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Independent World MMA Rankings – June 3, 2010
By Zach Arnold | June 3, 2010
From the office of the Independent World MMA Rankings
June 3, 2010 – The June 2010 Men’s 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 MMA web sites, as well as www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.
Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together to form an 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 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: Quinton Jackson, who was previously ineligible to be ranked due to 12 months of inactivity, has regained his eligibility to be ranked as a result of his recent return to competition.
June 2010 Men’s Independent World MMA Rankings
Ballots collected on June 1, 2010
Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.)
1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest)
2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)
3. Shane Carwin (12-0)
4. Cain Velasquez (8-0)
5. Alistair Overeem (33-11, 1 No Contest)
6. Junior dos Santos (11-1)
7. Frank Mir (13-5)
8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1, 1 No Contest)
9. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)
10. Brett Rogers (10-2)
Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.)
1. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4)
2. Lyoto Machida (16-1)
3. Rashad Evans (15-1-1)
4. Quinton Jackson (30-8)
5. Anderson Silva (25-4)
6. Forrest Griffin (17-6)
7. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (7-0)
8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-3)
9. Gegard Mousasi (28-3-1)
10. Thiago Silva (14-2)
Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.)
1. Anderson Silva (25-4)
2. Jake Shields (25-4-1)
3. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)
4. Nathan Marquardt (29-9-2)
5. Vitor Belfort (19-8)
6. Dan Henderson (25-8)
7. Demian Maia (12-1)
8. Robbie Lawler (17-5, 1 No Contest)
9. Yushin Okami (24-5)
10. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (12-2, 1 No Contest)
Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.)
1. Georges St. Pierre (20-2)
2. Jon Fitch (22-3, 1 No Contest)
3. Thiago Alves (16-6)
4. Josh Koscheck (15-4)
5. Paulo Thiago (13-1)
6. Nick Diaz (22-7, 1 No Contest)
7. Dan Hardy (23-7, 1 No Contest)
8. Matt Hughes (44-7)
9. Paul Daley (23-9-2)
10. Matt Serra (10-6)
Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.)
1. Frankie Edgar (12-1)
2. B.J. Penn (15-6-1)
3. Gilbert Melendez (18-2)
4. Kenny Florian (13-4)
5. Eddie Alvarez (20-2)
6. Shinya Aoki (23-5, 1 No Contest)
7. Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 No Contest)
8. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2)
9. Ben Henderson (12-1)
10. Tyson Griffin (14-2)
Featherweight Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.)
1. Jose Aldo (17-1)
2. Manny Gamburyan (11-4)
3. Urijah Faber (23-4)
4. Mike Brown (23-6)
5. Hatsu Hioki (21-4-2)
6. Bibiano Fernandes (8-2)
7. Marlon Sandro (16-1)
8. Raphael Assuncao (14-2)
9. Michihiro Omigawa (10-8-1)
10. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue (18-4)
Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.)
1. Dominick Cruz (15-1)
2. Brian Bowles (8-1)
3. Joseph Benavidez (12-1)
4. Miguel Torres (37-3)
5. Scott Jorgensen (10-3)
6. Takeya Mizugaki (13-4-2)
7. Damacio Page (15-4)
8. Masakatsu Ueda (11-1-2)
9. Wagnney Fabiano (13-2)
10. Rani Yahya (15-6)
The Men’s 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 his first fight in the new weight class has taken place.
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, UFC, Zach Arnold | 24 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
And people wonder why Dana loses it when it comes to rankings seriously when I see things like Overeem at 5 at HW and Shields at 2 I just have to shake my head in disgust.
It has nothing to do with who is promoting the fights. You just have to be on TV winning to be over-ranked in MMA. Ben Henderson skyrocketing up the lightweight rankings is a great example of that. Who did he beat that was even close to the top 10?
Agreed. Overeem was being ranked top ten before he even beat Rogers, and that was obviously floating in the face of the entire system devised for these rankings…. rank by record.
When Shields comes to the UFC, im sure he will be fighting GSP and not Anderson Silva. Then he could very easily lose to the likes of Koscheck, Fitch or Thiago Silva.
