Zuffa Divisional 'Stackedness'
by cokemachinebaby on Jul 12, 2010 6:51 PM EDT
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PrintThere is a lot of talk and often hyperbole about which Zuffa division is the most stacked. I thought a comparison by the numbers would show exactly how they stack up to each other. Below is a list of fighters in each division categorized by rank that are either top 25 or have a positive win/loss total. The list shows their wins and losses under Zuffa in their current division as well the sum of those fights and their most recent streak. Below that are some stats about each division and some analysis.
#1 - UFC Light Heavyweight
| Fighter | Win | Loss | Sum | Strk | Rnk |
| Mauricio Rua | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Lyoto Machida | 8 | 1 | 7 | -1 | 2 |
| Rashad Evans | 9 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
| Quinton Jackson | 5 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 4 |
| Anderson Silva | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Forrest Griffen | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| Antonio Rog. Nogueira | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Thiago Silva | 5 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 10 |
| Rich Franklin | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 11 |
| Jon Jones | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| Randy Couture | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| Ryan Bader | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 15 |
| Vitor Belfort | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Brandon Vera | 3 | 3 | 0 | -2 | 19 |
| Matt Hammill | 8 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 20 |
| Chuck Liddell | 16 | 7 | 9 | -3 | 21 |
| Luis Cane | 3 | 3 | 0 | -2 | 22 |
| Tito Ortiz | 14 | 7 | 7 | -3 | 23 |
| Cyril Diabate | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| Wanderlei Silva | 3 | 5 | -2 | 1 | 25 |
| Vladimir Matyushenko | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Phil Davis | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Krzysztof Soszynski | 4 | 2 | 2 | -1 | NR |
| Brian Stann | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | NR |
| Ricardo Romero | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| James Te-Huna | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Jason Brilz | 3 | 2 | 1 | -1 | NR |
| Stephan Bonnar | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | NR |
| Jared Hamman | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | NR |
| Alexander Gustafsson | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | NR |
100 % of Top 5
80 % of Top 10
80 % of Top 25
67 % Ranked
33 % Un-ranked
LHW is Zuffa's marquee division for good reason. In terms of overall size is sits directly in the middle of the other seven divisions, but it has the largest number of top 25 ranked fighters. Also it is the only division that can claim all of the top 7 fighters. With some up and comers and tough gate keepers rounding out this division, there are very few easy fights.
#2 - WEC Bantamweight
| Fighter | Win | Loss | Sum | Strk | Rnk |
| Dominick Cruz | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Brian Bowles | 5 | 1 | 4 | -1 | 2 |
| Joseph Benavidez | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Miguel Torres | 4 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 4 |
| Scott Jorgensen | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Takeya Mizugaki | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Wagnney Fabiano | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Rani Yahya | 3 | 2 | 1 | -2 | 9 |
| Charlie Valencia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| Damacio Page | 3 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 11 |
| Akitoshi Tamura | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 14 |
| Brad Pickett | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| Eddie Wineland | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
| Antonio Banuelos | 7 | 4 | 3 | -1 | 18 |
| Clint Godfrey | 0 | 1 | -1 | -1 | 22 |
| Ian Loveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Frank Gomez | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | NR |
| Will Ribeiro | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | NR |
| Chad George | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | NR |
100 % of Top 5
90 % of Top 10
64 % of Top 25
84 % Ranked
16 % Un-ranked
This may come as a surprise to some people, but WEC bantamweight is a legitimate 'shark tank.' It is a confined area teaming with killers as seen by the percentage of ranked fighters. It is the only Zuffa division with 90% of the top ten. Fighters rankings skew heavily toward the top. If two new comers are lucky enough to fight each other in their debut, their second fight is most likely against a highly ranked opponent.
#3 - UFC Welterweight
| Fighter | Win | Loss | Sum | Strk | Rnk |
| George St Pierre | 14 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 1 |
| John Fitch | 12 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 2 |
| Thiago Alves | 9 | 3 | 6 | -1 | 3 |
| Josh Koshcheck | 13 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 4 |
| Dan Hardy | 4 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 6 |
| Martin Kampman | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| Matt Hughes | 17 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 8 |
| Paulo Thiago | 3 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 9 |
| Matt Serra | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| Mike Swick | 4 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 14 |
| Carlos Condit | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| John Hathaway | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Anthony Johnson | 5 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 18 |
| Mike Pierce | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| Ricardo Almeida | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| Jake Ellenberger | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 23 |
| Marcus Davis | 9 | 3 | 6 | 1 | NR |
| Dong Hyun Kim | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | NR |
| John Howard | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | NR |
| Diego Sanchez | 7 | 3 | 4 | -1 | NR |
| Johnny Henricks | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Rick Story | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | NR |
| Matt Riddle | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | NR |
| DaMarques Johnson | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | NR |
| Dustin Hazelett | 4 | 3 | 1 | -1 | NR |
| Ben Saunders | 4 | 2 | 2 | -1 | NR |
| Claude Patrick | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Charlie Brenneman | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Nate Diaz | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| James Wilks | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Nick Osipczak | 2 | 1 | 1 | -1 | NR |
| Matt Brown | 4 | 3 | 1 | -2 | NR |
| Mike Guymon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | NR |
| Amir Sadollah | 2 | 2 | 0 | -1 | NR |
| Rory MacDonald | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | NR |
| TJ Grant | 2 | 2 | 0 | -1 | NR |
| Chris Lytle | 8 | 9 | -1 | 3 | NR |
80 % of Top 5
80 % of Top 10
64 % of Top 25
43 % Ranked
57 % Un-ranked
Welterweight has several un-ranked diamonds in the rough, but it also has a lot of filler. If the UFC signs #5 Nick Diaz and #11 Jake Shields this division would be even more stacked than bantamweight, but the lack of talent at the lower end of the top 25 would keep it a close second to LHW.
