USAT/SBN March MMA Consensus Rankings: Light Heavyweight
by Kid Nate on Mar 25, 2009 8:27 PM EDT
in MMA Rankings
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| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rashad Evans | 99 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Quinton Jackson | 94 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Lyoto Machida | 92 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Forrest Griffin | 89 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Chuck Liddell | 77 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Wanderlei Silva | 71 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Keith Jardine | 64 | UFC | 7 |
| 8 | Mauricio Rua | 60 | UFC | 8 |
| 9 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 53 | Affliction | 9 |
| 10 | Renato Sobral | 52 | Strikeforce | 11 |
| 11 | Thiago Silva | 49 | UFC | 10 |
| 12 | Dan Henderson | 42 | UFC | 12 |
| 13 | Luis Cane | 37 | UFC | 13 |
| 14 | Rich Franklin | 29 | UFC | 14 |
| 15 | Tito Ortiz | 25 | UFC | 15 |
| 16 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 21 | Affliction | 16 |
| 17 | Brandon Vera | 19 | UFC | 20 |
| 18 | Matt Hamill | 18 | UFC | 17 |
| 19 | Steve Cantwell | 16 | UFC | 18 |
| 20 | Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou | 15 | Affliction | 19 |
| 21 | Rafael Cavalcante | 15 | Strikeforce | 22 |
| 22 | Jon Jones | 14 | UFC | 30 |
| 23 | Muhammed Lawal | 13 | WVR | 23 |
| 23 | Jared Hamman | 13 | Strikeforce | 21 |
| 25 | Jason Brilz | 13 | UFC | 27 |
Rankings compiled by Richard.
The next major fight at Light Heavyweight will be #5 Chuck Liddell against #8 Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 97 on April 18th. Its hard to believe that this fight - which would have pitted the clear #1 and #2 Light Heavies in the world just a couple of years ago - is very close to being a "loser leaves town" match. Liddell has gone 1-3 since 2007; Shogun is 1-1 since coming to the UFC and was very unimpresive in his win over Mark Coleman.
That's just an appetizer for the big fight at UFC 98 on May 23rd: #1 Rashad Evans against #3 Lyoto Machida for the UFC title. That bout will pit two undefeated fighters at the peak of their abilities against one another for the most important title in the sport. That's going to be a big fight and, barring some sort of Greasegate-squared disaster, the winner will be the absolute, uncontested #1 in this weight class.
UFC 99 will continue the betwixt and between weight classes odyssey of #14 Rich Franklin as he takes on #6 Wanderlei Silva in a 195lb catch weight fight. Silva is headed for middleweight but Franklin plans to stay at 205, so they're meeting in the middle.
The May Strikeforce card is expected to feature #10 Renato "Babalu" Sobral defending his Strikeforce title against an opponent to be determined. No word on what's next for #9 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and whether or not he'll fight on the third Afflicton card or return to WVR's Sengoku.
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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doesn't anyone want to complain
about the light heavy rankings this month?
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
Hush.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Mar 25, 2009 9:06 PM EDT up reply actions
These rankings are immoral! How dare you dilute the integrity of the sport!
If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.
You’re immoral. There. I said it.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Mar 25, 2009 9:09 PM EDT up reply actions
You’re welcome?
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Mar 25, 2009 9:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Damn immoral administrati.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Mar 25, 2009 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Not to change the subject and talk about the fighters or anything, but…
Has anyone heard anything about when Cavalcante might be fighting?
If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.
From MMA Junkie:
In addition to the Lawler vs. Shields bout, Strikeforce has also confirmed the participation of light-heavyweight champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Joey Villasenor, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos in the upcoming event, though opponents for the fighters have not yet been announced.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Mar 25, 2009 9:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I am a Chuck fan boy, same with Wandy. Neither is top 10. Call me anything you want. Come to my house and kill my dog. Neither is top 10. Shogun at 8 is just as funny.
I want Renato back in the UFC too.
