Heavy MMA Rankings: July 2010

The MMA world has been turned on its head in the past two weeks, making this the perfect time to debut the HeavyMMA.com official MMA rankings.

Our MMA ranking philosophy is that rankings are a snapshot of the current MMA landscape and do not necessarily indicate who we think would win in a fight. In most cases, a fighter will be ranked higher than an opponent he has recently defeated. Fighters are not explicitly excluded from the rankings due to inactivity, though it stands to reason that fighters who are more active at the highest levels of the sport shall work past their inactive counterparts. 12 fighters shall be ranked in each of the seven major weight classes: bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight. The ranking committee is comprised of: Jeremy Botter, Matt Brown, Brett C. Jones, E. Spencer Kyte, and Ryan Loco.

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Introduction

For the first time in seven years, someone not named Fedor Emelianenko tops the heavyweight division. Though Fabricio Werdum was the man to, at long last, return Fedor from his god-like status back down to Earth, the comeback-from-certain-defeat victory of Brock Lesnar may have been the more resonant outcome. Lesnar’s submission victory over Carwin, as well as his victories over former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture, gives Lesnar the strongest set of victories in the past three years amongst heavyweights. Lesnar has earned his place atop the heavyweight division at a time when the division is at its strongest point to date. Of course, that doesn’t mean that it’s as talent rich as the rest of the divisions in MMA.

Elsewhere, Chris Leben’s inspired (and inspiring) performance against Yoshihiro Akiyama just two weeks after his knockout victory over previously unbeaten Aaron Simpson has jostled the Middleweight division a bit. His presumed match against Wanderlei Silva will be Leben’s biggest test since fighting Anderson Silva, the only man to knock Leben out. It will be several months until the match can be put together, as Silva is on the mend after having broken his ribs in training. It’s just as well, as the hard working Leben has earned a respite.

Of course, these are just a few of the outcomes that have contributed to our rankings. July should be a relatively quiet month in the world of MMA. With nine significant events on the schedule for August, we may well see the rankings turned upside down. More than once, perhaps. Check out the rankings after the jump.

Heavyweights (up to 265lbs.)

1 Brock Lesnar
5-1-0 UFC
Since November ’08, he’s stopped Carwin, Mir, and Couture. No heavyweight has better wins in that timeframe.

2 Fabricio Werdum
14-4-1 Strikeforce
He beat the greatest heavyweight of all time. Wins over Bigfoot Silva and Gonzaga aren’t too shabby, either.

3 Fedor Emelianenko
31-2-0 Strikeforce
Though he finally suffered a legitimate defeat, “The Last Emperor’s” fall is cushioned by wins over Sylvia, Arlovski, and Rogers.

4 Cain Velasquez
8-0-0 UFC
Will his cardio allow him to get the better of Lesnar where Carwin could not?

5 Shane Carwin
12-1-0 UFC
Expect Carwin to go back to ending fights in the first round with gusto.

6 Junior dos Santos
11-1-0 UFC
Fun with MMA math: He beat the guy who beat Fedor. Next up: Roy Nelson. The winner will likely receive a UFC heavyweight title shot.

7 Alistair Overeem
33-11-0 Strikeforce
His only notable heavyweight victories since 2006 have been in Strikeforce (Rogers, Buentello), but his knockouts are dazzling.

8 Frank Mir
13-5-0 UFC
Mir probably can’t compete with the top contenders in the division, but he may be the best of the rest.

9 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
32-6-1 UFC
He flashed back to his former glory by beating Couture, but not much else has gone his way since beating Sylvia for the interim UFC title in 2008.

10 Antonio Silva
14-2-0 Strikeforce
May have put the final nail in the coffin of Arlovski’s hopes of once again contending for a title.

11 Josh Barnett
25-5-0 FA
His dependence on performance enhancing drugs will relegate him to a career outside of the US for the foreseeable future.

12 Roy Nelson
15-4-0 UFC
Though his inclusion highlights the weakness of the division more than his accomplishments, a win over dos Santos would silence his critics for good.

On the brink: Brett Rogers (Strikeforce, 10-2), Mike Russow (UFC, 13-1-0, 1 NC), Cheick Kongo (UFC, 15-6-1)

photo courtesy Zuffa/Hedges

Light Heavyweight (186lbs. – 205lbs.)

