Heavyweight - USA TODAY / SB Nation Consensus MMA Rankings

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.

Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted January 27, 2012

Rank	Fighter	Points	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Junior dos Santos	400	UFC	1
2	Cain Velasquez	376	UFC	2
2	Alistair Overeem	376	UFC	3
4	Frank Mir	330	UFC	5
5	Fabricio Werdum	323	UFC	6
6	Shane Carwin	291	UFC	7
7	Daniel Cormier	289	Strikeforce	8
8	Josh Barnett	279	Strikeforce	9
9	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	274	UFC	10
10	Antonio Silva	214	UFC	11
11	Fedor Emelianenko	169	M-1 Global	12
12	Cheick Kongo	164	UFC	13
13	Brendan Schaub	142	UFC	15
14	Roy Nelson	133	UFC	14
15	Brock Lesnar	130	UFC	4
16	Sergei Kharitonov	101	Strikeforce	16
17	Travis Browne	100	UFC	17
18	Mike Russow	90	UFC	18
19	Cole Konrad	89	Bellator	19
20	Gabriel Gonzaga	71	UFC	26
21	Matt Mitrione	70	UFC	20
22	Stefan Struve	67	UFC	21
23	Mark Hunt	64	UFC	22
24	Dan Henderson	57	UFC	24
25	Dave Herman	55	UFC	25

Analysis by Richard Wade

Following his destruction at the hands of Alistair Overeem and his subsequent retirement announcement, Brock Lesnar has tumbled down the rankings list.

Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted December 30, 2011

Rank	Fighter	Points	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Junior dos Santos	425	UFC	1
2	Cain Velasquez	406	UFC	2
3	Alistair Overeem	387	UFC	3
4	Brock Lesnar	354	UFC	4
5	Frank Mir	337	UFC	6
6	Fabricio Werdum	336	UFC	5
7	Shane Carwin	303	UFC	7
8	Daniel Cormier	294	Strikeforce	8
9	Josh Barnett	284	Strikeforce	9
10	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	260	UFC	10
11	Antonio Silva	202	Strikeforce	11
12	Fedor Emelianenko	176	M-1 Global	12
13	Cheick Kongo	146	UFC	13
14	Roy Nelson	135	UFC	14
15	Brendan Schaub	134	UFC	14
16	Sergei Kharitonov	107	Strikeforce	16
17	Travis Browne	104	UFC	17
18	Mike Russow	99	UFC	18
19	Cole Konrad	89	Bellator	19
20	Matt Mitrione	76	UFC	20
21	Stefan Struve	72	UFC	21
22	Mark Hunt	71	UFC	22
23	Pat Barry	59	UFC	23
24	Dan Henderson	59	UFC	24
25	Dave Herman	57	UFC	26

Analysis by Richard Wade

Tomorrow night, #3 Alistair Overeem and #4 Brock Lesnar are set to do battle for the right to face #1 Junior dos Santos.

Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted December 2, 2011

Rank	Fighter	Points	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Junior dos Santos	400	UFC	2
2	Cain Velasquez	382	UFC	1
3	Alistair Overeem	364	UFC	3
4	Brock Lesnar	330	UFC	4
5	Fabricio Werdum	325	Strikeforce	5
6	Frank Mir	304	UFC	6
7	Shane Carwin	287	UFC	7
8	Daniel Cormier	276	Strikeforce	9
9	Josh Barnett	265	Strikeforce	8
10	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	248	UFC	10
11	Antonio Silva	186	Strikeforce	11
12	Fedor Emelianenko	166	M-1 Global	12
13	Cheick Kongo	132	UFC	13
14	Brendan Schaub	122	UFC	14
14	Roy Nelson	122	UFC	15
16	Sergei Kharitonov	105	Strikeforce	17
17	Travis Browne	102	UFC	16
18	Mike Russow	97	UFC	19
19	Cole Konrad	87	Bellator	20
20	Matt Mitrione	74	UFC	18
21	Stefan Struve	70	UFC	22
22	Mark Hunt	69	UFC	21
23	Pat Barry	57	UFC	25
24	Dan Henderson	56	UFC	26
25	Gabriel Gonzaga	55	Reality Fighting	23

