The hosts of The Hammer MMA Radio have been contributing to the UFC’s Official Fighter Rankings since its inception earlier this year. While the UFC have confirmed that these rankings may not necessarily impact their matchmaking, the three of us still put a lot of thought into our selection process at the conclusion of each event. Following each event we will be breaking down our thought process on a few of the relevant divisions right here at Last Word On Sports.
You can find our updated Rankings, as well as the overall UFC Rankings at http://www.ufc.com/rankings, all updated on the Monday immediately following every UFC event.
UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann
Steve Jeffery: The most noticeable thing about the Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann rematch was just how much can change in four years. Their first meeting went to a close split decision (won by Kampmann), but since then Condit has improved his overall game to the point where he is never out of a fight.
Meanwhile, Kampmann is mostly the same fighter now as he was back then, always dangerous, but just not quite enough to hang with an opponent who has been going to war with the best fighters in the world non-stop for the past two years.
Last Wednesday night Carlos Condit showed why even though he had lost his last two fights, that he is still the third best Welterweight in the world, able to beat anyone except for the current Champion, and the #1 Contender. Even though Condit finished Kampmann in brutal and impressive fashion, he still remains where he started, directly below the last two men to beat him. Likewise, as usual, Kampmann doesn’t lose any ground for losing to a higher-ranked opponent, and already being positioned directly above a fighter he has beaten.
Steve Jeffery: Raphael Dos Anjos’ rise up the Lightweight rankings has been both surprising, and kind of awkward. Over the past year he has quietly picked up enough wins to float around the bottom of the top ten, even though his win over Evan Dunham was highly disputed. What Dos Anjos really needed was a definitive win over a higher ranked opponent to cement his place in the top ten.
Beating Donald Cerrone was exactly what he needed. Now all of a sudden Dos Anjos is “in the mix”, which while that distinction is kind of vague, at least it’s better than being out of the mix. By beating Cerrone, Dos Anjos takes The Cowboy’s previous slot at #8, bumping Cerrone down.
Donald Cerrone is quickly spiraling down the top ten ranks, and if he can’t turn the ship around fast he is in serious danger of being surpassed by old rivals and new prospects.
Steve Jeffery: There weren’t much in the way of meaningful Featherweight fights on the second UFC on Fox Sports 1 event. The closest things to top ten Featherweights were probably Darren Elkins and Hatsu Hioki, a couple of guys on completely different career trajectories.
Darren Elkins came out of nowhere to beat five solid UFC Featherweights in a row, and there actually may not be a fighter as underrated in their division right now than Elkins. Unfortunately his only crack at a top ten fighter was back in April in a short notice fight against top-ranked Chad Mendes, which didn’t go his way. A win over Hioki (formerly the #2 Featherweight in the world, although now unranked), is a solid way to make a comeback.
Meanwhile, Hioki continues to underperform in the UFC, but has been competitive in all of his fights in the company so far. One good night against a ranked fighter, and Hioki can get back into the conversation. Failing that, he may just continue being a stepping stone for others until he’s eventually released.
Photocredit: Teamleaks.com, CC
