Issue 001

March 2005

How fighters’ rankings are complied

Because there are so many fight events and no official governing body for fighters’ rankings, the fluctuation of a fighter’s ranking can move dramatically up or down. Listed below are some of the reasons why this can happen. Please note: These are just guidelines for professional rankings.

Win-Lose-Draw Record

When a fighter is on a winning streak his profile will climb up the rankings depending on the calibre of his opponents. If he loses, his profile can drop dramatically if beaten by a lower-level fighter. A draw and his profile can stay the same or move down slowly.

How often a fighter fights

When a fighter has not fought for a long time his rankings will drop, even if he had a good winning record previous to his lay off. To stay in the top rankings a fighter needs to stay active and win.

Who they have beaten

If a fighter has just beaten a top-ranked contender his profile will automatically rise, but not necessarily to the top, even if he has a poor record. This however may change dramatically if he loses his next fight. 

HEAVYWEIGHT

205-264.9 lbs

1.Fedor Emilianenko/Rodrigo Nogueira

3.Frank Mir

4.Tim Sylvia

5.Mirko Filipovic  

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

185-204.9 lbs

1. Randy Couture

2.Wanderlei Silva 

3.Vitor Belfort 

4.Quinton Jackson

5.Chuck Liddell  

MIDDLEWEIGHT

170-184.9 lbs

1.David Terrell

2.Matt Lindland 

3.Evan Tanner 

4.Anderson Silva

5.Jeremy Horn  

WELTERWEIGHT

155-169.9 lbs

1. BJ Penn

2.Matt Hughes 

3.Sean Sherk 

4.Frank Trigg

5.Renato Verissimo  

LIGHTWEIGHT

145-154.9 lbs

1. BJ Penn

2.Takanori Gomi 

3.Josh Thomson

4.Yves Edwards 

5.Hermes Franca