1 Mauricio Rua
19-4-0 UFC
“Shogun” removed any doubt about who truly won their October ‘09 fight by knocking Machida out at UFC 113 in May.

2 Lyoto Machida
16-1-0 UFC
The former undefeated champion finally met his match, but can anyone other than Shogun beat him?

3 Rashad Evans
15-1-1 UFC
Though he earned a title shot by defeating Jackson, he’ll have to wait: Shogun will be out until March ‘11 with a knee injury.

4 Quinton Jackson
30-8-0 UFC
Though he showed his fight-stopping potential against Evans, one wonders how much his time away from MMA affected him in that fight.

5 Muhammed Lawal
7-0-0 Strikeforce
Came in as a +180 dog against Mousasi, left with the Strikeforce title. “King Mo” will defend his title against Rafael Cavalcante on August 21st.

6 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
19-3-0 UFC
Did he simply underestimate Brilz, or was a weakness exposed? A rumored bout against Jackson should allow him to let his hands fly at will.

7 Forrest Griffin
17-6-0 UFC
The former champ finds himself in the bottom half due to inactivity resulting from a shoulder injury.

8 Rich Franklin
28-5-0 (1 NC) UFC
Though he was always in Liddell’s shadow during his prime, Franklin effectively ended “The Iceman’s” career.

9 Gegard Mousasi
28-3-1 Strikeforce
Having lost his Strikeforce title to Lawal, he’ll head back to DREAM and likely run through their light heavyweight tournament.

10 Jon Jones
10-1-0 UFC
Even in his “loss” to Hamill, Jones has looked like a world beater every time out. Will he be the one to bring stability to the top of the division?

11 Randy Couture
18-10-0 UFC
After a successful two-fight trip down, Couture will go back up to heavyweight to fight former boxing champ James Toney at UFC 118 on August 28th.

12 Thiago Silva
14-2-0 UFC
His loss to Evans was another example of the importance of cardio in a fight.

On the brink: Ryan Bader (UFC, 11-0-0), Renato Sobral (Strikeforce, 36-8-0), Matt Hamill (UFC, 9-2-0)

photo Zuffa/Hedges

Middleweight (171lbs. – 185lbs.)

1 Anderson Silva
26-4-0 UFC
Though he seems hell bent on alienating every last one of his fans, there is no more dominant a champion than he in MMA.

2 Chael Sonnen
24-10-1 UFC
Sonnen’s improvements since his first fight against Paulo Filho have been remarkable. He’s earned his August 7th title shot against Anderson Silva.

3 Jake Shields
25-4-1 FA
It seems but a matter of time until he joins the UFC, but at what weight class?

4 Nate Marquardt
29-9-2 UFC
Marquardt begins his climb back into contention against Rousimar Palhares at UFC 118 on Aug. 28th.

5 Dan Henderson
25-8-0 Strikeforce
Did the loss to Shields sour him on the division for the time being? Will he enter Strikeforce’s middleweight tournament or fight Renato Sobral next?

6 Demian Maia
12-2-0 UFC
Unable to strike with champ Silva, Belcher should prove a more appropriate opponent as a muay thai practitioner.

7 Wanderlei Silva
33-10-1 (1 NC) UFC
His victory over Bisping legitimized himself as a middleweight, but a would-be fight against Leben will have to wait until his injuries heal.

8 Michael Bisping
19-3-0 UFC
Has plenty of work to do to become a legitimate contender, but losing to Silva and Henderson isn’t damning.

9 Alan Belcher
16-6-0 UFC
His back-to-back knockouts of Cote and Gouveia were impressive. Can he make it three in a row against Maia?

10 Chris Leben
21-6-0 UFC
Despite stopping both Akiyama and previously unbeaten Aaron Simpson in a span of two weeks, Leben is not fighting on the August 1 UFC event. Yet.

11 Ronaldo Souza
12-2-0 (1 NC) Strikeforce
Fun fact: he beat Bellator season 2 middleweight winner Alexander Shlemenko in 2006. It was Shlemenko’s 17th fight and Souza’s third.

12 Vitor Belfort
19-8-0 UFC
He beat Franklin the way Anderson Silva used to and earned a title shot following Silva’s defense against Sonnen.

