81

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heavyweight (265lbs)

 265h

Biggest Move

#16 Ruslan Magomedov introduced to 265lbs rankings

Upcoming Fights

#1 Fabricio Werdum vs #2 Cain Velasquez on TBA

#3 Junior Dos Santos vs #9 Alistair Overeem on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#4 Stipe Miocic vs #5 Andrei Arlovski on January 2nd @UFC195

#6 Travis Browne vs #13 Matt Mitrione on January 17th @UFN81

#7 Josh Barnett vs #9 Ben Rothwell on January 30th @UFConFOX18

#18 Gabriel Gonzaga vs #30 Konstantin Erokhin on December 11th @TUF22Finale

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any questions, comments or criticisms. Any feedback is appreciated.

UFC Rankings Matrix – October 2015

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Since I posted my last UFC Rankings in September there have been only 2 UFC events, and 22 fights (including 1 title fight).

In the past month we saw an epic battle between two of the best Light-heavyweights of all time. Champion Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson put on one of the best championship fights of all time back in UFC 192. There was also a small show in Dublin on October 24th, and while the fights were fun to watch, the card was so injury plagued that there weren’t really any big ranked fighters who fought that night. October was a bit of a slow month for the UFC, but that’s okay because there are 4 shows scheduled for November and 4 shows scheduled for December so we should see a lot of movement in the rankings in the upcoming months.

I’ve added a new feature this month. From now on fighters in the top 16 that are fighting each other will have their names highlighted in the same color in the matrices.

Here are my UFC Rankings Matrices for October 2015:

(Click on Images to see them Full Size) (Champions in bold):

Past Rankings: (May 2015 – June 2015 – July 2015 – August 2015 – September 2015 )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Women’s Strawweight (115lbs)

W115

* I included the fights from the 20th Season of the The Ultimate Fighter even though they were technically “Exhibition” matches because they were part of the tournament that crowned the inaugural champ. The fighters TUF records are in parentheses next to their MMA Records.

Biggest Move

None (This division hasn’t changed much since last month)

Upcoming Fights

#1 Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs #11 Valerie Letourneau on on November 15th @UFC193

#5 Michelle Waterson vs #7 Tecia Torres on December 12th @UFC194

#8 Rose Namajuanas vs #10 Paige VanZant  on December 10th @UFN80

#9 Randa Markos vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz on December 19h @UFConFOX17

#18 Nina Ansaroff vs Justine Kish on January 2nd @UFC195

#21 Seohee Ham vs #24 Cortney Casey on November 28th @UFN79

#26 Kailin Curran vs #29 Emiliy Kagan on December 10th @UFN80

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Women’s Bantamweight (135lbs)

W135

Biggest Move

#8 Juliana Peña up 3 spots from #11

#10 Holly Holm up 2 spots from #12

Upcoming Fights

#1 Ronda Rousey vs #10 Holly Holm on November 15th @UFC193

#6 Sarah Kaufman vs #17 Germaine de Randamie on December 19th @UFConFOX17

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flyweight (125lbs)

 125

Biggest Move

#15 Sergio Pettis up 8 spots from #23

#16 Chris Cariaso down 4 spots from #12

Upcoming Fights

#5 Jussier Formiga vs #9 Henry Cejudo on November 21st @UFN78

#13 Justin Scoggins vs #27 Joby Sanchez on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#22 Ryan Benoit vs #26 Ben Nguyen on November 15th @UFC193

#24 Richie Vaculik vs Ryan Martinez on November 15th @UFC193

#29 Fredy Serano vs Zhikui Yao on November 21st @UFN78

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bantamweight (135lbs)

135

Biggest Move

None (This division hasn’t changed much since last month)

Upcoming Fights

#1 TJ Dillashaw vs #3 Dominick Cruz on January 17th @UFN81

#4 Urijah Faber vs #14 Frankie Saenz on December 12th @UFC194

#6 Aljamain Sterling vs #12 Johny Eduardo on December 10th @UFN80

#8 Thomas Almeida vs #28 Anthony Birchak on November 7th @UFN77

#19 Erik Perez vs Damian Stasiak on November 21st @UFN78

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Featherweight (145lbs)

145

Biggest Move

None (This division hasn’t changed much since last month)

Upcoming Fights

#1 Jose Aldo vs #2 Conor McGregor on December 12th @UFC194

#3 Chad Mendes vs #4 Frankie Edgar on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#5 Ricardo Lamas vs Diego Sanchez on November 21st @UFN78

