Tag: Rankings/List

UFC 188 Results: Who Should Fabricio Werdum Defend His Belt Against 1st?

At UFC 188, Fabricio Werdum was crowned the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion by defeating Cain Velasquez. It was a surprisingly strong performance by the ever-improving Brazilian that resulted in a third-round submission win via guillotine choke.&nb…

At UFC 188, Fabricio Werdum was crowned the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion by defeating Cain Velasquez. It was a surprisingly strong performance by the ever-improving Brazilian that resulted in a third-round submission win via guillotine choke. 

Now, the UFC finds itself in a wholly unfamiliar position, having to make sense of a jumbled, cluttered heavyweight title picture. 

For the first time in forever, there are not one, not two, but three strong options for its heavyweight champ, with a couple of wild cards in play as well. It’s a surprising but welcome change for the historically shallow division.

Figuring out who should challenge Werdum for the belt is a tough endeavor, but here are the top options.

 

Andrei Arlovski

Andrei Arlovski’s resurgence is one of the most absurd stories in recent MMA history. The former UFC champ seemed like he was completely, utterly done after suffering a four-fight losing streak that featured numerous chilling knockouts. Somehow, he worked his way back to the UFC after six years and rattled off three straight wins to force his way back into the Top 10.

A talented finisher flanked by the Jackson-Winkeljohn coaching staff, Arlovski would be a unique test for Werdum. He has the skills and game-planning to contend with Werdum all over the cage and has the tools to end the fight on a moment’s notice. Oh, and the fact that he owns a win over Werdum (albeit one from 2007) doesn’t hurt.

The trouble with Arlovski is that while he has the talent, he isn’t necessarily an especially strong draw, and his resume does not demand a title fight just yet. While he would likely get a shot at the belt under normal circumstances, he is a distant third on the list these days.

 

Cain Velasquez

While Werdum finished Velasquez in the third round, this was no blowout. Velasquez got in plenty of offense before the fight ended and had Werdum on wobbly legs on a couple of occasions. Couple that with the fact that Velasquez was clearly in less-than-peak physical condition, and it isn’t hard to sell fans on a rematch.

The trouble with giving Velasquez an immediate rematch? The guy is a physical wreck. He has only posted three fights in a calendar year once (in 2009) and spent the vast majority of his 896-day title reign nursing injuries. 

Is Velasquez deserving of an immediate rematch? One could argue for or against that. Either way, the UFC’s business interests likely wouldn’t be well-served by having its heavyweight belt on a chair in a physical therapist’s office.

 

Junior dos Santos

It took some doing, but former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos finds himself with a surprising opportunity to take back the strap. For those who repressed the memories, JDS took the heavyweight title from Velasquez in 2011 but was absolutely mauled in their 2012 rematch. The rubber match in 2013 was a similarly brutal affair to the point where it was impossible to get enthused about Dos Santos’ future as a contender.

With Velasquez out of the way, however, Dos Santos is in prime position for a return. 

He is coming off a win over fellow would-be contender Stipe Miocic. He sent Werdum packing for Strikeforce back in 2008. Oh, and he’s still hugely popular, even without the belt.

A Werdum vs. Dos Santos title fight makes sense on paper and could work as the main event to the UFC’s long-awaited soccer stadium show in Brazil. This is the fight to make.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Gilbert Melendez and the Top 10 Lightweights in MMA History

The lightweight division in mixed martial arts has always been the most talent-rich in the sport.  There are literally hundreds of well-known world-class fighters competing at 155 pounds, and the weight class has been home to some of the greatest …

The lightweight division in mixed martial arts has always been the most talent-rich in the sport.  There are literally hundreds of well-known world-class fighters competing at 155 pounds, and the weight class has been home to some of the greatest fights in the sport’s history.

The division was so filled with talent that at one point it resembled Game of Thrones in the multiple champions with claims to the title of best lightweight on the planet.  Eddie Alvarez was wrecking shop in Bellator. Gilbert Melendez was a dominant champion in Strikeforce, and until the two competed in the Octagon against the UFC champion, we would never know who really was the best.  

Fast forward a few years, and Melendez has had two UFC title shots, and Eddie Alvarez has been freed of his legal shackles due to a regime change at Bellator. The two are set to square off this weekend at UFC 188.  

