USAT/SBN December MMA Consensus Rankings: Welterweight
by Kid Nate on Dec 17, 2009 4:18 PM EST
in MMA Rankings
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Rankings compiled by Richard Wade.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georges St. Pierre | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Jon Fitch | 95 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Thiago Alves | 92 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Josh Koscheck | 86 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Dan Hardy | 82 | UFC | 11 |
| 6 | Mike Swick | 65 | UFC | 5 |
| 7 | Paulo Thiago | 63 | UFC | 7 |
| 8 | Matt Hughes | 62 | UFC | 6 |
| 9 | Carlos Condit | 49 | UFC | 8 |
| 10 | Paul Daley | 47 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Marius Zaromskis | 38 | DREAM/Strikeforce | 13 |
| 12 | Martin Kampmann | 35 | UFC | 12 |
| 13 | Jake Shields | 29 | Strikeforce | 9 |
| 14 | Jay Hieron | 24 | Strikeforce | 14 |
| 15 | Ben Saunders | 23 | UFC | 37 |
| 16 | Dustin Hazelett | 22 | UFC | 24 |
| 17 | Dan Hornbuckle | 21 | WVR | 20 |
| 18 | Hayato Sakurai | 20 | DREAM | 17 |
| 19 | Mike Pierce | 19 | UFC | 23 |
| 20 | Nick Diaz | 19 | Strikeforce | 19 |
| 21 | John Hathaway | 18 | UFC | 35 |
| 22 | Marcus Davis | 16 | UFC | 20 |
| 23 | Chris Lytle | 16 | UFC | 20 |
| 24 | Matt Serra | 16 | UFC | 18 |
| 24 | Paul Bradley | 16 | Strikeforce | NR |
On thing that hasn't changed since the 2008 end of year rankings is the exalted status of #1 Georges St Pierre (was #1) at the top of the welterweight division.
Although he only defended his belt twice, his utter dominations of #3 Thiago Alves (was #2) and #1 lightweight B.J. Penn left no doubt that for another year, GSP is the man at 170lbs.
#2 Jon Fitch (was #3) beat three very tough fighters in the past year: Akihiro Gono (was #24), #7 Paulo Thiago (was unranked) and Mike Pierce but he won each fight in unspectacular fashion.
Fitch has to be very frustrated that he didn't get a shot at Alves -- a fighter he stopped by brutal TKO in 2006. Instead it looks like Ricardo Almeida will get the next crack at Alves and Fitch's second bite at the GSP apple recedes that much further into the distance.
#4 Josh Koscheck (was #5) moved up over the last year mainly due to #13 Jake Shields moving up to middleweight. The past year has been very up and down for Koscheck. Since the 2008 year end rankings were compiled, he crushed the former #16 Yoshiyuki Yoshida, got crushed by Paulo Thiago, crushed Frank Trigg and beat the highly touted Anthony Johnson. He's still two or three slots back for a title shot though.
#5 Dan Hardy (was #20) enjoyed a meteoric rise at the expense of #6 Mike Swick (was #11), #22 Marcus Davis (was #16), and Rory Markham. We'll see how Hardy fares against GSP.
#8 Matt Hughes (was #7) only fought once in the last year, decisioning #24 Matt Serra (was #9). With Hughes looking to face MMA legend Renzo Gracie next and Serra taking on Frank Trigg, both fighters are on the "senior circuit" rather than the contender track.
#9 Carlos Condit (was #8) had a disappointing year, dropping his UFC debut to #12 Martin Kampmann (was #20 at middleweight last year), then surviving a close shave against Jake Ellenberger. Most painfully, he had to pull out of a scheduled UFC 108 bout against #10 Paul Daley (was unranked) that could have put him right back into contention.
#11 Marius Zaromskis (was unranked) came out of nowhere to the verge of the top 10 by winning the DREAM welterweight tourny in spectacular fashion. It will be very interesting to see how he fares in Strikeforce.
Based on the premise that all MMA rankings are subjective but that it’s still useful and informative to know who the online MMA community as a whole ranks as the best fighters in MMA, we collect and average the rankings of the top MMA websites to produce our consensus rankings.
We compile the top MMA rankings from each of our sources and award 25 points for a first place ranking, 16 for a 10th place ranking, 1 for a 25th place ranking. A formula is used to "normalize" the data so all fighters are awarded points from those lists that do not include a full 25 fighters. This formula ensures that each ranking site awards the same number of total points regardless of how many fighters they choose to rank. Each fighter’s total is divided by the number of possible points to determine their standing in the Consensus Rankings.
