Official MMA January Rankings!

Updated as of: 1/27/13

Heavyweight: 1) Cain Velazquez
2) Junior dos Santos
3) Fabricio Werdum
4) Daniel Cormier
5) Antonio Silva
6) Frank Mir
7) Alistair Overeem
8) Stefan Struve
9) Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
10) Josh Barnett

Contenders: Mark Hunt, Roy Nelson, Cheick Kongo, Gabriel Gonzaga.
Name(s) to Watch: Stipe Miocic, Travis Browne, Alexander Volkov

Light Heavyweight: 1) Jon Jones
2) Dan Henderson
3) Lyoto Machida
4) Alexander Gustafsson
5) Shogun Rua
6) Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
7) Rashad Evans
8) Phil Davis
9) Glover Teixeira
10) Ryan Bader

Contenders: Gegard Mousasi, Rampage Jackson, Anthony Johnson, Forrest Griffin.
Name(s) to Watch: James Te Huna

Middleweight: 1) Anderson Silva
2) Chris Weidman
3) Vitor Belfort
4) Chael Sonnen
5) Michael Bisping

6) Luke Rockhold

7) Mark Munoz
8) Yushin Okami
9) Brian Stann
10) Costa Philippou

Contenders: Alan Belcher, Tim Boetsch, Hector Lombard, Jake Shields, Cung Le, Ronaldo Souza.
Name(s) to Watch: Ronny Markes

Welterweight: 1) Georges St. Pierre
2) Johny Hendricks
3) Carlos Condit
4) Nick Diaz
5) Demian Maia
6) Rory MacDonald
7) Martin Kampmann
8) Jake Ellenberger
9) Jon Fitch
10) Ben Askren

Contenders: Tarec Saffeidine, Nate Marquardt, Josh Koscheck, Mike Pierce, Matt Brown.
Name(s) to Watch: Erick Silva, Tyron Woodley.

Lightweight: 1) Ben Henderson
2) Gray Maynard
3) Anthony Pettis
4) Nate Diaz
5) Gilbert Melendez
6) Donald Cerrone
7) Jim Miller
8) Michael Chandler
9) TJ Grant
10) Eddie Alvarez

Contenders: Joe Lauzon, Jamie Varner, Rafael dos Anjos, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Name(s) to Watch: Tim Means, Marcin Held.

Featherweight: 1) Jose Aldo
2) Ricardo Lamas
3) Chad Mendes
4) Frankie Edgar
5) Pat Curran
6) Chan Sung Jung
7) Dennis Siver
8) Cub Swanson
9) Nik Lentz
10) Clay Guida

Contenders: Dustin Poirier, Erik Koch, Hatsu Hioki, Hacran Dias, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Diego Nunes.
Name(s) to Watch: Marcus Brimage, Dennis Bermudez, Max Holloway.

Bantamweight: 1) Dominick Cruz
2) Renan Barao
3) Urijah Faber
4) Michael McDonald
5) Eddie Wineland
6) Brian Bowles
7) Brad Pickett
8) Bibiano Fernandes
9) Scott Jorgensen
10) Raphael Assuncao

Contenders: Tyson Nam, Mike Easton, Eduardo Dantas, Marcos Galvao, Takeya Mizugaki, Yuri Alcantara.
Name(s) to Watch: Erik Perez, Francisco Rivera, Alex Caceres.

Flyweight: 1) Demetrious Johnson
2) Joseph Benavidez
3) Ian McCall
4) John Dodson
5) Darrel Montague
6) John Moraga
7) Jussier Formiga
8) Chris Cariaso
9) Louis Gaudinot
10) John Lineker

Contenders: Darren Uyenoyama, Mitsuhisa Sunabe, Mamoru Yamaguchi, Will Campuzano, Yasuhiro Urushitani, Kentaro Watanabe.
Name(s) to Watch: Sean Santella, Josh Sampo, Tim Elliot, Sergio Pettis.

Women's Featherweight: 1) Cris Cyborg
2) Marloes Coenen
3) Milana Dudieva
4) Germaine de Randamie
5) Ediane Gomes
6) Elaina Maxwell
7) Julia Budd
8) Yana Kunitskaya
9) Romy Ruyssen
10) Hiroko Yamanaka

Contenders: Lauren Taylor, Ashley Sanchez, Fiona Maxwell.
Name(s) to Watch: Randi Miller, Veronica Rothenhausler.

