It was possibly MMA's biggest weekend ever, with three UFC events in three days and two long-term champions being dethroned. Here's how our rankings have changed mid-month as a result.
MMA overall (or "pound-for-pound") top 100: Rockhold jumps to #4, McGregor at #11
| Dec 1 Rank |
Dec 13 Rank |
Fighter | WC | Rating | Rated Record | Dec 10-12 Results |
| 1 | 1 | Jon Jones | LH | 100.40 | 15-1-0 | |
| 3 | 2 | Georges St. Pierre | WW | 87.10 | 23-2-0 | last rated win -25 months. |
| 4 | 3 | Fabricio Werdum | HW | 83.24 | 19-5-1 | |
| 15 | 4 | Luke Rockhold | MW | 74.65 | 12-1-0 | Beat #2 Chris Weidman |
| 2 | 5 | Chris Weidman | MW | 64.20 | 9-1-0 | Lost to #15 Luke Rockhold |
| 5 | 6 | Rafael dos Anjos | LW | 63.10 | 15-5-0 | |
| 7 | 7 | Daniel Cormier | LH | 53.14 | 13-1-0 | |
| 8 | 8 | Donald Cerrone | LW | 51.64 | 21-6-0 | |
| 10 | 9 | Robbie Lawler | WW | 48.96 | 27-10-0 | |
| 9 | 10 | Cain Velasquez | HW | 48.39 | 10-2-0 | last rated win -26 months. |
| 32 | 11 | Conor McGregor | FW | 48.02 | 7-0-0 | Beat #6 Jose Aldo |
| 20 | 12 | Yoel Romero | MW | 44.41 | 7-0-0 | Beat #12 Ronaldo Souza |
Luke Rockhold jumps into the top 5 at #4 with his win over Chris Weidman. Weidman had recently reached #2 on our pound-for-pound list behind Jon Jones but he drops to #5; with #6 Rafael dos Anjos and #8 Donald Cerrone fighting on the #19, Weidman will be pushed down to #6 to accommodate the winner of that bout.
Conor McGregor needed just 13 seconds to beat former #6 Jose Aldo; McGregor jumps to #11 while Aldo drops to #16. Another Saturday night winner, Yoel Romero, leaps to #12 replacing victim Ronaldo Souza, who falls from #12 to #31.
More change is in store over the next few months as #1 Jon Jones fights #7 Daniel Cormier in early January, and #3 Fabricio Werdum rematches #10 Cain Velasquez in February. Still inactive and possibly retired is Georges St. Pierre, who moves back up to #2 with Weidman's loss. Werdum can move up to #2 with a win, and Cormier can take over the #1 spot if he can beat Jones in that rematch.
Weight Class Rankings: Changes at the top of Middleweight and Featherweight
| Dec 1 Rank |
Dec 13 Rank |
Fighter | WC | Rating | Rated Record | Dec 10-12 Results |
| 3 | 1 | Luke Rockhold | MW | 74.65 | 12-1-0 | Beat #1 Chris Weidman |
| 1 | 2 | Chris Weidman | MW | 64.20 | 9-1-0 | Lost to #3 Luke Rockhold |
| 4 | 3 | Yoel Romero | MW | 44.41 | 7-0-0 | Beat #2 Ronaldo Souza |
| 5 | 4 | Anderson Silva | MW | 29.62 | 30-6-0 | last rated win -38 months. |
| 2 | 5 | Ronaldo Souza | MW | 29.47 | 17-3-0 | Lost to #4 Yoel Romero |
Our Middleweight rankings matched #1 vs. #3 and #2 vs. #4; in both cases, the lower-ranked fighter won. Luke Rockhold moves up to #1 and Yoel Romero to #3, with Weidman falling a spot to #2 and Souza falling to #5. With #4 Anderson Silva suspended and out of action for a while, Souza will move up to #4 by February's rankings.
The question here is whether Weidman gets an immediate rematch or whether Romero gets a shot at Rockhold. Considering Weidman was undefeated prior to his loss and Romero's win over Souza was not convincing—and the fact that Dana White loves rematches—we guess we will see Rockhold-Weidman II next.
| Dec 1 Rank |
Dec 13 Rank |
Fighter | WC | Rating | Rated Record | Dec 10-12 Results |
| 3 | 1 | Conor McGregor | FW | 48.02 | 7-0-0 | Beat #1 Jose Aldo |
| 1 | 2 | Jose Aldo | FW | 38.62 | 17-2-0 | Lost to #3 Conor McGregor |
| 2 | 3 | Frankie Edgar | FW | 32.38 | 14-4-1 | Beat #11 Chad Mendes |
| 4 | 4 | Daniel Straus | FW | 27.58 | 11-3-0 | |
| 5 | 5 | Max Holloway | FW | 26.39 | 12-3-0 | Beat #28 Jeremy Stephens |
Now the featherweights, where we also had the #3 (Conor McGregor) beating the #1 (Jose Aldo). And like the Middleweights, the #1 falls to #2. However, Frankie Edgar, who can't catch a break, actually drops from #2 to #3 despite beating Chad Mendes in a more convincing fashion than either Aldo or McGregor managed.
This puts Edgar in a bind. If there's an Aldo-McGregor rematch, he waits. If McGregor next faces the winner of the Rafael Dos-Anjos vs. Donald Cerrone lightweight title bout, Edgar waits. And in that case, does McGregor ever come back to Featherweight like he says he will? Who knows. Does Edgar then face Aldo in the meantime? Or #5 Max Holloway, who beat Jeremy Stephens? Or does he just wait and hope he gets a title shot of some kind soon?
It sounds like Dana White is hoping for a battle of champions. He's basically trashed Jose Aldo before, so don't count on any mandatory rematch. And he's said if McGregor moves up to Lightweight he will get a title shot immediately. Looks like Edgar may be left waiting again, but McGregor can't claim he's "cleaned out the division" until he beats Edgar, and before you try to become a 2-division champ there shouldn't be any options left in your first division.
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