Analysis by Richard Wade
With his dominant victory over the veteran Vladimir Matyushenko, Alexander Gustafsson has finally cracked the top 10.
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 | Jon Jones | 400 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Dan Henderson | 377 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Rashad Evans | 362 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Mauricio Rua | 356 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Quinton Jackson | 338 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Lyoto Machida | 325 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Phil Davis | 286 | UFC | 7 |
| 8 | Forrest Griffin | 260 | UFC | 8 |
| 9 | Alexander Gustafsson | 216 | UFC | 13 |
| 10 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 207 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Gegard Mousasi | 196 | Strikeforce | 9 |
| 12 | Rafael Cavalcante | 173 | Strikeforce | 12 |
| 13 | Muhammed Lawal | 167 | Strikeforce | 11 |
| 14 | Rich Franklin | 156 | UFC | 15 |
| 15 | Thiago Silva | 151 | UFC | 14 |
| 16 | Ryan Bader | 108 | UFC | 16 |
| 17 | Tito Ortiz | 100 | UFC | 17 |
| 18 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 83 | UFC | 18 |
| 19 | Renato Sobral | 80 | Strikeforce | 19 |
| 20 | Stanislav Nedkov | 73 | UFC | 20 |
| 21 | Ryan Jimmo | 72 | UFC | 21 |
| 22 | Brandon Vera | 63 | UFC | 24 |
| 23 | Mike Kyle | 62 | Strikeforce | 26 |
| 24 | Roger Gracie | 61 | Strikeforce | 23 |
| 25 | Stephan Bonnar | 60 | UFC | 21 |
With his dominant victory over the veteran Vladimir Matyushenko, Alexander Gustafsson has finally cracked the top 10.
| Rank | Fighter | Points | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Jones | 425 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Dan Henderson | 399 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Rashad Evans | 388 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Mauricio Rua | 377 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Quinton Jackson | 359 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Lyoto Machida | 346 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Phil Davis | 303 | UFC | 7 |
| 8 | Forrest Griffin | 293 | UFC | 8 |
| 9 | Gegard Mousasi | 211 | Strikeforce | 9 |
| 10 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 208 | UFC | 12 |
| 11 | Muhammed Lawal | 198 | Strikeforce | 11 |
| 12 | Rafael Cavalcante | 194 | Strikeforce | 10 |
| 13 | Alexander Gustafsson | 159 | UFC | 13 |
| 14 | Thiago Silva | 158 | UFC | 14 |
| 15 | Rich Franklin | 149 | UFC | 15 |
| 16 | Ryan Bader | 122 | UFC | 17 |
| 17 | Tito Ortiz | 108 | UFC | 16 |
| 18 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 96 | UFC | 18 |
| 19 | Renato Sobral | 79 | Strikeforce | 19 |
| 20 | Stanislav Nedkov | 70 | UFC | 20 |
| 21 | Stephan Bonnar | 67 | UFC | 21 |
| 21 | Ryan Jimmo | 67 | UFC | 22 |
| 23 | Roger Gracie | 65 | Strikeforce | 23 |
| 24 | Brandon Vera | 62 | UFC | 24 |
| 25 | Luiz Cane | 60 | UFC | 25 |
#1 Jon Jones reaffirmed that status with a dominating submission victory over #6 Lyoto Machida earlier this month.
