In the ever-shifting MMA landscape, ranking the world’s greatest fighters might seem like a fool’s errand, but that’s exactly we’ve set out to do with the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. Our panel of experts selects the top fighters in each division and presents you with the definitive list.
With that, let’s take a look at the biggest rankings storylines from this past cycle (Jan. 22-Feb. 12).
Johnny Eblen is the best middleweight in the world. Disagree? Just ask him.
With respect to Bellator’s 185-pound champion, ranking him No. 1 in the division is probably a stretch, even given the scorching 13-0 start to his MMA career and two outstanding wins against Anatoly Tokov and Gegard Mousasi. However, he is a strong contender to beat current No. 1 in the division doesn’t sound crazy at all.
Eblen breaks into the top 5 this month, jumping from No. 6 to No. 4, with one panelist going as far as to throw him a vote for the top spot. His body of work clearly isn’t as substantial as some of the UFC’s stars, but one can’t help but wonder if his high pressure style would make him a favorite over UFC champion Alex Pereira or even former champion Israel Adesanya. Eblen could also be beaten by middleweights Marvin Vettori or Robert Whittaker who are similar to him.
Eblen will continue to win Bellator. It’s hard to see a way to get him to the top of the charts. But, Eblen’s winning streak is going to keep him in the No. 1 discussion for a long time.
Yair Rod felt that he was destined to be one of MMA’s other-rans for years. He was a super talent prospect, but he had been referred to in quiet tones prior to winning the first season of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America ,. Rodriguez fulfilled all of his promises while still hitting snag after stumble on the way to the top. Losses to Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar had some questioning his ceiling, but a golden opportunity presented itself at UFC 284 with the promotion deciding to throw an interim featherweight title into the mix while undisputed champion Alexander Volkanovski moved up to fight Islam Makhachev.
On Saturday, we saw the best version of Rodriguez we’d ever seen. He out-struck and outworked Emmett for almost 10 minutes before finishing with a triangle choke late in the second round. Rodriguez is now guaranteed a fight against Volkanovski. If we do see him in that fight, it’s likely that he will be a major contender.
For now, Rodriguez can take solace in joining Volkanovski and Holloway in the esteemed MMA Fighting top 3, just edging past Bellator star Patricio Pitbull.
Dana White, president of
UFC assured that Derrick Lewis will not have to worry too much about his position in the organization.
But Lewis is in our top 10? Anything but secure.
For the first time since we started doing these rankings in July 2021, Lewis is not a top 10 heavyweight. “The Black Beast” has fallen on hard times with three straight losses and four losses in his past five appearances. His recent setback against Serghei Spivac was the straw that broke the camel’s back for our panel, as Lewis’ dispirited effort resulted in him crashing all the way from No. 7 into a tie for the No. 14 spot.
It doesn’t help that the heavyweight division has seen new blood rise over the past couple of years, with Spivac, Ciryl Gane, Sergei Pavlovich, Jailton Almeida, Alexandr Romanov, and Tom Aspinall leading the charge. It’s possible that Lewis will not be near the top again, despite being risky.
Two different welterweights made it a compelling case for inclusion in this cycle’s rankings.
Jack Della Maddalena and Lorenz Larkin have little in common, but both picked up huge wins in February to claim the No. 14 and No. 15 spots at welterweight, respectively. “Jackie Three Names” (h/t Shaun Al-Shatti) made it four first-round finishes in four UFC appearances with his submission of Randy Brown at UFC 284, while Lorenz Larkin scored the highlight of the night on Bellator’s CBS debut when he clobbered Mukhamed Berkhamov with a standing elbow.
In the case of Della Maddalena, the Aussie slugger continues his steady rise up the ranks, with a top 10 opponent likely in his future. The road only gets more treacherous from here, but Della Maddalena has passed every test so far with flying colors.
Larkin was a top-ranked welterweight when he parted ways with the UFC in 2016, but falling short against Bellator’s best while also bouncing between 170 and 185 pounds has left our panel somewhat bewildered as to what to do with him. “The Monsoon”, however, has managed to quietly build an unbeaten streak of eight fights and received sufficient support to be given a number again. This was a surprise as our panel is still unsure what to do with him.
Check out the complete February rankings below.
