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Independent World MMA Rankings – March 12, 2010
By Zach Arnold | March 12, 2010
From the office of the Independent World MMA Rankings
March 12, 2010: The March 2010 Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites.
In addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time by going to www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.
Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together to form one independent voting panel. These voting panel members are, in alphabetical order: Zach Arnold (Fight Opinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jared Barnes (Freelance); Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter, MMA Memories, and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (Freelance); Todd Martin (CBS Sportsline); Jim Murphy (The Savage Science); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA); Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse); Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion); Ivan Trembow (Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Head Kick Legend).
Note: Shane Carwin and Quinton Jackson are temporarily ineligible to be ranked, due to the fact that they have been inactive for over 12 full months, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight.
March 2010 Independent World MMA Rankings
Ballots collected on March 9, 2010
Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.)
1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest)
2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)
3. Frank Mir (13-4)
4. Cain Velasquez (8-0)
5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1, 1 No Contest)
6. Junior dos Santos (10-1)
7. Brett Rogers (10-1)
8. Alistair Overeem (32-11, 1 No Contest)
9. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)
10. Andrei Arlovski (15-7)
Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.)
1. Lyoto Machida (16-0)
2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (18-4)
3. Rashad Evans (14-1-1)
4. Anderson Silva (25-4)
5. Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1)
6. Forrest Griffin (17-6)
7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3)
8. Dan Henderson (25-7)
9. Thiago Silva (14-2)
10. Vitor Belfort (19-8)
Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.)
1. Anderson Silva (25-4)
2. Dan Henderson (25-7)
3. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)
4. Vitor Belfort (19-8)
5. Nathan Marquardt (29-9-2)
6. Demian Maia (12-1)
7. Jake Shields (24-4-1)
8. Robbie Lawler (17-5, 1 No Contest)
9. Yushin Okami (23-5)
10. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (11-2, 1 No Contest)
Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.)
1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2)
2. Jon Fitch (21-3, 1 No Contest)
3. Thiago Alves (16-6)
4. Josh Koscheck (14-4)
5. Paulo Thiago (13-1)
6. Dan Hardy (23-6)
7. Nick Diaz (21-7, 1 No Contest)
8. Matt Hughes (43-7)
9. Paul Daley (23-8-2)
10. Matt Serra (10-6)
Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.)
1. B.J. Penn (15-5-1)
2. Shinya Aoki (23-4, 1 No Contest)
3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2)
4. Kenny Florian (12-4)
5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2)
6. Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 No Contest)
7. Frankie Edgar (11-1)
8. Diego Sanchez (21-3)
9. Gilbert Melendez (17-2)
10. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1)
Featherweight Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.)
1. Jose Aldo (16-1)
2. Mike Brown (23-5)
3. Urijah Faber (23-3)
4. Hatsu Hioki (20-4-2)
5. Bibiano Fernandes (7-2)
6. Marlon Sandro (16-1)
7. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue (18-3)
8. Raphael Assuncao (14-2)
9. Manny Gamburyan (10-4)
10. Michihiro Omigawa (9-8-1)
Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.)
1. Dominick Cruz (15-1)
2. Brian Bowles (8-1)
3. Joseph Benavidez (12-1)
3. Miguel Torres (37-3)
5. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2)
6. Scott Jorgensen (9-3)
7. Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2)
8. Damacio Page (15-4)
9. Wagnney Fabiano (13-2)
10. Akitoshi Tamura (14-8-2)
The Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.
The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody’s vote counting more than anybody else’s vote, and no computerized voting.
The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters’ actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they’ve actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win hypothetical match-ups.
Inactivity: Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight.
Disciplinary Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until he has his first fight in the new weight class.
Catch Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for each weight class.
Special thanks to Eric Kamander, Zach Arnold, and Joshua Stein for their invaluable help with this project, and special thanks to Garrett Bailey for designing our logo.
Topics: Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 30 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Mousasi broke into the top 5. God, thanks for the laugh.
