USA TODAY/MMA Nation August 2011 Consensus Rankings: Featherweight

by Richard Wade on Aug 26, 2011 9:00 PM EDT in MMA Rankings

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Jose Aldo	100	UFC	1
2	Chad Mendes	92	UFC	3
3	Hatsu Hioki	92	UFC	2
4	Kenny Florian	81	UFC	4
5	Mark Hominick	66	UFC	6
6	Marlon Sandro	65	Bellator	5
7	Diego Nunes	58	UFC	8
8	Tyson Griffin	55	UFC	9
9	Manny Gamburyan	54	UFC	7
10	Dustin Poirier	50	UFC	10
11	Joe Warren	49	Bellator	11
12	Pat Curran	44	Bellator	19
13	Erik Koch	35	UFC	15
14	Hiroyuki Takaya	35	UFC	13
15	Bibiano Fernandes	31	K-1	12
16	Patricio Freire	29	Bellator	16
17	Michihiro Omigawa	29	UFC	14
18	Darren Elkins	23	UFC	18
19	Rani Yahya	23	UFC	17
20	Mike Brown	18	UFC	24
21	Robert Peralta	17	Strikeforce	21
22	Masanori Kanehara	16	Battle of Moscow	22
23	Kazuyuki Miyata	16	DREAM	20
24	Takeshi Inoue	14	DREAM	23
25	Joachim Hansen	13	DREAM	26

UFC 134 is without any relevant featherweight bouts, but UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger will have #13 Erik Koch vs. Jonathan Brookins. Amazingly enough that is the only scheduled bout featuring a top 25 featherweight in the UFC, Strikeforce or Bellator.

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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Yea these lower brackets are a carnival of wtf knows

I’ll give some of the voters a benefit of the doubt that they just didn’t bother to update their brackets in time.

The artful muppet formerly known as KrmtDfrog.
Please read my sardonic wit and over-blown sense of self over at headkicklegend.com

by Cory Braiterman on Aug 25, 2011 7:20 PM EDT reply actions

??

why is Patricio Freirie and Pat Curran ranked so low? both are really young and show alot of promise. Curran and Pitbull should both be in the top ten, Tyson Griffin just beat Manny who shouldn’t have been top ten to begin with. Dustin Poirier has potential all he did was beat someone who was over hyped in Grispi who has really been exposed in his last two outings.

by Mrh347 on Aug 25, 2011 9:08 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Both Freire and Curran should be ranked way higher.

by blutspender on Aug 27, 2011 8:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Agree with Curran.

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Aug 30, 2011 1:31 AM EDT up reply actions

being "young" and full of "promise" does not make you top 10

these rankings are about what fighters have actually accomplished, not what they might be able to accomplish someday. To be in the top 10 you have to beat a top 10 guy.

Matt Janecek
MBA Candidate, 2011
An MBA on MMA: mixed martial arts thru the lens of business
mba-mma.blogspot.com

by mjanecek on Sep 18, 2011 9:43 PM EDT up reply actions

The Marlon Sandro oversight is huge and makes these the worst FW rankings of all time. I would expect that from random Polish dude, but Dallas Winston? What the fuck, man?

"He's like Elvis in Korea! They love him there." - Mike Goldberg on Denis Kang

by Bolshevik on Aug 26, 2011 3:00 AM EDT reply actions

Subo too. Did you miss Bellator and then forget to read the results? Come on.

"He's like Elvis in Korea! They love him there." - Mike Goldberg on Denis Kang

by Bolshevik on Aug 26, 2011 3:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Ballots were due on Friday. Some updated after the event. Others did not. Calm down.

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Aug 26, 2011 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions

If the some of the ballot writers don't care to update their rankings

why should we care about their rankings?

People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.

- Helen Keller

MMA is stepping on other people's dreams to reach your own.

- Roxanne Modafferi

by The Blackula on Aug 26, 2011 10:09 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Well, on the main rankings page, it says: "Disagree? Read more & discuss at Bloody Elbow "

So…. I guess some people disagree, especially since it’s apparent that the consensus rankings are based in part on non-updated rankings by some of the panel who are supposed to be submitting ballots. Why not just show the results from those who took the time and made the effort to submit on time?

.....
Get on board the Jake Train® . Next stop: Fight Night 25® Winner's Circle!

by Scabby Knuckle on Aug 26, 2011 10:38 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

I don’t know how serious I was being anyway. You should put what you just told me in the article!

"He's like Elvis in Korea! They love him there." - Mike Goldberg on Denis Kang

by Bolshevik on Aug 26, 2011 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions

I will actually apologize for my Curran ranking

I’ll be totally honest — I did update my list after he beat Sandro, but it still didn’t leave me enough time to really think it through and be confident in my choice.

I was arguing with smoogy about the process on another thread, but Curran at FW does deserve to leapfrog the guy he just beat. Sandro was built up overseas and didn’t have many top wins, Ronnie Mann is a great win even though he’s not ranked, he’d fought at FW before and has good wins at LW … all reasons for him deserving a much higher spot.

I can definitely understand you guys being upset about that one.

"Who do you bow down to you? Does your God come in a capsule or on a plate?"

by Dallas Winston on Aug 27, 2011 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions

By the way, Bolshevik:

I appreciate you calling me out specifically. It leads me to believe that you found worth in some of my other rankings and hold me to a certain standard.

Please continue to do so. And to everyone else, I encourage you to freely voice your opinions on any of my selections at any time.

"Who do you bow down to you? Does your God come in a capsule or on a plate?"

by Dallas Winston on Aug 27, 2011 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Nice to see how little Luke Thomas

thinks so little of Diego and Sandro lol

People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.

- Helen Keller

MMA is stepping on other people's dreams to reach your own.

- Roxanne Modafferi

by The Blackula on Aug 26, 2011 10:11 PM EDT reply actions

Sorry about using the word little too much

had my wisdom teeth pulled today.

Oxycodone + acetaminophen are a hell of a drug.

People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.

- Helen Keller

MMA is stepping on other people's dreams to reach your own.

- Roxanne Modafferi

by The Blackula on Aug 26, 2011 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions

i wander how long it will take to get this division sorted out…

by dbcb on Aug 27, 2011 7:43 AM EDT reply actions

The same way any weight class gains solid stratification.

More fights, the influx of 145’ers we will get after the next TUF will help too. That and another Bellator tourney will help too.

People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.

- Helen Keller

MMA is stepping on other people's dreams to reach your own.

- Roxanne Modafferi

by The Blackula on Aug 27, 2011 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions

It really irks me to see how Curran is being treated.

He is the only fighter to NOT get finished by Eddie Alvarez in Bellator. And his featherweight tourney run was pretty damn impressive no matter how you cut it.

Taking out 3 guys (one of them being a top 10) and in 3 months with 2 of the wins via finish = top 10 fighter in my book.

But Tyson Griffin decisions a shopworn Manny Gamburyan after getting his ass kicked out of 155 and he is a top 10 featherweight.

Does beating an average to middling fighter in the UFC matter more than finishing an elite fighter outside the UFC?

People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.

- Helen Keller

MMA is stepping on other people's dreams to reach your own.

- Roxanne Modafferi

by The Blackula on Aug 27, 2011 1:39 PM EDT reply actions