#6 Max Holloway vs #9 Jeremy Stephens on December 12th @UFC194

#8 Charles Oliveira vs #12 (155lbs) Myles Jury on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#11 Nik Lentz vs #29 (155lbs) Danny Castillo on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#12 Clay Guida vs #19 Thiago Tavares on November 7th @UFN77

#22 Chas Skelly vs Edimilson Souza on November 7th @UFN77

#27 Cole Miller vs Jim Alers on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#29 Sam Sicilia vs Doo Ho Choi on November 28th @UFN79

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lightweight (155lbs)

155b

Biggest Move

None (This division hasn’t changed much since last month)

Upcoming Fights

#1 Rafael Dos Anjos vs #3 Donald Cerrone  on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#2 Anthony Pettis vs #6 Eddie Alvarez on January 17th @UFN81

#5 Ben Henderson vs #9 (170lbs) Thiago Alves on November 28th @UFN79

#8 Michael Johnson vs #15 Nate Diaz on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#9 Edson Barboza vs #10 Tony Ferguson on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#16 Jim Miller vs #25 Michael Chiesa on December 10th @UFN80

#17 Evan Dunham vs #20 Joe Lauzon on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#18 Gleison Tibau vs #28 Abel Trujillo on November 7th @UFN77

#21 Dustin Porier vs #26 Joseph Duffy on January 2nd @UFC195

#22 Paul Felder vs Darren Cruickshank on January 17th @UFN81

#30 Kevin Lee vs Leonardo Santos on December 12th @UFC194

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welterweight (170lbs)

 170

Biggest Move

None (This division hasn’t changed much since last month)

Upcoming Fights

#1 Robbie Lawler vs #5 Carlos Condit on January 2nd @UFC195

#7 Damian Maia vs #13 Gunnar Nelson on December 12th @UFC194

#9 Thiago Alves vs #5 (155lbs) Ben Henderson on November 28th @UFN79

#10 Don Hyung Kim vs #15 Jorge Masvidal on November 28th @UFN79

#12 Jake Ellenberger vs #14 Tarec Saffiedine on January 30th @UFConFOX18

#16 Ryan LaFlare vs Mike Pierce on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#17 Neil Magny vs #15 (185lbs) Kelvin Gastelum on November 21st @UFN78

#18 Lorenz Larkin vs #25 Albert Tumenov on January 2nd @UFC195

#21 Tim Means vs John Howard on December 10th @UFN80

#23 Patrick Cote vs #28 Ben Saunders on January 17th @UFN81

#26 Warlley Alves vs #29 Colby Covington on December 12th @UFC194

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Middleweight (185lbs)

185

Biggest Move

None (This division hasn’t changed much since last month)

Upcoming Fights

#1 Chris Weidman vs #2 Luke Rockhold on December 12th @UFC194

#3 Jacare Souza vs #4 Yoel Romero on December 12th @UFC194

#6 Uriah Hall vs #16 Robert Whittaker on November 15th @UFC193

#9 Vitor Belfort vs #15 Dan Henderson on November 7th @UFN77

#12 CB Dolloway vs #25 Nate Marquardt on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#17 Tim Boetch vs #20 Ed Herman on January 17th @UFN81

#19 Antonio Carlos Jr vs Kevin Casey on December 10th @UFN80

#22 Thiago Santos vs #23 Elias Theodorou on December 10th @UFN80

#24 Josh Samman vs Tamdam McCory on December 19th @UFConFOX17

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lightheavyweight (205lbs)

205

* Even though #1 Jon Jones is technically not the champion anymore, I still have him ranked as #1 since he was stripped of the title and didn’t actually lose the belt to another fighter.

Biggest Move

#7 Rashad Evans down 2 spots from #5

Upcoming Fights

#2 Daniel Cormier vs #1 Jon Jones on TBA

#3 Anthony Johnson vs #5 Ryan Bader on January 30th @UFConFOX18

#7 Glover Teixeira vs #11 Pat Cummins on November 7th @UFN77

#15 Fabio Maldonado vs #18  Corey Anderson on November 7th @UFN77

#17 Gian Villante vs #24 Anthony Perosh on November 15th @UFC193

#20 Illir Latifi vs #23 Sean O’Connell on January 17th @UFN81

#22 Francimar Barroso vs Abdul-Kerim Edilov on January 17th @UFN81

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heavyweight (265lbs)

 265

Biggest Move

None (This division hasn’t changed much since last month)

Upcoming Fights

#1 Fabricio Werdum vs #2 Cain Velasquez on TBA

#3 Junior Dos Santos vs #9 Alistair Overeem on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#4 Stipe Miocic vs #5 Andrei Arlovski on January 2nd @UFC195

#6 Travis Browne vs #13 Matt Mitrione on January 17th @UFN81

#8 Mark Hunt vs #14 Antonio Silva on November 15th @UFC193

#15 Stefan Struve vs #22 Jared Rosholt on November 15th @UFC193

#17 Mirko Flipovic vs #25 Anthony Hamilton on November 28th @UFN79

#18 Gabriel Gonzaga vs #30 Konstantin Erokhin on December 11th @TUF22Finale

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any questions, comments or criticisms. Any feedback is appreciated.

