Global-MMA Rankings (Outside UFC) - January 2016

[CDF47]

Heavyweight
1. Fedor Emelianenko (RIZIN)
2. Vitaly Minakov (Bellator Champion)
3. Sergei Kharitonov (M-1 Global)
4. Blagoy Ivanov (WSOF Champion)
5. Tony Johnson (Bellator)
6. Karol Bedorf (KSW Champion)
7. Cheick Kongo (Bellator)
8. Denis Goltsov (Tech-Krep)
9. Alexander Volkov (M-1 Global)
10. Evgeny Erokhin (WSOF-GC)

Other Contenders: Denis Smoldarev (M-1 Global), Bobby Lashley (Bellator), Smealinho Rama (WSOF), Brandon Vera (ONE Champion), Oli Thompson (IGF Champion)

Light Heavyweight
1. Liam McGeary (Bellator Champion)
2. Phil Davis (Bellator)
3. Emanuel Newton (Bellator)
4. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (Bellator)
5. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (Bellator)
6. David Branch (WSOF Champion)
7. Viktor Nemkov (M-1 Global Champion)
8. Tomasz Narkun (KSW Champion)
9. Stephan Puetz (M-1 Global)
10. Jiri Prochazka (RIZIN)

Other Contenders: Attila Vegh (KSW), Tito Ortiz (Bellator), Vinny Magalhaes (WSOF), Vadim Nemkov (RIZIN), Goran Reljic (KSW)

Middleweight
1. Mamed Khalidov (KSW Champion)
2. Ramazan Emeev (M-1 Global Champion)
3. Rafael Carvalho (Bellator Champion)
4. Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (M-1 Global)
5. Brandon Halsey (Bellator)
6. David Branch (WSOF Champion)
7. Alexander Shlemenko (Bellator)
8. Vitaly Bigdash (ONE Champion)
9. Michal Materla (KSW)
10. Aziz Karaoglu (KSW)

Other Contenders: Yushin Okami (WSOF), Ken Hasegawa (DEEP), Anatoly Tokov (RIZIN), Maiquel Falcao (KSW), Melvin Manhoef (Bellator)

Welterweight
1. Ben Askren (ONE Champion)
2. Rousimar Palhares (WSOF)
3. Andrey Koreshkov (Bellator Champion)
4. Douglas Lima (Bellator)
5. Jake Shields (WSOF)
6. Borys Mankowski (KSW Champion)
7. Paul Daley (Bellator)
8. Michael Page (Bellator)
9. Jon Fitch (WSOF)
10. Brennan Ward (Bellator)

Other Contenders: Shingo Suzuki (King of Pancrase), Luis Santos (ONE), Yuta Watanabe (DEEP), Fernando Gonzalez (Bellator), Murad Abdulaev (M-1 Global Champion)

Lightweight
1. Will Brooks (Bellator Champion)
2. Shinya Aoki (ONE Champion)
3. Justin Gaethje (WSOF Champion)
4. Michael Chandler (Bellator)
5. Marcin Held (Bellator)
6. Ramazan Esenbaev (M-1 Global)
7. Dave Jansen (Bellator)
8. Lowen Tynanes (ONE)
9. Derek Anderson (Bellator)
10. Josh Thomson (Bellator)

Other Contenders: Brian Foster (WSOF), Patricky Freire (Bellator), David Rickels (Bellator), Saad Awad (Bellator), Alexander Sarnavskiy (Fight Nights)

Featherweight
1. Daniel Straus (Bellator Champion)
2. Patricio Freire (Bellator)
3. Daniel Weichel (Bellator)
4. Pat Curran (Bellator)
5. Rick Glenn (WSOF)
6. Kazunori Yokota (DEEP Champion)
7. Goiti Yamauchi (Bellator)
8. Marat Gafurov (ONE Champion)
9. Marcos Alexandre Campos de Almeida (WSOF Champion)
10. Ivan Buchinger (M-1 Global Champion)

Other Contenders: Lance Palmer (WSOF), Georgi Karakhanyan (Bellator), Jadamba Narantungala (ONE), Isao Kobayashi (Bellator), Hiroyuki Takaya (RIZIN)

Bantamweight
1. Bibiano Fernandes (ONE Champion)
2. Marlon Moraes (WSOF Champion)
3. Marcos Galvao (Bellator Champion)
4. Joe Warren (Bellator)
5. Soo Chul Kim (ROAD FC)
6. Eduardo Dantas (Bellator)
7. Masakatsu Ueda (Pancrase)
8. Dae Hwan Kim (ONE)
9. Timur Valiev (WSOF)
10. Luis Alberto Nogueira (Pancrase)

Other Contenders: Jonathan Brookins (Pancrase), Shintaro Ishiwatari (King of Pancrase), Victor Henry (Pancrase), Darrion Caldwell (Bellator), Kevin Belingon (ONE)