Women's Bantamweight: 1) Ronda Rousey
2) Miesha Tate
3) Sara McMann
4) Alexis Davis
5) Sarah Kaufman
6) Liz Carmouche
7) Shayna Baszler
8) Sarah D’Alelio
9) Cat Zingano
10) Amanda Nunes

Contenders: Rin Nakai, Hitomi Akano, Leslie Smith, Shana Nelson.
Name(s) to Watch: Jessamyn Duke, Holly Holm

Women's Flyweight: 1) Rosi Sexton
2) Jessica Eye
3) Vanessa Porto
4) Barb Honchak
5) Zoila Gurgel
6) Sheila Gaff
7) Michelle Ould
8) Tara LaRosa
9) Munah Holland
10) Claudia Gadelha

Contenders: Reyna Cordoba, Takayo Hashi, Kalindra Carvalho Faria.
Name(s) to Watch: Jocelyn Lybarger, Sarah Maloy.

Women's Strawweight: 1) Jessica Aguilar
2) Megumi Fujii
3) Carla Esparza
4) Ayaka Hamasaki
5) Katja Kankaanpaa
6) Joanne Calderwood
7) Felice Herrig
8) Seo Hee Ham
9) Aisling Daly
10) Mei Yamaguchi

Contenders: Bec Hyatt, Yuki Tsuji, Ashley Cummins, Patricia Vidonic.
Name(s) to Watch: Tecia Torres.

Women's Atomweight: 1) Jessica Penne
2) Naho Sugiyama
3) Michelle Waterson
4) Yasuko Tamada
5) Cassie Rodish
6) Lisa Ellis
7) Kikuyo Ishiwaka
8) Lacey Schuckman
9) Misaki Takimoto
10) Nicdali Rivera-Calonic

Contenders: Satomi Akano, Stephanie Frausto Liz McCarthy, Amy Davis.
Name(s) to Watch: Laura Marcusse.

Let us know what you guys think. Tell us in the comments or on Twitter @Champion_Rounds.

Official December MMA Rankings

Updated as of: 1/13/13

Heavyweight: 1) Cain Velazquez
2) Junior dos Santos
3) Alistair Overeem
4) Fabricio Werdum
5) Daniel Cormier
6) Frank Mir
7) Antonio Silva
8) Stefan Struve
9) Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
10) Josh Barnett

Contenders: Mark Hunt, Roy Nelson, Cheick Kongo, Mike Russow, Gabriel Gonzaga.
Name(s) to Watch: Stipe Miocic, Travis Browne, Alexander Volkov

Light Heavyweight: 1) Jon Jones
2) Rashad Evans
3) Dan Henderson
4) Lyoto Machida
5) Alexander Gustafsson
6) Shogun Rua
7) Phil Davis
8) Ryan Bader
9) Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
10) Rampage Jackson

Contenders: Gegard Mousasi, Glover Teixeira, Anthony Johnson, Forrest Griffin.
Name(s) to Watch: James Te Huna

Middleweight: 1) Anderson Silva
2) Chris Weidman
3) Vitor Belfort
4) Chael Sonnen
5) Michael Bisping

6) Luke Rockhold

7) Mark Munoz
8) Yushin Okami
9) Brian Stann
10) Alan Belcher

Contenders: Costa Philippou, Tim Boetsch, Hector Lombard, Jake Shields, Cung Le, Ronaldo Souza.
Name(s) to Watch: Ronny Markes

Welterweight: 1) Georges St. Pierre
2) Johny Hendricks
3) Carlos Condit
4) Nick Diaz
5) Rory MacDonald
6) Jon Fitch
7) Martin Kampmann
8) Jake Ellenberger
9) Tarec Saffiedine
10) Ben Askren

Contenders: Demian Maia, Nate Marquardt, Josh Koscheck, Mike Pierce, Matt Brown.
Name(s) to Watch: Karl Amoussou, Tarec Saffiedine, Erick Silva.

Lightweight: 1) Ben Henderson
2) Frankie Edgar
3) Gray Maynard
4) Nate Diaz
5) Gilbert Melendez
6) Donald Cerrone
7) Anthony Pettis
8) Jim Miller
9) Michael Chandler
10) Clay Guida

Contenders: Joe Lauzon, Jamie Varner, Rafael dos Anjos, Eddie Alvarez, TJ Grant, Matt Wiman.
Name(s) to Watch: Tim Means, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Marcin Held.

