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.
Strikeforce Challengers 15 went down on Friday night in Stockton headlined by Justin Wilcox vs. Rodrigo Damm. Wilcox walked away with an impressive stoppage win but held steady at #27 in the Lightweight Rankings. Strikeforce needs homegrown contenders if it wants to move in to pay per view, and “The Silverback” proved that he deserves a higher-caliber opponent and a big-show opportunity. The promotion has some fighters it needs to keep busy (*cough* Gesias Cavalcante *cough*) so it should be too hard to get it done.
On Sat., Bellator hosted a Lightweight Championship fight at Bellator 39. Champ Eddie Alvarez beat the challenger, Pat Curran, soundly, retaining his belt and his #11 Lightweight Ranking. Curran slipped from #30 to #33 and talking at the post-fight presser about dropping to Featherweight, where he competed before signing with Bellator. Unfortunately for Alvarez, it’s unlikely he’ll crack the top 10 unless one of the guys in front of him gets crushed by a lower-ranked fighter; with every other top 25 lightweight in the world now fighting under the Zuffa banner, it’s going to be tough to find an opponent with a ranking value high enough to help vault push Alvarez back into the top 10, where he arguably belongs.
The season four welterweight tournament rolled on with Lyman Good vs. Rick Hawn #76 to #42. Hawn took a controversial split decision, jumping from #76 to #42 in the Welterweight Rankings, while Good crashed from #37 to #65. Hawn will now face the winner of Jay Hieron vs. Brent Weedman in the tournament final. Also at welterweight, UFC vet Ben Saunders moved from #54 to #46 with a stoppage win over Matt Lee.
In a lightweight tournament semifinal, Patricky Freire destroyed Toby Imada with a barrage of strikes. Imada drops from #52 to #120 in the Lightweight Rankings following the loss. Freire will enter the rankings after the tournament final.
Go here to view the full results.
Also on Sat., Sarah Kaufman won her AFC debut against Megumi Yabushita at AFC 5: Judgement Day. FIGHT! will unveil our comprehensive women’s rankings later this year.
We entered the results from several other cards this weekend into our rankings database; go here to get the full results from Strikeforce, Bellator, AFC, KO Entertainment, Shooto Brazil 22, and Jungle Fight 26.
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