I’m just about as big an Overeem fan as they come, I used to go to the 2Hot2Handle shows in Holland when he was just starting out, and I’ve taken a couple of classes from his brother.
I’ve yet to see a single logical explanation for ranking him as high as fifth in the heavyweight rankings. Can anybody provide one?
If this is what the MMA media can come up with in yeir collective minds…. It’s a good thing Dana White laughs at them.
These rankings are pathetically bad. Way too much emphasis put on champions who have looked good winning but don’t have the wins to justify their rankings. Both inside and outside of the UFC, there are some fighters ranked way too high compared to their accomplishments.
Bunch of amateurs the MMA media is. This is further proof. Downright pathetic.
What are your lists, 45, for the major divisions? How do you see them 1-10 in each class? I’d be interested in reading the lists.
HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Fedor
2. Lesnar
3. Carwin
4. Velasquez
5. Mir
6. Noguiera
7. Dos Santos
8. Overeem
9. Werdum
10. Silva
Note: I could see Dos Santos at #5 but I don’t think he has that quality win beyond Werdum to be higher. Silva at #10 is sort of by default. Nobody else really qualifies.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
1. Mauricio Rua
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Evans
4. Silva
5. Griffin
6. Rampage
7. Noguiera
8. Silva
9. Bader
10. Lawal
Note: The Top 6 should be undebatable. After that there is some room. But there is no way both Lawal and Mousasi stay in the Top 10 based on Babalu being the biggest win of that cycle. Personally I think Jones is the best of the bunch but his win over Vera doesn’t compare to Bader and Silva beating Jardine. Weird how it worked, but that’s how the rankings cookie crumbles.
Will post my rest later.
I tend to agree with both Gaijin and 45. Except I think Shields should be ahead of Marquardt and Maia, and Melendez should be ahead of Florian.
The rest would be my exact rankings.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
1. Silva
2. Sonnen
3. Marquardt
4. Maia
5. Shields
6. Henderson
7. Belfort
8. Okami
9. Lawler
10. Wanderlei
Note – I see the logic in putting Shields at #2, but Henderson was really overrranked based on his accomplishments anyways.
WELTERWEIGHT
1. GSP
2. Fitch
3. Alves
4. Thiago
5. Koscheck
6. Hughes
7. Serra
8. Hardy
9. Daley
10. Diaz
NOTE – Shields hasn’t competed in this division for over a year.
LIGHTWEIGHT
1. Edgar
2. Penn
3. Florian
4. Melendez
5. Maynard
6. Aoki
7. Alvarez
8. Kawajiri
9. Griffin
10. ????
Note – 9 & 10 could be a bunch of different guys. Maybe Sotoropolous or a few other guys.
I think you and I are pretty scarily close with our rankings.
Maybe we should put together monthly lists for people to get upset about!
Absurd ranking of the month: Ben Henderson at #9.
Reed Harris must be paying someone!
HW
1. Fedor
2. Lesnar
3. Carwin
4. Velasquez
5. Mir
6. JDS
7. Nogueira
8. Werdum
9. Overeem
10. Rogers/Bigfoot
LHW
1. Shogun
2. Machida
3. Evans
4. Anderson Silva
5. Griffin
6. Rampage
7. Thiago Silva
8. Bader
9. Lil Nogueira
10.King Mo
MW
1. Silva
2. Sonnen
3. Marquardt
4. Vitor
5. Shields
6. Henderson
7. Maia
8. Okami
9. Wanderlei
10. Palhares/Bisping/Souza
WW
1. GSP
2. Fitch
3. Alves
4. Thiago
5. Koscheck
6. Hughes
7. Shields
8. Hardy
9. Serra
10. Diaz
LW
1. Edgar
2. Penn
3. Florian
4. Melendez
5. Maynard
6. Griffin
7. Alvarez
8. Kawajiri
9. Sotiropolous
10. Aoki
It’s funny how often see the HW rankings stack up like: Fedor, (every credible UFC HW plus Mir), (the SF HWs). Obviously, that reflects hype affecting rankings more than reality.