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411 Mania ranks him 14th. Fight Magazine ranks him 13th. Fight Matrix ranks him 9th.
Bolts from the Blue // "I have got to be the most boring GM in the league." - A.J. Smith
Bloody Elbow // "I win again. Engrish is my bitch." - Steven Zucconi
by Richard Wade on Dec 16, 2009 10:11 PM EST up reply actions
how he got ranked in the consensus rankings I get..
but why those sites did that, I really don’t… and 9th?? wow..
by Anton Tabuena on Dec 16, 2009 10:19 PM EST up reply actions
Hieron has won six fights in a row. During that streak he has ended Jesse Taylor’s seven fight win streak, ended then undefeated Jason High’s seven fight win streak, defeated Mark Miller who had just notched wins over Josh Neer and Brad Blackburn, and just generally been sitting below other ranked guys when they lost and thus moved up.
Bolts from the Blue // "I have got to be the most boring GM in the league." - A.J. Smith
Bloody Elbow // "I win again. Engrish is my bitch." - Steven Zucconi
by Richard Wade on Dec 17, 2009 12:14 AM EST up reply actions
Jesse Taylor doesnt impress me at all..
High is a decent prospect but is still relatively unproven…Miller has lost his last three and 5 out of his last 7 making his overall record 9-6.. He’s got a six fight win streak, sure, but does the quality of opponents he has faced mean he should be ranked that high?
Fight matrix even got him on the top 10… with Daley, Swick, Condit, and Kampmann below him? That I don’t agree with.. and yes, i get how ranking bodies really love winning streaks, I just don’t agree…
and speaking on fightmatrix and jason high, they have 3-1 Galvao above 9-2 High who already has a win over him? weird.
by Anton Tabuena on Dec 17, 2009 1:46 AM EST up reply actions
It all has to do with where they were ranked at the time of the fight. If you beat a guy who has won seven straight it doesn’t matter if he loses his next ten.
Bolts from the Blue // "I have got to be the most boring GM in the league." - A.J. Smith
Bloody Elbow // "I win again. Engrish is my bitch." - Steven Zucconi
by Richard Wade on Dec 17, 2009 12:09 PM EST up reply actions
pfft
that is completely silly.
The thing people don’t take into account AT ALL is that losing a fight actually changes a fighter.
After a brutal KO loss a fighter is not physically the same.
The only thing that can be measured it what wins the losing fighter had at the time the two fighters met.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
I still don't get why St.Pierre is number 1
"I want to tell me what you see, let's go ahead and see by the fight what you saw, in the ring"
by crinow on Dec 17, 2009 5:52 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
If Daley beats Hazelett
I’d love to see him fight Swick next. It would be a good name to fight and I think he’d KTFO Swick out of the top 10.
What’s with Rumble being unranked? Don’t expect him to be high but he’ll beat the Chris Lytles of the world, and do it in spectacular fashion.
I don’t see the top four positions on this list changing much, if at all, for the next several months. Alvez might beat Fitch and take number two, Koscheck might beat Alvez and take number three.
Ummmmmm
You don’t have Anthony Johnson in the top 25 but have guys like Mike Pierce, Paul Bradley and Dan Hornbuckle?
LOL
At the out of nowhere reverse race card. LOL!
by William Wilson on Dec 17, 2009 4:39 PM EST up reply actions
We don’t have anyone anywhere…
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 17, 2009 4:44 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Indeed
I should have said “they” since it is amalgamation of different sources. For anyone not to have Johnson in the top 25 is a little silly.
by William Wilson on Dec 17, 2009 4:47 PM EST up reply actions
If you were to do strictly results based ranking…it makes more sense.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 17, 2009 4:53 PM EST up reply actions
Not consistent
Is my only guess…
Dudes kinda had it tough a bull shit loss from an eye poke
Recently not making weight
Then getting choked out by a guy with a blonde afro
Must have all added up to him not getting ranked
I'm not calling him dad, even if theres a fire
How can Pierce be that high when his best win is against Larson, yet Rick Story, who just destroyed Larson, is not ranked.
Larson dropped after he lost to Pierce
so being the second guy to beat him didn’t have as much impact.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Kid Nate on Dec 17, 2009 7:55 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
^This.