This is a dream fight for longtime MMA fans.  With the former Strikeforce lightweight champ set to battle the former Bellator champion, now is a great time to take a look at the greatest lightweights in the history of the sport.  

What we will be looking at to discern the best fighters of all time at lightweight are things like title fights and defenses, strength of schedule, and dominant performances against high-level competition. In other words, who have they fought and how did they beat them?  A lot of fighters have competed in multiple weight divisions, but their work at 155 pounds is what we will put under the microscope.  

Now, let us look at the 10 best lightweights in MMA history.  

Begin Slideshow

UFC 188: Cain Velasquez and the Top 10 Heavyweights in MMA History

This Saturday, Cain Velasquez will defend his lineal heavyweight belt against interim champion Fabricio Werdum at UFC 188. 
If you take out one Junior dos Santos overhand right, Velasquez is undefeated as a mixed martial artist. Not only that, but…

This Saturday, Cain Velasquez will defend his lineal heavyweight belt against interim champion Fabricio Werdum at UFC 188. 

If you take out one Junior dos Santos overhand right, Velasquez is undefeated as a mixed martial artist. Not only that, but he’s unthreatened. His cardiovascular endurance, underrated punching power and freight-train takedowns make him an imposing test for anyone. Only his history of injuries keeps him from being a more well-recognized presence on the MMA landscape.

Even so, the champ is still one of the best heavyweights ever. Who are the others? I’m glad you asked. Here are the top 10 heavyweights in MMA history.

They are ranked based on their records, accomplishments in the sport, quality of opposition and, to a lesser extent, head-to-head performance against other candidates. Only fighters who spent a substantial portion of their careers at the weight class are eligible. Let’s get it on.

 

Begin Slideshow

Shawn Jordan vs. Derrick Lewis and the 5 Best Head-Kick KOs in UFC HW History

The upside-down man pictured above—UFC heavyweight Shawn Jordan—weighs north of 260 pounds. 
He’s kind of athletic. There’s something special about a man that big doing things that physically taxing, and today, I’d …

The upside-down man pictured above—UFC heavyweight Shawn Jordan—weighs north of 260 pounds. 

He’s kind of athletic. There’s something special about a man that big doing things that physically taxing, and today, I’d like to shine some light on the big fellas who perform impressive feats of skill and athleticism inside the UFC Octagon. 

One of the flashiest ways to finish a fight inside the cage is via head kick, and there have been some spectacular showcases of shin colliding with skull throughout the UFC’s history. 

Let’s take a look back through the archives and pick out the top five most impressive head-kick knockouts in the UFC’s heavyweight division. 

To rank, I’ll use a combination of factors, including: 

  • Degree of difficulty
  • Quality of opposition
  • Timeliness (a big-time comeback KO would score higher than a betting favorite knocking out a massive underdog)
  • Impact 

Ready to see how it shakes out? Click on to begin the show. 

Begin Slideshow

Bleacher Report Men’s MMA Rankings for June 2015

MMA in April was defined by action out of the cage. Titles were stripped, gavels were banged, and free agents found new homes.
However, action in the cage defined MMA in May. The UFC and Bellator both put forward some of their top talent, which shook u…

MMA in April was defined by action out of the cage. Titles were stripped, gavels were banged, and free agents found new homes.

However, action in the cage defined MMA in May. The UFC and Bellator both put forward some of their top talent, which shook up the rankings accordingly. 

Check out our rules and requirements for rankings here. Here are our special notes for this month:

  • Bellator stripped former middleweight champion Brandon Halsey of the title for missing weight ahead of his bout with Kendall Grove, but he will remain on the 185-pound rankings. This will change should he opt to move to the light heavyweight division.
  • Benson Henderson, despite discussing his interest in making a full-time move to the welterweight division, will remain in consideration for the lightweight rankings. This will change, however, should he be scheduled for another fight at 170 pounds.
  • We removed UFC bantamweight Michael McDonald from consideration due to inactivity. He will be eligible once again following his return to active competition.

 

Flyweight

Three bouts involving two top-10 flyweights went down in May with few surprises. John Dodson and Joseph Benavidez took decisions at UFC 187 over Zach Makovsky and John Moraga, respectively. Jussier da Silva, meanwhile, pulled off a big win over Wilson Reis at Fight Night 67.

None of the wins were particularly impressive, but all were good enough to keep any doubt regarding their place in the rankings from seeping in.

