L.A. Times July MMA Rankings
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Heavyweight
1. Cain Velasquez
2. Junior Dos Santos
3. Alistair Overeem
4. Brock Lesnar
5. Fabricio Werdum
6. Antonio Silva
7. Frank Mir
8. Fedor Emelianenko
9. Josh Barnett
10. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Alistair Overeem has withdrawn from Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix tournament. The Dutch striker felt he needed more time to heal injuries in advance of his next scheduled bout. The unfortunate development leaves the semifinals of the tournament without its three biggest stars: Fedor Emelianenko, Fabricio Werdum and Overeem. In one of the most exciting heavyweight bouts of this or any other year, Cheick Kongo scored a come-from-behind win over Pat Barry. Kongo is very close to the top 10.
Light Heavyweight
1. Jon Jones
2. Rashad Evans
3. Quinton Jackson
4. Lyoto Machida
5. Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua
6. Forrest Griffin
7. Dan Henderson
8. Gegard Mousasi
9. Thiago Silva
10. Rich Franklin
Tito Ortiz rehabilitated his career with an impressive upset victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 132. Ortiz dropped Bader with a punch and finished him with a guillotine choke. Now, Ortiz finds himself in the main event at UFC 133 and improbably could become a contender at 205 pounds with a win. On Saturday night, Dan Henderson battles Fedor Emelianenko in what should be an exciting catchweight showdown.
Middleweight
1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Yushin Okami
4. Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza
5. Nate Marquardt
6. Michael Bisping
7. Mark Munoz
8. Demian Maia
9. Hector Lombard
10. Brian Stann
Chael Sonnen will return to UFC competition against Brian Stann in October. It’s a good style matchup for Sonnen to return to title contention. Nate Marquardt was scheduled to move to welterweight but following a testosterone replacement therapy debacle, he instead finds himself out of the UFC altogether. Marquardt will fight for the British BAMMA organization.
Welterweight
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Nick Diaz
4. Jake Shields
5. Carlos Condit
6. Josh Koscheck
7. B.J. Penn
8. Martin Kampmann
9. Thiago Alves
10. Jake Ellenberger
Carlos Condit moves up the rankings with an impressive TKO victory over formerly undefeated Dong Hyun Kim. Condit will fight B.J. Penn in what should be a tremendous co-feature on the fall card featuring Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz for the UFC welterweight title. Jake Ellenberger also makes his debut in the rankings. He has won eight of his last nine fights.
Lightweight
1. Frank Edgar
2. Gilbert Melendez
3. Gray Maynard
4. Jim Miller
5. Eddie Alvarez
6. Shinya Aoki
7. Clay Guida
8. Anthony Pettis
9. Melvin Guillard
10. Ben Henderson
Melvin Guillard won his fifth straight bout in the UFC over Shane Roller at UFC 132. Guillard has looked extremely dangerous of late with his mixture of powerful striking and defensive wrestling. Guillard is moving slowly towards title contention but still has the likes of Gray Maynard, Jim Miller and maybe Gilbert Melendez ahead of him.
Featherweight
1. Jose Aldo
2. Chad Mendes
3. Kenny Florian
4. Hatsu Hioki
5. Mark Hominick
6. Dustin Poirier
7. Diego Nunes
8. Bibiano Fernandes
9. Joe Warren
10. Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire
Elite featherweight Hatsu Hioki signed with the UFC and will look to succeed in a promotion where many former Japanese stars have failed. Joe Warren and Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire were scheduled to rematch for the Bellator featherweight title but an injury cancelled the eagerly anticipated contest.
Bantamweight
1. Dominick Cruz
2. Joseph Benavidez
3. Demetrious Johnson
4. Brian Bowles
5. Urijah Faber
6. Miguel Torres
7. Scott Jorgensen
8. Wagnney Fabiano
9. Masakatsu Ueda
10. Renan Barao
It was an exciting and competitive bout, but Urijah Faber fell short in his quest for a title again. Faber lost to Dominick Cruz in what was his fourth consecutive title defeat. Demetrious Johnson is the next challenger for Cruz and the two will meet in Washington, DC. Brian Bowles and Masakatsu Ueda picked up wins over Takeya Mizugaki and Rumina Sato respectively.
--Todd Martin