#4 - UFC Middleweight
| Fighter | Win | Loss | Sum | Strk | Rnk |
| Anderson Silva | 9 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 1 |
| Chael Sonnen | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Nate Marquardt | 8 | 3 | 5 | -1 | 4 |
| Vitor Belfort | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Demian Maia | 6 | 2 | 4 | -1 | 6 |
| Yushin Okami | 8 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| Yoshihiro Akiyama | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 11 |
| Alan Belcher | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| Wanderlei Silva | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Michael Bisbing | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 14 |
| Alessio Sakara | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 18 |
| Rousimar Palhares | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| Patrick Cote | 4 | 5 | -1 | -2 | 24 |
| Chris Leben | 10 | 5 | 5 | 3 | NR |
| Gerald Harris | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Mark Munuoz | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Kendall Grove | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | NR |
| Jorge Rivera | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | NR |
| CB Dolloway | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Tim Credeur | 3 | 1 | 2 | -1 | NR |
| Aaron Simpson | 3 | 1 | 2 | -1 | NR |
| Nate Quarry | 7 | 3 | 4 | -1 | NR |
| Court McGee | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Rich Attonito | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Brad Tavares | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Kyle Noke | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Chris Camozzi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Ryan Jensen | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | NR |
| John Salter | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | NR |
| Tomaz Drwal | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | NR |
| Dan Miller | 3 | 3 | 0 | -3 | NR |
80 % of Top 5
60 % of Top 10
52 % of Top 25
42 % Ranked
58 % Un-kranked
Middleweight is practically the same size as LHW, but has eight more un-ranked fighters making it much more diluted. It is tied with HW for the lowest number of ranked fighters among the UFC divisions.
#5 - UFC Lightweight
| Fighter | Win | Loss | Sum | Strk | Rnk |
| Frankie Edgar | 7 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 1 |
| BJ Penn | 10 | 2 | 8 | -1 | 2 |
| Kenny Florian | 9 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Gray Maynard | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Sean Sherk | 3 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 9 |
| Benson Henderson | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Jim Miller | 6 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 12 |
| Tyson Griffen | 7 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 13 |
| Evan Dunham | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
| George Sotiropoulos | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 15 |
| Joe Stevenson | 7 | 4 | 3 | -1 | 16 |
| Takanori Gomi | 0 | 1 | -1 | -1 | 17 |
| Diego Sanchez | 2 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 18 |
| Kurt Pelligrino | 5 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 19 |
| Gleison Tibau | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 20 |
| Melvin Guillard | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | NR |
| Jeremy Stephens | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | NR |
| Rafael Dos Anos | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | NR |
| Ross Pearson | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Matt Wyman | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | NR |
| Cole Miller | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | NR |
| Joe Lauzon | 5 | 2 | 3 | -1 | NR |
| Nik Lentz | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Efrain Escadero | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | NR |
| Terry Etim | 5 | 3 | 2 | -1 | NR |
| Denis Siver | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Andre Winner | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | NR |
| Jacob Volkmann | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Darren Elkins | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Paul Kelly | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Aaron Riley | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Clay Guida | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Thiago Tavares | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Mark Bocek | 4 | 3 | 1 | -1 | NR |
| Spencer Fisher | 6 | 5 | 1 | -2 | NR |
| Sam Stout | 4 | 5 | -1 | -1 | NR |
60 % of Top 5
60 % of Top 10
60 % of Top 25
42% Ranked
58 % Un-ranked
Being Zuffa's largest division in terms of contracted fighters, it would stand to reason that lightweight also has the most top 25 ranked fighters. This is not the case. LW is the only Zuffa division missing two of the top five. Granted, there are a lot of very tough un-ranked fighters, but only a small number of contenders. Zuffa needs to sign Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez to round out this division.
#6 - WEC Featherweight
| Fighter | Win | Loss | Sum | Strk | Rnk |
| Jose Aldo | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Manvel Gamburyan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Mike Brown | 5 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| Urijah Faber | 7 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 4 |
| Josh Grispi | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Rafael Assuncao | 2 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 11 |
| Deividas Taurosevičius | 2 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 12 |
| Leonard Garcia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| LC Davis | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| Mark Hominick | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 |
| Chad Mendes | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 |
| Diego Nunes | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 25 |
| Tyler Toner | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Cub Swanson | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | NR |
| Mackens Semerzier | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | NR |
| Erik Koch | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | NR |
80 % of Top 5
50 % of Top 10
48 % of Top 25
75 % Ranked
25 % Un-ranked
Not only is featherweight is Zuffa's smallest division, but it also has the lowest number of top 10 and top 25 fighters across both brands. They really need to raid Japan for a few of their nine ranked fighters.
