Analysis by Kid Nate
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.
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 | % | 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.
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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