Bolts from the Blue // "I have got to be the most boring GM in the league." - A.J. Smith
Bloody Elbow // "I win again. Engrish is my bitch." - Steven Zucconi
by Richard Wade on Dec 18, 2009 1:06 AM EST up reply actions
Condit = 9
Daley = 10
Shields has beaten both.
Shields = 13th.
I know, I know, hes a MW now, but hell be coming back down to WW soon.
=)
Has not even competed at WW in more than a year
in most rankings that is basis from dropping out of the rankings altogether.
When/If he comes back down to WW I’m sure he will get moved back up.
1. You aren’t looking at the wins in their proper context I believe.
2. Just because one has a win over someone in the past doesn’t mean they can overtake him in the rankings in the future.
=)
1. Yes the proper context is that he hasn’t lost since those victories and has beaten Imada, Menne, Okami, Condit, Thompson, Daley and also Miller and Lawler at MW during his 13 fight win streak. Much more impressive than Condit’s 9-2 with a win over Brock Larson and Daley’s 4-1 record since meeting Jake with a win over Kampman and a loss against Thompson (same one Shield beat).
2. He’s got to be getting hurt by rankings that don’t include him at WW. That can be the only explanation.
Why was I drafted as Shield’s big defender?
by John Nash on Dec 17, 2009 6:47 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
exactly
many sites only rank fighters at one rank and fighters like shields who jump back and forth get killed. Not being ranked at all means he gets zero points from that ranking source (if they do a top 25) or the fractional points we give everyone ranked by the sites that only do top 10s. It’ll kill your averages fast.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Why was I drafted as Shield’s big defender?
Because its the right thing to do an you know it.
=)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Dec 17, 2009 8:02 PM EST up reply actions
1. I was more referring to the fact that neither of those guys were top-ten ranked at the time Jake defeated them. I think the only guy he has beaten on your list who was a legit top tenner at the time is Robbie Lawler. Okami, Condit, and Daley all vaulted in the rankings later in time (and he arguably lost to Okami IMO).
2. That’s one reason and another perhaps is the fact that some rankers value wins based on their proper context in time. Beating an opponent does not become more impressive years down the line when that opponent picks up a few big wins.
Fitch did not impress me last time out.
He was rocked and about to get knocked out in the last 30 seconds of that fight. I think he would have lost to Pierce if there were 2 more rounds.
by HappyLittleTreez on Dec 17, 2009 4:56 PM EST reply actions
Agreed, but part of it is that Pierce is underrated. Close to Fitch-level wrestling + knockout power = perfect matchup for Kos so it’s too bad that didn’t happen. Pierce vs. Rumble would be a nice.
by HarmlessNinja on Dec 17, 2009 5:15 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, Pierce is for real. That’d be a good match but I would take Pierce in that one all day.
by HappyLittleTreez on Dec 17, 2009 6:04 PM EST up reply actions
“We’ll see how Hardy fares against GSP.”
My guess- not so good.
The only thing Jon Jones does better than Matt Hamill is hear.
(And smash faces)
by ufc4 on Dec 17, 2009 5:16 PM EST via mobile reply actions 1 recs
sorry
Fitch vs GSP was in August of 2008. I know it seems like just yesterday, but it was more than a year ago.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Yep…the day my wife and I moved into our house. Sat in the middle of a pile of boxes to watch the show
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 17, 2009 6:04 PM EST up reply actions
No Johnson or Lyman Goode in the top 25? Weird.
"He will lie between resentment and regret. He shed his grace. As certain as a snake sheds its skin. Laid waste to a wealth of talent--his curse being blessed with treasures that just were not gold enough"
Johnson hasn't got the wins against ranked opponents
that it takes to propel you up.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
40th and 36th respectively.
Bolts from the Blue // "I have got to be the most boring GM in the league." - A.J. Smith
Bloody Elbow // "I win again. Engrish is my bitch." - Steven Zucconi
by Richard Wade on Dec 18, 2009 1:08 AM EST up reply actions
what happened to my comment? it got deleted and i got a warning for not using correct punctuation, what is this?
looks like your comment violated rule #4
and it’s a heck of a rule, rule #4
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Rule #4 — don’t piss off the moderators.
Bolts from the Blue // "I have got to be the most boring GM in the league." - A.J. Smith
Bloody Elbow // "I win again. Engrish is my bitch." - Steven Zucconi
by Richard Wade on Dec 18, 2009 1:10 AM EST up reply actions
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