Ronda Rousey, Cain Velasquez atop Times’ MMA rankings for July

Ronda Rousey crushed Alexis Davis in just 16 seconds, leaving no doubt as to the dominant force in the women’s bantamweight division. Next up for Rousey? Former top contender Cat Zingano returns to competition and could work her way back into the shot she only lost due to injury.

Heavyweight

1. Cain Velasquez
2. Fabricio Werdum
3. Junior Dos Santos
4. Travis Browne
5. Antonio Silva
6. Josh Barnett
7. Alistair Overeem
8. Stipe Miocic
9. Mark Hunt
10. Roy Nelson

In September, a pair of UFC shows will be headlined by heavyweight showdowns, with Roy Nelson and Mark Hunt battling in Japan while Andrei Arlovski and Antonio Silva compete in Brazil. The heavyweight division continues to wait for the outcome of Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum’s title contest.

Light Heavyweight

1. Jon Jones
2. Alexander Gustafsson
3. Daniel Cormier
4. Rashad Evans
5. Anthony Johnson
6. Phil Davis
7. Glover Teixeira
8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
9. Ryan Bader
10. Dan Henderson

Ryan Bader defeated Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante at UFC 174, but neither fighter won many fights in a boring bout where Feijao seemed to have no energy and Bader only nominal aggression. July 26 on Fox, Anthony Johnson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will square off in an intriguing fight that could put Johnson in the title shot mix behind Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier.

Middleweight

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

In an outstanding fight of the year contender, Chris Weidman defended his UFC middleweight title successfully against Lyoto Machida in the main event of UFC 175. Weidman showed excellent skill in defeating the tricky Machida even on the feet, while Machida showcased his heart with a spirited attempt to knock out Weidman late. It was a fight where both men came out stronger than they came in.

Welterweight

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

In the UFC 174 co-feature, Rory MacDonald impressed in scoring a clear decision win over the dangerous Tyron Woodley. MacDonald will be next in line for a title shot against Johny Hendricks after the winner of Matt Brown vs. Robbie Lawler on Fox.

Lightweight

1. Anthony Pettis
2. Gilbert Melendez
3. Ben Henderson
4. Khabib Nurmagomedov
5. T.J. Grant
6. Eddie Alvarez
7. Josh Thomson
8. Nate Diaz
9. Jim Miller
10. Donald Cerrone

It’s always hard to wait for a big fight to come, but it’s even harder when there are shows every week with much less interesting matchups. Anthony Pettis vs. Gilbert Melendez can’t come soon enough.

Featherweight

1. Jose Aldo
2. Chad Mendes
3. Cub Swanson
4. Frank Edgar
5. Pat Curran
6. Dustin Poirier
7. Ricardo Lamas
8. Daniel Straus
9. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire
10. Dennis Bermudez

B.J. Penn’s career ended in sad fashion, getting blown out at featherweight by Frankie Edgar. Penn had no answers for Edgar’s speed and wrestling. Edgar made a strong statement in victory, but fellow top contender Cub Swanson did so as well with a win over Jeremy Stephens. There’s a bit of a logjam, with both men waiting for the Jose Aldo-Chad Mendes title fight that was delayed when Aldo suffered an injury in training.

Bantamweight

1. T.J. Dillashaw
2. Renan Barao
3. Dominick Cruz
4. Urijah Faber
5. Raphael Assuncao
6. Michael McDonald
7. Takeya Mizugaki
8. Bibiano Fernandes
9. Eduardo Dantas
10. Iuri Alcantara

Urijah Faber won yet another non-title fight at UFC 175, submitting Alex Caceres in the third round. Faber didn’t look as impressive as he had in other recent non-title fights, but he pulled out a win in the end. In encouraging news for fight fans and the fighter himself, Dominick Cruz is scheduled to return to action after a 3 year injury hiatus on September 27 when he takes on Takeya Mizugaki.

Women’s Bantamweight

1. Ronda Rousey
2. Cat Zingano
3. Sarah Kaufman
4. Miesha Tate
5. Sara McMann
6. Alexis Davis
7. Jessica Eye
8. Lauren Murphy
9. Jessica Andrade
10. Holly Holm

Boxing champion Holly Holm signed with the UFC and presents an interesting matchup. Plus Gina Carano and Cris “Cyborg” Justino are in the wings. There are plenty of options, if nothing else.

Flyweight

1. Demetrious Johnson
2. Joseph Benavidez
3. John Dodson
4. Ian McCall
5. Ali Bagautinov