Featherweight: 1) Jose Aldo
2) Chad Mendes
3) Pat Curran
4) Ricardo Lamas
5) Chan Sung Jung
6) Dennis Siver
7) Hatsu Hioki
8) Cub Swanson
9) Nik Lentz
10) Erik Koch

Contenders: Dustin Poirier, Hacran Dias, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Daniel Straus, Darren Elkins.
Name(s) to Watch: Marcus Brimage, Dennis Bermudez, Max Holloway.

Bantamweight: 1) Dominick Cruz
2) Renan Barao
3) Urijah Faber
4) Michael McDonald
5) Eddie Wineland
6) Brian Bowles
7) Brad Pickett
8) Bibiano Fernandes
9) Scott Jorgensen
10) Raphael Assuncao

Contenders: Tyson Nam, Mike Easton, Eduardo Dantas, Marcos Galvao, Takeya Mizugaki, Yuri Alcantara.
Name(s) to Watch: Erik Perez, Francisco Rivera, Alex Caceres.

Flyweight: 1) Demetrious Johnson
2) Joseph Benavidez
3) John Dodson
4) Ian McCall
5) Darrel Montague
6) John Moraga
7) Jussier Formiga
8) John Lineker
9) Chris Cariaso
10) Darren Uyenoyama

Contenders: Louis Gaudinot, Mitsuhisa Sunabe, Mamoru Yamaguchi, Will Campuano, Yasuhiro Urushitani, Kentaro Watanabe.
Name(s) to Watch: Sean Santella, Josh Sampo, Tim Elliot, Sergio Pettis.

Women's Featherweight: 1) Cris Cyborg
2) Marloes Coenen
3) Milana Dudieva
4) Germaine de Randamie
5) Ediane Gomes
6) Elaina Maxwell
7) Julia Budd
8) Yana Kunitskaya
9) Romy Ruyssen
10) Hiroko Yamanaka

Contenders: Lauren Taylor, Ashley Sanchez, Fiona Maxwell.
Name(s) to Watch: Randi Miller, Veronica Rothenhausler.

Women's Bantamweight: 1) Ronda Rousey
2) Miesha Tate
3) Sara McMann
4) Alexis Davis
5) Sarah Kaufman
6) Liz Carmouche
7) Shayna Baszler
8) Sarah D’Alelio
9) Cat Zingano
10) Amanda Nunes

Contenders: Hitomi Akano, Leslie Smith, Shana Nelson.
Name(s) to Watch: Jessamyn Duke, Holly Holm

Women's Flyweight: 1) Rosi Sexton
2) Jessica Eye
3) Vanessa Porto
4) Barb Honchak
5) Zoila Gurgel
6) Sheila Gaff
7) Michelle Ould
8) Tara LaRosa
9) Munah Holland
10) Tonya Evinger

Contenders: Reyna Cordoba, Takayo Hashi, Kalindra Carvalho Faria.
Name(s) to Watch: Jocelyn Lybarger, Sarah Maloy.

Women's Strawweight: 1) Jessica Aguilar
2) Megumi Fujii
3) Carla Esparza
4) Ayaka Hamasaki
5) Katja Kankaanpaa
6) Joanne Calderwood
7) Seo Hee Ham
8) Claudia Gadelha
9) Felice Herrig
10) Aisling Daly

Contenders: Mei Yamaguchi, Bec Hyatt, Yuki Tsuji, Ashley Cummins, Patricia Vidonic.
Name(s) to Watch: Tecia Torres.

Women's Atomweight: 1) Jessica Penne
2) Naho Sugiyama
3) Kikuyo Ishiwaka
4) Michelle Waterson
5) Cassie Rodish
6) Yasuko Tamada
7) Lisa Ellis
8) Lacey Schuckman
9) Misaki Takimoto
10) Nicdali Rivera-Calonic

Contenders: Satomi Akano, Stephanie Frausto Liz McCarthy, Amy Davis.
Name(s) to Watch: Laura Marcusse.

Let us know what you guys think. Tell us in the comments or on Twitter @Champion_Rounds.

