UFC/Pride Lightweight Champions with least-to-most Top 10 ranked wins at Lightweight.

[acannxr]

The Flyweight version is here.
The Bantamweight version is here.
The Featherweight version is here.
The Welterweight version is here.
The Middleweight version is here.
The Light Heavyweight version is here.
The Heavyweight version is here.
Champions with most wins in each division here.
The Multi-Division version is here.

Rankings are based on FightMatrix.

Conor McGregor

McGregor's resume:

#1 Eddie Alvarez

McGregor has 1 top ten win.

Sean Sherk

Sherk's resume:

#10 Hermes Franca
#9 Tyson Griffin

Sherk has 2 top ten wins.

Islam Makhachev

Makhachev's resume:

#10 Dan Hooker
#1 Charles Oliveira

Makhashev has 2 top ten wins.

Anthony Pettis

Pettis' resume:

#8 Donald Cerrone
#1 Benson Henderson
#3 Gilbert Melendez

Pettis has 3 top ten wins.

Jens Pulver

Pulver's resume:

#4 Phil Johns
#1 Caol Uno
#3 Dennis Hallman
#3 B.J. Penn

Pulver has 4 top ten wins.

Frankie Edgar

Edgar's resume:

#6 Sean Sherk
#1 BJ Penn
#2 BJ Penn
#2 Gray Maynard

Edgar has 4 top ten wins.

Rafael dos Anjos

dos Anjos' resume:

#2 Benson Henderson
#7 Nate Diaz
#1 Anthony Pettis
#2 Donald Cerrone

dos Anjos has 4 top ten wins.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Nurmagomedov's resume:

#6 Rafael dos Anjos
#7 Michael Johnson
#4 Edson Barboza
#1 Dustin Poirier
#2 Justin Gaethje

Nurmagomedov has 5 top ten wins.

Charles Oliveira

Oliveira's resume:

#5 Kevin Lee
#4 Tony Ferguson
#6 Michael Chandler
#1 Dustin Poirier
#2 Justin Gaethje
#5 Beneil Dariush

Oliveira has 6 top ten wins.

B.J. Penn

Penn's resume:

#2 Caol Uno
#5 Matt Serra
#6 Takanori Gomi
#8 Joe Stevenson
#4 Sean Sherk
#4 Kenny Florian
#2 Diego Sanchez

Penn has 7 top ten wins.

Eddie Alvarez

Alvarez' resume:

#9 Tatsuya Kawajiri
#5 Shinya Aoki
#4 Michael Chandler
#6 Gilbert Melendez
#2 Anthony Pettis
#1 Rafael dos Anjos
#9 Justin Gaethje

Alvarez has 7 top ten wins.

Benson Henderson

Henderson's resume:

#7 Jim Miller
#6 Clay Guida
#1 Frankie Edgar
#2 Frankie Edgar
#4 Nate Diaz
#2 Gilbert Melendez
#8 Josh Thomson

Henderson has 7 top ten wins.

Takanori Gomi

Gomi's resume:

#5 Rumina Sato
#5 Dokonjonosuke Mishima
#7 Ralph Gracie
#2 Jens Pulver
#3 Tatsuya Kawajiri
#2 Hayato Sakurai
#3 Marcus Aurelio
#2 Mitsuhiro Ishida

Gomi has 8 top ten wins.

 

[VinceArch]

I could've sworn Hermes Franca was in the top 10 when Frankie beat him? I could be wrong though.

 

[Grapplefest]

You forgot #10 Pat Healy for Khabib, would push him to the 2nd most top 10 wins on the list

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

I'm pretty sure Henderson was ranked top 10 both times he lost to Pettis.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

RDA just beat 7th ranked Felder, he needs to be updated.

 

[G10]

Thanks for breaking this down! I didn't start following the sport closely til 2013, so it's nice to learn more about the fighters who made their names before then.

 

[SaigeVanZant]

Gomis wins are weak

 

[kflo]

It’s interesting how mma fans focus a lot of energy on this when the concept in boxing which has been around forever barely exists.

 

[thewilks]

Fantastic work. Was trying to explain to a friend who has only seen Eddie fight Conor that Eddie is actually in top 5 ever.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Cerrone was top 10 both times he lost to RDA. RDA has 6 top 10 wins not 4.

 

[Daelh]

Pat Healy was ranked #10 when Khabib fought him and RDA just beat #7 Paul Felder.

 

[JoeganMoldberg]

Gomis wins are weak

Your knowledge and opinion on MMA history is weak

 

[sampuncher]

Your knowledge and opinion on MMA history is weak

They aren't weak but for me context is key, the UFC didn't even have a LW division when Gomi racked up most of those wins so the LW's actively fighting were only in pride or at WW etc, where there was a lot less people fighting at LW back then, that's the reason most of those guys were ranked so high at the time to an extent.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

They aren't weak but for me context is key, the UFC didn't even have a LW division when Gomi racked up most of those wins so the LW's actively fighting were only in pride or at WW etc, where there was a lot less people fighting at LW back then, that's the reason most of those guys were ranked so high at the time to an extent.