#7 - UFC Heavyweight
| Heavyweight | Win | Loss | Sum | Strk | Rnk |
| Brock Lesnar | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Shane Carwin | 4 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| Cain Velasquez | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Frank Mir | 11 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 5 |
| Junior Dos Santos | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Anotnio Nogera | 3 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 8 |
| Gabriel Gonzaga | 7 | 4 | 3 | -1 | 13 |
| Czeck Congo | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 14 |
| Mirko CroCop | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| Roy Nelson | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 19 |
| Ben Rothwell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 |
| Randy Couture | 9 | 4 | 5 | -2 | 22 |
| Stefan Struve | 3 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 23 |
| Jon Madsen | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Mike Russow | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Matt Mitrione | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Joey Beltran | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Brendan Schaub | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | NR |
| Travis Browne | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NR |
| Todd Duffee | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | NR |
| Patrick Barry | 2 | 2 | 0 | -1 | NR |
| James McSweeney | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | NR |
80 % of Top 5
60 % of Top 10
52 % of Top 25
59 % Ranked
41 % Un-ranked
Compared to itself from a historical perspective, the UFC heavyweight division could be called stacked, but compared to other Zuffa divisions it simply is not. HW puts up numbers that are barely better than featherweight, but comes in last due to the fact that it is the only Zuffa division without the #1 fighter. Of course, that will likely change with the next issue of BE's top 25.
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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Comments
Very good article, but unless I missed something
Are you including Zuffa fighters who are still employed with Zuffa? Because Matt Veach and Rob Emerson are out of the UFC.
The Dos Equis guy wishes he was Brock Lesnar.
Nope you didn't miss anything
Those two just slipped through the cracks. Thanks for catching it!
by cokemachinebaby on Jul 12, 2010 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Also, I don't see the WEC LW division
And you’ve put Ben Henderson in the UFC.
The Dos Equis guy wishes he was Brock Lesnar.
That one was on purpose. Ben was the only ranked guy in the WEC LW, and I couldn’t assume the rest of the division would be folded into the UFC.
by cokemachinebaby on Jul 12, 2010 8:03 PM EDT up reply actions
In order for anyone to have more than half of the top 25 at any weight class, Zuffa would have to dissolve.
It’s ovah.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 12, 2010 8:12 PM EDT reply actions
That’s a seriously excellent FanPost. Not flawless (the premise relies on a few assumptions), but fantastic. Everyone should rec this. I’ll probably promote to the front page a little later.
Follow me on Twitter: @MMANation.
Of course the premise relies on assumptions – which ones are you in disagreement with?
If you're not watching Treme, you're a bad person.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Jul 12, 2010 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions
I'll get to it when I have time to write
Follow me on Twitter: @MMANation.
by Luke Thomas on Jul 12, 2010 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Coolness.
If you're not watching Treme, you're a bad person.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Jul 12, 2010 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions
I rec what Lord Luke tells me to rec.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
by AJB on Jul 12, 2010 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
this is pretty cool
and i love how u threw the WEC divisions in their with some real research people gloss over the fw and bw divisions far too often
We have a saying back home that if your coming on, COME ON!!!!
Good stuff
But shouldn’t Dominick Cruz’s loss be 0?
What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.
-Sun Tze
Too many people rank based on hype rather than results, and a lot of people are buying into the “new old Vitor no really for real this time” hype.
Also he nearly killed Lindland
who was ranked 7th at the time. Then Hendo left the UFC and lost while Sonnen forced Okami out of the top 5 scored a victory over Nate.
So, he beat the number 7 guy, then Hendo and Okami lost and dropped below him. He became number 5.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
Glad to see you people enjoyed this
I’m just happy there is a community that puts up with some many posts focused on numbers. It will be interesting to do this again a year from now to see how things change.
Probably the biggest assumption is that a fighter with a particular rank in one division has the same value as fighters with that same rank in other divisions. Would the #7 HW Overeem add more stackedness than the #7 MW Dan Henderson? Or do the numbers tell the story as they are?
by cokemachinebaby on Jul 13, 2010 12:11 PM EDT reply actions
It's true.....
We do enjoy our numbers here at BE. Graphs and Charts and Stuff!
nice write up! rec!
That was a real kick and good for laughs and lashings of the old ultraviolent.
Yeah— we like numbers, graphs, charts and BROCKLESNARRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by casey manrique on Jul 14, 2010 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Great article
I’d also like to see an attempt to weight the relative strength of one division’s fighters against another’s. For instance, the UFC’s LHW division might have almost all of the talent worth having but it’s an open question whether those guys are “better” than the fighters at LW for instance, or just the best dressed clowns at the circus, so to speak. It’d be an interesting (but exceedingly difficult) exercise to do that.
I’m sure he will make a big jump in the next issue of the BE rankings.
by cokemachinebaby on Jul 16, 2010 12:06 PM EDT up reply actions
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