I disagree. I don’t think Liddell belongs at five, but I think he’s still a legit top ten.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Mar 25, 2009 9:42 PM EDT up reply actions
This division is a huge mess. #1 is clear 2,3,4 are up for debate and anyone below that is rated wrong to matter where they are rated.
I dislike Matt Hughes.
by MonkeyCHops on Mar 25, 2009 10:05 PM EDT up reply actions
I want Renato back in the UFC too.
me as well, sad to hear him talking about only fighting a few more times.
If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.
Hes happy making 3 times the amount he was getting paid in the UFC.
:)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Mar 25, 2009 9:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, and he’s banned for life for holding a choke too long
by Derek Suboticki on Mar 25, 2009 10:04 PM EDT up reply actions
I highly doubt he is getting 3x as much money as he would be making in the UFC.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
I think that is what he said on Inside MMA. He was only making in the 40k range with UFC, if I remember correctly.
If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.
The winner of Cane/Cantwell should be in the top ten.
by Derek Suboticki on Mar 25, 2009 10:04 PM EDT reply actions
yeah that bubble
is about to get popped. But Cantwell is young enough to be improving rapidly so don’t write him off.
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
If he wins, he’s 2-0 in the UFC at 22. I’ll be sold.
by Derek Suboticki on Mar 25, 2009 11:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, it’s crazy how young this kid is. I don’t think he’s ready for Cane, but if he loses (which I think most of us would predict) it will probably be a good learning experience for Cantwell as well as provide ample motivation (like his loss to Stann).
Franklyin/Silva still bothers me
having it at a catch weight with both fighters moving to the division their opponent is fleeing, er leaving just seems predestined to not do a damn thing for either fighter nor the division they are joining. Just padding one guys win column and the others loss column.
and their bank accounts
I think its a good fight for both guys. They’re both big draws who are in a bit of limbo. Franklin hasn’t established himself at 205 and Wandy is on his way to 185.
It keeps them in the limelight and doesn’t affect their future plans much either way. Unless Wandy destroys Franklin then he’ll be arriving at 185 in a big way.
"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"
Yeah, I don’t see anything wrong with this fight. It’s obviously good for the fighers in that they get a pay day and a tune up fight for their new weights. If they lose, it’s to another name guy, while in the process of transitioning weight classes, and unless they look BAD in the loss, they’ll likely get a pass from most people. And it’s just a fun fight, which means I can just sit back and enjoy without wondering how it will affect this, that or the other thing.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
I think people have to stop expecting every fight to have a significant impact on the rankings.
I really don’t expect either Franklin or Wanderlei to compete for a belt at their new weight classes (or their old one’s for that matter) at any point in the near future. If the best fight for the UFC, and for Rich and Wandy is to fight each other, let them do it at whatever weight they feel comfortable at. They both are draws and they both deserve a few paydays while they can still get them.
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![Always honest, Forrest Griffin tells Sherdog he's anticipating a difficult weight cut and conditioning issues for his upcoming fight in Rio against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua:
"I definitely put on more weight than I would like," Griffin told Sherdog.com. "I need to cut weight and it won’t be easy. I’ll have a lot of problems until the fight in Brazil, but I’ve gotta do it. I don’t want to fight at heavyweight, so I gotta cut that f--king weight."
"He’s one of the best fighters ever," Griffin said of his opponent, who he submitted in September 2007. "He has a blitz style. He goes forward. He’s dangerous. I gotta make him move backward and let’s see what happens. I want to go hard for all 15 minutes of the fight."
"It’s difficult to adjust yourself [to another country]," said Griffin. "There’s the jetlag thing, and it’s difficult to make weight since Brazil doesn’t have the distilled water I use in the U.S. and the food I need to eat. It’s always difficult to change your routine when you go to another country. I feel stupid because I can’t communicate with people from the hotels and can’t even say how I want my eggs. It’s clearly a pain in the ass."
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