UFC Rankings

Fighter Rankings, MMA, , , , , , , , , ,

Here are my personal UFC Rankings for the top 30 fighters in each weight class. (Last Updated 9/2/15)

These rankings feature the fighter’s record, winning (or losing) streak, who they are scheduled to fight, and when they are going to fight.

Champions are in bold, and fighters which have lost to the champion have their ranking highlighted in yellow.

Upcoming Events (Key)

Upcoming Events

Women’s Strawweight (115lbs)

W115

Women’s Bantamweight (135lbs)

W135

Flyweight (125lbs)

125

Bantamweight (135lbs)

135

Featherweight (145lbs)

145

Lightweight (155lbs)

155

Welterweight (170lbs)

170

Middleweight (185lbs)

185

Lightheavyweight (205lbs)

205

Heavyweight (265lbs)

265

UFC Rankings Matrix – August 2015

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Since I posted my last UFC Rankings in July there have been 4 UFC events, and 50 fights (including 2 title fights).

In the past month we’ve seen TJ Dillashaw prove that he is not only the best 135lbs fighter in the world, but also one of the pound for pound greatest strikers in MMA history, and we’ve seen Ronda Rousey become an even bigger star, adding a one punch KO to her highlight reel. It’s hard to top last month but nevertheless there have been a lot of big fights and some big moves in the rankings, so let’s get right to it.

Here are my UFC Rankings Matrices for August 2015:

(Click on Images to see them Full Size) (Champions in bold):

Past Rankings: (May 2015 – June 2015 – July 2015)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Women’s Strawweight (115lbs)

W115

* I included the fights from the 20th Season of the The Ultimate Fighter even though they were technically “Exhibition” matches because they were part of the tournament that crowned the inaugural champ. The fighters TUF records are in parentheses next to their MMA Records.

Biggest Move

#10 Valerie Letourneau up 5 spots from #15

Upcoming Fights

#5 Michelle Waterson vs #7 Tecia Torres on December 12th @UFC194

#8 Rose Namajuanas vs #20 Angela Hill on October 3rd @UFC192

#10 Paige VanZant vs #25 Alex Chambers on September 5th @UFC191

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Women’s Bantamweight (135lbs)

W135

Biggest Move

#5 Amanda Nunes up 3 spots from #8

#7 Sara McMann down 3 spots from #4

Upcoming Fights

#1 Ronda Rousey vs #12 Holly Holm on November 15th @UFC193

#8 Jessica Eye vs #11 Julianna Peña on October 3rd @UFC192

#14 Jessica Andrade vs #16 Raquel Pennington on September 5th @UFC191

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flyweight (125lbs)

 125

Biggest Move

None (This division hasn’t changed much since last month)

Upcoming Fights

#1 Demetrious Johnson vs #3 John Dodson on September 5th @UFC191

#2 Joseph Benavidez vs #12 Ali Bagautinov on October 3rd @UFC192

#4 John Lineker vs #10 (135lbs) Francisco Rivera on September 5th @UFC191

#6 Jussier Formiga vs #10 Henry Cejudo on November 21st @UFN78

#7 Kyoji Horiguchi vs #17 Chico Camus on September 27th @UFN75

#13 Chris Cariaso vs #23 Sergio Pettis on October 3rd @UFC192

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bantamweight (135lbs)

135

Biggest Move

#9 Thomas Almeida up 4 spots from #13

#10 Bryan Caraway up 5 spots from #15

#11 Johnny Eduardo down 5 spots from #6

#12 Eddie Wineland down 5 spots from #7

Upcoming Fights

#7 Takeya Mizugaki vs #20 George Roop on September 27th @UFN75

#8 Francisco Rivera vs #4 (125lbs) John Lineker on September 5th @UFC191

#18 Erik Perez vs Damian Stasiak on November 21st @UFN78

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Featherweight (145lbs)

145

Biggest Move

None (This division hasn’t changed much since last month)

Upcoming Fights

#1 Jose Aldo vs #2 Conor McGregor on December 12th @UFC194

#3 Chad Mendes vs #4 Frankie Edgar on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#5 Ricardo Lamas vs Diego Sanchez on November 21st @UFN78