On the brink: Yoshihiro Akiyama (UFC, 13-2-0, 2 NC), Thales Leites (MFC, 17-3-0), Jorge Santiago (Sengoku, 22-8-0)

Welterweight (156lbs. – 170lbs.)

1 Georges St. Pierre
20-2-0 UFC
Will Koscheck, the last man to win a round against him, be able to take his title?

2 Jon Fitch
22-3-0 (1 NC) UFC
He previously tied Royce Gracie’s then record of eight-straight UFC victories. Next, with a four-fight win streak, he’ll once again fight Alves.

3 Thiago Alves
16-6-0 UFC
Fitch stopped him in their first encounter. Has he improved enough to return the favor in their second encounter at UFC 117 on August 7th?

4 Josh Koscheck
15-4-0 UFC
Bigger upset: Koscheck beating St. Pierre or St. Pierre v. Koscheck 2 not doing huge business?

5 Martin Kampmann
17-3-0 UFC
Took a big step towards contention by beating Thiago at UFC 115 in June.

6 Paulo Thiago
13-2-0 UFC
Despite his loss to Kampmann, going 2-1 against the AKA trio is very impressive.

7 Dan Hardy
23-7-0 (1 NC) UFC
Despite be written off by nearly everyone, he took St. Pierre to a decision. His fight against Condit should be an explosive stand up battle.

8 Nick Diaz
22-7-0 (1 NC) Strikeforce
Ran through both Hayato Sakurai and Mariusz Zaromskis with ease. Does Strikeforce have a welterweight who can beat him?

9 Paul Daley
23-9-2 FA
Will his lifetime ban from the UFC hold up once Strikeforce comes a-callin’?

10 Mike Swick
14-4-0 UFC
Still looking for that breakthrough victory in order to become a contender.

11 Carlos Condit
25-5-0 UFC
His come from behind victory over Rory MacDonald highlighted the value of experience in MMA.

12 Ben Askren
6-0-0 Bellator
Remained undefeated by beating Dan Hornbuckle to win Bellator’s season 2 welterweight tournament.

On the brink: John Hathaway (UFC, 14-0-0), Chris Lytle(UFC, 29-17-5), Jay Hieron (Strikeforce, 19-4-0)

Lightweight (146lbs. – 155lbs.)

1 Frankie Edgar
12-1-0 UFC
Between the incredible upset and the cries that he shouldn’t have been awarded the decision stands the UFC lightweight champion. Can he do it again?

2 BJ Penn
15-6-1 UFC
Was he ill when Edgar beat him? Did Edgar even beat him? These questions will be put to rest when he challenges for Edgar’s title at UFC 118 on Aug. 28th.

3 Gilbert Melendez
18-2-0 Strikeforce
Having dispatched his top challengers in from both Strikeforce and DREAM, Melendez looks to conquer Bellator and Eddie Alvarez next.

4 Eddie Alvarez
20-2-0 Bellator
Both he and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney want him to fight Melendez, but season 2 tournament winner Pat Curran is due a title shot.

5 Gray Maynard
10-0-0 (1 NC) UFC
Having already beaten the reigning UFC lightweight champion, Maynard will earn a title shot if only he can defeat Florian at UFC 118 on August 28th.

6 Kenny Florian
14-4-0 UFC
Next to Edgar, he must have been the happiest man alive following Penn’s title loss. A third title shot seemed miles away, but now it’s just one win away.

7 Shinya Aoki
23-5-0 (1 NC) DREAM
After talking a bunch of junk, he returns to DREAM, tail between his legs, after being beaten by Melendez. He’ll seek reprisal against Kawajiri.

8 Ben Henderson
12-1-0 WEC
His ascension into the top 10 not only highlights his great work but also the growing strength of WEC’s lightweight division.

9 Tatsuya Kawajiri
26-5-2 DREAM
Fun with MMA math: Alvarez knocked him out and then got submitted by Aoki. Obviously Kawajiri has no chance against Aoki. Obviously.

10 Evan Dunham
11-0-0 UFC
Came out of nowhere to beat Per Eklund in his UFC debut and hasn’t looked back since. One more win should earn him a title shot.

11 George Sotiropoulos
13-2-0 UFC
A match against Dunham to determine the next top contender in the UFC’s lightweight division seems to obvious not to happen.

12 Tyson Griffin
14-3-0 UFC
With Stevenson on the mend, Griffin will step in against Takanori Gomi at UFC Live on August 1st.

