SportsRatings: Boxing/MMA

Suddenly: Wilder KOs Ortiz in rematch

There wasn't much action for 7 rounds. There were hardly any exchanges. And that meant there wasn't much drama, except for the question: was Deontay Wilder really going to lose by a wide decision? He was clearly behind on the cards, and hardly throwing anything other than a pawing jab.

Then it all came to a quick end for Luis Ortiz, at the end of round 7.

Here's how we scored the fight:

• Round 1: Not much action; a lot like the first fight, Ortiz is cautious due to Wilder's power, Wilder is cautious due to his own chin and nearly being stopped by Ortiz in the first fight. One exchange and a clash of heads is all that happens. 10-10
• Round 2: Ortiz had the best moment in an otherwise uneventful round. 10-9 Ortiz; 20-19
• Round 3: More of the same. Very little being done by Wilder, Ortiz is the more aggressive though not much more effective. 10-9 Ortiz; 30-28
• Round 4: Wilder lands his first right hand, but again Ortiz had the better round, with a combination that sent Wilder back and had him pounding his chest to show he wasn't hurt. 10-9 Ortiz 40-37
• Round 5: This round is even close than the previous ones, but still Ortiz was connecting a bit while Wilder is mostly missing. 10-9 Ortiz; 50-46
• Round 6: Another round to Ortiz, as he's making Wilder back up while Wilder only occasionally works the body or the jab, but misses wide with the right hand. 10-9 Ortiz; 60-55
• Round 7: Well behind on the cards certainly, Wilder is looking like he's ok with risking losing a wide decision while he specs out the kill shot. Ortiz is getting more confident, and late in this round is clearly is winning it, probably his best one yet, when BAM! suddenly Wilder connects with the right hand and Ortiz absolutely crumbles to the ground. He struggles with this mouthpiece (shades of Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas) before struggling up near the end of the count, but isn't vertical enough or aware enough to really beat the count, and he's waved off. 

Wilder will move up to #2 in our Heavyweight Top 100, his highest ranking ever, and behind only #1 Tyson Fury, who he fought to a draw a year ago.

-3 yrs	-1 yr	-6 mo	Nov Rank	Dec Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	November results
1	2	2	1	1	TYSON FURY	45.38	17-0-1
4	3	3	3	2	DEONTAY WILDER	41.08	18-0-1	KO 7 #9 LUIS ORTIZ
12	37	31	2	3	ANDY RUIZ JR	39.57	13-1-0
5	1	1	4	4	ANTHONY JOSHUA	36.63	15-1-0	--last rated win -14 months.
28	5	5	5	5	DILLIAN WHYTE	24.91	12-1-0
3	4	4	6	6	ALEX POVETKIN	24.70	29-2-0
20	7	6	7	7	JARRELL MILLER	19.67	9-0-0	--last rated win -12 months.
10	8	8	8	8	KUBRAT PULEV	18.67	20-1-0	UD 10 #226 RYDELL BOOKER
--	17	14	10	9	EFE AJAGBA	16.95	6-0-0
68	11	12	11	10	ADAM KOWNACKI	16.31	9-0-0

Fury should be Wilder's next opponent, if everything works out. By then, the winner of the Ruiz-Joshua rematch will have vaulted to #1, and the Fury-Wilder winner will take it back.

It's really quite an exciting time in the Heavyweight division; more people should be paying attention as this mini-era will be fondly remembered one day.

November MMA rankings: Stylebender #1 at MW, top ten in P4P

Israel Adesanya's 2nd round KO win over Middleweight champ Robert Whittaker gives Stylebender the belt and puts him in the top ten overall. Here is our MMA rankings report for November, 2019.

Overall/ Pound-for-Pound

Oct 2019	Nov 2019	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results
1	1	Stipe Miocic	HW	87.72	14-3-0	UFC
2	2	Khabib Nurmagomedov	LW	84.77	14-0-0	UFC
3	3	Jon Jones	LH	80.79	19-1-0	UFC
5	4	Daniel Cormier	HW	68.09	18-2-0	UFC
6	5	Kamaru Usman	WW	67.55	10-0-0	UFC
23	6	Israel Adesanya	MW	64.42	6-0-0	UFC	Beat #4 Robert Whittaker
7	7	Tony Ferguson	LW	64.27	18-1-0	UFC
8	8	Georges St. Pierre	MW	62.81	24-2-0	UFC	--last rated win -23 months.
9	9	Henry Cejudo	BW	57.35	9-2-0	UFC
10	10	Ryan Bader	HW	53.92	21-5-0	Bell
11	11	Colby Covington	WW	53.61	9-1-0	UFC
4	12	Robert Whittaker	MW	50.97	12-5-0	UFC	Lost to #23 Israel Adesanya

In our pound-for-pound top 100, Stipe Miocic remains #1; Miocic topped the list for several months before losing to Daniel Cormier, but he has the top spot after the rematch win. LW champ Khabib Nurmagomedov is close behind at #2, and former long-time #1 Jon Jones is at #3. After that there's a bigger gap to former #1 Cormier, who has crept up to #4 as other fighters have lost; Welterweight champ Kamaru Usman is #5.

