rankings

In the wake of Shinya “The Man In Tights” Aoki’s TKO loss to “Mach” Sakurai at Dream.8, a lot of MMA pollsters are debating what this does to Aoki’s status in the lightweight division and his pound-for-pound ranking.  As we’ve said in the past, rankings are mostly useless speculation, but fun nonetheless, so we’ll entertain for the moment the idea that this is worth debating.  

When determining how Aoki deserves to fall in the rankings, you have to take a few different factors into consideration:

1) Quality of Opponent
The simple rule is, if you lose to a guy you were expected to lose to, you don’t suffer much from it.  It basically means you, like the Chicago Bears, are who we thought you were.  But if you lose to a guy you were expected to beat, like a Paulo Thiago, it can hurt you bad.  Sakurai is a solid fighter.  He’s been around forever, has beaten some good fighters and lost to some great fighters.  He consistently hangs around the perimeter of the welterweight top ten, so there’s no shame in dropping a fight to him, at least if you looked like you belonged in there with him.  Which leads us to our next variable…

(I'm sure it looks great on the wall next to Fedor's prized "Wizard of Oz" commemorative plates.)

As you would have noticed if you weren’t so busy watching videos of midgets fighting on the internet, “MMA Live” has begun incorporating rankings from WAMMA recently.  This has the guys from Bloody Elbow in a twist because they just partnered with USA Today to feature their “meta-rankings,” and because they generally hate WAMMA.

I’m one of WAMMA’s rankings pollsters, so I can understand some frustration and confusion with some of WAMMA’s moves.  Naming Shinya Aoki champion, for instance?  I love the Man in Tights as much as anyone, but he’s not the world’s best lightweight and everbody knows it. 

WAMMA seems intent on giving out fairly meaningless titles to the best fighters not in the UFC, and that’s kind of dumb but it's also not really hurting anybody.  And just because WAMMA's executives make some stupid decisions and appear in hilarious photos from time to time, it's not any reason to invalidate the actual rankings, which the executives have nothing to do with.

(Still the best heavyweight. Still the best personalized t-shirt.)

Heads up: In the wake of Affliction and WEC's shows last weekend, we've updated our heavyweight, light-heavyweight, and featherweight Power Rankings. Every top-ten list has been updated at least once this month, so swing by and get to debating/complaining, and be sure to check in again next week as UFC 94 may have significant impact on the welterweight and light-heavyweight lists. Fighters that are sitting just outside the rankings include...

HW: The winner of Gonzaga/Carwin at UFC 96 will most likely enter the top ten; also, Antonio Silva and Fabricio Werdum are close

LHW: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Luis Cane

MW: Yoshihiro Akiyama, Thales Leites, Ronaldo Souza, Michael Bisping, Chael Sonnen

WW: Jay Hieron, Karo Parisyan, Nick Diaz, Matt Serra, Paul Daley, Mike Swick

LW: Jamie Varner, Frankie Edgar, Takanori Gomi, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Gilbert Melendez, Nate Diaz

FW: Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Hideki Kadowaki, Akitoshi Tamura, Joseph Benavidez

P4P: Lyoto Machida and Mike Brown

(BG)

(Mark "Frankenstein" Coleman staggers into an uppercut.  Photo courtesy of NBC Sports.)

Thanks to our psychic abilities, we know exactly what two questions went running through your precious little head immediately after the curtain dropped on UFC 93: 1) How did I fare in the Cage Potato UFC 93 Pick-em Contest?, and 2) What will the Potato Index’s arbitrary numerical ratings system say about this event?

The answer to the first question is coming soon.  There are, after all, a lot of entries to sort through, and for that we thank you.  The answer to the second question begins…now!  Potato Index!!!!

Dan Henderson +23

He won the fight.  That’s the good news.  He didn’t look spectacular doing it, and we aren’t dying to see more of that particular style in the future, but a win is a win.  Now we have Hendo-Bisping to look forward to.  And that’s, you know, okay…

Rich Franklin -8

Honestly, this decision easily could have gone the other way (just ask the judge who scored it 30-27 Franklin), but it didn’t.  This loss isn’t a sign that Ace is washed up and he didn’t want to coach TUF anyway, so it’s not the end of the world.  It is, however, an indicator that he’s just treading water in the UFC for now, going neither up nor down.  There are worse fates.  At least this one pays.

Mark Coleman -54

Poor, poor Coleman.  Literally.  He says he didn’t have the money for a proper training camp, hence the non-existent cardio and an enthusiastic but misinformed Phil Baroni in his corner.  But what did we expect?  The man was great once, but nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain and explosive wrestling ability.  Please, either fight someone else in your age bracket, or call it quits.  We say this because we care.

(Carwin looked impressive, but how about a tough opponent next?)

You're wondering who's up and who's down after UFC 89. The Potato Index's system of arbitrary numbers devoid of any unit of measurement will tell you. It's kind of like the stock market, only less depressing. We spent all weekend doing the math and here's what we came up with. You're welcome.

Michael Bisping +16

"The Count" won a fight he was supposed to win. Via decision. He never took any chances, didn't show anything extra special, but he fought smart and he got the win. As a reward, he gets the TUF coaching job and the fight with the Hendo/Ace winner that was already his anyway. At least he didn't screw it up.

Brandon Vera -132

Once upon a time Vera was the heir apparent in the heavyweight division. Now he's a mediocre light heavyweight who doesn't even put on much of a show anymore. What happened? He's no longer exciting or effective, and he's far too conservative. He's making too much money to be doing so little.

Chris Leben -8 1/2

Leben chased Michael Bisping for three rounds and only got a little frustrated and reckless toward the end. A sign of his maturity? Sure, but also a sign that middleweight gatekeeper is about as high as he can hope to climb. He's still exciting, so he's not going anywhere. He also won't be back in the main event any time soon.

Joe Rogan's tribute beard +18

Sounded a little hokey at first, but it turns out that facial hair can be an effective homage to a fallen champion.

Luis Cane +284

The biggest win of Cane's career, by far, and one that should get him noticed by the UFC brass. We called his record padded before, but he added some meat to it on Saturday night.