Analysis by Richard Wade
With #2 Alistair Overeem unavailable, #1 Junior dos Santos will defend his title against #4 Frank Mir.
Compiling the rankings of twenty top mixed martial arts web sites, the USA TODAY / MMA 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, Strikeforce and ProElite are viewed by the experts who cover the sport.
| Rank | Fighter | Points | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Junior dos Santos | 350 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Alistair Overeem | 330 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Cain Velasquez | 327 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Frank Mir | 290 | UFC | 5 |
| 5 | Fabricio Werdum | 287 | UFC | 4 |
| 6 | Shane Carwin | 256 | UFC | 7 |
| 7 | Josh Barnett | 252 | Strikeforce | 6 |
| 8 | Daniel Cormier | 250 | Strikeforce | 8 |
| 9 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | 241 | UFC | 9 |
| 10 | Antonio Silva | 218 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Fedor Emelianenko | 145 | M-1 | 11 |
| 12 | Mark Hunt | 138 | UFC | 13 |
| 13 | Travis Browne | 128 | UFC | 15 |
| 14 | Mike Russow | 108 | UFC | 18 |
| 15 | Roy Nelson | 107 | UFC | 14 |
| 16 | Cheick Kongo | 105 | UFC | 17 |
| 17 | Cole Konrad | 98 | Bellator | 19 |
| 17 | Ben Rothwell | 98 | UFC | 30 |
| 19 | Brendan Schaub | 90 | UFC | 12 |
| 20 | Brock Lesnar | 87 | Retired | 16 |
| 21 | Stefan Struve | 84 | UFC | 21 |
| 22 | Sergei Kharitonov | 79 | Strikeforce | 20 |
| 23 | Matt Mitrione | 69 | UFC | 22 |
| 24 | Dan Henderson | 67 | UFC | 24 |
| 25 | Gabriel Gonzaga | 65 | UFC | 23 |
With #2 Alistair Overeem unavailable, #1 Junior dos Santos will defend his title against #4 Frank Mir.
| Rank | Fighter | Points | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Jones | 350 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Dan Henderson | 331 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Rashad Evans | 323 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Mauricio Rua | 310 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Lyoto Machida | 293 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Phil Davis | 259 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Alexander Gustafsson | 239 | UFC | 9 |
| 8 | Ryan Bader | 233 | UFC | 7 |
| 9 | Quinton Jackson | 229 | UFC | 8 |
| 10 | Forrest Griffin | 194 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 178 | UFC | 12 |
| 12 | Gegard Mousasi | 163 | Strikeforce | 11 |
| 13 | Muhammed Lawal | 120 | Strikeforce | 13 |
| 13 | Rafael Cavalcante | 120 | Strikeforce | 14 |
| 15 | Rich Franklin | 99 | UFC | 16 |
| 16 | Tito Ortiz | 98 | UFC | 17 |
| 17 | Thiago Silva | 94 | UFC | 15 |
| 18 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 80 | UFC | 18 |
| 19 | Ryan Jimmo | 70 | UFC | 20 |
| 20 | Stanislav Nedkov | 68 | UFC | 19 |
| 21 | Stephan Bonnar | 67 | UFC | 21 |
| 22 | Mike Kyle | 61 | Strikeforce | 22 |
| 23 | Renato Sobral | 58 | Instinct MMA | 22 |
| 24 | Brandon Vera | 57 | UFC | 24 |
| 24 | Randy Couture | 57 | Retired | 25 |
After an impressive showing against #3 Rashad Evans, #1 Jon Jones will set his sights on #2 Dan Henderson.