 

Bantamweight

The bantamweight division was deceptively quiet in May, with the only especially relevant fight being a Bellator showdown between Mike Richman and Eduardo Dantas.

Dantas put on a solid performance against a spry (read: overweight) Richman and did his part to keep the promotion’s top trio of bantamweights hard to figure out. Dantas, former champion Joe Warren and current champion Marcos Galvao have all demonstrated great skill but have glaring holes in their games. Couple that with their rock-paper-scissors matchups against one another, and it’s easy to wonder whether one, two, all or none deserve top-10 status.

In the UFC, Urijah Faber took a (seemingly) one-off featherweight fight bout opposite Frankie Edgar, which he lost decisively. The poor outing saw him bumped out of a fourth-place tie with Raphael Assuncao.

 

Featherweight

As stated, Frankie Edgar defeated Urijah Faber. That was not particularly surprising and only served to reinforce what we already know: Edgar is one of the best fighters in MMA today.

The biggest shake-up came following UFC Fight Night 67, which saw Charles Oliveira pull off a huge win over Nik Lentz. After two rounds of back-and-forth action, Oliveira locked up a downright scary guillotine choke that folded Lentz in half. It was a huge win for the rising Brazilian, who gets to keep himself in the thick of a fast-moving, talent-rich featherweight division.

 

Lightweight

It was mostly quiet on the lightweight front in May unfortunately. The UFC scrapped the highly anticipated top contender bout between Donald Cerrone and Khabib Nurmagomedov when Nurmagomedov withdrew due to a knee injury. Cerrone instead dominated an overmatched John Makdessi and earned himself a crack at the title.

While it did little for him in terms of his position in the rankings, it certainly helped him get to the next level in his career. The title fight is likely to go down in the fall, so anticipate a big rankings shake-up before the holidays.

 

Welterweight

Carlos Condit is back, folks. At UFC Fight Night 67, NBK demolished a resurgent Thiago Alves and reasserted himself as one of the top dogs at 170 pounds. While Alves isn’t an elite talent these days, Condit‘s win was convincing and removed any doubt about his health following 14 months out of the cage due to a knee injury.

 

Middleweight

Gegard Mousasi continued to rebuild his contender status by lighting up Costas Philippou at UFC Fight Night 66. Mousasi was heavily favored entering the fight and lived up to the expectations, maintaining his standing in the rankings.

At UFC 187, Chris Weidman made his return to the Octagon and absolutely mauled a frail, deflated Vitor Belfort. It was a strong win for Weidman, but a loss that made it easy to question whether a post-TRT Belfort could be considered a legitimate threat in the cage.

 

Light Heavyweight

Like it or not, Daniel Cormier is now the UFC light heavyweight champion and the top-ranked light heavyweight in MMA after thrashing Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Johnson slides back into the second-place spot, and Alexander Gustafsson moves to third. Expect things to stay that way until Jon Jones’ return.

 

Heavyweight

The heavyweight division was shuffled up in a big way in May. Stipe Miocic trounced Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 65, returning to his wrestling base and showing improved cardio in a performance that made it easy to wonder if he might be the first man to truly challenge Cain Velasquez for the heavyweight title. Two weeks later, Andrei Arlovski continued his improbable run back to the top of the UFC, as he defeated Travis Browne with a surprising knockout.

Needless to say, the rankings look a fair bit different today than they did a month ago.

 

Top-5 Fighters Fighting in June:

  • Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum (UFC 188)
  • Lyoto Machida vs. Yoel Romero (The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4 Finale)

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 67: 5 Reasons to Watch Condit vs. Alves Fight Card

Whether you’ve recovered from UFC 187’s blistering lineup of high-profile scraps, the UFC is tossing another hard-hitting event your way Saturday with UFC Fight Night 67. 
Featuring a main event welterweight showdown between Carlos “The Natural Bo…

Whether you’ve recovered from UFC 187’s blistering lineup of high-profile scraps, the UFC is tossing another hard-hitting event your way Saturday with UFC Fight Night 67. 

Featuring a main event welterweight showdown between Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit and Thiago “Pitbull” Alves, UFC Fight Night 67 promises a stand-up battle for the ages at the top of the card.

This main event all but guarantees fireworks, but what about the rest of the card? 

Let’s break down this event and highlight the reasons why you need to tune your TV to Fox Sports 1 on Saturday evening. 

Begin Slideshow