Man, April was quite the month for the UFC and MMA as a whole, wasn’t it? The Jon Jones hit-and-run. The Rampage Jackson vs. Bellator lawsuits. Major prospect signings in basically every promotion. Phil Davis leaving the UFC for Bel…
Man, April was quite the month for the UFC and MMA as a whole, wasn’t it? The Jon Jones hit-and-run. The Rampage Jackson vs. Bellator lawsuits. Major prospect signings in basically every promotion. Phil Davis leaving the UFC for Bellator through free agency. Even surprise pregnancies. It had it all!
Oh, and fights. Lots of those happened as well, with four UFC events, and appearances from Bellator, WSOF and One FC. There were some major shakeups this month across numerous divisions, so let’s jump right in.
You can check out our rules and eligibility requirements here. Here are the special notes for this month:
- Now-former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is removed from consideration due to the suspension leveled against him by the UFC. While the original rules stipulate that fighters are automatically removed by drug-test suspensions, no such considerations were made regarding suspensions for Code of Conduct violations. Jones will be removed for the time being. When he will be re-added will depend on the length of his suspension, and the total time he spends out of the cage.
- UFC light heavyweight Rashad Evans has been removed from consideration in the rankings due to inactivity. He last fought in November of 2013, and does not currently have a fight scheduled. He will be considered once again following his return to the cage.
- UFC bantamweight Michael McDonald and UFC heavyweight Josh Barnett will be removed from consideration next month, unless they are scheduled for a bout before the June edition of the rankings.
Flyweight
Demetrious Johnson toyed with Kyoji Horiguchi before scoring a last-second armbar win at UFC 186. Impressive, lopsided victories are par for the course for Johnson and, despite the setback, Kyoji Horiguchi remains an intriguing prospect. Hopefully his growth as a fighter doesn’t get too stunted by this loss.
Bantamweight
At UFC on Fox 15, Aljamain Sterling thrashed Takeya Mizugaki, effortlessly controlling him with his grappling skills before sealing the deal with an impressive third-round submission. Sterling is a much-needed dose of young, high-level talent in a division that has long been dominated by middling veterans. While he’s likely not ready for a fight with a top-five opponent, he is most certainly somebody to keep an eye on.
Featherweight
April was big for the featherweight division from beginning to end. At UFC Fight Night 63, Chad Mendes continued cruising through everyone not named Jose Aldo by demolishing Ricardo Lamas. A couple of weeks later, April’s No. 7 featherweight Cub Swanson was absolutely manhandled by the previously No. 10-ranked Max Holloway.
Those two bouts shook up the rankings in a big way. While no one entered or exited the top-10, things have been thoroughly shuffled.
Lightweight
After a hectic March, the lightweight division calmed down in April. While there were a few interesting bouts with fringe names like Al Iaquinta and Beneil Dariush, the only ranked fighter to compete was Bellator lightweight champ Will Brooks, who took a fairly clear-cut 49-46 decision win. While some were critical of Brooks’ performance, his place in the rankings held steady.
Welterweight
One FC welterweight champ Ben Askren finally returned to the cage…and it wasn’t pretty. Against Brazilian veteran Luis Santos, Askren shot for takedowns for two minutes before an unintentional eyepoke led to a controversial no-contest ending. Reaction to the fight was mixed, with some expressing concern over the former Olympian helplessly flailing for takedowns in vain while others dismissed the fight entirely due to its brevity and quirky ending.
Middleweight
April was huge month for the middleweight division, with four top-10 fighters competing within the month.
UFC on Fox 15 was responsible for a major shakeup in the top five of the division, with Luke Rockhold beating Lyoto Machida in devastating fashion. The win firmly cements Rockhold as one of the top middleweights in MMA today, and removes any doubts regarding his elite status. For Machida, the lopsided loss (coupled with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza cruising to victory over Chris Camozzi) opens up questions regarding how much longer he can remain in the sport.
Not only that, but Michael Bisping retained his top-10 status with his razor-close win over CB Dollaway at UFC 186. The win did little to inspire confidence in terms of him advancing much further than the No. 10 spot but it showed, at least for now, that he remains one of the best middleweights today.
Light Heavyweight
Yes, Ovince Saint Preux blew away Patrick Cummins at UFC on Fox 15. Yes, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson extended his winning streak to four at the expense of Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186. Yes, Jimi Manuwa stopped the rise of Polish sensation Jan Blachowicz at Fight Night 64.
That said, the greatest shake-up in the rankings didn’t come from actual in-cage action. It came from not one, but two top-five fighters getting bumped from the rankings. Needless to say, plenty has changed over the last month.
Heavyweight
Nothing particularly noteworthy happened in heavyweight MMA in April (with the exception of Mirko Cro Cop returning to the UFC and knocking out Gabriel Gonzaga). There will be some serious shakeups in May, though, with Stipe Miocic vs. Mark Hunt and Travis Browne vs. Andrei Arlovski both in the pipe.
Top-5 Fighters Fighting in May:
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Stipe Miocic vs. Mark Hunt (UFC Fight Night 65)
- Frankie Edgar vs. Urijah Faber (UFC Fight Night 66)
- Anthony Johnson vs. Daniel Cormier (UFC 187)
- Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort (UFC 187)
- Donald Cerrone vs. TBD (UFC 187)
- Travis Browne vs. Andre Arlovski (UFC 187)
- John Dodson vs. Zach Makovsky (UFC 187)
- Joseph Benavidez vs. John Moraga (UFC 187)
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