Flyweight
1. Alexandre Pantoja (RFA Champion)
2. Tim Elliott (Titan FC)
3. Hiromasa Ogikubo (VTJ Champion)
4. Kairat Akhmetov (ONE Champion)
5. Czar Sklavos(VTJ)
6. Adriano Moraes (ONE)
7. Yuki Motoya (DEEP Champion)
8. Pedro Nobre (Titan FC)
9. Yusaku Nakamura (VTJ)
10. Magomed Bibulatov (WSOF)

Other Contenders: Bruno Menezes (Jungle Fight), Rany Saadeh (BAMMA Champion), Felipe Efrain (RIZIN), Tatsumitsu Wada (DEEP), Darren Uyenoyama (PXC)

Strawweight
1. Mitsuhisa Sunabe (King Of Pancrase)
2. Yoshitaka Naito (Shooto Champion)
3. Kent Kambe (Pancrase)
4. Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke (ONE Champion)
5. Raymison Bruno (Pancrase)
6 Yukitaka Musashi (Pancrase)
7. Junji Ito (Shooto)
8. Shinya Murofushi (Pancrase)
9. Hiroyuki Abe (Pancrase)
10. Daichi Kitakata (Pancrase)

Other Contenders: Marcone Muniz (Free Agent), Tulio Vasconcelos (Free Agent), Ryuto Sawada (Shooto), Yago Bryan (Shooto Brazil Champion), Masayoshi Kato (Grandslam)

Women's Featherweight
1. Cristiane Justino (Invicta FC Champion)
2. Marloes Coenen (Bellator)
3. Julia Budd (Bellator)
4. Latoya Walker (Invicta FC)
5. Daria Ibragimova (Fight Nights)
6. Arlene Blencowe (Bellator)
7. Faith Van Duin (Invicta FC)
8. Charmaine Tweet (Invicta FC)
9. Cindy Dandois (Invicta FC)
10. Kelly Faszholz (Legacy FC)

Other Contenders: Peggy Morgan (Invicta FC), Anastasia Plisenkova (Fight Nights), Megan Anderson (Invicta FC), Fallon Fox (XFO), Roberta Rovel (Bellator)

 

[WallyBear]

Thanks for your list, some questions from my side:

1.) How do you explain Fedor being #1 and not Minakov?
2.) Where do you rank Rasul Mirzaev at FW (if you rank outside of your Top10 and contenders list)

 

[CDF47]

Thanks for your list, some questions from my side:

1.) How do you explain Fedor being #1 and not Minakov?
2.) Where do you rank Rasul Mirzaev at FW (if you rank outside of your Top10 and contenders list)

Great questions.

1. Fedor was a bit unique since he was number 1 HW outside UFC 3 1/2 years ago prior to retirement. He came back and won a "tune-up fight" against a low ranked opponent. Since this was so unique, we took a vote on the Global-MMA website asking where Fedor should be ranked. Some said behind Minakov but the vast majority said number 1. It was 67 percent for number 1, 13 percent for number 2, and the rest were spread out. We only occasionally do polls like this for real tough calls and this was an instance it was needed.

2. Rasul Mirzaev is currently un-ranked but will definitely have to keep an eye out on him. I keep a list of other contenders on my PC to track solid fighters like this for future potential rankings and I will add him to the list.

 

[Breakfast Bar]

Thanks fortune effort in putting together this list. Threads like this make me feel like posting on Sherdog isn't a complete waste of time.

 

[CDF47]

Thanks fortune effort in putting together this list. Threads like this make me feel like posting on Sherdog isn't a complete waste of time.

Thanks, I really appreciate that. Glad you like them.

 

[Mavadorov]

thanks for the list and effort.

only one thing bothers me.. rampage being in there. isnt he signed with the ufc? the situation always bothers me.

 

[Edwin]

thanks for the list and effort.

only one thing bothers me.. rampage being in there. isnt he signed with the ufc? the situation always bothers me.

Yes, but he still has one more fight on his Bellator contract which he has to commit to before leaving and returning back to the UFC.

 

[YukonJack]

Isn't Marloes Coenen retired?

 

[CDF47]

thanks for the list and effort.

only one thing bothers me.. rampage being in there. isnt he signed with the ufc? the situation always bothers me.

No problem. Rampage is technically still signed to Bellator. There is an ongoing contract dispute. The courts allowed Rampage to fight one time in the UFC during this dispute, but from what I read, that was at his risk. There is a possibility Bellator could get money out of Rampage for taking that fight still. I doubt that will happen and the two sides will likely reach an out of court agreement but that's the situation.

 

[CDF47]

Yes, but he still has one more fight on his Bellator contract which he has to commit to before leaving and returning back to the UFC.

I think it may be two fights left possibly. It is being disputed so I will wait to see how that turns out. He is still technically signed to Bellator so I leave him on here.

 

[CDF47]

Isn't Marloes Coenen retired?

I do not believe so. She just had a fight 4 months ago and I can't find news on a retirement announcement.

 

[CDF47]

Looks like number 1 Fedor vs. number 4 Ivanov is a possibility in RIZIN. Hope they make this fight for the top spot in the HW rankings. Would be a rematch of their previous combat sambo match which Ivanov won to break Fedor's combat sambo streak.

 

[Durruti]

Thanks for the effort

Fedor #1 is really debatable, but understandable for who he is.

