Analysis by Kid Nate
Fans are used to #1 Anderson Silva toying with opponents, but in recent months we've been treated to the spectacle of seeing Silva and his manager Ed Soares toy with the UFC.
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 | Anderson Silva | 100 | UFC | 1 |
| 2 | Nate Marquardt | 94 | UFC | 2 |
| 3 | Dan Henderson | 94 | Free Agent | 3 |
| 4 | Demian Maia | 79 | UFC | 5 |
| 5 | Vitor Belfort | 79 | UFC | 6 |
| 6 | Chael Sonnen | 71 | UFC | 7 |
| 7 | Jake Shields | 61 | Strikeforce | 12 |
| 8 | Jorge Santiago | 58 | WVR | 4 |
| 9 | Yushin Okami | 57 | UFC | 8 |
| 10 | Yoshihiro Akiyama | 52 | UFC | 10 |
| 11 | Robbie Lawler | 44 | Strikeforce | 9 |
| 12 | Kazuo Misaki | 30 | WVR | 11 |
| 13 | Mamed Khalidov | 30 | WVR | NR |
| 14 | Paulo Filho | 29 | DREAM | 14 |
| 15 | Nick Diaz | 23 | Strikeforce | 18 |
| 16 | Michael Bisping | 22 | UFC | 13 |
| 17 | Ronaldo Souza | 21 | DREAM/Strikeforce | 18 |
| 18 | Nate Quarry | 21 | UFC | 17 |
| 19 | Alessio Sakara | 20 | UFC | 15 |
| 20 | Thales Leites | 18 | MFC | 22 |
| 20 | Alan Belcher | 18 | UFC | 20 |
| 20 | Ricardo Almeida | 18 | UFC | 23 |
| 23 | Wilson Gouveia | 17 | UFC | 24 |
| 24 | Gegard Mousasi | 16 | Strikeforce | 27 |
| 25 | Rich Franklin | 16 | UFC | NR |
Fans are used to #1 Anderson Silva toying with opponents, but in recent months we've been treated to the spectacle of seeing Silva and his manager Ed Soares toy with the UFC.
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 »