#11 Nik Lentz vs #28 (155lbs) Danny Castillo on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#17 Diego Brandao vs Katsunori Kikuno on September 27th @UFN75

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lightweight (155lbs)

 155

Biggest Move

Josh Thompson dropped from rankings

#13 Beniel Dariush up 3 spots from #16

Upcoming Fights

#1 Rafael Dos Anjos vs #3 Donald Cerrone  on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#4 Khabib Nurmagomedov vs #10 Tony Ferguson on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#5 Ben Henderson vs #10 (170lbs) Thiago Alves on November 28th @UFN79

#8 Michael Johnson vs #15 Nate Diaz on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#17 Evan Dunham vs #20 Joe Lauzon on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#18 Gleison Tibau vs #26 Abel Trujillo on November 7th @UFN77

#19 Ross Pearson vs #22 Paul Felder on September 5th @UFC191

#21 Dustin Porier vs Joseph Duffy on October 24th @UFN76

#23 Adriano Martins vs Islam Makhachev on October 3rd @UFC192

#27 Norman Parke vs Reza Madadi on October 24th @UFN76

#30 Kevin Lee vs Leonardo Santos on December 12th @UFC194

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welterweight (170lbs)

 170

Biggest Move

Jordan Mein & Erick Silva dropped from rankings

#15 Jorge Masvidal & #16 Ryan LaFlare introduced to rankings

Upcoming Fights

#1 Robbie Lawler vs #5 Carlos Condit on TBA

#3 Johny Hendricks vs #4 Tyron Woodley on October 3rd @UFC192

#7 Matt Brown vs #15 (185lbs) Kelvin Gastelum on November 21st @UFN78

#10 Thiago Alves vs #5 (155lbs) Ben Henderson on November 28th @UFN79

#11 Don Hyung Kim vs #16 Jorge Masvidal on November 28th @UFN79

#17 Ryan LaFlare vs Mike Pierce on December 11th @TUF22Finale

#26 Alan Jouban vs Albert Tumenov on October 3rd @UFC192

#28 Colby Covington vs Warlley Alves on December 12th @UFC194

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Middleweight (185lbs)

185

Biggest Move

None (This division hasn’t changed much since last month)

Upcoming Fights

#1 Chris Weidman vs #2 Luke Rockhold on December 12th @UFC194

#3 Jacare Souza vs #4 Yoel Romero on December 12th @UFC194

#6 Gegard Mousasi vs #22 Urija Hall on September 27th @UFN75

#8 Vitor Belfort vs #14 Dan Henderson on November 7th @UFN77

#10 Michael Bisping vs #16 Robert Whittaker on November 15th @UFC193

#12 CB Dolloway vs #26 Nate Marquardt on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#25 Josh Samman vs Tamdam McCory on December 19th @UFConFOX17

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lightheavyweight (205lbs)

205

* Even though #1 Jon Jones is technically not the champion anymore, I still have him ranked as #1 since he was stripped of the title and didn’t actually lose the belt to another fighter.

Biggest Move

#11 Pat Cummins up 3 spots from #14

Upcoming Fights

#2 Daniel Cormier vs #4 Alexander Gustafsson on October 3rd @UFC192

#3 Anthony Johnson vs #10 Jimi Manuwa on September 5th @UFC191

#5 Rashad Evans vs #6 Ryan Bader on October 3rd @UFC192

#7 Glover Teixeira vs #11 Pat Cummins on November 7th @UFN77

#15 Fabio Maldonado vs #16 Tom Lawlor on November 7th @UFN77

#17 Gian Villante vs #24 Anthony Perosh on November 15th @UFC193

#18 Jan Blachowicz vs #20 Corey Anderson on September 5th @UFC191

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heavyweight (265lbs)

 265

Biggest Move

Antonio Nogueria & Mirko Flipovic dropped from rankings

#15 Stefan Struve & #16 Alexey Oleinik introduced to rankings

Upcoming Fights

#1 Fabricio Werdum vs #2 Cain Velasquez on TBA

#3 Junior Dos Santos vs #9 Alistair Overeem on December 19th @UFConFOX17

#5 Andrei Alrovski vs #11 Frank Mir on September 5th @UFC191

#7 Mark Hunt vs #14 Antonio Silva on November 15th @UFC193

#10 Josh Barnett vs #12 Roy Nelson on September 27th @UFN75

#15 Stefan Struve vs #24 Jared Rosholt on November 15th @UFC193

#22 Shawn Jordan vs #26 Ruslan Magomedov on October 3rd @UFC192

#23 Derrick Lewis vs #28 Viktor Pesta on October 3rd @UFC192

Event Recap: UFN 59 Boston – McGregor vs Siver

Event Recap, MMA, Opinion Piece

ConorMcGregor_Headshot3DennisSiver_Headshot2

UFN 59 Boston Results

Results

Main Event Recap

Last night was the UFC’s 2nd event of the year, UFC Fight Night 59 in Boston. The main event was a number 1 contender fight between the Irish superstar, #6 ranked Featherweight Conor McGregor and his opponent the German kickboxer, #11 Dennis Siver.