| Rank | Fighter | Points | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Jones | 400 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Dan Henderson | 375 | UFC | 6 |
| 3 | Rashad Evans | 364 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Mauricio Rua | 352 | UFC | 2 |
| 5 | Quinton Jackson | 336 | UFC | 4 |
| 6 | Lyoto Machida | 332 | UFC | 5 |
| 7 | Phil Davis | 286 | UFC | 7 |
| 7 | Forrest Griffin | 266 | UFC | 8 |
| 9 | Gegard Mousasi | 194 | Strikeforce | 9 |
| 10 | Rafael Cavalcante | 191 | Strikeforce | 10 |
| 11 | Muhammed Lawal | 167 | Strikeforce | 11 |
| 12 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 162 | UFC | 12 |
| 13 | Alexander Gustafsson | 153 | UFC | 13 |
| 14 | Thiago Silva | 146 | UFC | 16 |
| 15 | Rich Franklin | 138 | UFC | 14 |
| 16 | Tito Ortiz | 124 | UFC | 15 |
| 17 | Ryan Bader | 118 | UFC | 17 |
| 18 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 79 | UFC | 18 |
| 19 | Renato Sobral | 78 | Strikeforce | 20 |
| 20 | Stanislav Nedkov | 67 | UFC | 21 |
| 21 | Stephan Bonnar | 63 | UFC | 29 |
| 22 | Ryan Jimmo | 62 | UFC | 22 |
| 23 | Roger Gracie | 61 | Strikeforce | 22 |
| 24 | Brandon Vera | 58 | UFC | 25 |
| 25 | Luiz Cane | 56 | UFC | 27 |
Machida's inactivity is approaching its end though as he is set to challenge #1 Jon Jones for the title at UFC 140 next Saturday.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Jones | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Mauricio Rua | 94 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Rashad Evans | 93 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Quinton Jackson | 86 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Lyoto Machida | 85 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Dan Henderson | 79 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Phil Davis | 72 | UFC | 7 |
| 8 | Forrest Griffin | 68 | UFC | 8 |
| 9 | Gegard Mousasi | 49 | Strikeforce | 10 |
| 10 | Rafael Cavalcante | 47 | Strikeforce | 9 |
| 11 | Muhammed Lawal | 40 | Strikeforce | 11 |
| 12 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 40 | UFC | 12 |
| 13 | Alexander Gustafsson | 39 | UFC | 15 |
| 14 | Rich Franklin | 37 | UFC | 14 |
| 15 | Tito Ortiz | 32 | UFC | 16 |
| 16 | Thiago Silva | 32 | UFC | 13 |
| 17 | Ryan Bader | 27 | UFC | 17 |
| 18 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 19 | UFC | 18 |
| 19 | Cyrille Diabate | 17 | UFC | 20 |
| 20 | Renato Sobral | 16 | Strikeforce | 19 |
| 21 | Stanislav Nedkov | 16 | 21 | |
| 22 | Roger Gracie | 13 | Strikeforce | 23 |
| 22 | Ryan Jimmo | 13 | 30 | |
| 24 | Kyle Kingsbury | 12 | UFC | 27 |
| 25 | Brandon Vera | 12 | UFC | 25 |
UFC 139 is chock full of quality light heavyweight fights. #2 Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and #6 Dan Henderson headline the show while #24 Kyle Kingsbury vs. Stephan Bonnar and #17 Ryan Bader vs. Jason Brilz fill out the undercard.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Jones | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Mauricio Rua | 94 | UFC | 3 |
| 3 | Rashad Evans | 93 | UFC | 2 |
| 4 | Quinton Jackson | 87 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Lyoto Machida | 85 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Dan Henderson | 78 | UFC | 7 |
| 7 | Phil Davis | 72 | UFC | 8 |
| 8 | Forrest Griffin | 68 | UFC | 6 |
| 9 | Rafael Cavalcante | 49 | Strikeforce | 10 |
| 10 | Gegard Mousasi | 47 | Strikeforce | 9 |
| 11 | Muhammed Lawal | 40 | Strikeforce | 16 |
| 12 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 38 | UFC | 12 |
| 13 | Thiago Silva | 37 | UFC | 11 |
| 14 | Rich Franklin | 37 | UFC | 13 |
| 15 | Alexander Gustafsson | 36 | UFC | 15 |
| 16 | Tito Ortiz | 31 | UFC | 14 |
| 17 | Ryan Bader | 26 | UFC | 17 |
| 18 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 19 | UFC | 19 |
