MMA Rankings (12/31/2012)

A lot can change in a few weeks in the world of MMA. We’ve experienced a few events since the last update in November. Ben Henderson has defended his UFC lightweight title, Cain Velasquez recaptured his UFC heavyweight title by dominating Junior dos Santos at UFC 155, and Constantinos Philippou has entered into the middleweight rankings. Check them out below:

Heavyweight

1.  Cain Velasquez (UFC Champion)
2. Junior dos Santos (UFC)
3. Alistair Overeem (UFC)
4. Fabricio Werdum (UFC)
5. Daniel Cormier (Strikeforce)
6. Frank Mir (UFC)
7. Josh Barnett (Strikeforce)
8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC)
9. Antonio Silva (UFC)
10. Roy Nelson (UFC)

-Cain Velasquez moves back into the number one spot after avenging his loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 155. Roy Nelson knocked out Matt Mitrione at the TUF 16 Finale, and Daniel Cormier will fight on the final Strikeforce show in January against Dion Staring as will Josh Barnett. Antonio Silva will take on Alistair Overeem at UFC 156.

Light heavyweight

1. Jon Jones (UFC Champion)
2. Dan Henderson (UFC)
3. Rashad Evans (UFC)
4. Lyoto Machida (UFC)
5. Alexander Gustaffson (UFC)
6. Phil Davis (UFC)
7. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (UFC)
8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (UFC)
9. Ryan Bader (UFC)
10. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (UFC)

-Alexander Gustafsson defeated Shogun Rua at the UFC on FOX 5 event and moves up. Machida and Dan Henderson will fight at UFC 157. Rashad Evans will face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156 in February. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will face Glover Teixeira at the UFC on FOX 6 event in January 2013.

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva (UFC Champion)
2. Chris Weidman (UFC)
3. Michael Bisping (UFC)
4. Mark Munoz (UFC)
5. Vitor Belfort (UFC)
6. Yushin Okami (UFC)
7. Brian Stann (UFC)
8. Luke Rockhold (Strikeforce)
9. Constantinos Phillipou (UFC)
10. Tim Boetsch (UFC)

-Michael Bisping will face Vitor Belfort at the UFC on FX 7 event. Tim Boetsch lost to Constatinos Philippou at UFC 155. Yushin Okami defeated Alan Belcher at UFC 155.

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre (UFC Champion)
2. Johny Hendricks (UFC)
3. Jon Fitch (UFC)
4. Carlos Condit (UFC)
5. Josh Koscheck (UFC)
6. Martin Kampmann (UFC)
7. Jake Ellenberger (UFC)
8. Rory MacDonald (UFC)
9. Nick Diaz (UFC)
10. Ben Askren (Bellator)

-No changes. Georges St. Pierre will face Nick Diaz at UFC 158 and Johny Hendricks will face Jake Ellenberger, and Rory MacDonald will take on Carlos Condit on the same event as well. Jon Fitch will take on Demian Maia at UFC 156. Josh Koscheck will face Robbie Lawler at UFC 157.

Lightweight

1. Ben Henderson (UFC Champion)
2. Gray Maynard (UFC)
3. Gilbert Melendez (Strikeforce Champion)
4. Anthony Pettis (UFC)
5. Michael Chandler (Bellator Champion)
6. Nate Diaz (UFC)
7. Donald Cerrone (UFC)
8. Jim Miller (UFC)
9. Eddie Alvarez (Free Agent)
10. Rick Hawn (Bellator)

-Ben Henderson retains the number one spot after dominating Nate Diaz at the UFC on FOX 5 event. So Nate Diaz drops a few spots but remains ahead of Cerrone and Miller with recent wins over them. Anthony Pettis will face Donald Cerrone at the UFC on FOX 6 event. Michael Chandler will take on Rick Hawn in his next outing. Jim Miller had a “Fight of the Year” candidate with Joe Lauzon at UFC 155 and won a unanimous decision. Rick Hawn replaces Lauzon at the #10 spot.

Featherweight

1. Jose Aldo (UFC Champion)
2. Pat Curran (Bellator Champion)
3. Chad Mendes (UFC)
4. Ricardo Lamas (UFC)
5. Dennis Siver (UFC)
6. Hatsu Hioki (UFC)
7. Diego Nunes (UFC)
8. Erik Koch (UFC)
9. Chang  Jung Sung (UFC)
10. Dustin Poirier (UFC)

Aldo will face Frankie Edgar at UFC 156. Mendes will face Hacran Dias in January. Siver will face Nam Phan at the UFC on FOX 5 event. Lamas will face Erick Koch at the UFC on FOX 6 event. Also, Hioki will face Clay Guida at UFC on FOX 6. Nunes will face Nik Lentz at the UFC on FX 7 event. Dennis Siver moves up a spot with a dominating win over Nam Phan and due to the inactivity of other fighters below him.

Bantamweight

1. Dominick Cruz (UFC Champion)
2. Renan Barao (UFC Interim Champion)
3. Urijah Faber (UFC)
4. Michael McDonald (UFC)
5. Eddie Wineland (UFC)
6. Brad Pickett (UFC)
7. Eduardo Dantas (Bellator)
8. Scott Jorgensen (UFC)
9. Bibiano Fernandes (ONE FC)
10. Raphael Assuncao (UFC)

-It looks like Barao will defend his interim title against Michael McDonald at the UFC on FUEL 7 event. Urijah Faber will fight Ivan Menjivar at UFC 157. Brad Pickett lost to Eddie Wineland at UFC 155. Eduardo Dantas will face Marcos Galvao next. Mike Easton lost to Raphael Assuncao at the UFC on FOX 5 event and Assuncao replaces him in the rankings after winning three straight. *I know Dominick Cruz will be out with the injury even longer now…but I dislike removing a guy in the #1 spot because of an injury

Flyweight

1. Demetrious Johnson (UFC Champion)
2. Joseph Benavidez (UFC)
3. Ian McCall (UFC)
4. John Dodson (UFC)
5. Yasuhiro Urushitani (UFC)
6. Darrell Montague (Tachi Palace)
7. Mamoru Yamaguchi (Shooto/Tachi Palace)
8. Jussier Da Silva (UFC)
9. Tim Elliot (UFC)
10. Louis Gaudinot (UFC)

-No Movement here. If you have thoughts regarding the rankings we would love to hear your opinions.