FIGHT! Rankings: Former UFC Champion Sylvia Wins, M-1 Global Crowns Champions & More

At FIGHT! Magazine, we believe there is a need for a completely objective and unbiased ranking system for fighters to replace the myriad subjective rankings that have become skewed, in many instances, by fighter popularity. In an effort to address this issue FIGHT! Magazine brings you its computerized rankings system which takes into account a fighters strength of opponent, strength of performance, and frequency of activity. Go here for a detailed explanation of how FIGHT!’s rankings work.

On Fri., M-1 Global awarded belts for its vacant welterweight, middleweight, and light heavyweight championships in Moscow. Shamil Zavurov claimed the Welterweight title in a battle with Abner Lloveras – Zavurov moves from #64 to #29 in the (Welterweight Rankings) with the win while Lloveras falls from #50 to #93 with the loss. Rafael Moks took the Middleweight title and leapt from #52 to #27 in the Middleweight Rankings with his win over Magomed Sultanakhmedov, who fell from #46 to #83 following the loss. Vyacheslav Vasilevsky became the first M-1 Global Light Heavyweight Champion by defeating Tomasz Narkun, jumping from #47 to #22 at 205, while Narkun falls from #37 to #66. In other noteworthy action, UFC veteran Luigi Fiorvanti moved from #98 to #66 in the Middleweight Rankings with a win over unranked Shakriyar Abassov and TUF vet Vinicius Magalhaes entered the Light Heavyweight Rankings at #71 with a win over unranked Alihan Magomedov. No other ranked fighters appeared on the card.

Also on Fri., UFC veteran Victor Valimaki co-headlined TFC 12: Devastation in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Nick Hinchliffe entered the Middleweight Rankings at #110 after his win over unranked Bastien Huveneers. Valimaki enters the Light Heavyweight Rankings at #97 after his loss to unranked Karl Knothe. No other ranked fighters appeared on the card.

(The former UFC Heavyweight Champion added another win on the regional circuit this weekend.)

It might have been the best-kept secret in MMA but former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia fought in Minneapolis on Saturday night. Extreme Challenge/CFX: On Target went down at the Target Center and featured a superheavyweight bout between Sylvia and Vince Lucero. Sylvia win via early stoppage and held on to his #18 ranking in the Heavyweight poll while Lucero enters the rankings at #98 following the loss. Also at heavyweight, Travis Wiuff has been reassigned from 205 and enters the heavyweight rankings at #59 following his win over unranked Richard White. In the co-feature bout, one-time TUF contestant Paul Bradley bested unranked journeyman Ted Worthington. Bradley moves from #82 to #78 in the Welterweight Rankings with the win. In other welterweight action, TUF vet Tommy Speer re-enters the rankings at #132 after his win over Ryan Williams, who enters the rankings at #163. No other ranked fighters appeared on the card.

In Brazil, Shooto put three titles on the line Sat. night. Eduardo “Dudu” Dantas took the Shooto South America Bantamweight title and moved from #23 to #21 in the Bantamweight Rankings with a win over unranked Samuel De Souza, Leandro Silva won the Shooto South America Middleweight title and climbed from #73 to #66 in the Middleweight Rankings with a win over Edvaldo Jose De Oliveira, and Lincon de Sa survived the inaugural Shooto South America Strawweight tournament, winning the final against Michael Willian Costa to claim the vacant Shooto South America Strawweight title. FIGHT! is currently tracking the development of the strawweight division in Shooto Brazil and Japan, where results from top Shooto promoter Sustain are entered into our rankings database. We hope to have sufficient data to roll out Strawweight Rankings in 2011. Antonio Mendes logged his third qualifying fight to enter the Light Heavyweight poll at #63. No other ranked fighters appeared on the card.

The only other rankings-qualified action this weekend came at Victory Fighting Championships 33 in Omaha, Nebraska, where Bellator veteran Nik Mamalis won the VFC Bantamweight crown in a bout with EliteXC and M-1 vet Josh Rave. Mamalis moved from #40 to #34 in the Bantamweight Rankings with the win, while Rave entered the rankings at #62. Drew Dober continued his slow climb up the Lightweight Rankings, moving from #48 to #45 with a stoppage win over unranked Kody Frank. No other ranked fighters appeared on the card.