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.

Official November MMA Rankings

So here is how our rankings are going to work; we are going to re-post them once a month but there will be a link on the side for visitors to click on rather than having to dig through our posting history to find them. We will consistently edit the rankings whenever it is needed. Because these are still a work in progress, there will probably be mistakes and changes in the coming days.

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) Big Nog
10) Josh Barnett

Contenders: Mark Hunt, Roy Nelson, Cheick Kongo, Mike Russow, Shane Carwin.
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) Vitor Belfort
9) Ryan Bader
10) Lil Nog

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

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

6)Mark Munoz

7) Yushin Okami
8) Brian Stann
9) Alan Belcher
10) Costa Philippou

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

Welterweight: 1) GSP
2) Johny Hendricks
3) Carlos Condit
4) Nick Diaz
5) Rory MacDonald
6) Jon Fitch
7) Martin Kampmann
8) Jake Ellenberger
9) Nate Marquardt
10) Ben Askren

Contenders: Demian Maia, Josh Koscheck, Siyar Bahadurzada, 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) Clay Guida
10) Michael Chandler

Contenders: Joe Lauzon, Jamie Varner, Rafael dos Anjos, Eddie Alvarez, TJ Grant, Matt Wiman, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Name(s) to Watch: Tim Means, 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) Diego Nunes
9) Cub Swanson
10) Erik Koch

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

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.
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)  Elaina Maxwell
6) Julia Budd
7) Ediene Gomes
8) Hiroko Yamanaka
9) Yana Kunitskaya
10) Romy Ruyssen

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) Sarah Kaufman
5) Shayna Baszler
6) Alexis Davis
7) Liz Carmouche
8) Cat Zingano
9) Amanda Nunes
10) Rin Nakai

Contenders: Hitomi Akano, Sarah D’Alelio, 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) Aisling Daly
10) Munah Holland

Contenders: Tonya Evinger, 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) Ayaka Hamasaki
4) Carla Esparza
5) Katjan Kankaanpaa
6) Seo Hee Ham
7) Joanne Calderwood
8) Mei Yamaguchi
9) Claudia Gadelha
10) Felice Herrig

Contenders: Yuki Tsuji, Ashley Cummins, Patricia Vidonic, Alex Chambers.
Name(s) to Watch: Paige VanZant, Tecia Torres.

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

Contenders: Satomi Akano, Liz McCarthy, Cassie Rodish, 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.

MMA Bantamweight Rankings: September Edition

As we at CR continue our rankings, we now head into arguably the entertaining division in MMA: bantamweight.

After the UFC merged with the WEC, the 135ers have headlined multiple UFC cards, including a couple PPVs. Let’s look at where the best in the world rank:

Photo via MMACarnivale.com

10. Tyson Nam – Eduardo Dantas was a consensus top-10 bantamweight and Tyson Nam knocked him out in 1:40 of the very first round. Being number 10 is the lowest spot he deserves for his most recent win. Unfortunately, Tyson Nam is in a bit of a limbo as he is facing a lawsuit from Bellator. There is hashtag on Twitter which says #FreeTysonNam. Everyone should go and try to make this trend. This lawsuit is rather unfair to say the very least.

9. Bibiano Fernandes – So close. The UFC was so close to signing the best bantamweight outside of their 135-lb division. Bibiano Fernandes has been that one guy who UFC fans have been waiting to come over to the world’s largest MMA promotion. With wins over Antonio Banuelos, Masakazu Imanari, Joachim Hansen, and Joe Warren, there is no wonder as to why everyone wants to see him fight in the UFC. He decided to sign with the Asian promotion ONE FC instead.

Photo via FiveOuncesofPain.com

8. Scott Jorgensen – Although he may be riding a two fight losing streak to both Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland, Scott Jorgensen is still immensely talented and one of the best bantamweights in the world. He has wins over the likes of Brad Pickett, Jeff Curran, and Takeya Mizugaki. He has incredible power and is always extremely entertaining.

7. Brad Pickett – “One Punch” has been one of the constant stable mates as a top contender at 135. Never failing to entertain, this Englishman is the type of fighter that the UFC salivates over. He always puts everything on the line and poses as a threat to every fighter at 135.

Photo via MMAWeekly.com

6. Eddie Wineland – Wineland was on a two fight losing streak after hard fought and close decision losses to Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez. He retaliated with a brutal and shocking 2^nd round KO over Scott Jorgensen. Wineland dominated that fight from the beginning. Renan Barao, the current interim bantamweight champion, couldn’t even do what Wineland did. This showed that Wineland is looking for one more shot at the belt before he decides it’s time to hang up the gloves.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

5. Michael McDonald – 21 years old. How often do you see someone barely old enough to drink and one of the best fighters in his division? Almost never. That’s why McDonald is one of the most promising young fighters in the UFC right now. He has insane power for 135. His KO win over former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres was incredible. It’s terrifying to think that he is only 21. When Jon Jones was 21, he made his UFC debut. Yikes.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

4. Brian Bowles – I love Brian Bowles. I mean, how can you not? He’s unbelievably entertaining, always slugging it out every fight, and he’s a really nice, quite country boy. He is mainly known for his wild standup, but his ground game is solid, considering he was a successful collegiate wrestler. Although he hasn’t fought since his UFC 139 loss (due to constant hand issues), his next fight should be against a big name.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

3. Urijah Faber – Say what you want about Faber constantly being given title shots, but the guy deserves every single one. He is a true legend of the sport and will undoubtedly become a Hall-of-Famer. Sure, his loss to Renan Barao might have dashed his hopes of becoming a UFC champion for a while, but until he loses to a non-champion, he will remain a top-5 fighter,

2. Renan Barao – 31 fights. 29 wins. And only 25 years old. Absolutely incredible. What else can you say about the interim champ? His dominating wins over Chris Cariaso, Brad Pickett, Scott Jorgensen, and Urijah Faber speak for themselves. The kid is easily going to be Dominick Cruz’ hardest test to date, and if he can win, he will be champion for some time to come.

1. Dominick Cruz – One of the most dominate champions, Dominick Cruz easily slides into number one. Hate all you want on his lack of finishing ability, but the guy is truly amazing. His footwork is mesmerizing. What else can you say about it? The guy is a master of footwork and it shows in every one of his performances. He only has two real tests left and if he can get past both of those guys, I don’t really see anyone beating him.

So what did you guys think? Let us know in the comments section on what you either agreed on or disagreed on.