UFC on Fox 5: Henderson vs. Diaz Main Card Recap

Rory landing a vicious headkick on BJ.
Photo via sportsnet.

From top to bottom, this card was one of the best in UFC history. With several “Fight of the Night” contenders, three vicious knockouts and a great submission, fans are unbelievably lucky to have been able to receive this event for free. Every fight but one was on network television for millions to witness an amazing night of fights.

Mike Swick vs. Matt Brown: This was exactly how the UFC wanted to start off the best fight card in network television history. And we may just have a new contender at 170 pounds. Brown started off this fight in typical Matt Brown style with lots of aggression and even landed a takedown and cinched up a D’arce choke, but he didn’t exactly know how to finish it as he went on his back and pulled guard rather than on his side with his butt scooted out. Swick ended up getting out of it because of that but Brown went right for a really tight triangle choke. Swick defended well and slipped out. In the second round, Brown came out and landed a two punch combo that put Swick stiff and unconscious. It was a shocking and brutal finish.

Possible matchups for Brown: Wow, I am seriously impressed by Matt Brown’s performance. His submission game and standup looked better than ever and I really look forward to see how much more he can progress. A fight with Siyar Bahadurzada would be one of the best fights of the year. It would certainly produce a barnburner.

Possible matchups for Swick: This was a terrible loss for Swick. He was looking to continue his career comeback on a good note but that was a no go. Perhaps a fight with Yoshihiro Akiyama could be a good fight for both men.

BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald: MacDonald impressed on so many levels in this fight, the potential that he holds is truly insane. Like the skills that he could one day possess is almost incomprehensible. I felt that going into this fight Penn would have a significant standup advantage but MacDonald completely and utterly dominated the legend. From beginning to end Rory landed jabs, body punches, and head kicks and easily won the biggest fight of his career over one of the best fighters to ever live. Thanks to BJ for an amazing career and all the amazing moments in his UFC career.

Possible matchups for MacDonald: This fight puts the 23 year old in the top-5 in my opinion. After the fight, he called out the former interim welterweight champ, Carlos Condit for a rematch. Now that is a matchup that I love. MacDonald has matured as a fighter and as a person since their fight back at UFC 115.

Shogun Rua vs. Alexander Gustafsson: I was pretty confident in my prediction of Gustafsson going into this fight, but Shogun made me nervous on several occasions. He landed a lot of huge overhand rights to the temple of Gustafsson, but those made me more impressed by Alex for a great chin. We haven’t really seen his chin tested before this fight, it certainly was this fight, and it looks solid. In the second and third round, it was a different story. Gustafsson dominated the former champion en route to a unanimous decision win.

Possible matchups for Gustafsson: Before this fight, Dana announced that the winner would receive a title shot against the winner of Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen. Gustafsson undoubtedly deserves a title shot after this fight.

Possible matchups for Rua: Time is definitely starting to close in on Shogun, but he is definitely still one of the top guys at light heavyweight. Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson are fighting in a number one contender bout themselves at UFC 157. Shogun should fight the loser for either a rubber match with Machida or a rematch to one of the greatest fights of all time. Either way, the fans will be happy.

Ben Henderson vs. Nate Diaz: I was extremely confident going into this fight that Diaz was going to handily defeat Henderson. Not only did the champ prove me wrong, he made me look stupid for picking Diaz. From the beginning of the fight, to the last bell, Henderson out grappled, out struck, and even dropped the durable Diaz on multiple occasions, both with leg kicks and punches. There was only one time that I remember where Diaz was in control was when he had Henderson’s leg and was working both a heel hook and a toe hold. But other than that, Henderson completely dominated the younger Diaz brother for all five rounds, even to the point that one of the judges gave it a 50-43 for the champion.

Possible matchups for Henderson: I feel that it is pretty clear that the winner of Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis at UFC on Fox 6 will be a number one contenders bout. Either a rematch to Anthony Pettis or a third fight with Cerrone will make an amazing fight.

Possible matchups for Diaz: Now that Diaz has finally received his title shot and lost very definitively, it’s time for him to take a step back. Even though technically Gray Maynard is 1-0 against Diaz, Diaz had a win over Maynard on the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter by submission. I’m sure that they feel they are 1-1 against each other and I’m sure they would love a rubber match.

Click here for prelim recap.