The HW Top 6 is spot on. The rest not so much. People are struggling to find ways to rank non-Zuffa fighters way beyond their true rankings.
Man Mousasi is just way too high. I can’t understand how he’s above guys like Rogerio and Forrest. Vitor is in the top ten at 205? Rogers would switch with Dos Santos IMO. How in the world is Takeshi Inoue still ranked?
It just seems like their rankings get worse and worse.
I can’t release my ballot due to confidentiality clauses related to being a voter, but I can and will say that people should pay close attention to the rules of the voting system. Fighters who don’t fight for a year are ineligible to be listed. That will always alter the way the voting system works. The argument in support of the system as-is is that it is a fresher, more-active list of fighters that addresses the “what have you done for me lately?” criteria that a lot of people who look at rankings ask about.
Whether you look at long term or what have you done lately….. Mousasi and Overeem are still ranked way too high.
That’s about as bad as Sherdog having Hardy ranked 4th….
Yea,I wouldn’t ever ask you too man. It’s your business as is for all the other voters who are on the panel. I may disagree with stuff you guys say, but I frequent your site for your articles. Jordan Breen made me notice how much tradition there was in Japan, and that and how long fighting has actually been around. Josh Stein and Dave Walsh have written some prett interesting stuff too.
You talked about “what have you done for me lately”. Inoue’s last three fights were against guys that aren’t even top 20. He lost his top spot in the rankings when he lost to Tamura back in 06 or 07. The only top ten guy he has beaten since then is Kadowaki. He has a loss to Savant Young who earned a spot in the top 10 because of the win. There are many others fighting in the world who have better resumes. Masanori Kanehara is 4-1 against some of the better competition competing in Japan over the last year and a half. Josh Grispi is 3-0 over the last two years against much better competition. LC Davis is 3-0 in his last three against much better competition no matter if his last fight was one of the most boring of all time or not. The guys at 8,9,10 have much better resumes also. Takeshi there makes the rankings lose credibility. Same for Mousasi.
The guy has 2 wins at 205 against guys who were maybe ranked #10 at the time or not even in top 10, depending on the site. He has wins over shot Hws other than that after fighting at 185.
Vitor is probably the worst. He has one win over Rich Franklin at 195, and that means he’s top ten at 205. No Luis Cane? No Ryan Bader?
Lastly you guys should adopt the Sherdog method of if he’s gotta fight scheduled with in a month he should still be ranked although he hasn’t competed in the last 12. Pulling Carwin off the list for 2 weeks is kind of pointless.
I think Mousasai is the No 1 @ 205. He has far better stand up than Machida or Shogun. Time will tell I spose.
Fedor as the number 1 is spot on!
Why is Dan Henderson ranked at 205lbs when his last fight in that division was over 12 months ago and his next fight is for a 185lb title?
Regarding Henderson’s eligibility, he has fought in the past 12 months, so he hasn’t lost his eligibility. It’s not on a per-weight-class basis; it’s simply that fighters who haven’t fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked (in any weight class). As an example, BJ Penn was still eligible to be ranked at lightweight from May 2009 through August 2009 because it had not yet been 12 months since his previous fight. (It had been more than 12 months since he had a fight in the lightweight division, but he wasn’t inactive as a fighter for 12 months, so he never lost his eligibility.)
Similarly, if Anderson Silva didn’t have a middleweight fight in April, thus going over 12 full months without a fight in the middleweight division, that wouldn’t make him ineligible to be ranked at middleweight. If he went 12 months without fighting, period, then he wouldn’t be eligible to be ranked in any weight class until he had another fight.
So where is Mousasi at 185?
Florian is still top 5 with no top 10 wins. Based on these rankings, his next fight isn’t vs anyone top 10 either.
Guida and stevenson were top ten.
