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: | 04/08/2013 | 04/07/2013 | 03/18/2013 | 03/19/2013 | |||||||||
| 1. | Benson Henderson | 1 | (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| 2. | Gilbert Melendez | 2 | (1) | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| 3. | Anthony Pettis | 3 | (2) | 3 | (4) | 5 | 3 | ||||||
| 4. | Gray Maynard | 4 | (3) | 4 | (5) | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| 5. | Nate Diaz | 5 | (4) | 5 | (6) | 4 | 5 | ||||||
| 6. | Jim Miller | 6 | (5) | 9 | (11) | 6 | 6 | (8) | |||||
| 7. | TJ Grant | 8 | (7) | 6 | (7) | 8 | (10) | 8 | (10) | ||||
| 8. | Donald Cerrone | 7 | (6) | 7 | (8) | ||||||||
| 9. | Khabib Nurmagomedov | 10 | (9) | 10 | (12) | T9 | (OC) | 7 | (9) | ||||
| 10. | Rafael dos Anjos | 9 | (8) | 8 | (10) | ||||||||
| Diego Sanchez | 7 | (9) | |||||||||||
| Pat Healy | T9 | (OC) | |||||||||||
| Joe Lauzon | T9 | (OC) | |||||||||||
Matches I'd Make
Sometimes things align exactly right: the #2 ranked lightweight, Gilbert Melendez, qualifies under my rules for the next title shot. Anthony Pettis and T.J. Grant are the highest ranked fighters to qualify for the #1 contenders match, so I'd match them up for the next crack at lightweight gold. And although they've already fought, I'd set up Gray Maynard to take on Jim Miller to get one of the two on a two fight win streak and set up to take part in the next #1 contenders match. Since they are both on long win streaks, I'd match up Khabib Nurmagomedov and Pat Healy with the winner taking on the Maynard/Miller winner. As the remaining fighters coming off of a win, I'd set up Rafael dos Anjos with Diego Sanchez. It seems too soon for Diaz v Cerrone II, so I'd let Nate Diaz take on Joe Lauzon and have Donald Cerrone welcome Josh Thompson to the UFC.
Matches the UFC has Made
On the bright side, we are getting Henderson/Melendez. Pettis is dropping down to featherweight to compete for the title, so he's out of the lightweight picture (if he loses to Jose Aldo, Aldo is suppose to get the next lightweight title shot). Maynard is scheduled to face off against Grant, and Miller is taking on Healy. As for matching up ranked with unranked fighters, Diaz will be welcoming Thompson, Cerrone is welcoming K.J. Noons to the UFC (it's going to be a rough welcome), and dos Anjos is taking on Evan Dunham. The UFC is taking it slow with Khabib Nurmagomedov as he'll be facing off against Abel Trujillo.
Matches I'd Add to the UFC's
Only Sanchez and Lauzon lack opponents from this list. There are many who would argue that Sanchez should not have been given the decision in his last fight (I'd be one of them), so I'll match these two together. If the UFC can get the contract situation with Eddie Alvarez resolved, then I'd suggest feeding Sanchez to him instead.
I found it interesting that all five polls had the same top five (a slight shuffle of 3-5 on Sherdog versus the other polls). The division has a good deal of depth although it's disappointing that Pettis has moved down. Not sure that I'm wild about Aldo getting the next shot at lightweight if he beats Pettis, but I would like to see Henderson/Aldo (not as much as Henderson/Pettis II though).
No comments:
Post a Comment