Analysis by Kid Nate
This is probably the division that the UFC has the weakest grip on. Only four of the top ten fighters are signed to Zuffa and only 11 of the top 25.
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 | B.J. Penn | 98 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Shinya Aoki | 88 | DREAM | 2 |
| 3 | Kenny Florian | 86 | UFC | 3 |
| 4 | Sean Sherk | 83 | UFC | 4 |
| 5 | Eddie Alvarez | 81 | Bellator | 5 |
| 6 | Joachim Hansen | 76 | DREAM | 6 |
| 7 | Gesias Cavalcante | 75 | DREAM | 7 |
| 8 | Josh Thomson | 63 | Strikeforce | 8 |
| 9 | Satoru Kitaoka | 54 | WVR | 9 |
| 10 | Diego Sanchez | 48 | UFC | 11 |
| 11 | Tatsuya Kawajiri | 41 | DREAM | 10 |
| 12 | Gray Maynard | 40 | UFC | 12 |
| 13 | Mitsuhiro Ishida | 32 | DREAM | 13 |
| 14 | Takanori Gomi | 27 | WVR | 15 |
| 15 | Tyson Griffin | 24 | UFC | 14 |
| 16 | Jamie Varner | 24 | WEC | 16 |
| 17 | Gilbert Melendez | 23 | Strikeforce | 17 |
| 18 | Frankie Edgar | 23 | UFC | 21 |
| 19 | Eiji Mitsuoka | 22 | WVR | 18 |
| 20 | Vitor Ribeiro | 21 | DREAM | 30 |
| 21 | Clay Guida | 21 | UFC | 20 |
| 22 | Caol Uno | 20 | UFC | 19 |
| 23 | Roger Huerta | 17 | UFC | 22 |
| 24 | Spencer Fisher | 16 | UFC | 23 |
| 25 | Joe Stevenson | 15 | UFC | 24 |
This is probably the division that the UFC has the weakest grip on. Only four of the top ten fighters are signed to Zuffa and only 11 of the top 25.
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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