| 19 | Renato Sobral | 17 | Strikeforce | 18 |
| 20 | Cyrille Diabate | 16 | UFC | 21 |
| 21 | Stanislav Nedkov | 14 | UFC | NR |
| 22 | Randy Couture | 14 | UFC | 23 |
| 23 | Roger Gracie | 13 | Strikeforce | 20 |
| 24 | Keith Jardine | 12 | Strikeforce | 24 |
| 25 | Brandon Vera | 12 | UFC | 25 |
| 25 | Jason Brilz | 12 | UFC | 30 |
| 25 | Kyle Kingsbury | 12 | UFC | 26 |
#1 Jon Jones made his first successful title defense against #4 Quinton Jackson this past Saturday at UFC 135.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Jones | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Rashad Evans | 93 | UFC | 3 |
| 3 | Mauricio Rua | 92 | UFC | 2 |
| 4 | Quinton Jackson | 88 | UFC | 3 |
| 5 | Lyoto Machida | 85 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Forrest Griffin | 79 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Dan Henderson | 77 | Strikeforce | 7 |
| 8 | Phil Davis | 70 | UFC | 8 |
| 9 | Gegard Mousasi | 47 | Strikeforce | 11 |
| 10 | Rafael Cavalcante | 41 | Strikeforce | 9 |
| 11 | Thiago Silva | 40 | UFC | 9 |
| 12 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 37 | UFC | 12 |
| 13 | Rich Franklin | 37 | UFC | 13 |
| 14 | Tito Ortiz | 34 | UFC | 14 |
| 15 | Alexander Gustafsson | 33 | UFC | 18 |
| 16 | Muhammed Lawal | 33 | Strikeforce | 16 |
| 17 | Ryan Bader | 27 | UFC | 15 |
| 18 | Renato Sobral | 20 | Strikeforce | 19 |
| 19 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 19 | UFC | 20 |
| 20 | Roger Gracie | 16 | Strikeforce | 21 |
| 21 | Cyrille Diabate | 15 | UFC | 21 |
| 22 | Luiz Cane | 15 | UFC | 24 |
| 23 | Randy Couture | 14 | UFC | 23 |
| 24 | Keith Jardine | 13 | Strikeforce | 25 |
| 25 | Brandon Vera | 13 | UFC | 26 |
Jon Jones remains in first while he waits to defend his title, but Rashad Evans has moved ahead of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua following his annihilation of Tito Ortiz.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Jones | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Mauricio Rua | 93 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Quinton Jackson | 88 | UFC | 3 |
| 3 | Rashad Evans | 88 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Lyoto Machida | 85 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Forrest Griffin | 79 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Dan Henderson | 72 | Strikeforce | 8 |
| 8 | Phil Davis | 67 | UFC | 9 |
| 9 | Thiago Silva | 44 | UFC | 10 |
| 9 | Rafael Cavalcante | 44 | Strikeforce | 13 |
| 11 | Gegard Mousasi | 42 | Strikeforce | 12 |
| 12 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 39 | UFC | 11 |
| 13 | Rich Franklin | 38 | UFC | 13 |
| 14 | Tito Ortiz | 38 | UFC | NR |
| 15 | Ryan Bader | 34 | UFC | 7 |
| 16 | Muhammed Lawal | 33 | Strikeforce | 15 |
| 17 | Matt Hamill | 31 | UFC | 16 |
| 18 | Alexander Gustafsson | 20 | UFC | 17 |
| 19 | Renato Sobral | 20 | Strikeforce | 18 |
| 20 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 17 | UFC | 19 |
| 21 | Cyrille Diabate | 15 | UFC | 20 |
| 21 | Roger Gracie | 15 | Strikeforce | 21 |
| 23 | Randy Couture | 14 | UFC | 21 |
| 24 | Luiz Cane | 14 | UFC | 23 |
| 25 | Keith Jardine | 12 | Strikeforce | 24 |
#1 Jon Jones will attempt his first title defense at UFC 135 against #3 Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Jones | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Mauricio Rua | 93 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Quinton Jackson | 89 | UFC | 4 |
| 4 | Rashad Evans | 87 | UFC | 3 |
| 5 | Lyoto Machida | 86 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Forrest Griffin | 78 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Ryan Bader | 69 | UFC | 8 |
| 8 | Dan Henderson | 68 | Strikeforce | 7 |
| 9 | Phil Davis | 64 | UFC | 9 |
| 10 | Thiago Silva | 46 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 44 | UFC | 11 |
