UFC rankings 12/16/13: Departure of GSP produces plenty of changes
For the first time in more than five years, Georges St-Pierre does not sit atop the UFC welterweight division.
Last Thursday, the long-reigning champion announced that he was abdicating the throne and taking an extended hiatus from the sport to deal with some personal issues, marking the first time since October 14, 2006 that neither of the two men consider by most to be the greatest fighters in the history of the UFC (and perhaps MMA as a whole) – St-Pierre and Anderson Silva – has worn championship gold around their waist.
With St-Pierre stepping away from the Octagon, the UFC Fighter Rankings have undergone some changes, most notably in the pound-for-pound ranks, where seven fighters move up and women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey debuts at No. 10.
On the strength of his first-round knockout win over rival Joseph Benavidez on Saturday night, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson leapfrogs interim bantamweight titleholder Renan Barao to break into the Top 5. Following his loss, Benavidez falls one place in the 125-pound divisional ranks to sit at No. 2.
The other changes of note happened in the bantamweight division, where former WEC title challenger Scott Jorgensen tumbled three spots following his debut in the flyweight division, coming to a stop at No. 10 in the 135-pound weight class. Future opponents TJ Dillashaw and Mike Easton both climbed one spot, as did Japanese veteran Takeya Mizugaki.
UFC FIGHTER RANKINGS (December 16, 2013)
Pound-for-Pound
1 Jon Jones
2 Jose Aldo (+1)
3 Anderson Silva (+1)
4 Cain Velasquez (+1)
5 Demetrious Johnson (+2)
6 Renan Barao
7 Anthony Pettis (+1)
8 Chris Weidman (+1)
9 Benson Henderson (+1)
10 Ronda Rousey *NR
Flyweight
Champion: Demetrious Johnson
1 John Dodson (+1)
2 Joseph Benavidez (-1)
3 Ian McCall
4 John Moraga
5 John Lineker
6 Jussier Formiga
7 Ali Bagautinov (+2)
8 Timothy Elliott
9 Chris Cariaso (-2)
10 Louis Gaudinot
Bantamweight
Champion: Dominick Cruz
1 Renan Barao (Interim Champion)
2 Urijah Faber
3 Michael McDonald
4 Raphael Assuncao
5 Eddie Wineland
6 Brad Pickett
7 TJ Dillashaw (+1)
8 Mike Easton (+1)
9 Takeya Mizugaki (+1)
10 Scott Jorgensen (-3)
Featherweight
Champion: Jose Aldo
1 Chad Mendes
2 Ricardo Lamas
3 Frankie Edgar
4 Cub Swanson
5 Chan Sung Jung
6 Dustin Poirier
7 Dennis Siver
8 Nik Lentz
9 Clay Guida
10 Erik Koch
Lightweight
Champion: Anthony Pettis
1 Benson Henderson
2 Gilbert Melendez
3 TJ Grant
4 Josh Thomson
5 Nate Diaz
6 Rafael dos Anjos
7 Khabib Nurmagomedov
8 Donald Cerrone
9 Gray Maynard
10 Jim Miller
Welterweight
Champion:
1 Johny Hendricks
2 Carlos Condit
3 Robbie Lawler
4 Rory MacDonald
5 Jake Ellenberger
6 Demian Maia
7 Jake Shields
8 Matt Brown (+1)
9 Martin Kampmann (-1)
10 Nick Diaz
Middleweight
Champion: Chris Weidman
1 Anderson Silva
2 Vitor Belfort
3 Ronaldo Souza
4 Lyoto Machida
5 Michael Bisping
6 Luke Rockhold
7 Mark Munoz
8 Francis Carmont
9 Tim Kennedy
10 Costa Philippou
Light Heavyweight
Champion: Jon Jones
1 Alexander Gustafsson
2 Glover Teixeira
3 Rashad Evans
4 Phil Davis
5 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
6 Mauricio Rua
7 Dan Henderson
8 Chael Sonnen
9 Gegard Mousasi
10 Lyoto Machida
Heavyweight
Champion: Cain Velasquez
1 Junior Dos Santos
2 Fabricio Werdum
3 Daniel Cormier
4 Antonio Silva
5 Travis Browne
6 Josh Barnett
7 Mark Hunt (+1)
8 Alistair Overeem (-1)
9 Frank Mir
10 Stipe Miocic
Women's Bantamweight
Champion: Ronda Rousey
1 Cat Zingano
2 Miesha Tate
3 Alexis Davis
4 Sara McMann
5 Sarah Kaufman
6 Liz Carmouche
7 Jessica Eye
8 Amanda Nunes
9 Jessica Andrade
10 Germaine de Randamie