MMA Fighting
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Serghei Spivac def. No. 7 Derrick Lewis, No. 10 (tied) Ryan Bader def. Fedor Emelianenko, No. 10 (tied) Marcin Tybura def. Blagoy Ivanov
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 2 Ciryl Gane vs. Jon Jones (UFC 285, March 4), No. 7 Alexander Volkov vs. No. 13 Alexandr Romanov (UFC Vegas 71, March 11), No. 14 (tied) Valentin Moldavsky vs. Linton Vassell (Bellator 292, March 10)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Phil De Fries (4), Ante Delija (1), Linton Vassell (1)
MMA Fighting
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 10 Nikita Krylov vs. No. 13 Ryan Spann (UFC Vegas 70, Feb. 25), No. 11 (tied) Anatoly Malykhin vs. Arjan Bhullar (ONE Fight Night 8, March 24, heavyweight championship bout)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Paul Craig (6), Yoel Romero (3), Antonio Carlos Junior (1), Khalil Rountree (1)
MMA Fighting
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 6 Johnny Eblen def. Anatoly Tokov
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 5 Marvin Vettori vs. No. 14 Roman Dolidze (UFC 286, March 18), No. 7 (tied) Derek Brunson vs. No. 12 Dricus Du Plessis (UFC 285, March 4), No. 7 (tied) Andre Muniz vs. Brendan Allen (UFC Vegas 70, Feb. 25)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Jack Hermansson (2), Kelvin Gastelum (1), Anatoly Tokov (1)
MMA Fighting
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Leon Edwards vs. No. 2 Kamaru Usman (UFC 286, March 18), No. 7 (tied) Yaroslav Amosov vs. Logan Storley (Bellator 291, Feb. 25), No. 7 (tied) Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. No. 10 Geoff Neal (UFC 285, March 4)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Roberto Soldic (4), Logan Storley (3), Jason Jackson (1), Neil Magny (1), Michael Page (1)
MMA Fighting
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Islam Makhachev def. No. 1 FW Alexander Volkanovski
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 5 Justin Gaethje vs. No. 6 Rafael Fiziev (UFC 286, March 18), No. 10 Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Benson Henderson (Bellator 292, March 10)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Drew Dober (6), Olivier Aubin-Mercier (5), Tofiq Musayev (2), Roberto Satoshi (2), Renato Moicano (2), Dan Hooker (1)
MMA Fighting
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 LW Islam Makhachev def. No. 1 Alexander Volkanovski (lightweight championship bout), No. 4 Yair Rodriguez def. No. 7 Josh Emmett
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: N/A
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Dan Ige (3), Adam Borics (1), Jeremy Kennedy (1), Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (1), Movlid Khaybulaev (1), Jonathan Pearce (1), Sodiq Yusuff (1)
MMA Fighting
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 2 (tied) Petr Yan vs. No. 5 Merab Dvalishvili (UFC Vegas 71, March 11)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): John Lineker (3), Chris Gutierrez (3), Adrian Yanez (3), Danny Sabatello (2), Pedro Munhoz (1), Said Nurmagomedov (1)
MMA Fighting
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 12 Muhammad Mokaev vs. Jafel Filho (UFC 286, March 18)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Tim Elliott (3), Ali Bagautinov (2), Rogerio Bontorin (2), John Dodson (2), Jeff Molina (2), Matt Schnell (2), Danny Kingad (1)
MMA Fighting
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 13 Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Lina Lansberg (UFC Vegas 69, Feb. 18)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Talita Bernardo (2), Lina Lansberg (2), Chelsea Chandler (1), Melissa Dixon (1), Julija Stoliarenko (1)
MMA Fighting
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Valentina Shevchenko vs. No. 7 Alexa Grasso (UFC 285, March 4), No. 2 Jessica Andrade vs. No. 9 Erin Blanchfield (UFC Vegas 69, Feb. 18), No. 11 Jennifer Maia vs. No. 13 Casey O’Neill (UFC 286, March 18), No. 12 Viviane Araujo vs. Amanda Ribas (UFC 285, March 4)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Joanne Wood (3), Tracy Cortez (2), Molly McCann (2), Miranda Maverick (1), Amanda Ribas (1), Karina Rodriguez (1)
MMA Fighting
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Jessica Andrade vs Erin Blanchfield (flyweight bout), No. 9 Amanda Ribas vs. Viviane Araujo (flyweight bout)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Tabatha Ricci (2), Lupita Godinez (1), Luana Pinheiro (1)
A refresher course on the ground rules :
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Let us know your concerns in the comments section below.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/15/23599147/mma-rankings-february-2023-would-bellator-champ-johnny-eblen-beat-the-ufcs-best?rand=96749
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