You could also say that all the best LWs in the world were in Pride because UFC didn't have a LW division.

 

[redblue]

Healy was ranked #10 when Khabib fought him

Some of those ranks are questionable btw. How was Chandler #4 when Alvarez fought him?

 

[Serge421]

Conor McGregor

McGregor's resume:

#1 Eddie Alvarez

McGregor has 1 top ten win.

Sean Sherk

Sherk's resume:

#10 Hermes Franca
#9 Tyson Griffin

Sherk has 2 top ten wins.

Anthony Pettis

Pettis' resume:

#8 Donald Cerrone
#1 Benson Henderson
#3 Gilbert Melendez

Pettis has 3 top ten wins.

Jens Pulver

Pulver's resume:

#4 Phil Johns
#1 Caol Uno
#3 Dennis Hallman
#3 B.J. Penn

Pulver has 4 top ten wins.

Frankie Edgar

Edgar's resume:

#6 Sean Sherk
#1 BJ Penn
#2 BJ Penn
#2 Gray Maynard

Edgar has 4 top ten wins.

Rafael dos Anjos

dos Anjos' resume:

#2 Benson Henderson
#7 Nate Diaz
#1 Anthony Pettis
#2 Donald Cerrone

dos Anjos has 4 top ten wins.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Nurmagomedov's resume:

#6 Rafael dos Anjos
#7 Michael Johnson
#4 Edson Barboza
#5 Conor McGregor
#1 Dustin Poirier
#2 Justin Gaethje

Nurmagomedov has 6 top ten wins.

B.J. Penn

Penn's resume:

#2 Caol Uno
#5 Matt Serra
#6 Takanori Gomi
#8 Joe Stevenson
#4 Sean Sherk
#4 Kenny Florian
#2 Diego Sanchez

Penn has 7 top ten wins.

Eddie Alvarez

Alvarez' resume:

#9 Tatsuya Kawajiri
#5 Shinya Aoki
#4 Michael Chandler
#6 Gilbert Melendez
#2 Anthony Pettis
#1 Rafael dos Anjos
#9 Justin Gaethje

Alvarez has 7 top ten wins.

Benson Henderson

Henderson's resume:

#7 Jim Miller
#6 Clay Guida
#1 Frankie Edgar
#2 Frankie Edgar
#4 Nate Diaz
#2 Gilbert Melendez
#8 Josh Thomson

Henderson has 7 top ten wins.

Takanori Gomi

Gomi's resume:

#5 Rumina Sato
#5 Dokonjonosuke Mishima
#7 Ralph Gracie
#2 Jens Pulver
#3 Tatsuya Kawajiri
#2 Hayato Sakurai
#3 Marcus Aurelio
#2 Mitsuhiro Ishida

Gomi has 8 top ten wins.

And Gomis probably the weakest one, maybe next to Jens

 

[sampuncher]

You could also say that all the best LWs in the world were in Pride because UFC didn't have a LW division.

Yeah but thats kinda my point, there was t that many LWs in the world so obviously any of them that were fighting would be deemed some of the best LWs in the world and therefore would get higher rankings.

Theres some great wins in there but Gomi is top of that list but has one of the weaker resumes compared to others on the list still, hes top purely because of the infancy of the sport when he was fighting.

 

[Coconutwater]

Gomis wins are weak

I didn’t know Ralph was ranked #7. That fight was in Pride but trust the TS.

 

[stinkynecklace]

Was Dunham really not ranked when Sherk beat him? I remember him being on a tear before that fight.
Ferg has got to be up there for ranked wins as well.

 

[acannxr]

You forgot #10 Pat Healy for Khabib, would push him to the 2nd most top 10 wins on the list

View attachment 815102

I'm pretty sure Henderson was ranked top 10 both times he lost to Pettis.

RDA just beat 7th ranked Felder, he needs to be updated.

Cerrone was top 10 both times he lost to RDA. RDA has 6 top 10 wins not 4.

Pat Healy was ranked #10 when Khabib fought him and RDA just beat #7 Paul Felder.

Healy was ranked #10 when Khabib fought him

Some of those ranks are questionable btw. How was Chandler #4 when Alvarez fought him?

I didn't use the UFC rankings at all. What exactly would I do in the case of fights that occurred before February 2013? What would I do for fights that took place outside of the UFC? I had to rely on FightMatrix since it was consistent across both time and organizations.

Ferg has got to be up there for ranked wins as well.

Interim Champion =/= Champion.