On the brink: Mizuto Hirota (Sengoku, 12-4-1), Sean Sherk (UFC, 33-4-1), Jim Miller (UFC, 17-2-0)

Featherweight (136lbs. – 145lbs.)

1 Jose Aldo
17-1-0 WEC
When it comes to being an unstoppably explosive striker, he picked up where Anderson Silva left off.

2 Manny Gamburyan
11-4-0 WEC
It seems impossible for him to beat Aldo. Then again, did anyone think he’d beat Brown?

3 Bibiano Fernandes
8-2-0 DREAM
His two losses? Faber and Kid Yamamoto. Since then, he’s been unbeatable in DREAM.

4 Mike Brown
23-6-0 WEC
He learned how Faber felt to be knocked out by him when Gamburyan knocked him out.

5 Urijah Faber
23-4-0 WEC
A move down to bantamweight is forthcoming after Aldo and Brown decisively proved to be his superiors.

6 Marlon Sandro
17-1-0 Sengoku
New champion Sandro set the MMA community abuzz with his quick knockout of former champ Kanehara in June.

7 Michihiro Omigawa
10-8-1 ASTRA
He’s the only man to beat Sandro, though it was by “must decide” split decision.

8 Josh Grispi
14-1-0 WEC
After quickly forcing LC Davis to submit, the question must be asked: will this 21-year-old be the one who beats Aldo for the title?

9 Hatsu Hioki
21-4-2 Shooto
The Shooto veteran has seen his career come full circle, return to the organization to beat Takeshi Inoue for the lightweight (143lbs.) title.

10 LC Davis
16-3-0 WEC
Until the Grispi fight, he had done very well in WEC, beating Taurosevicius, Nunes, and Vazquez.

11 Diego Nunes
14-1-0 WEC
He followed up his only career loss – to Davis – by earning a split decision against Assuncao.

12 Joe Soto
9-0-0 Bellator
Bellator season 2 featherweight tournament winner Joe Warren will be Soto’s toughest test to date.

On the brink: Masanori Kanehara (Sengoku, 15-7-5), Raphael Assuncao (WEC, 14-3-0), Leonard Garcia (WEC, 14-5-1)

photo espn

Bantamweight (126lbs. – 135lbs.)

1 Dominick Cruz
15-1-0 WEC
He moved down following a loss to Urijah Faber. Now Faber is moving down as well. Cruz v. Faber 2?

2 Brian Bowles
8-1-0 WEC
He seemed poised to rule over the division, but fell against Cruz. When will he return to action and against whom?

3 Joseph Benavidez
12-1-0 WEC
He’ll get the chance to avenge his only loss when he challenges Cruz for the title at WEC 50, Aug. 18th.

4 Miguel Torres
37-3-0 WEC
It’s hard to imagine Torres losing two straight matches after having beaten every fighter he had ever fought in his career.

5 Scott Jorgensen
10-3-0 WEC
He’ll look to extend his win streak to five when he fights Pickett at WEC 50 on Aug. 18th.

6 Takeya Mizugaki
13-4-2 WEC
A win over Faber could net him another title shot.

7 Damacio Page
12-4-0 WEC
Fun fact 1: He was the last person to fight Genki Sudo. Fun fact 2: He is starting his own MMA promotion.

8 Shuichiro Katsumura
11-7-3
Shooto Not only did he beat long time Shooto champ Ueda, he forced him to submit with a brabo choke.

9 Masakatsu Ueda
10-1-2 Shooto
After losing his Shooto title, Ueda rebounded nicely with a win over WEC vet and former Shooto Lightweight (143lbs.) champ Akitoshi Tamura.

10 Rani Yahya
15-6-0 WEC
He got off to a hot start in his return to WEC, beating Wineland and Yoshiro Maeda, but is coming off of back-to-back losses.

11 Eddie Wineland
17-6-1 WEC
The end of the Campuzano fight was really something and has the former champ, on a three-fight win streak, thinking of another title opportunity.

12 Charlie Valencia
12-5-0 WEC
His previously scheduled match against Wineland, which he missed due to injury, still makes sense.

On the brink: Wagnney Fabiano (WEC, 14-2-0), Masakazu Imanari (DEEP, 19-7-1), Cole Escovedo (DREAM, 16-4-0)