L.A. Times June 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
It was a rough month for the heavyweight division as a whole. While Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez remain ahead of the pack, many of the division’s other top fighters seem on the decline without exciting new prospects to take their place. Everyone after Velasquez and Dos Santos have major flaws. Alistair Overeem is on a long undefeated streak but has faced limited competition. Brock Lesnar hasn’t won a fight in over a year. Fabricio Werdum’s timid display against Overeem killed off his momentum. And the toughest month of all belonged to Shane Carwin, who looked like a shell of his former self against Dos Santos.
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
Quinton Jackson dominated Matt Hamill at UFC 130 and is now in line for a title shot against Jon Jones. Jones has looked dominant, but the UFC light heavyweight title has been a hot potato in recent years. Waiting in the wings are Rashad Evans and Phil Davis, who will fight for the next title shot in Philadelphia. It’s an intriguing bout that will show where Davis stands among the elite of the division.
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
This will be Nate Marquardt’s last month in the middleweight rankings, as he moves to 170 pounds to fight Rick Story. Mark Munoz earned a hard fought decision over Demian Maia that will set him up for bigger fights. Brian Stann sneaks into the top 10 with a dominant victory over Jorge Santiago.
Welterweight
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Nick Diaz
4. Jake Shields
5. Josh Koscheck
6. B.J. Penn
7. Carlos Condit
8. Rick Story
9. Martin Kampmann
10. Thiago Alves
Rick Story got a decision win over Thiago Alves, but he’ll need to do more than instigate clinches to continue a climb up the division. He does deserve a lot of credit for taking a fight with Nate Marquardt on short notice and challenging Jon Fitch. Fitch is the sort of fighter that nobody calls out, so it showed a lot of confidence and guts. Dong Hyun Kim has been on the cusp of the top 10 for a while and will likely make it if he beats Carlos Condit at UFC 132.
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. Tatsuya Kawajiri
10. Ben Henderson
Clay Guida is once again being mentioned as a UFC lightweight title contender following his decision win over Anthony Pettis. The month’s most interesting 155 pound bout may come at UFC 132 when Dennis Siver takes on Matt Wiman. Both men are exciting fighters on the verge of bigger things.
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
Kenny Florian makes his debut in the featherweight rankings following a victory over Diego Nunes. It wasn’t spectacular but Florian got the job done against one of the division’s best. With the win, Florian looks to leapfrog Chad Mendes for the next featherweight title shot. Patricio Freire is one of the most exciting 145 pound fighters in the sport and has excelled for the Bellator Fighting Championships.
Bantamweight
1. Dominick Cruz
2. Joseph Benavidez
3. Urijah Faber
4. Demetrious Johnson
5. Brian Bowles
6. Miguel Torres
7. Scott Jorgensen
8. Wagnney Fabiano
9. Masakatsu Ueda
10. Renan Barao
Demetrious Johnson announced himself as a player at 135 pounds with consecutive wins over Kid Yamamoto and Miguel Torres. Johnson may be better suited for 125 pounds, but his speed and wrestling will present problems for a lot of larger men. Renan Barao enters the top 10 following his 26th straight win.
--Todd Martin
