Updated rankings were released via the UFC Rankings Report yesterday. To the surprise of some, Middleweight Champ Chris Weidman (12-0-0) has passed Cain Velasquez (13-1-0) in the hotly contested pound-for-pound fighter category, making him the #4 P-4-P fighter on the planet. This shouldn’t surprise as many as it has. “Cardio” Cain hasn’t fought in nearly a year. His next match will be in November as part of the TUF: Latin America finale against Fabricio Verdum. Weidman, on the other hand, has successfully defended his title twice and will try for a third in nearly the same amount of time (The third will be against a post-TRT Vitor Belfort in December).
Now if you look a couple spots down the list you come across another surprise. Johny Hendricks takes the 8th spot, demoting “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey to 9th. It’s as if the logic in the Cain/Weidman switch was used…in reverse. Hendricks lost to GSP last November, not without controversy to be sure. And has yet to successfully defend his Welterweight title since he beat Robbie Lawler in March of this year. Ronda has only seen a second round ONCE since 2011.
The argument here then becomes one of competition. Should fighters be ranked by the competition they’ve faced? Should they be ranked by wins/losses? Should finishes be a more deciding factor?
You can check out all the updated rankings here! Comment below.