In fanboy world, putting those SF heavyweights higher would be an unacceptable political statement. Just ask 45, who ranks Overeem at 8th but finds it “pathetic” to see this panel place him at 5th. We need to keep pretending like Overeem wouldn’t put Mir and Nogueira in the hospital until it actually happens, I guess.
Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Nogueira was ranked #2 in the world, and all of the UFC guys rankings are based on either beating him or beating Mir (who beat him). Very simple.
I also think Overeem would beat Mir. It’s a horrible match-up for Mir. But rankings aren;t based on who you think would win. It’s based on ACCOMPLISHMENTS!!
And if there is any fanboys…. It’s the MMA Media…. Who refuses to look soley at ACCOMPLISHMENTS…. And instead base their rankings based on who they think would win. And on guys with decent winning streaks, despite the fact that they haven’t beaten anybody to deserve their rankings…. See Ben Henderson, Alistair Overeem, King Lawal, and so forth….
That’s always gonna be the question where rankings are concerned. How far do you put a guy up a list based on talent vs accomplishments.
If we’re basing it on accomplishments, how is Mir even ranked? He’s 5-4 since his comeback with four really bad losses, a terrible performance in a win against a low-level opponent, two wins over one-dimensional strikers, a win over a shot former superstar, and a win over a guy in his first real fight.
He demolished Nogueira and tapped Lesnar. Both are legit Top 10 guys. So he would have to be ranked in the Top 10.
Who has Overeem beaten?
It was Brock’s first real fight. It wasn’t a big accomplishment beating him. And demolishing Nogueira when he did didn’t mean much either.
Overeem’s beaten Kharitonov, Rogers, Buentello, and CroCop, and more importantly, he hasn’t been demolished in four of his last nine fights.
Mir has totally bootstrapped himself to Lesnar…beating a 1-0 Lesnar shouldn’t be counted with the strength it’s been given vis the current Lesnar, because he’s already shown that he can’t hang with him.
Manny Gumburyan is a good fighter, but he hasn’t proved anything to be #2 in the world ranking. Oddly enough, Sherdog/MMAWeekly also ranks him right after Jose Aldo. What are they sniffing???
I’m pretty sure that non-ranker Kazuyuki Miyata takes him out in a one-sided battle. Takaya and Otsuka would beat him without much trouble too.
“I’m pretty sure that non-ranker Kazuyuki Miyata takes him out in a one-sided battle. Takaya and Otsuka would beat him without much trouble too.”
There is a good run of upsets lately in mma, but really??
I’d give the list of odds at dethroning Aldo to the following fighters at or below 145:
Dominick Cruz- +300
Manny Gamburyan- +400
Hatsu Hioki- +400
Marlon Sandro- +400
Bibiano Fernandez- +500
Manny is no joke, but PROBABLY isn’t getting passed Aldo.
People misunderstands Manny Gamburyan.
He used to train with his fellow Armenian, Karo so we figure that he is a Judo/Sambo guy. But if you actually watch his fights, you’d know he is a wrestler. He takes down his opponents for a LnP decision win. That’s what he’s good at.
If he faces a better wrestler like Miyata, all he can hope for is a lucky punch KO. He won’t have anything from the buttom, no leg locks, no guillotine. He does not have Jiu-Jitsu to reverse to get on top. He should keep it standing where he may have 20% chance or else he’ll fail.
Otsuka/Takaya could be worse match up for Manny because their striking is better and nobody can keep them on their back for 3 rounds.
> I’d give the list of odds at dethroning Aldo to the following fighters at or below 145:
Dominick Cruz- +300
Manny Gamburyan- +400
Hatsu Hioki- +400
Marlon Sandro- +400
Bibiano Fernandez- +500
Interesting, but I see it differently.
Manny Gamburyan +800
Marlon Sandro -115
Bibiano Fernandez +400
Kazuyuki Miyata +200
Joe Warren -180
Mike Brown +200
Pinoy Omigawa +400
Urijar Faber +350
Masakazu Imanari +400
Takafumi Otsuka +200
Hatsu Hioki (who the phuck is he?)