Compiling the rankings of twenty top mixed martial arts web sites, the USA TODAY / SB Nation Consensus MMA Rankings present the top 25 fighters in MMA for the seven major weight classes. These world MMA rankings are the most accurate reflection of how the top fighters in MMA across all promotions like UFC, WEC, Affliction and DREAM are viewed by the experts who cover the sport.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fedor Emelianenko | 100 | M-1 Global/Strikeforce | 1 |
| 2 | Brock Lesnar | 96 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | 88 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Frank Mir | 86 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Junior dos Santos | 74 | UFC | 7 |
| 6 | Josh Barnett | 74 | WVR | 5 |
| 7 | Cain Velasquez | 67 | UFC | 11 |
| 8 | Brett Rogers | 65 | Strikeforce | 8 |
| 9 | Shane Carwin | 62 | UFC | 6 |
| 10 | Fabricio Werdum | 50 | Strikeforce | 13 |
| 11 | Alistair Overeem | 50 | DREAM/Strikeforce | 11 |
| 12 | Randy Couture | 49 | UFC | 9 |
| 13 | Andrei Arlovski | 44 | ??? | 10 |
| 14 | Jeff Monson | 27 | Free Agent | 14 |
| 15 | Tim Sylvia | 26 | Adrenaline | 18 |
| 16 | Gabriel Gonzaga | 24 | UFC | 15 |
| 17 | Cheick Kongo | 23 | UFC | 16 |
| 18 | Antonio Silva | 22 | WVR/Strikeforce | 22 |
| 19 | Pedro Rizzo | 21 | Free Agent | 19 |
| 19 | Marcio Cruz | 21 | Art of Fighting | 23 |
| 21 | Ben Rothwell | 21 | UFC | 17 |
| 22 | Gilbert Yvel | 20 | Fight Force International | 24 |
| 22 | Ray Mercer | 20 | Adrenaline | 26 |
| 22 | Semmy Schilt | 20 | K-1 | 24 |
| 25 | Aleksander Emelianenko | 19 | ProFC | 20 |
| 25 | Roy Nelson | 19 | UFC | 21 |
November was supposed to be the most epic month in heavyweight MMA since August. Both #1 Fedor Emelianenko and #2 Brock Lesnar were set to fight. But just as in August, fate intervened and only one of the two titans of the division actually competed.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lyoto Machida | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Mauricio Rua | 92 | UFC | 4 |
| 3 | Rashad Evans | 91 | UFC | 2 |
| 4 | Quinton Jackson | 84 | UFC | 3 |
| 5 | Forrest Griffin | 79 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Gegard Mousasi | 74 | Strikeforce | 8 |
| 7 | Thiago Silva | 72 | UFC | 7 |
| 8 | Anderson Silva | 60 | UFC | 6 |
| 9 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 55 | UFC | 9 |
| 10 | Luis Arthur Cane | 52 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Rich Franklin | 43 | UFC | 11 |
| 12 | Keith Jardine | 32 | UFC | 13 |
| 13 | Dan Henderson | 31 | Free Agent | 12 |
| 14 | Renato Sobral | 29 | Strikeforce | 15 |
| 15 | Jon Jones | 25 | UFC | 18 |
| 16 | Chuck Liddell | 24 | UFC | 14 |
| 17 | Brandon Vera | 24 | UFC | 16 |
| 18 | Sokoudjou | 21 | Strikeforce/DREAM | 22 |
| 19 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 20 | UFC | 20 |
| 20 | Matt Hamill | 20 | UFC | 19 |
| 21 | Mark Coleman | 20 | UFC | 24 |
| 22 | Wanderlei Silva | 19 | UFC | 16 |
| 23 | Vitor Belfort | 19 | UFC | 22 |
| 24 | Paulo Filho | 18 | DREAM | 25 |
| 25 | Tito Ortiz | 17 | UFC | 21 |
In the time we've been compiling these rankings, I've never seen a fighter shoot up to #2 after a loss, but #2 Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's loss to #1 Lyoto Machida at UFC 104 was no ordinary loss.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anderson Silva | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Nate Marquardt | 94 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Dan Henderson | 94 | Free Agent | 3 |
| 4 | Demian Maia | 79 | UFC | 5 |
| 5 | Vitor Belfort | 79 | UFC | 6 |
| 6 | Chael Sonnen | 71 | UFC | 7 |
| 7 | Jake Shields | 61 | Strikeforce | 12 |
| 8 | Jorge Santiago | 58 | WVR | 4 |
| 9 | Yushin Okami | 57 | UFC | 8 |
| 10 | Yoshihiro Akiyama | 52 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Robbie Lawler | 44 | Strikeforce | 9 |
| 12 | Kazuo Misaki | 30 | WVR | 11 |
| 13 | Mamed Khalidov | 30 | WVR | NR |
| 14 | Paulo Filho | 29 | DREAM | 14 |
| 15 | Nick Diaz | 23 | Strikeforce | 18 |
| 16 | Michael Bisping | 22 | UFC | 13 |
| 17 | Ronaldo Souza | 21 | DREAM/Strikeforce | 18 |
| 18 | Nate Quarry | 21 | UFC | 17 |
| 19 | Alessio Sakara | 20 | UFC | 15 |
| 20 | Thales Leites | 18 | MFC | 22 |
| 20 | Alan Belcher | 18 | UFC | 20 |
| 20 | Ricardo Almeida | 18 | UFC | 23 |
| 23 | Wilson Gouveia | 17 | UFC | 24 |
| 24 | Gegard Mousasi | 16 | Strikeforce | 27 |
| 25 | Rich Franklin | 16 | UFC | NR |
Fans are used to #1 Anderson Silva toying with opponents, but in recent months we've been treated to the spectacle of seeing Silva and his manager Ed Soares toy with the UFC.
