At the start of February, the UFC starting publishing media voted fighter rankings. At that time, I wrote a post comparing the UFC's rankings with those of Fight Matrix which uses a computer program to rank fighters. At the time I used a set of rules for determining who got the next title fight and who would take part in the next #1 contender match. Those rules were:
- The next title contender would be the highest ranked fighter that:
- Won two fights in a row.
- Won three fights since his last loss in a title fight or against the current champion unless he's a former champion that successfully defended the belt.
- Won five fights in a row if his number of losses against the current champion is two greater than his number of wins.
- The next #1 contender match would be between the next two highest ranked fighters that:
- Won his last fight.
- Won two fights since his last loss in a title fight or against the current champion unless he's a former champion that successfully defended the belt.
- Won four fights in a row if his number of losses against the current champion is two greater than his number of wins.
At the time, I broke down the rankings division-by-division to identify the next title contender and #1 contenders match participants for each division based on both of the rankings. Fighters don't fight enough to require reviewing that frequently, but I thought breaking down each division might be. As such, I've decided to do a division-by-division look at what I think should happen next. Along with the UFC and Fight Matrix rankings mentioned above, I'll also be using the rankings from Sherdog and MMA Weekly: two sites I also frequently visit for MMA news. I'll be combining the rankings from the four to get a "unified" ranking.
A few caveats must be noted before I proceed. The UFC rankings essentially have the champion at position 0. I'll be considering the champion rank 1 and move down the other fighters in the rankings respectively. The other rankings include non-UFC fighters. For Fight Matrx, the rankings are deep enough to grab a UFC top 10. Sherdog includes an "other contenders" section. In the event the top 10 includes non-UFC fighters, the "other contenders" from the UFC will be considered as tied for the bottom spot(s) and will split points accordingly. For Fight Matrix, Sherdog, and MMA Weekly, the actual ranking position will be noted when it doesn't match the used position.
Combined Rankings
| UFC | Fight Matrix | Sherdog | MMA Weekly | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last Update: | 03/18/2013 | 03/31/2013 | 03/18/2013 | 03/19/2013 | |||||||||
| 1. | Jose Aldo | 1 | (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| 2. | Ricardo Lamas | 3 | (2) | 6 | (7) | 3 | (4) | 2 | |||||
| 3. | Chad Mendes | 2 | (1) | 8 | (11) | 2 | (3) | 3 | |||||
| 4. | Frankie Edgar | 4 | (3) | 2 | 4 | ||||||||
| 5. | Cub Swanson | 6 | (5) | 5 | (6) | 9 | (10) | 6 | |||||
| 6. | Chan Sung Jung | 5 | (4) | 9 | (12) | 8 | (9) | 5 | |||||
| 7. | Clay Guida | 9 | (8) | 3 | 4 | (5) | |||||||
| 8. | Dennis Siver | 7 | (6) | 4 | (5) | 6 | (7) | ||||||
| 9. | Nik Lentz | 10 | (9) | 7 | (9) | 7 | (8) | ||||||
| 10. | Dustin Poirier | 8 | (7) | T10 | (OC) | 7 | (8) | ||||||
| Hatsu Hioki | 10 | (13) | 5 | (6) | |||||||||
| Erik Koch | T10 | (OC) | 8 | (9) | |||||||||
| Darren Elkins | T10 | (OC) | 9 | (10) | |||||||||
| Diego Nunes | T10 | (OC) | |||||||||||
Matches I'd Make
Ricardo Lamas is the clear #1 contender both by my rules and in my opinion, so he gets the next crack at Jose Aldo. Chad Mendes has won both of his fights since he challenged for the title and lost, so he's eligible for the #1 contenders match. Swanson is the next highest fighter who qualifies, and although those two have squared off, it was back in 2010 in the WEC, so it's fine for them to go at it again. The depth of the featherweight division (compared to featherweight and bantamweight) is obvious, as the #6 - #9 are all coming off of a win. Might as well take advantage of that, and put together two matches that will determine those that will take part in the next #1 contenders match. As with a tournament, I'll have the highest ranked fighter go against the lowest, so I've line up Chan Sung Jung with Nik Lentz and Clay Guida with Dennis Siver. As for those coming off of a loss, I'll match up Frankie Edgar with Dustin Poirier to get one of those guys back on the right track. I'll also match up the almost title contenders of Hatsu Hioki and Erik Koch to see which really does deserve to be in the top ten.
Matches the UFC has Made
Here's a division where the matches put together vary greatly from what I'd do. Once again, the UFC is having the champion take on a top contender dropping down from 155: Anthony Pettis has jumped the line and gets the next crack at Aldo. Instead of fighting for the title, Lamas will be taking on Sung Jung (whom I had thought the UFC had declared the #1 contender). Perhaps the winner of this one gets the next shot at featherweight gold. Mendes was suppose to take on Guida next, but Guida pulled out due to injury, so Mendes will be fighting Darren Elkins instead. Swanson will be taking on Siver, and the winner should be in the discussion for the next title shot (perhaps if Aldo wins the title and permanently moves up to lightweight, this winner takes on the winner of Lamas/Sung Jung for the vacated title). Lentz is taking on the streaking Hacran Dias (winner of nine straight). And for Edgar, the UFC reached outside of the top ten to match him up with Charles Oliveira. Seems like quite the step down for Edgar; perhaps the UFC is trying too hard to get him his first win after three losses.
Matches I'd Add to the UFC's
Not many in the top ten (or slightly beyond) are without a fight: Guida (injuried), Poirier, Hioki, Nunes, and Koch. Might as well match them by closeness in rank and have Poirier take on Hioki and Nunes take on Koch and get two of those guys back on track. I'll hold back Guida to allow time for him to heal and then he'll take on a winner in a match to be named later.
To be honest, I didn't think I'd enjoy putting together match ups for the featherweight division as much as I did. The division is truly deeper than I had previous thought and could become one of the UFC's most open divisions if Aldo indeed moves up to lightweight. And while I'm looking forward to the Aldo/Pettis fight, it will be nice once true featherweights start getting title shots again.
No comments:
Post a Comment