Isreal Adesanya, undefeated in 18 bouts overall, jumps from #23 to #6 with the win over Whittaker, who falls from #4 to #12 with his 5th loss. Slots 7 through 11 remain unchanged.

Heavyweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Stipe Miocic	HW	87.72	14-3-0	UFC
2	2	Daniel Cormier	HW	68.09	18-2-0	UFC
3	3	Ryan Bader	HW	53.92	21-5-0	Bell
4	4	Francis Ngannou	HW	46.87	8-2-0	UFC
5	5	Cheick Kongo	HW	32.38	28-10-2	Bell

No change in the top 10 in the Heavyweights. The biggest mover was Ali Isaev, who jumped from #23 to #14 on the basis of two wins in the Professional Fighters League (PFL); he beat #43 Kevin Tiller and #19 Denis Goltsov. Sergei Pavlovich beat Maurice Greene and joined the top 25 at #22, while Jiri Prochazka was pushed down a spot to #23 despite a win over #61 Fabio Maldonado in Rizin.

There are a few interesting fights coming this month, however. #10 Alexander Volkov takes on the controversial Greg Hardy on the 9th in the UFC. It's a chance for Hardy to finally get the recognition he thinks he deserves, after beating several no-names, losing once for an illegal knee, and getting a No Contest after illegally using an inhaler.

Also, on the 2nd, #16 Derrick Lewis faces off against #20 Blagoy Ivanov. The winner will move close to the top ten, the loser will probably fall out of the top 25.

Light Heavyweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Jon Jones	LH	80.79	19-1-0	UFC
3	2	Vadim Nemkov	LH	29.61	6-2-0	Bell	Beat #32 Rafael Carvalho
2	3	Jan Blachowicz	LH	28.25	18-6-0	UFC	•11/16 vs. #9 Ronaldo Souza
4	4	Phil Davis	LH	26.95	16-5-0	Bell	Beat #54 Karl Albrektsson
5	5	Anthony Johnson	LH	25.01	21-6-0	UFC	--last rated win -38 months.
6	6	Luke Rockhold	LH	23.92	14-4-0	UFC	--last rated win -25 months.
14	7	Dominick Reyes	LH	23.82	7-0-0	UFC	Beat #13 Chris Weidman

This division has been problematic for some time, with Jones dominating despite his issues, and few other contenders emerging. This month, Vadim Nemkov of Bellator takes the revolving #2 spot after beating Rafael Carvalho. Nemkov previously beat #4 Phil Davis, who retains his spot with a win over Karl Albrektsson. 

Pushed to #3, Jan Blachowicz looks to take #2 back, facing Ronaldo Souza, a former Middleweight who comes in at #9. There has been a recent trend for Middleweights to move up, with Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos both losing title shots to Jones; Blachowicz recently beat #6 Luke Rockhold, and Chris Weidman fell to Dominick Reyes, who vaults to #7.

Whoever wins the Blachowicz/Souza fight on the 16th will be at #2, but the more interesting fight that night might be #11 Corey Anderson vs. #18 Johnny Walker, who hasn't faced the best competition but has looked unstoppable doing so. The winner makes the top ten.  A less-heralded clash on November 9 pitting #13 Dalcha Lungiambula vs. #20 Magomed Akalaev could be just as important, though.

Middleweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
5	1	Israel Adesanya	MW	64.42	6-0-0	UFC	Beat #1 Robert Whittaker
2	2	Georges St. Pierre	MW	62.81	24-2-0	UFC	--last rated win -23 months.
1	3	Robert Whittaker	MW	50.97	12-5-0	UFC	Lost to #5 Israel Adesanya
3	4	Rafael Lovato Jr.	MW	43.18	7-0-0	Bell
4	5	Gegard Mousasi	MW	41.68	37-7-2	Bell

Stylebender takes the belt: With an impressive KO victory, Israel Adesanya proved his doubters wrong. Will he be a long-lasting champion? Though he seems like the new kid on the block, he is 30 while Robert Whittaker is just 28. It's unlikely the semi-retired #2 GSP will come back to this division, and the next two guys on our chart fight for Bellator. Adesanya's likely next opponent, Paulo Costa, is #6 and is out with injury for now.

The only bout of interest for November is #8 Kelvin Gastelum taking on #23 Darren Till on the 2nd. It's a good chance for Till to get back on track after back-to-back losses at Welterweight. A win takes him into the top ten, while Gastelum too wants to rebound from his loss to Adesanya in April.

Welterweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Kamaru Usman	WW	67.55	10-0-0	UFC
2	2	Colby Covington	WW	53.61	9-1-0	UFC
3	3	Tyron Woodley	WW	46.94	16-4-1	UFC	--last rated win -13 months.
6	4	Douglas Lima	WW	41.08	17-3-0	Bell	Beat #10 Rory MacDonald
4	5	Jorge Masvidal	WW	40.04	32-13-0	UFC	•11/02 vs. #11 Nate Diaz
5	6	Leon Edwards	WW	38.56	12-2-0	UFC
8	7	Santiago Ponzinibbio	WW	32.75	9-1-0	UFC
18	8	Demian Maia	WW	32.04	26-9-0	UFC	Beat #7 Ben Askren

Two big bouts changed the top ten at Welterweight. Douglas Lima avenged his prior loss to #10 Rory MacDonald and in doing so jumped from #6 to #4, sandwiched among all the UFC fighters. Demian Maia's submission win over #7 Ben Askren moved him back into the top ten once again. Askren falls to #16 after his second loss in a row, and only his 2nd loss ever. 