| 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 | 83 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Mike Swick | 78 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Matt Hughes | 75 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Paulo Thiago | 54 | UFC | 9 |
| 8 | Carlos Condit | 50 | UFC | 8 |
| 9 | Jake Shields | 45 | Strikeforce | 7 |
| 10 | Paul Daley | 42 | UFC | 11 |
| 11 | Dan Hardy | 41 | UFC | 13 |
| 12 | Martin Kampmann | 40 | UFC | 10 |
| 13 | Marius Zaromskis | 34 | DREAM/Strikeforce | 12 |
| 14 | Jay Hieron | 28 | Strikeforce | 15 |
| 15 | Karo Parisyan | 27 | UFC | 16 |
| 16 | Anthony Johnson | 23 | UFC | 22 |
| 17 | Hayato Sakurai | 22 | DREAM | 19 |
| 18 | Matt Serra | 22 | UFC | 17 |
| 19 | Nick Diaz | 22 | Strikeforce | 14 |
| 20 | Dan Hornbuckle | 21 | WVR | 18 |
| 20 | Chris Lytle | 21 | UFC | 24 |
| 20 | Marcus Davis | 21 | UFC | 21 |
| 23 | Mike Pierce | 20 | UFC | 25 |
| 24 | Dustin Hazelett | 20 | UFC | 20 |
| 25 | Brad Blackburn | 20 | UFC | NR |
#1 Georges St Pierre's tyranny over the Welterweight division has been on hold since he tore an abductor muscle in his victory over #3 Thiago Alves at UFC 100 in July. Word is he'll be able to return in March where he'll face #11 Dan Hardy
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B.J. Penn | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Shinya Aoki | 96 | DREAM | 2 |
| 3 | Eddie Alvarez | 86 | Bellator/DREAM | 3 |
| 4 | Kenny Florian | 81 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Frank Edgar | 80 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Gray Maynard | 77 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Diego Sanchez | 73 | UFC | 7 |
| 8 | Sean Sherk | 54 | UFC | 10 |
| 9 | Tatsuya Kawajiri | 53 | DREAM | 8 |
| 10 | Joachim Hansen | 51 | DREAM | 9 |
| 11 | Joe Stevenson | 39 | UFC | 14 |
| 12 | Tyson Griffin | 39 | UFC | 11 |
| 13 | Gilbert Melendez | 36 | Strikeforce | 13 |
| 14 | Mizuto Hirota | 35 | WVR | 12 |
| 15 | Kazunori Yokota | 25 | WVR | 33 |
| 16 | Jorge Masvidal | 24 | WVR | 38 |
| 17 | Nate Diaz | 22 | UFC | 21 |
| 18 | Clay Guida | 22 | UFC | 19 |
| 19 | Kurt Pellegrino | 20 | UFC | 19 |
| 20 | Eiji Mitsuoka | 19 | WVR | 18 |
| 21 | Satoru Kitaoka | 18 | WVR | 17 |
| 21 | Takanori Gomi | 18 | WVR | 23 |
| 23 | Gesias Cavalcante | 18 | DREAM | 15 |
| 24 | Josh Thomson | 17 | Strikeforce | 16 |
| 25 | Jamie Varner | 16 | WEC | 21 |
| 25 | Toby Imada | 16 | Bellator | 34 |
With every other UFC champ on the shelf for an indeterminate time due to injuries, Dana White better cross his fingers and hope that whoever wins the UFC 107 title fight between #1 B.J. Penn and #7 Diego Sanchez emerges from the fight injury-free and ready to fight soon. Sanchez is relatively under-accomplished at 155 lbs but his size and aggression present a legitimate threat to the fearsome Penn.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Brown | 100 | WEC | 1 |
