Tag: Rankings/List

At UFC 183, Anderson Silva and Joe Lauzon, two of the most prolific bonus winners in UFC history, appeared inside the Octagon.

While The Spider did win in the main event, neither he nor Lauzon was able to take home a bonus on Saturday. Silva has now gone four straight appearances without taking home a bonus, while Lauzon has missed out on bonuses in three of his past four outings.

Since Silva and Lauzon have been slumping in the bonus category, several fighters are gaining ground and closing in on the UFC record. It’s a record that doesn’t get mentioned much, but there is a clear correlation between the most regular bonus winners and fighter popularity.

Following UFC 183, here are the eight fighters with the most UFC bonuses, with Diego Sanchez, Sam Stout, Wanderlei Silva, Jon Jones and Charles Oliveira all missing the list by only one bonus win.

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The road traveled in mixed martial arts is one full of steep curves, pesky potholes and oncoming traffic.

Veterans of the game know what to look for when traversing such tumultuous terrain, but even they have trouble avoiding flat tires and overheated engines.

Each year we witness new model athletes take to the golden road and bump old trailblazers into the medium on their way to the top.

Early exits are often taken, and the aging metal that once ruled the raceway falls victim to the sport’s unforgiving chopping block, thus making them future junkyard casualties.

In accordance with these “classics,” here are five fighters currently competing in the UFC who presumably having nothing left in their tanks.

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At UFC 183, two of the more popular fighters in MMA history returned to the Octagon.

Following a greusome broken leg in December 2013, it looked like Anderson Silva may never compete again. However, The Spider recovered surprisingly quickly and picked up a workmanlike decision win Saturday over former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz. With a failed drug test reported by Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, it looks like that win could be overturned, though:

 

Anderson Silva AND Nick Diaz fail drug tests … Silva’s failure was on a PRE-FIGHT test. Diaz post-fight test for marijuana. Story coming

— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) February 4, 2015

 

Having retired following a loss to Georges St-Pierre, Diaz had been out of action for 22 months heading into his bout with Silva. Always one of the more well-conditioned fighters around, Diaz‘s rust didn’t show, but he was no match for the best ever.

Did Silva improve his standing in the pound-for-pound rankings with his win over the weekend? Did Diaz reclaim a Top 15 spot by returning to competition?

Here are the latest official UFC rankings, via UFC.com, which are voted on by members of the MMA media.

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The return of Anderson Silva has officially taken place, and the world of mixed martial arts is ready to return to originally scripted programming.

That means more fights and more in-cage sport for the month of February.

From a long-awaited matchup between Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano to a plethora of lightweight showdowns, the next four weeks offer a little bit of everything.

Not to mention rising contenders Michael Johnson and Brandon Thatch make their Octagon returns after lengthy stints on the sidelines.

Here are seven must-see MMA fights to last us until March.

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The New Year may have brought forth a rash of injuries and failed drug tests, but by the time January said goodbye it left fight fans wanting more.

January featured memorable returns, budding superstars and exciting title fights. 

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones and former middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva withstood battles against gritty foes. No. 1 contenders emerged as vocal Irishman Conor McGregor and knockout artist Anthony “Rumble” Johnson continued their assault on the featherweight and light heavyweight divisions, respectively.

January’s mixed martial arts action wasn’t just confined to an Octagon. Former UFC and Strikeforce fighter Jake Shields faced Brian Foster in a welterweight title eliminator at World Series of Fighting 17, while Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire defended his title against Daniel Straus. 

For a look back at the month of MMA that was, stroll through the following pages. But before we do that, let’s reveal the honorable mentions. 

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