Analysis by Richard Wade

Following his 64 second destruction of former #1 Cain Velasquez on the UFC's debut on Fox, Junior dos Santos is the undisputed #1 heavyweight in the world as well as UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted October 27, 2011

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Cain Velasquez	100	UFC	1
2	Junior dos Santos	95	UFC	2
3	Alistair Overeem	90	UFC	3
4	Brock Lesnar	86	UFC	4
5	Fabricio Werdum	79	UFC	5
6	Frank Mir	74	UFC	6
7	Shane Carwin	73	UFC	7
8	Josh Barnett	68	Strikeforce	8
9	Daniel Cormier	67	Strikeforce	9
10	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	64	UFC	10
11	Antonio Silva	49	Strikeforce	11
12	Fedor Emelianenko	38	M-1 Global	12
13	Cheick Kongo	32	UFC	13
14	Brendan Schaub	31	UFC	14
15	Roy Nelson	27	UFC	15
16	Travis Browne	25	UFC	17
17	Sergei Kharitonov	24	Strikeforce	16
18	Matt Mitrione	23	UFC	18
19	Mike Russow	22	UFC	19
20	Cole Konrad	21	Bellator	20
21	Mark Hunt	19	UFC	21
22	Stefan Struve	16	UFC	23
23	Mirko Filipovic	13	UFC	25
23	Gabriel Gonzaga	13	UFC	26
25	Pat Barry	13	UFC	22

Analysis by Richard Wade

UFC on Fox features a #1 Cain Velasquez vs. #2 Junior dos Santos in a heavyweight championship bout.

Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted September 30, 2011

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Cain Velasquez	100	UFC	1
2	Junior dos Santos	95	UFC	2
3	Alistair Overeem	90	UFC	3
4	Brock Lesnar	86	UFC	4
5	Fabricio Werdum	79	Strikeforce	6
6	Frank Mir	74	UFC	7
7	Shane Carwin	73	UFC	8
8	Josh Barnett	68	Strikeforce	9
9	Daniel Cormier	67	Strikeforce	20
10	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	64	UFC	11
11	Antonio Silva	46	Strikeforce	5
12	Fedor Emelianenko	39	M-1	12
13	Cheick Kongo	33	UFC	15
14	Brendan Schaub	31	UFC	10
15	Roy Nelson	28	UFC	14
16	Sergei Kharitonov	25	Strikeforce	13
16	Travis Browne	25	UFC	16
18	Matt Mitrione	23	UFC	17
19	Mike Russow	22	UFC	18
20	Cole Konrad	22	Bellator	19
21	Mark Hunt	16	UFC	NR
22	Pat Barry	14	UFC	25
23	Stefan Struve	14	UFC	24
23	Shane del Rosario	14	Strikeforce	27
25	Mirko Filipovic	13	UFC	27

Analysis by Richard Wade

#1 Cain Velasquez will defend his belt against #2 Junior dos Santos as they headline the UFC's first ever appearance on network television.

Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted August 26, 2011

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Cain Velasquez	100	UFC	1
2	Junior dos Santos	95	UFC	2
3	Alistair Overeem	90	Strikeforce	3
4	Brock Lesnar	86	UFC	4
5	Antonio Silva	80	Strikeforce	6
6	Fabricio Werdum	80	Strikeforce	5
7	Frank Mir	75	UFC	7
8	Shane Carwin	73	UFC	8
9	Josh Barnett	60	Strikeforce	10
10	Brendan Schaub	46	UFC	12
11	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	43	UFC	11
12	Fedor Emelianenko	42	M-1 Global / Strikeforce	9
13	Sergei Kharitonov	35	Strikeforce	14
14	Roy Nelson	32	UFC	13
15	Cheick Kongo	31	UFC	15
16	Travis Browne	26	UFC	16
17	Matt Mitrione	24	UFC	19
18	Mike Russow	24	UFC	17
19	Cole Konrad	22	Bellator	17
20	Daniel Cormier	21	Strikeforce	20
21	Brett Rogers	20	Strikeforce	22
22	Ben Rothwell	18	UFC	21
23	Pedro Rizzo	16	Impact Fighting Championships	25
24	Stefan Struve	15	UFC	23
25	Pat Barry	15	UFC	24