It should be pretty clear by the appearance and placement of several fighters that the guideline “to vote primarily based on fighters’ actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they’ve actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win hypothetical match-ups.” is just there to make the rankings look official and not actually have an influence on voting.
Additionally, these are all bullshit rankings until votes are made public and people can ask the voters why they put X fighter in Y position. I don’t know why anyone would want to keep them a secret.
@ Huddle, you’re correct in general. But not about mousasi IMO. I think he will be proven to be top 5 and possibly top 2 when he’s given a chance to show it against the best.
I’m sure you saw how effortlessly he spanked Bab?!
But its also true that imaginary potential is not a basis for ranking either. Brock is disturbingly high on every list for holding the UFC strap.
It makes it difficult for me to take those list seriously.
Lesnar is up there based on a linear system. Noguiera to Mir to Lesnar.
If people want to start ranking Mousasi in the Top 5 based on potential…. Then where is Jon Jones? Shouldn’t he be top 5 as well. It seems like only the guys outside of the UFC get ranked higher due to potential.
As has been pointed out to you many times, the “linear” system is completely retarded. It’s literally ranking guys exclusively based on one fight.
Also, under that stupid “linear” system, shouldn’t Rogers be No. 2? He beat the previous No. 2.
If the rankings truly lived up to the self-described system, here’s what they’d look like:
1. Machida
2. Evans
3. A. Silva
4. Griffin
5. Rua
6. Jackson
7. Henderson
8. Liddell
9. Franklin
10. W.Silva
11. T.Silva
12. Bader
13. Jardine
14. Ortiz
15. Jones
16. Couture
17. Coleman
18. Soszynski
19. Bonnar
20. Irvin
21. Shafer
22. Alexander
23. Nogueira
24. Mousasi
25. Sobral
26. Cane
27. Sokoudjou
Points of controversy:
* Anderson, Henderson, etc: Fighters are ranked in all weight classes in which they’ve fought recently (I’m thinking of shortening my inactivity deadline from 3 years to 2) in order to avoid confusion should the fighter jump back and forth.
* Henderson, Franklin, Wanderlei, etc: Wins count no matter what weight class they took place at. Just because a fight happened at a catchweight or different class doesn’t mean we can pretend it never happened. If two fighters happen to ranked in the same class, and one of them has recently beaten the other, the rankings reflect it.
Ortiz: It’s a remnant from the past. I almost wish he’d lapsed into inactivity so I could drop him. To be fair, he’s fought some of the best fighters in the division, taking them all to decision except Liddell. Tough decisions against Machida, Evans, Griffin (twice) and Wanderlei are nothing to scoff at.
#14-#22 coming in above Lil Nog (#23) and Mousasi (#24): It’s all because a certain Houston Alexander knocked out a certain Keith Jardine. Had that fight never occurred, Nog and Mousasi would find themselves at #14 and #15, respectively.
Final note: Nog and Mousasi are the Barnett/Overeem of 205. They are ranked utterly out of proportion to their actual wins. Mousasi’s biggest win is over Babalu, who is only ranked for beating Sokoudjou. Similarly, Nog’s biggest win is over Cane, who also is only ranked for beating Sokoudjou. And the only reason Sok is ranked is for knocking Nog out cold!
Until they actually beat a Top 20 fighter, Nog, Cane, Babalu and Mousasi do not deserve to be ranked anywhere near the Top 10. I don’t know why there is so much confusion about this very simple principle.
Another point of controversy is Rua. Why should he be bumped to #2 after losing to Machida? His biggest recent win is over Liddell, so he belongs above Liddell and no higher. Feel free to pretend he beat or tied with Machida but don’t claim to be ranking objectively – overriding a judges’ decision is a venture into some seriously subjective territory.
Believe me, I’d love to pretend Jones was not disqualified against Hammill, that Marquardt “really” beat Leites, who in turn was “robbed” against Sakara, etc. It would make the rankngs a lot prettier. Sadly, it was not so.