| 2 | Urijah Faber | 90 | WEC | 2 |
| 3 | Jose Aldo | 84 | WEC | 3 |
| 4 | Bibiano Fernandes | 75 | DREAM | 5 |
| 5 | Hatsu Hioki | 73 | WVR | 4 |
| 6 | Leonard Garcia | 71 | WEC | 7 |
| 7 | Rafael Assuncao | 59 | WEC | 6 |
| 8 | Marlon Sandro | 55 | WVR | 11 |
| 9 | Michihiro Omigawa | 54 | WVR | 19 |
| 10 | Mackens Semerzier | 48 | WEC | 10 |
| 11 | Hiroyuki Takaya | 46 | DREAM | 12 |
| 12 | Wagnney Fabiano | 43 | WEC | 8 |
| 12 | Josh Grispi | 43 | WEC | 13 |
| 14 | Masanori Kanehara | 39 | WVR | 17 |
| 15 | Takeshi Inoue | 37 | Vale Tudo Japan | 9 |
| 16 | Joe Soto | 34 | Tachi Palace Fights | 15 |
| 17 | Yuji Hoshino | 31 | WVR | 14 |
| 18 | Norifumi Yamamoto | 26 | DREAM | 16 |
| 19 | Takafumi Otsuka | 25 | DEEP | 18 |
| 20 | Joe Warren | 20 | DREAM | 26 |
| 21 | Jameel Massouh | 19 | WEC | 19 |
| 22 | Deividas Taurosevicius | 17 | WEC | NR |
| 23 | Chan Sung Jung | 15 | WVR | 30 |
| 24 | Luis Palomino | 15 | G-Force Fights | NR |
| 25 | Masakazu Imanari | 14 | DEEP | 22 |
| 25 | Kazuyuki Miyata | 14 | DREAM | 25 |
Somebody's gotta live like this, indeed. American Top Team's #1 Mike Thomas Brown continues to be the top-ranked fighter in MMA's featherweight division. He is set to defend his title against #3 Jose Aldo at WEC 44 on November 18th in Las Vegas.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Bowles | 100 | WEC | 1 |
| 2 | Miguel Torres | 95 | WEC | 2 |
| 3 | Dominick Cruz |
85 | WEC | 5 |
| 4 | Masakatsu Ueda | 80 | Shooto | 3 |
| 5 | Takeya Mizugaki | 79 | WEC | 4 |
| 6 | Joseph Benavidez | 71 | WEC | 7 |
| 7 | Rani Yahya | 69 | WEC | 6 |
| 8 | Akitoshi Tamura |
68 | WEC | 6 |
| 9 | Damacio Page | 64 | WEC | 9 |
| 10 | Will Ribeiro | 38 | WEC | 10 |
| 11 | Masakazu Imanari | 26 | DEEP | 11 |
| 12 | Eddie Wineland | 26 | WEC | 13 |
| 13 | Scott Jorgensen | 26 | WEC | 14 |
| 14 | Antonio Banuelos | 24 | WEC | 20 |
| 15 | Jeff Curran | 24 | Strikeforce | 16 |
| 16 | Charlie Valencia | 23 | WEC | 15 |
| 17 | Koetsu Okazaki | 19 | Shooto | 17 |
| 18 | Yoshiro Maeda |
19 | DREAM | 25 |
| 19 | Mark Oshiro |
18 | Up N Up |
NR |
| 20 | Abel Cullum |
18 | WEC | 23 |
| 20 | Mike Easton |
18 | UWC | 18 |
| 22 | Wilson Reis |
17 | Bellator | NR |
| 23 | Daiki Hata |
17 | DREAM | 20 |
| 24 | Atsushi Yamamoto |
16 | Shooto | 31 |
| 25 | Eduardo Dantas |
16 | DEEP | 19 |
He hasn't let his broken hand stop his media appearances. #1 Brian Bowles still sits atop the bantamweight division after upsetting previous bantamweight king # 2 Miguel Torres at WEC 42. Bowles has been dealing with a hand injury, but has been actively making the rounds.
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. Show more »
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