| Rank | Fighter | Points | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anderson Silva | 350 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Chael Sonnen | 336 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Mark Munoz | 308 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Vitor Belfort | 297 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Michael Bisping | 273 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Luke Rockhold | 244 | Strikeforce | 7 |
| 7 | Tim Boetsch | 236 | UFC | 6 |
| 8 | Yushin Okami | 235 | UFC | 8 |
| 9 | Chris Weidman | 232 | UFC | 9 |
| 10 | Brian Stann | 216 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Hector Lombard | 173 | UFC | 11 |
| 12 | Ronaldo Souza | 167 | Strikeforce | 13 |
| 13 | Nate Marquardt | 156 | Strikeforce | 12 |
| 14 | Tim Kennedy | 140 | Strikeforce | 14 |
| 15 | Demian Maia | 133 | UFC | 16 |
| 16 | Rousimar Palhares | 129 | UFC | 15 |
| 17 | Alan Belcher | 108 | UFC | 18 |
| 18 | Chris Leben | 107 | UFC | 17 |
| 19 | Mamed Khalidov | 100 | KSW | 20 |
| 20 | Wanderlei Silva | 99 | UFC | 19 |
| 21 | Jorge Santiago | 87 | Titan Fighting | 21 |
| 22 | Robbie Lawler | 83 | Strikeforce | 22 |
| 23 | Alexander Shlemenko | 78 | Bellator | 23 |
| 24 | Ed Herman | 70 | UFC | 25 |
| 25 | Ronny Markes | 64 | UFC | 29 |
| 25 | Constantinos Philippou | 64 | UFC | 30 |
#1 Anderson Silva's next title defense will be a rematch against #2 Chael Sonnen.
| Rank | Fighter | Points | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georges St. Pierre | 350 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Carlos Condit | 336 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Jake Ellenberger | 311 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Nick Diaz | 291 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Johny Hendricks | 278 | UFC | 6 |
| 6 | Josh Koscheck | 269 | UFC | 5 |
| 7 | Jon Fitch | 255 | UFC | 7 |
| 8 | Jake Shields | 250 | UFC | 8 |
| 9 | Martin Kampmann | 231 | UFC | 9 |
| 10 | B.J. Penn | 185 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Rory MacDonald | 154 | UFC | 12 |
| 12 | Diego Sanchez | 140 | UFC | 11 |
| 13 | Ben Askren | 123 | Bellator | 17 |
| 14 | Thiago Alves | 121 | UFC | 14 |
| 15 | Tyron Woodley | 109 | Strikeforce | 15 |
| 16 | Rick Story | 105 | UFC | 13 |
| 17 | Charlie Brenneman | 101 | UFC | 16 |
| 18 | Siyar Bahadurzada | 92 | UFC | 27 |
| 19 | Jay Hieron | 89 | Bellator | 18 |
| 20 | Brian Ebersole | 77 | UFC | 20 |
| 21 | Mike Pyle | 65 | UFC | 25 |
| 22 | Mike Pierce | 64 | UFC | 22 |
| 23 | Anthony Johnson | 63 | Titan Fighting | 21 |
| 24 | Paulo Thiago | 60 | UFC | 19 |
| 25 | John Hathaway | 59 | UFC | 28 |
With #1 Georges St. Pierre sidelined, the next big fight in the division is between #5 Johny Hendricks and #6 Josh Koscheck.
| Rank | Fighter | Points | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Henderson | 350 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Frankie Edgar | 335 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Gilbert Melendez | 319 | Strikeforce | 3 |
| 4 | Gray Maynard | 312 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Jim Miller | 286 | UFC | 6 |
| 6 | Clay Guida | 260 | UFC | 7 |
| 7 | Nate Diaz | 251 | UFC | 8 |
| 8 | Anthony Pettis | 242 | UFC | 9 |
| 9 | Michael Chandler | 228 | Bellator | 10 |
| 10 | Shinya Aoki | 190 | Bellator | 5 |
| 11 | Eddie Alvarez | 181 | Bellator | 11 |
| 12 | Donald Cerrone | 134 | UFC | 12 |
| 13 | Joe Lauzon | 118 | UFC | 13 |
| 14 | Gleison Tibau | 116 | UFC | 14 |
| 15 | Melvin Guillard | 98 | UFC | 15 |
| 16 | Evan Dunham | 87 | UFC | 16 |
| 17 | Josh Thomson | 78 | Strikeforce | 21 |
| 18 | Mark Bocek | 75 | UFC | 30 |
| 19 | Pat Healy | 70 | Strikeforce | 20 |
| 20 | Jacob Volkmann | 68 | UFC | 23 |
| 21 | Rafael dos Anjos | 66 | UFC | 19 |
| 22 | Matt Wiman | 65 | UFC | 18 |
| 23 | Rick Hawn | 63 | Bellator | NR |
| 24 | George Sotiropoulos | 58 | UFC | 24 |
| 24 | Jadamba Narantungalag | 58 | Legend Fighting Championship | 25 |
#3 Gilbert Melendez will make his next title defense against #17 Josh Thomson.