Branch, who has been flawless since 5 years ago, ranked not even in the top 5 at MW, below Halsey or Slava who have been knocked out recently, isn't understandable at all, it's simply a joke.

Lima over Shields is very debatable. Lima has just been outwrestled by a C-level wreslter.
Michael Page lacks of notable wins to be ranked over Jon Fitch or Ward in my opinion. I also wonder why Ken Hasegawa is randed over Riki Fukuda or Clifford Starks

 

[CDF47]

Thanks for the effort

Fedor #1 is really debatable, but understandable for who he is.

Branch, who has been flawless since 5 years ago, ranked not even in the top 5 at MW, below Halsey or Slava who have been knocked out recently, isn't understandable at all, it's simply a joke.

Lima over Shields is very debatable. Lima has just been outwrestled by a C-level wreslter.
Michael Page lacks of notable wins to be ranked over Jon Fitch or Ward in my opinion. I also wonder why Ken Hasegawa is randed over Riki Fukuda or Clifford Starks

No problem.

I agree, Fedor was a tough call so we held a poll on the website and 65 percent voted Fedor at number 1 and 12 percent voted Fedor at number 2. It was a pretty unique situation since he was number 1 then retired for 3 1/2 years and then returned and won a warm-up fight against a low ranked opponent, so we had to take a vote which we do from time to time.

Yeah, I get a lot of comments about Branch being higher. If he wins his next fight he will get a good jump up in the rankings.

Lima I think is in a good spot. I think he deserves that spot over Shields based on recent performances of the two compared side by side.

Fitch was above him but fell after some losses while Page moved up after some wins. I agree though that Page needs to start taking on better competition or he will get passed by the fighters below him.

Ward has made a quick climb in the rankings. His win over Hasegawa at 179 lbs gave him a nice jump up in the rankings. I feel that win should earn him a WW title shot in Bellator. He beat the undefeated 10-0, former DEEP HW champ, and one of the best MWs from Japan in Hasegawa in a full Asian rules fight in Japan.

Fukuda could enter the rankings soon after his upcoming fight this month.

Starks is another solid MW on the radar. Will try to get him in here but there are only 15 spots. MW has a lot of solid fighters I am tracking, including both Starks and Fukuda.

Thanks for all the comments. Will consider them in upcoming rankings.

 

[DizzyYeahYeah]

Isn't Okami a WW?

 

[Mike01010101a]

I'm with Fedor but after 3 years a victory over that indian kid is not no.1 position, not even top 10 position yet.

 

[CDF47]

Isn't Okami a WW?

His last fight was at WW. It was his only WW fight and he never announced a permanent move so I left him in the MW rankings. He looked so drained from the weight cut and his performance was poor so I think he may go back to MW. If his next fight is at WW or if he announces a permanent move there, I will move him to the WW rankings.

 

[qw3rty]

I usually agree with most of your rankings, but having Fedor #1 after 3 years layoff and fighting a top 500 guy has no sense
Even before he retired, he was fighting a top 200 (Monson), top 100 (Ishii) and top 200 (Rizzo)

Would be the same with AS, he should be #1 until he retires only because he is the MW GOAT?
And of course a poll will be a favour on put him in #1, we all love Fedor, but a Ranking should be based on statistics no empathy

 

[CDF47]

I'm with Fedor but after 3 years a victory over that indian kid is not no.1 position, not even top 10 position yet.

That is one take to it. After a 3-1/2 year retirement layoff and a warm-up fight against a low ranked opponent/un-ranked opponent, ranking Fedor was a tough call. From time to time we have a vote on the rankings and this was one of them since it is a unique situation. The vote turned out 65 percent for Fedor as number 1 and 12 percent for number 2, and the rest were scattered throughout. He was number 1 when he retired. I did vote for him to be number 1 again since, in my opinion, he is the greatest MMA fighter of all time, and he left with a few wins and with the top ranking spot.

He needs to step up the competition though for sure to hold onto this position. I understand a warm-up or tune-up fight after a 3-1/2 year layoff but in order to hold a top ranking spot he has to fight high level opponents.

 

[CDF47]

I usually agree with most of your rankings, but having Fedor #1 after 3 years layoff and fighting a top 500 guy has no sense
Even before he retired, he was fighting a top 200 (Monson), top 100 (Ishii) and top 200 (Rizzo)

Would be the same with AS, he should be #1 until he retires only because he is the MW GOAT?
And of course a poll will be a favour on put him in #1, we all love Fedor, but a Ranking should be based on statistics no empathy

I understand the argument on Fedor. Regarding his prior earlier opponents though, we had Monson in the rankings outside UFC (I think top 15 or higher at the time but I would have to got back and check the exact spot to be sure). Monson was ranked for a while. Same with Ishii, he was either ranked in the top 15 or higher possibly at the time. I could check and confirm both if I remember later. Rizzo we did not have ranked at the time.

The main point for his current ranking is he left as number 1 HW, returned for a warm-up fight, got his position back in the rankings, but now it is time to get back to business to hold that top spot. We actually have a list of ranking rules we follow but this situation was even outside that a bit.