Analysis by Richard Wade

With the only high level heavyweight fight contested since last month's rankings involving Dan Henderson, the only movement has been Fedor tumbling ever further down the list.

Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted July 29, 2011

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Cain Velasquez	100	UFC	1
2	Junior dos Santos	95	UFC	2
3	Alistair Overeem	89	Strikeforce	3
4	Brock Lesnar	87	UFC	4
5	Fabricio Werdum	81	Strikeforce	5
6	Antonio Silva	80	Strikeforce	6
7	Frank Mir	74	UFC	7
8	Shane Carwin	72	UFC	8
9	Fedor Emelianenko	68	M-1 Global / Strikeforce	9
10	Josh Barnett	55	Strikeforce	10
11	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	43	UFC	11
12	Brendan Schaub	39	UFC	12
13	Roy Nelson	36	UFC	13
14	Sergei Kharitonov	33	Strikeforce	14
15	Cheick Kongo	30	UFC	15
16	Travis Browne	25	UFC	17
17	Mike Russow	24	UFC	16
17	Cole Konrad	24	Bellator	19
19	Matt Mitrione	23	UFC	23
20	Daniel Cormier	22	Strikeforce	21
21	Ben Rothwell	21	UFC	20
22	Brett Rogers	20	Strikeforce	18
23	Stefan Struve	16	UFC	24
24	Pat Barry	15	UFC	27
25	Pedro Rizzo	15	Impact Fighting Championship	22

Analysis by Richard Wade

#1 Cain Velasquez will defend his title against #2 Junior dos Santos at UFC 138 in one of those clear cut 1 vs. 2 matchups we're always clamoring for.

Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted June 30, 2011

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Cain Velasquez	99	UFC	1
2	Junior dos Santos	95	UFC	3
3	Alistair Overeem	90	Strikeforce	7
4	Brock Lesnar	86	UFC	4
5	Fabricio Werdum	81	Strikeforce	2
6	Antonio Silva	80	Strikeforce	5
7	Frank Mir	74	UFC	8
8	Shane Carwin	72	UFC	6
9	Fedor Emelianenko	68	M-1 Global / Strikeforce	9
10	Josh Barnett	48	Strikeforce	13
11	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	47	UFC	10
12	Brendan Schaub	43	UFC	11
13	Roy Nelson	33	UFC	12
14	Sergei Kharitonov	31	Strikeforce	14
15	Cheick Kongo	29	UFC	17
16	Mike Russow	26	UFC	20
17	Travis Browne	25	UFC	23
18	Brett Rogers	25	Strikeforce	15
19	Cole Konrad	24	Bellator	18
20	Ben Rothwell	24	UFC	16
21	Daniel Cormier	22	Strikeforce	33
22	Pedro Rizzo	19	Impact FC	19
23	Matt Mitrione	19	UFC	22
24	Stefan Struve	19	UFC	21
25	Gabriel Gonzaga	17	MMAX	24

103

Analysis by Richard Wade

#2 Junior dos Santos became the #1 contender after taking a dominant unanimous decision over #8 Shane Carwin in the main event of UFC 131.

Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted May 26, 2011

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Cain Velasquez	99	UFC	1
2	Junior dos Santos	90	UFC	3
3	Fabricio Werdum	90	Strikeforce	2
3	Brock Lesnar	90	UFC	4
5	Shane Carwin	81	UFC	6
6	Antonio Silva	79	Strikeforce	5
7	Alistair Overeem	75	Strikeforce	7
8	Frank Mir	75	UFC	8
9	Fedor Emelianenko	70	M-1 Global / Strikeforce	9
10	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	52	UFC	10
11	Brendan Schaub	39	UFC	11
12	Roy Nelson	38	UFC	12
13	Sergei Kharitonov	34	Strikeforce	14
14	Josh Barnett	34	Strikeforce	13
15	Brett Rogers	31	Strikeforce	15
16	Cheick Kongo	26	UFC	17
17	Pedro Rizzo	24	Impact Fighting Championship	18
18	Cole Konrad	24	Bellator	18
19	Mike Russow	23	UFC	20
20	Ben Rothwell	22	UFC	16
21	Stefan Struve	20	UFC	21
22	Travis Browne	19	UFC	23
23	Matt Mitrione	18	UFC	22
24	Gabriel Gonzaga	16	UFC	23
24	Shane del Rosario	16	Strikeforce	28

Analysis by Richard Wade

With #3 Brock Lesnar out due to illness, #2 Junior dos Santos will instead face #5 Shane Carwin at UFC 131 for a shot at #1 Cain Velasquez' title.

Heavyweight MMA

Consensus Rankings posted April 29, 2011

Rank	Fighter	%	Promotion	Last Rank
1	Cain Velasquez	98	UFC	1
2	Fabricio Werdum	91	Strikeforce	2
3	Junior dos Santos	90	UFC	3
4	Brock Lesnar	89	UFC	4
5	Antonio Silva	81	Strikeforce	5
6	Shane Carwin	80	UFC	6
7	Alistair Overeem	75	Strikeforce	7
8	Frank Mir	74	UFC	7
9	Fedor Emelianenko	71	M-1 / Strikeforce	9
10	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	53	UFC	10
11	Brendan Schaub	34	UFC	12
12	Roy Nelson	33	UFC	11
13	Josh Barnett	32	Strikeforce	15
14	Sergei Kharitonov	31	Strikeforce	13
15	Brett Rogers	28	Strikeforce	14
16	Ben Rothwell	26	UFC	17
17	Cheick Kongo	24	UFC	16
18	Cole Konrad	24	Bellator	18
18	Pedro Rizzo	24	Impact FC	19
20	Mike Russow	21	UFC	20
21	Stefan Struve	20	UFC	23
22	Matt Mitrione	18	UFC	26
23	Travis Browne	18	UFC	21
23	Gabriel Gonzaga	18	UFC	22
25	Jeff Monson	18	Free Agent	25

Analysis by Richard Wade

#1 Cain Velasquez is still on the shelf following shoulder surgery, but is expected to be ready to return this Fall. His most likely opponent will be the winner of UFC 131’s #3 Junior dos Santos vs. #4 Brock Lesnar.

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About the Rankings

compiled by Kid Nate and Richard Wade of Bloody Elbow

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 »

Sources

Jeremy Botter, Heavy MMA
Fight Matrix
Jordan Breen, Sherdog
Jim Genia, Full Contact Fighter
Jesse Holland, MMA Mania
Kevin Iole, Yahoo!
Eric Kamander, MMA Ratings
MMA Playground
MMA Weekly
Leland Roling, Bloody Elbow
Matthew Roth, Head Kick Legend
Wojslaw Rysiewski, MMA Rocks
Michael David Smith, MMA Fighting
Derek Suboticki, Fightlinker
Luke Thomas, SB Nation

Network Bar

Consensus Rankings posted January 27, 2012

Consensus Rankings posted December 30, 2011

Consensus Rankings posted December 2, 2011

Consensus Rankings posted October 27, 2011

Consensus Rankings posted September 30, 2011

Consensus Rankings posted August 26, 2011

Consensus Rankings posted July 29, 2011

Consensus Rankings posted June 30, 2011

Consensus Rankings posted May 26, 2011

Consensus Rankings posted April 29, 2011

About the Rankings

compiled by Kid Nate and Richard Wade of Bloody Elbow

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