| Rank | Fighter | Points | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Aldo | 350 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Hatsu Hioki | 328 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Chad Mendes | 304 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Pat Curran | 291 | Bellator | 4 |
| 5 | Marlon Sandro | 263 | Bellator | 5 |
| 6 | Dustin Poirier | 239 | UFC | 7 |
| 7 | Kenny Florian | 231 | UFC | 8 |
| 8 | Dennis Siver | 211 | UFC | NR |
| 9 | Erik Koch | 191 | UFC | 9 |
| 10 | Diego Nunes | 172 | UFC | 6 |
| 11 | Chan Sung Jung | 161 | UFC | 10 |
| 12 | Tatsuya Kawajiri | 149 | One Fighting Championship | 12 |
| 13 | Bart Palaszewski | 121 | UFC | 11 |
| 14 | Hiroyuki Takaya | 117 | DREAM | 14 |
| 15 | Manny Gamburyan | 112 | UFC | 15 |
| 16 | Yuri Alcantara | 106 | UFC | 17 |
| 17 | Tyson Griffin | 97 | UFC | 19 |
| 18 | Robert Peralta | 96 | UFC | 18 |
| 19 | Patricio Freire | 87 | Bellator | 16 |
| 20 | Takeshi Inoue | 64 | DREAM | 24 |
| 21 | Ricardo Lamas | 64 | UFC | 20 |
| 22 | Darren Elkins | 61 | UFC | 21 |
| 23 | Michihiro Omigawa | 61 | UFC | 22 |
| 24 | Ross Pearson | 57 | UFC | 25 |
| 25 | Mark Hominick | 56 | UFC | 13 |
With everyone else busy, #9 Erik Koch will be the next to challenge #1 Jose Aldo.
| Rank | Fighter | Points | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dominick Cruz | 350 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Urijah Faber | 335 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Renan Barao | 315 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Brian Bowles | 302 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Michael McDonald | 279 | UFC | 8 |
| 6 | Scott Jorgensen | 271 | UFC | 5 |
| 7 | Brad Pickett | 233 | UFC | 9 |
| 8 | Miguel Torres | 227 | UFC | 6 |
| 9 | Bibiano Fernandes | 215 | DREAM | 7 |
| 10 | Eduardo Dantas | 200 | Bellator | 11 |
| 11 | Antonio Banuelos | 114 | DREAM | 14 |
| 12 | Zach Makovsky | 111 | Bellator | 12 |
| 13 | Chris Cariaso | 109 | UFC | 17 |
| 14 | Joseph Benavidez | 91 | UFC | 15 |
| 15 | Takeya Mizugaki | 90 | UFC | 16 |
| 16 | Luis Alberto Nogueira | 86 | Bellator | NR |
| 17 | Eddie Wineland | 85 | UFC | 19 |
| 18 | Travis Marx | 82 | Bellator | NR |
| 19 | Demetrious Johnson | 81 | UFC | 18 |
| 20 | Ivan Menjivar | 77 | UFC | 24 |
| 21 | Masakatsu Ueda | 76 | Bellator | 10 |
| 22 | Alexis Vila | 75 | Bellator | 13 |
| 23 | Yves Jabouin | 69 | UFC | 21 |
| 24 | Marcos Galvao | 66 | Bellator | 22 |
| 25 | Mike Easton | 63 | UFC | 27 |
The division remains on hold thanks to #1 Dominick Cruz and #2 Urijah Faber coaching The Ultimate Fighter Live.
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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