Rua should be No. 2 or No. 1 based on a long series of wins over top competition. Accepting a judges’ decision is just as subjective as rejecting it. Deciding how far back in time to start counting is also incredibly subjective.
You’re right, the question of how far back to go in “counting” a fight is subjective, or more accurately, arbitrary. I propose a 3-year cut-off, but I’m increasingly leaning towards making it 2 years. The 1-year cut-off used by a lot of rankers is too short, I believe. A lot of top fighters go without fights for a year, get dropped from the rankings and then re-appear near the top when they fight again.
As for Rua, even if you take the longer cut-off point of 3 years, his only wins over ranked LHW opponents are those over Coleman and Liddell. He deserves to be ranked right above Liddell and not a spot higher.
Three years limits the sample size unnecessarily and cuts out relevant information. I think that basically all relevant information should be included, and what that is (i.e., what is relevant) should be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Given your explanation of ranking Hendo at 205 even though he doesn’t fight at 205 anymore and hasn’t for more than a year, I think Mousasi should be ranked at 185 as well as 205.
Also, how is Franklin not ranked in either 185 or 205?
I am of the opinion that Forrest Griffin being in the top 10 is a joke.
Not sure who you were directing your comment at, but I rank Anderson, Henderson, Wanderlei, Mousasi and Franklin in both classes.
As for Griffin, he is slowly tumbling down the list but for now, he is in just the right place. With recent wins over Rua (#5) and Rampage (#6) and losses to Evans (#2) and Anderson (#3), the current rank of #4 is just right for Forrest. For him to tumble further, he needs to be leapfrogged or lose to some fighters ranked below him. The Nogueira fight is a good one because it gives FG that chance to drop further and gives Nog the chance to be ranked in the Top 5. Assuming Nog wins of course 🙂
My post was directed at Ivan.
His wins against post-surgical Rua and fat Rampage were hardly recent. They came about 30 months ago and 20 months ago, respectively. Since then he got stopped twice, including once by a middleweight, and won a horrid split decision against a guy who hadn’t fought in 18 months and hadn’t won since 2006. The Forrest being a top fighter myth is the biggest joke in mma. He’s 5-4 since 2006. I’m not saying he’s not a good fighter, but he is nowhere near top 5 in any realistic evaluation.
The funniest inclusion into these lists is Robbie Lawler. The guy gets entry based on getting the shit kicked out of him by Melvin Manhoef plus the hail mary punch.
No Hail Mary sir. Just the product of watching tape. Probably not his game plan, but a hail mary…probably not.
Agreed about his ranking though. I’d have him at 10 or right outside at 11 or 12.
Speaking of rankings…just saw that Roger Huerta signed with Bellator to take part in their LW tourney. Hope of hopes that he wins and takes on Eddie Alvarez as that will be one of the first times in forever that we’ll be able to have a fight tells us how well people have been ranking the 155’ers outside the UFC.
While I’ve never been a huge fan, imho (and based on past fight performance) Roger is just below that upper tier (Maynard-Edgar-Florian). If Alvarez smokes him out then his ranking is probably pretty justified.
“While I’ve never been a huge fan, imho (and based on past fight performance) Roger is just below that upper tier (Maynard-Edgar-Florian). If Alvarez smokes him out then his ranking is probably pretty justified.”
Agreed..but he’s got to get by Neer first, and I think if Eddie doesn’t do his homework he’ll lose.
“He’s 5-4 since 2006. I’m not saying he’s not a good fighter, but he is nowhere near top 5 in any realistic evaluation.”
So beating the #1LHW in the world on two seperate occasions counts for nothing, and wins over Babalu and Sokoudjou put you in the top 5?
“Agreed..but he’s got to get by Neer first, and I think if Eddie doesn’t do his homework he’ll lose.”
Oh yeah! That fight totally slipped my mind…I agree, he cannot in any way be looking past Neer or taking this fight lightly or Alvarez will in for some disappointment.