MMA Fighter Rankings for February 2012
It’s rare when the rankings don’t see any changes but the outcomes from fights held in the month of January didn’t changes things in any division. That might have due to the fact only four fighters in our top five ranks actually fought last month. Not to worry though because February will see nine top five fighters step into the cage, including three fights where both competitors are ranked.
February will see two title fights, one in the lightweight division at UFC 144 and the other for the interim welterweight title at UFC 143. Lightweight champions Frankie Edgar (#1) will defend his title for the fourth time against former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson (#4). Edgar’s last four fights have been against either BJ Penn or Gray Maynard, so fans and I’m sure Edgar are happy to see a new opponent across from the champ.
With Georges St. Pierre beginning his rehab on his knee two former champions (in other promotions) will battle it out for an interim title in the meantime. Nick Diaz (#2) and Carlos Condit (#4) will headline Saturday’s UFC 143 card in Las Vegas and the winner will walk away with welterweight gold around their waist. Whether the winner will make a title defense or fight GSP next to unify the titles will all depend on how St. Pierre is recovering.
Other top fighters putting it on the line this month include heavyweight Fabricio Werdum (#4), welterweight’s Josh Koscheck (#3) and Jake Ellenberger (#5) plus bantamweights Scott Jorgensen (#3) and Renan Barao (#5), who will be facing each other on the main card of UFC 143.
As always the goal here is to give you the best rankings that we can provide you with and of course a spot below for you to disagree and complain. So without further ado here is the latest MMAValor.com fighter Rankings:
Key – [↑] = Moved up, [↓] = Moved Down, [•] = New to the list
Heavyweight (205lbs. – 265lbs.)
1. Junior Dos Santos
2. Cain Velasquez
3. Alistair Overeem
4. Fabricio Werdum
5. Frank Mir
Knocking on the door: Josh Barnett, Shane Carwin, Daniel Cormier, Antonio Silva
Light Heavyweight (205lbs.)
1. Jon Jones
2. Rashad Evans
3. Mauricio Rua
4. Dan Henderson
5. Rampage Jackson
Knocking on the door: Phil Davis, Ryan Jimmo
Middleweight (185lbs.)
1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Yushin Okami
4. Hector Lombard
5. Mark Munoz
Knocking on the door: Brian Stann, Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort, Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo Souza, Demian Maia
Welterweight (170lbs.)
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Nick Diaz
3. Josh Koscheck
4. Carlos Condit
5. Jake Ellenberger
Knocking on the door: Ben Askren, Rory MacDonald, Thiago Alves, Johny Hendricks
Lightweight (155lbs.)
1. Frankie Edgar
2. Gilbert Melendez
3. Gray Maynard
4. Ben Henderson
5. Michael Chandler
Knocking on the door: Nate Diaz, Shinya Aoki, Jim Miller, Donald Cerrone, Eddie Alvarez
Featherweight (145lbs.)
1. Jose Aldo
2. Hatsu Hioki
3. Chad Mendes
4. Pat Curran
5. Patricio Freire
Knocking on the door: Joe Warren, Chan Sung Jung, Diego Nunes
Bantamweight (135lbs.)
1. Dominik Cruz
2. Urijah Faber
3. Scott Jorgensen
4. Zach Makovsky
5. Renan Barao
Knocking on the door:
Flyweight (125lbs.)
1. Ian McCall
2. Joseph Benavides
3. Yasuhiro Urushitani
4. Jussier Da Silva
5. Demetrious Johnson
Ranks as of 2/2/2012
Category: Bellator, Exclusive, Featured, MMA, Rankings, Strikeforce, UFC
About the Author (Author Profile)
My brain child is MMAValor, something I had wanted to do for a long time and finally it’s here. Been an MMA fan since TUF season one (play catch up all the time) and the obsession started to grow like a weed and as the sport grows so does the love for the sport. I’m a jack of all trades, a very organized person that rides an emotional roller coaster daily.Subscribe
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