| 12 | Gegard Mousasi | 44 | Strikeforce | 12 |
| 13 | Rich Franklin | 37 | UFC | 13 |
| 13 | Rafael Cavalcante | 37 | Strikeforce | 14 |
| 15 | Muhammed Lawal | 32 | Strikeforce | 15 |
| 16 | Matt Hamill | 25 | UFC | 17 |
| 17 | Alexander Gustafsson | 24 | UFC | 19 |
| 18 | Renato Sobral | 21 | Strikeforce | 18 |
| 19 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 19 | UFC | 29 |
| 20 | Cyrille Diabate | 18 | UFC | 20 |
| 21 | Randy Couture | 18 | UFC | 16 |
| 21 | Roger Gracie | 18 | Strikeforce | 21 |
| 23 | Luiz Cane | 17 | UFC | 26 |
| 24 | Keith Jardine | 16 | Strikeforce | 23 |
| 24 | Stephan Bonnar | 16 | UFC | 24 |
#3 Quinton “Rampage” Jackson defeated #16 Matt Hamill at UFC 130 in one of the most predictable fights ever booked to main event a pay per view.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Jones | 99 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Mauricio Rua | 95 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Rashad Evans | 92 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Quinton Jackson | 88 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Lyoto Machida | 86 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Forrest Griffin | 77 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Ryan Bader | 69 | UFC | 7 |
| 8 | Dan Henderson | 68 | Strikeforce | 7 |
| 9 | Phil Davis | 63 | UFC | 9 |
| 10 | Thiago Silva | 49 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Gegard Mousasi | 45 | Strikeforce | 12 |
| 12 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 43 | UFC | 11 |
| 13 | Rich Franklin | 38 | UFC | 13 |
| 14 | Rafael Cavalcante | 35 | Strikeforce | 14 |
| 15 | Muhammed Lawal | 32 | Strikeforce | 15 |
| 16 | Matt Hamill | 28 | UFC | 17 |
| 17 | Alexander Gustafsson | 23 | UFC | 19 |
| 18 | Renato Sobral | 21 | Strikeforce | 17 |
| 19 | Randy Couture | 19 | UFC | 16 |
| 20 | Vladimir Matyushenko | 19 | UFC | 29 |
| 21 | Cyrille Diabate | 17 | UFC | 20 |
| 22 | Roger Gracie | 15 | Strikeforce | 20 |
| 23 | Luiz Cane | 15 | UFC | 25 |
| 24 | Keith Jardine | 14 | Strikeforce | 22 |
| 25 | Stephan Bonnar | 14 | UFC | 24 |
With #1 Jon Jones "ducking" former teammate #3 Rashad Evans, Evans will instead step into the Octagon against undefeated #9 Phil Davis at UFC 133.
| Rank | Fighter | % | Promotion | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Jones | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Mauricio Rua | 95 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Rashad Evans | 91 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Quinton Jackson | 88 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Lyoto Machida | 86 | UFC | 5 |
| 6 | Forrest Griffin | 77 | UFC | 6 |
| 7 | Dan Henderson | 68 | Strikeforce | 8 |
| 7 | Ryan Bader | 68 | UFC | 7 |
| 9 | Phil Davis | 60 | UFC | 11 |
| 10 | Thiago Silva | 51 | UFC | 9 |
| 11 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | 43 | UFC | 10 |
| 12 | Gegard Mousasi | 42 | Strikeforce | 12 |
| 13 | Rich Franklin | 34 | UFC | 14 |
| 14 | Rafael Cavalcante | 31 | Strikeforce | 13 |
| 15 | Muhammed Lawal | 30 | Strikeforce | 15 |
| 16 | Randy Couture | 27 | UFC | 16 |
| 17 | Matt Hamill | 23 | UFC | 17 |
| 17 | Renato Sobral | 23 | Strikeforce | 19 |
| 19 | Alexander Gustafsson | 21 | UFC | 18 |
| 20 | Cyrille Diabate | 18 | UFC | 20 |
| 20 | Roger Gracie | 18 | Strikeforce | 24 |
| 22 | Brandon Vera | 17 | UFC | 27 |
| 22 | Keith Jardine | 17 | Strikeforce | 32 |
| 24 | Stephan Bonnar | 17 | UFC | 25 |
| 25 | Jason Brilz | 16 | UFC | 21 |
| 25 | Luiz Cane | 16 | UFC | 22 |
#1 Jon Jones was expect to face former teammate #3 Rashad Evans in his first title defense, but an injury to the champion has derailed those plans.
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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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