Ronda Rousey, Cain Velasquez still dominate MMA rankings

Heavyweight

1. Cain Velasquez

2. Fabricio Werdum

3. Junior Dos Santos

4. Travis Browne

5. Stipe Miocic

6. Josh Barnett

7. Ben Rothwell

8. Alistair Overeem

9. Mark Hunt

10. Andrei Arlovski

Stipe Miocic brutalized Mark Hunt on May 10, landing a UFC record 361 strikes in a fifth round TKO victory. It was a terrible beating for the 41-year-old Hunt as he approaches the end of his MMA career. Miocic set himself up for a potential title shot in the near future with the win. If Cain Velasquez defeats Fabricio Werdum in their UFC heavyweight title fight June 13, the next challenger will likely be either Travis Browne or Miocic. If Werdum triumphs, the next challenger is more likely to be either Junior Dos Santos or Miocic.

Light Heavyweight

1. Jon Jones

2. Anthony Johnson

3. Daniel Cormier

4. Alexander Gustafsson

5. Rashad Evans

6. Ryan Bader

7. Phil Davis

8. Glover Teixeira

9. Ovince St. Preux

10. Liam McGeary

Following yet another embarrassing lapse in judgment, this time a hit and run, Jon Jones was stripped of the UFC light heavyweight title. Jones needs to get his life in order and the UFC’s decision was completely understandable, but he remains the best pound for pound fighter in the world and has not retired from the sport. Thus he retains his spot as MMA’s #1 light heavyweight. Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier will fight this weekend in the main event of UFC 187 to crown a new UFC light heavyweight champion. It’s an intriguing fight between two elite competitors, but the inconvenient reality is that Jon Jones remains the best either way.

Middleweight

1. Chris Weidman

2. Luke Rockhold

3. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

4. Anderson Silva

5. Vitor Belfort

6. Lyoto Machida

7. Gegard Mousasi

8. Joel Romero

9. Thales Leites

10. Tim Kennedy

Gegard Mousasi is known as a finisher, stopping opponents with strikes on the feet and scoring submissions on the ground. Against knockout slugger Costas Philippou, he was content to play it safe. Mousasi repeatedly took Philippou down and controlled him, earning a unanimous decision victory.

Welterweight

1. Robbie Lawler

2. Rory MacDonald

3. Johny Hendricks

4. Tyron Woodley

5. Ben Askren

6. Hector Lombard

7. Demian Maia

8. Carlos Condit

9. Matt Brown

10. Dong Hyun Kim

Ben Askren, so dominant in recent years with his world class wrestling, finally looked human for One Championship on April 24. He struggled in his attempts to take Luis Santos to the mat and in the standup before the fight was called a no contest after an eye poke. Askren will need to look sharper next time out to retain his lofty position given he fights a significantly lower level of opponent than most UFC fighters.

Lightweight

1. Rafael Dos Anjos

2. Khabib Nurmagomedov

3. Anthony Pettis

4. Donald Cerrone

5. Ben Henderson

6. Gilbert Melendez

7. Eddie Alvarez

8. Will Brooks

9. Michael Johnson

10. Tony Ferguson

Sadly, Khabib Nurmagomedov suffered an injury that forced a cancellation of his highly anticipated fight with Donald Cerrone at UFC 187. Cerrone will now fight John Makdessi. Cerrone-Makdessi is likely to be a more exciting fight than Cerrone-Nurmagomedov, but it doesn’t have the same intrigue or stakes.

Featherweight

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

In a highly anticipated matchup between all-time greats in the Philippines, Frankie Edgar scored a decisive decision win over Urijah Faber. The win was Edgar’s fourth in a row and Edgar has made no secret that he wants a title shot against the Jose Aldo-Conor McGregor winner next. If Aldo retains his title, Edgar will almost certainly receive the next title shot. If McGregor wins, it’s a very tough call given how great Mendes has looked and the war of words between Mendes and McGregor that has added intrigue to that potential fight.

Bantamweight

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

Urijah Faber may have lost his first career non-title fight, but there’s no shame in dropping a decision to a fighter as talented as Frankie Edgar. Faber will remain one of the sport’s most popular fighters win or lose both for his success as a fighter as well as the distinguished way he has always carried himself inside and outside of the cage.

Women’s Bantamweight

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

Alexis Davis pulled off an extremely fulfilling victory when she submitted Sarah Kaufman at UFC 186. Kaufman had defeated Davis twice before and was winning their third fight early. However, Davis caught Kaufman in an armbar in the second round and got the submission over her longtime nemesis.

Flyweight

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

Women’s Strawweight

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