MMA rankings: Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones on a collision course

The Los Angeles Times’ MMA rankings for October, as compiled by Todd Martin:

Heavyweight

1. Fabricio Werdum
2. Cain Velasquez
3. Junior Dos Santos
4. Stipe Miocic
5. Andrei Arlovski
6. Travis Browne
7. Josh Barnett
8. Ben Rothwell
9. Alistair Overeem
10. Stefan Struve

Josh Barnett returned triumphantly to Japan, where he competed for many years, defeating Roy Nelson via unanimous decision. Hopefully Barnett stays more active as the time is running out on his peak years as a fighter.

Light Heavyweight

1. Jon Jones
2. Daniel Cormier
3. Anthony Johnson
4. Ryan Bader
5. Alexander Gustafsson
6. Phil Davis
7. Rashad Evans
8. Glover Teixeira
9. Liam McGeary
10. Ovince St. Preux

In a classic bout, Daniel Cormier edged out a decision over Alexander Gustafsson to retain the UFC light heavyweight title. Now Cormier must ready himself for Jon Jones, who waits in the wings to reclaim the title and his mantle as the best pound for pound fighter in the sport. Ryan Bader set himself up for a future title shot as well with a decision victory over Rashad Evans.

Middleweight

1. Chris Weidman
2. Luke Rockhold
3. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
4. Yoel Romero
5. Anderson Silva
6. Lyoto Machida
7. Vitor Belfort
8. Tim Kennedy
9. Michael Bisping
10. Gegard Mousasi

Gegard Mousasi falls in the rankings following a spectacular knockout loss to unranked Uriah Hall. Hall doesn’t have the resume yet to make the top 10 but has all the skill in the world and is likely to get the opportunity to make it into that category in the near future.

Welterweight

1. Robbie Lawler
2. Johny Hendricks
3. Rory MacDonald
4. Tyron Woodley
5. Ben Askren
6. Carlos Condit
7. Demian Maia
8. Hector Lombard
9. Dong Hyun Kim
10. Matt Brown

In a disappointing development, Johny Hendricks’ body turned on him as he tried to make weight for a fight with Tyron Woodley and the fight had to be cancelled. Woodley now is the most likely challenger for the winner of the Robbie Lawler-Carlos Condit UFC welterweight title fight while Hendricks may have to move up to middleweight.

Lightweight

1. Rafael Dos Anjos
2. Khabib Nurmagomedov
3. Anthony Pettis
4. Donald Cerrone
5. Ben Henderson
6. Eddie Alvarez
7. Gilbert Melendez
8. Tony Ferguson
9. Will Brooks
10. Beneil Dariush

Lightweights headline the UFC’s return to Ireland this weekend when Dustin Poirier takes on Irish native Joseph Duffy. Poirier has gotten credit in many circles for supposed improvement upon moving up to lightweight but he was an excellent fighter at featherweight who was doing plenty well there as well. Duffy was the last fighter to defeat the superstar Conor McGregor.

Featherweight

1. Jose Aldo
2. Conor McGregor
3. Frankie Edgar
4. Chad Mendes
5. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire
6. Max Holloway
7. Cub Swanson
8. Ricardo Lamas
9. Charles Oliveira
10. Daniel Straus

Featherweights headline the next major Bellator event, as Patricio Freire defends his Bellator featherweight title against Daniel Straus in a showdown between the fighters who have established themselves as the best in Bellator’s strongest division.

Bantamweight

1. T.J. Dillashaw
2. Dominick Cruz
3. Renan Barao
4. Urijah Faber
5. Raphael Assuncao
6. Bibiano Fernandes
7. Thomas Almeida
8. Aljamain Sterling
9. Marlon Moraes
10. Takeya Mizugaki

It was a drama filled month for T.J. Dillashaw, who left his longtime training camp at Team Alpha Male to train with the Elevation Fight Team in Colorado. This led to a big back and forth between Dillashaw and his former teammates. The sides still like each other but there is a lot of frustration and argument about things broke down. Michael McDonald falls out of the rankings due to inactivity.

Women’s Bantamweight

1. Ronda Rousey
2. Miesha Tate
3. Cat Zingano
4. Alexis Davis
5. Amanda Nunes
6. Sara McMann
7. Sarah Kaufman
8. Julianna Pena
9. Holly Holm
10. Jessica Eye

It wasn’t always pretty, but Julianna Pena picked up a unanimous decision win over Jessica Eye that allows her to enter the top 10. She is one of the more intriguing potential opponents for Ronda Rousey due to her history as a friend and protégé of longtime Rousey rival Miesha Tate.

Flyweight

1. Demetrious Johnson
2. Joseph Benavidez
3. John Dodson
4. Jussier Formiga
5. John Moraga

Women’s Strawweight

1. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
2. Claudia Gadelha
3. Jessica Aguilar
4. Carla Esparza
5. Jessica Penne