The big fight this month is on November 2nd when #5 Jorge Masvidal faced #11 Nate Diaz for the ridiculous BMF belt in the UFC. In our chart, the only consequence will be either Masvidal reclaims the #4 spot, or Nate Diaz jumps into the top ten near the top 5. Both of these guys are fairly highly rated and the winner really could be in line to take on the Usman-Covington winner next year.

Lightweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Khabib Nurmagomedov	LW	84.77	14-0-0	UFC
2	2	Tony Ferguson	LW	64.27	18-1-0	UFC
3	3	Dustin Poirier	LW	48.51	20-6-0	UFC
4	4	Conor McGregor	LW	38.84	13-2-0	UFC	--last rated win -35 months.
5	5	Justin Gaethje	LW	31.33	15-2-0	UFC

No change in the top ten here; below that, two PFL fighters both fought twice in the same night and moved up: Natan Schulte went from #15 to #12 after beating Ramsey Nijem and Akhmed Aliev, while former #102 Loik Radzhabov managed a draw with former #18 Islam Mamedov, then beat #19 Chris Wade. These results catapulted Redzhabov to #19 himself while the other two fell out of the top 25!

Featherweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Max Holloway	FW	50.03	19-4-0	UFC
2	2	Patricio Freire	FW	48.73	17-4-0	Bell
3	3	Alex Volkanovski	FW	40.50	12-0-0	UFC
4	4	Lance Palmer	FW	35.35	17-3-0	Prof	Beat #161 Alex Almeida;   Beat Alex Gilpin
5	5	Mateusz Gamrot	FW	26.48	9-0-0	KSW

PFL's dual October 17th event was a rare one, where winning fighters fought twice. #4 Lance Palmer beat both Alexandre Almeida and Alex Gilpen, but he was too far from the top three to make a dent. 

On November 9th, #9 Zabit Magomedsharipov (17-1) takes on #12 Calvin Kattar (20-3) with the winner gaining a spot in the top five, and likely getting an eventual chance to face the winner of Holloway-Volkanovski for the UFC belt.

Bantamweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Henry Cejudo	BW	57.35	9-2-0	UFC
2	2	Bibiano Fernandes	BW	49.60	21-2-0	One	Beat #6 Kevin Belingon
3	3	Kai Asakura	BW	37.84	9-1-0	Rizi	Beat #111 Yuta Sasaki
4	4	Kyoji Horiguchi	BW	35.29	26-3-0	Rizi
5	5	Aljamain Sterling	BW	34.92	12-3-0	UFC
14	6	Shoko Sato	BW	26.98	18-10-2	One	Beat #10 Rafael 'Morcego' Silva

With the UFC's Henry Cejudo seemingly planning to stay at Bantamweight, One Championship's Bibiano Fernandes might have a tough time amassing enough points to pass him to take back the belt. Fernandes did beat #6 Kevin Belingon to secure his #2 spot, while #3 Kai Asakura—who beat #4 Kyoji Horiguchi a few months back—defended against Yuta Sasaki in Rizin. #5 Aljamain Sterling is Cejudo's probable next opponent. And coming in at #6 is Shoko Sato, also at One, who beat Rafael Silva to jump from #14. Both Fernandes and Sato weigh in higher than 135 but are listed here since this is where they'd compete in any other organization.

Flyweight

Oct Rank	Nov Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Org	October results; •November schedule
1	1	Demetrious Johnson	FL	40.26	21-3-1	One	Beat #4 Danny Kingad
2	2	T.J. Dillashaw	FL	30.66	11-3-0	UFC	--last rated win -14 months.
3	3	Joseph Benavidez	FL	28.78	22-5-0	UFC
5	4	Haruo Ochi	FL	20.90	15-7-2	Rizi
6	5	Azamat Kerefov	FL	19.93	4-0-0	ACA
7	6	Tatsuki Saomoto	FL	19.59	10-1-0	ZST
8	7	Shohei Masumizu	FL	19.48	11-3-0	Panc
4	8	Danny Kingad	FL	19.16	4-1-0	One	Lost to #1 Demetrious Johnson

Flyweight is easily the most diverse division by promotion, with the top ten including fighters from One Championship, the UFC, Rizin, Absolute Championship Akhmat, ZST, and Pancrase. Mighty Mouse retains his belt with a win over #4 Danny Kingad in One Championship; as with all One fighters, they weigh in a weight class above but Johnson would normally fight at 125 as he did in the UFC. The only noteworthy bout scheduled for November is in One Championship on the 8th, with #12 Josh Pacio facing #23 Rene Catalan.