The event featured many interesting fights including a rematch between #4 Donald Cerrone and #5 Benson Henderson, but at the end of the day the night was all about one man. The Notorious Conor McGregor.

McGregor is labeled by many as the UFC’s newest superstar. He got a ton of media attention leading up to the fight, the UFC’s promotional department was firing on all cylinders putting out promos and other videos all week long to help sell the fight. McGregor clearly feels very comfortable with a camera in his face and did an excellent job in promoting the fight.

Conor was a heavy favorite heading into the fight yesterday and he showed why. His opponent Dennis Siver was no pushover, Siver has been in the UFC since 2007, he’s fought 18 times in the organization, and he’s fought top 10 contenders in both the Featherweight (145lbs) and Lightweight (155lbs) divisions. There is no doubt that Dennis Siver is a legit top 15 talent. With all of that being said he still had nothing for the Irish superstar.

Not many people thought Siver could upset McGregor, but I don’t think anybody saw him getting dominated so easily. The fight wasn’t even close. McGregor was in control from the start of the 1st round up until he TKO’d Siver early in the 2nd round.

He showed his trademark unorthodox striking style and absolutely dominated the fight in range. His movement was fluid and smooth, and when he landed he made the strikes count. Almost all of his punches were significant strikes. He figured out Sivers timing early on in the fight and he kept landing lighting fast straight left punches that caused some visible damage on Sivers face.

To be fair the German fighter did land some good strikes but he was clearly outmatched. Siver is ranked #11 in the world and he deserves that spot in the rankings, but last night showed that there is a clear gap in skill between the top 5 contenders and the rest of the ranked fighters in the division (For a breakdown of the UFC’s 145lbs divison click HERE)

What’s Next for McGregor?

With this win McGregor is now 5-0 in the UFC and has earned a title shot against the champion, one of the greatest fighters of all time #1 Jose Aldo. This is without a doubt the biggest fight in the history of the UFC’s featherweight division. UFC President Dana White has already said that they are targeting the fight for UFC 187 which is scheduled to be on May 23rd in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Aldo has always been a dominant champion but he’s never really gotten the recognition for his accomplishments. This is partially due to the fact that he doesn’t speak English and partially due to the fact that he fights at a lower weight class. This fight is huge for him as well because more people are going to be watching him fight than every before. Aldo has already beat the #2, #3, #4 & #5 ranked featherweights in the division so it makes sense for him to fight McGregor next.

As if I wasn’t already excited for that fight, the two men had a somewhat weird encounter when McGregor jumped out of the cage after his win to confront the champion who was watching the fights cageside. I absolutely loved this moment, and it made me like/respect Aldo even more. Even though McGregor was yelling in his face like a madman, Aldo didn’t even flinch once and looked like even more of a badass by just laughing at McGregor during the entire encounter. That right there is a confident man. I cannot wait for these two gifted athletes to fight in May. (To see a GIF of the confrontation click HERE).

Other Thoughts

The rest of the fights were a little underwhelming. The rematch between #4 Cowboy Cerrone & #5 Benson Henderson didn’t really live up to the hype. Neither fighter was able to consistently pull the trigger and as a result it ended up being a very close fight. All 3 judges gave the fight to Cerrone although that was somewhat controversial since a large group of people thought Henderson won. Since no one fighter really did anything to pull ahead in the scorecards I would have been fine no matter what the judges had said. To be fair though Cerrone just fought 2 weeks ago at UFC 182 so it’s understandable that he wasn’t 100% for this fight.

The rest of the card was nothing special really, although Urijah Hall did pick up another TKO win over Ron Stallings.

Overall, the night was a somewhat underwhelming but the main event made up for everything. Conor McGregor is truly a once in a lifetime athlete and its a joy to see him fight in the UFC.

Up Next:

The next UFC event will be on next Saturday Jaunary 24th. It’s UFC on Fox 14: Gustafsson vs. Johnson which will be held in Stockholm Sweden. The main event is #2 Alexander Gustafsson vs #4 Anthony Johnson, the winner will be the next man to challenge the champion #1 Jon Jones.

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I’ll be writing an event preview for it soon. Can’t wait!